President’s Community Engagement Award Ceremony
The Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) Office of Community Engagement (CE) was pleased to host the in-person 2023 President’s Community Engagement Award Ceremony on Friday, May 5. John R. Raymond, Sr., MD, MCW President and Chief Executive Officer, and Staci Young, PhD, Senior Associate Dean for Community Engagement, facilitated the Ceremony.
The Ceremony highlighted the tremendous breadth and significance of community-engaged work undertaken by MCW personnel and community partners. Awards in recognition of exemplary community engagement were bestowed in four categories: MCW faculty, staff, students, and community partners/programs.
Year after year, the Office of Community Engagement builds and supports a more robust and stronger group of people who are dedicated to achieving excellence in community engagement and who contribute to the wealth of resources at MCW for improving the health of our communities. We thank and honor this year’s awardees for upholding the vision and advancing MCW’s mission of community engagement.
2023 President’s Community Engagement Awardees include:
Community Partner / Program
- First Presbyterian Church Wausau Free Clinic, for serving individuals in the greater Wausau area who experience barriers to receiving primary care and for offering valuable teaching experiences to MCW-Central Wisconsin medical students.
- Vera Roddy, BA, for her dedication to veterans advocacy and supporting research efforts in Southeastern Wisconsin through the MCW and Veterans Affairs community-academic partnership.
MCW Student
Iaong Vang, for her contributions to enhancing the medical school curriculum to include important concepts about the refugee experience and for creating a program that introduces medicine and STEM-related professions to young Milwaukee Hmong students.
MCW Staff
Karen Dotson, MHSA, for her commitment to partnering with local and diverse communities, her extensive history of community service, and for guiding the outreach and engagement efforts of the All of Us Research Program.
MCW Faculty Team
Terri deRoon-Cassini, PhD, MS, and David Milia, MD, for their leadership with the 414LIFE Program, and for offering the most vulnerable populations in our community the care and support they need to break the cycle of violence.
“I would like to recognize the work of our staff, faculty, students, and community partners. it is so enriching for me, listening to the awardees give their heartfelt thank-you to all of the people in their professional and personal lives. It shows that we need a network around us to do all that we do, and I think we would all agree it is so rewarding. I appreciate all those that step into this work, day in and day out, and all we can do together. It is truly an honor and a privilege for me to work alongside all of you.” – Staci Young, PhD, Senior Associate Dean for Community Engagement