DIS Scholarship Winners

NCSD and NACCHO are pleased to offer several full scholarships for DIS to attend STD Engage this year. Congratulations to all of the scholarship recipients! We are looking forward to seeing you in December. Thank you to all who applied.

NCSD DIS Scholarship Recipients 

  • Sherry Akhimie, Georgia Department of Public Health – District 2 Public Health
  • Travis Eckman-Rocha, Minnesota Department of Health
  • Rachel Hutton, Florida Department of Health – Hillsborough County
  • Lisa Johnson-Brown, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services
  • Juan Torres, New York State Department of Health – Western Regional Buffalo Office (Juan is the recipient of the Chantee Mack DIS Scholarship)
  • Allison Wallen, Florida Department of Health – Hillsborough County
  • LaToya Wingate, North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services – Region II
  • Candice York, Mississippi State Department of Health – Scott County

NACCHO DIS Scholarship Recipients 

  • Veronica Cervantes, Kern County Public Health Department, California
  • Cynthia Coutee, Solano County Public Health Department, California
  • Wendell Patterson, South Carolina Department of Health – Pee Dee Health Region
  • Feliece Carabello, Lake County Health Department, Illinois
  • Jennifer Bowers, Southern Nevada Health District
  • John Paul Builes, Florida Department of Health – Palm Beach County
  • Herman Jones-El, DC Health, Washington DC
  • Leticia Delgado, Texas Department of State Health Services – Region 11
  • Jonathan Grammatico, Stanislaus County Public Health Department, California
  • Odessa Lynea Ammons, Manatee County Department of Health, Florida
  • Anitra Pate, Chatham County Health Department – Coastal Health District, Georgia
  • Katherine “Kat” Adams, Henrico County Health Department, Virginia
  • Kianda Simmons, Kansas City Health Department, Missouri
  • Marissa Leahy, Philadelphia Department of Public Health, Pennsylvania

About the Chantee Mack DIS Scholarship

Chantee Mack was a dedicated and compassionate Disease Intervention Specialist (DIS) for over 15 years with Prince George’s County Health Department in Maryland. In her role, she helped to train new DIS and offered specialized skills in preventing the spread of STDs in the Prince Georgian community. In May 2020, Chantee passed away from COVID-19, which continues to affect health care professionals across the country. In honor of her, the National Coalition of STD Directors has created a Chantee Mack DIS Scholarship for STD Engage 2020. This scholarship will be awarded to Juan Torres, a DIS from the New York State Department of Health – Western Regional Buffalo Office. Through his scholarship application, Juan exemplified many of the core values that Chantee Mack had, including the ability to serve vulnerable communities and provide caring leadership.