Catherine Harrison wins Albert Justus Chesley Award

Catherine Harrison, deputy director of the Health Emergency Response Office, within the Office of Academic and Clinical Affairs, received the Minnesota Public Health Association's (MPHA) Albert Justus Chesley award for outstanding service in the field of public health. It is MPHA's longest standing recognition. 

Established in 1960, it honors those members of MPHA who have “distinguished themselves in the field of public health and who (have) through (their) membership, made a definite contribution to the Minnesota Public Health Association." 

The award recognizes Harrison's work as the Chair of the Health and Democracy MN Partnership, a nonpartisan coalition of public health and healthcare individuals and organizations that advocate for the protection and strengthening of democracy as a critical driver of population health. Since 2022, the group has educated the policymakers on the relationship between voting and health, and advocated for policies that protect voting rights and access, such as the 2023 Democracy for the People Act. 

Research shows that members of the healthcare workforce vote at rates 12-23% below the general population, so in 2024 HDMNP launched the We Will Vote MN campaign as a statewide call to action for Minnesota's health workforce to vote and to also promote voter turnout with their colleagues, organizations, and communities. In 2024, the coalition partnered with the School of Public Health, Humphrey School of Public Affairs, and Boynton Health to launch the campaign on campus with Secretary of State Steve Simon.