Gloria Burnett receives Barbara Berger Excellence in Public Health Education and Promotion Award

by Vicki Nechodomu  |   

Gloria Burnett

Gloria Burnett, Director of the Alaska Center for Rural Health & Health Workforce (ACRHHW), was selected by the Alaska Public Health Association as the 2021 winner of the Barbara Berger Excellence in Public Health Education and Promotion award. This award recognizes an individual who has made special, unique, or substantial contributions to Alaska in the field of public health. The award is given in honor of the memory of Barbara Berger, health educator and Past President of ALPHA.

Burnett was recognized for her enduring contributions to, leadership in, and advocacy for health workforce development, health education, and public health in Alaska. As the Director of the Alaska Center for Rural Health and Health Workforce, she oversees programs including Alaska's Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) Program, Healthcare Pipleine programming, and the COVID-19 Contact Tracing Program. 

Burnett began her career in public health as an AHEC Center Director at Ilisagvik College in Utiagvik, Alaska. There, she developed a Behavioral Health Camp template that has been used all over the state, and has been adopted by AHEC centers across the country. Since stepping into her role at ACRHHW in 2015, she has grown the AHEC program into a sophisticated network of partners working collaboratively to connect students to health career pathways and communities to better healthcare. When the AHEC Scholars program was launched across the United States in the fall of 2019, AHECs across our country looked to UAA's AHEC Scholars model as an example of success.

The AHEC's name recognition and reputation have grown substantially under Burnett's leadership.  She led a world-class conference during the summer of 2021 of the nation’s health workforce professionals. She advocates tirelessly for AHECs across Alaska. Gloria is a connector. She is constantly connecting people, and programs, and organizations for the betterment of the whole system. Gloria exemplifies the spirit of the Barbara Berger Award in every way.  
She has thrust Alaska on the national map as the President of the National AHEC Organization.

Her recent achievement in leading UAA's Contact Tracing program throughout the pandemic has made lasting impacts on the face of public health and emergency management in our state. Her team recruited, trained, and oversaw the work of ____ contact tracers who managed ... (insert sentence about scope of the number of cases or individuals reached).

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