Nominations and Guidelines

2025 Nominations

We know you’re busy.  We also know you care.  There are people within our Section who make the extra effort to foster an environment of acceptance and equality.  There are people within our Section who go above and beyond to promote diversity and inclusion within the Section and the legal profession.

People like David Douglass.  People like Denise Hanna, Bill Hopkins, and Tommy Smith. People like Montrece Ransom, David Hilgers, Lisa Atlas Genecov and Alexandria Hien McCombs.

We want to recognize our Champions for their work.  But we need your help.  Has someone championed you or others in the Section?  If so, celebrate that person by nominating him/her for the ABA Health Law Section Champion of Diversity and Inclusion Award. This award honors an ABA Health Law Section member who has made exceptional efforts to promote diversity and inclusion within the Section and/or the legal profession.

The deadline to submit nominations for this award is January 9, 2025, via the electronic nomination form.  The nomination process is easy.

Award Criteria

This award will consider nominees who have engaged in actions or activities which include some or all of the following:

• Actively recruited diverse members, ensured their involvement in activities of the Section, and ensured that leadership opportunities are available to them.
• Continually and consistently fostered an atmosphere of inclusion, both inside and outside the Section, and helped to maintain an open, collegial environment that provides both professional and personal satisfaction to members of the Section, the ABA and other organizations.
• To the extent possible, worked to ensure that the Section’s products, services, programs and activities are sensitive and accessible to the missions, needs and expectations of diverse audiences and diverse issues.
• Engaged in activities that have helped eliminate bias, both inside and outside the Section and the ABA.
• To the extent possible, engaged in efforts to design products, services, programs, and activities, which included material specifically developed for diverse audiences.
• Worked to provide increased leadership opportunities to diverse participants who are qualified to serve in those positions.
• Engaged in outreach to law schools (and affinity groups in such schools) to draw a diverse population into healthcare law.
• To the degree possible, promoted diversity and inclusion for the profession as a whole, including participation in such efforts among organizations and groups inside and outside the ABA.
• The criteria may also include other actions, activities and/or achievements consistent with the foregoing listed items and within the spirit of the award.

Application Requirements

• Nomination Form – Nominee’s and nominator’s names, addresses, firms/organizations, telephone numbers, and email addresses. 
• Nominee’s Resume/Biography – Nominee’s resume or similar summary document detailing the candidate’s professional and volunteer accomplishments during the nominee’s career.
• Nominator’s Narrative – A description of specific accomplishments that demonstrate significant achievements for which the nominee is being nominated and the time frame. Nominator should also explain his or her familiarity/relationship with this nominee and whether or not the nominee has firsthand knowledge of the nominee’s qualifications.
• Supporting Material, Including Letters of Support – Supporting documents of no more than 10 pages (exclusive of articles written by the nominee), such as copies of media coverage, proof of past recognitions, and/or other materials that support the nomination. Please include up to three (3) letters of support from other individuals.
• Submission of Nominations – Please submit nominations electronically by January 9, 2025.

The award will be presented at the ABA Health Law Section's Emerging Issues in Healthcare Law Conference on April 3, 2025 in Long Beach, California. The recipient must be present to receive the award.  The Section reserves the right not to present the award if there are no suitable candidates.

Questions? Contact Simeon Carson at [email protected]

2024-2025 Diversity and Inclusion Committee

• William Hopkins, Chair, Spencer Fane, Dallas, TX
• David Douglass, Sheppard Mullin, Washington DC
• Sarah Frazier, Law Office of Sarah Frazier, PLLC, Houston, TX
• Denise Glass, Norton Rose Fulbright, Dallas, TX
• Beth Guest, Nashville, TN
• Kimberly Hardy-Motte, Southern University Law Center, Baton Rouge, LA
• Erica Lindsay, Lindsay Law, Chicago, IL
• Paul Pitts, Reed Smith, San Francisco, CA
• JJ Rodriguez, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, Los Angeles, CA
• Yasmine Salkar, Georgia State University, Institute of Health Administration, Smyrna, GA