Former Awardees

Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation Awards

In 2016 the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation created a new awards program to recognize excellence for social mission in health professions education. The award was developed in collaboration with the Beyond Flexner Alliance and is presented at the Beyond Flexner Conference.

2021 Recipients

Rising Star
Robert M. Rock, MD
Dr. Robert Rock is a child of the humanities, passionate about building community, fighting for health justice, and reforming health professional education. Dr. Rock is currently a resident within the Department of Family and Social Medicine at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, NY.

Individual Excellence
Joseph Kiesler, MD
Dr. Joseph Kiesler is a physician with UC’s Dept. of Family and Community Medicine. He serves as the Director for Underserved Health and the Associate Residency Director for The Christ Hospital /the UC Family Medicine Residency Training Program. He continues to mentor students and residents in their passion to care for vulnerable populations.

Program Excellence
Green Family Foundation Neighborhood Health Education Learning Program, Florida International University Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, Miami, FL
The Green Family Foundation Neighborhood Health Education Learning Program (NeighborhoodHELP) is the platform for HWCOM’s community-engaged mission emphasizing social accountability and interprofessional household-centered care. Through this program, medical students are immersed in the community as members of interprofessional teams, which include nursing, social work, and physician assistant students, with education and law students available per each household’s identified needs.

Institutional Excellence
Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science
Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science (CDU) is a private, nonprofit, community-founded, student-centered University committed to cultivating diverse health professions leaders who are dedicated to social justice and health equity for underserved populations through outstanding education, clinical service and community engagement.

Lifetime Achievement
George Blue Spruce, Jr., DDS, MPH
Dr. Blue Spruce spent 21 years in the Indian Health Service, worked with the World Health Organization in South America, wrote drafts of legislation of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act of 1976, and served as assistant surgeon general and director of the Indian Health Service for the Phoenix area. He is currently an assistant dean at the A.T. Still University/Arizona School of Dentistry & Oral Health in Mesa, Arizona, and founder of the American Indian Dental Association.