HIMSS Celebrates the 2025 Changemaker in Health Award and Scholarship Recipients

HIMSS is thrilled to celebrate and honor the exceptional individuals who are driving positive change within the global health ecosystem as 2025 awardees of the prestigious HIMSS Changemaker in Health Award and scholarships.

The HIMSS Changemaker in Health Award celebrates inspirational and innovative healthcare leaders for their relentless pursuit to improve care by harnessing the power of information and technology.

Changemaker Award categories:

HIMSS Changemakers are inspiring leaders who rigorously challenge the status quo in their journey to build a brighter health future. Congratulations to all Changemaker Award recipients.

HIMSS Chapter Advocate Volunteer Award

Elsie Gori, MSHI, BSN, RN, FHIMSS, CPHIMS
Nursing Informatics Specialist
Lone Star Communications, Inc.
Georgetown, TX United States

HIMSS Chapter Leader Volunteer Award

Shawn Weldin
Director of Information Technology
Sabetha Community Hospital
Sabetha, KS United States

HIMSS Founder Award

Elizabeth Regan, PhD
Department Chair and Professor of Health Information Technology
Molineroli College of Engineering and Computing, University of South Carolina
Columbia, SC United States

HIMSS CXO Senior Executive Award

Cathy Menkiena, RN, MBA, FACHE, NI-BC, FHIMSS
General Manager and Senior Vice President, East Region
Health Catalyst
South Jordan, UT United States

Keisuke Nakagawa, MD
Director of Strategic Impact & Growth, Jacobs Center for Health Innovation
UC San Diego Health
San Diego, CA United States

Isaiah Nathaniel, CPHIMS
Senior Vice President & Chief Information Officer 
Delaware Valley Community Health
Philadelphia, PA United States

Tamara Sunbul, MD, MBA, FHIMSS, CPHIMS, PMP
Digital Health Transformation & Innovation Strategic Advisor 
Dhahran, Saudi Arabia

HIMSS Global Patient Innovator Award

Jong Soo Choi, PhD
CTO
Samsung Medical Center
Seoul, South Korea

HIMSS Health Equity Award

Monae Haskins, BSN, RN, ITIL
Senior Application Analyst, Atlantic Health System
Adjunct Professor, HIT Program Essex County College
Morristown, NJ United States

Krystal Schramm, MSA, MS
Data Strategy Administrator
Michigan Department of Health and Human Services
Kalamazoo, MI United States

Dylan Tête, MPH
Director of Business Development
Red Duke Strategies, LLC
New Orleans, LA United States

HIMSS John A. Page Distinguished Fellow Award

David Gibbs, PhD, CPHIMS, CPHI, CHDA, CHPS, CISSP, FHIMSS
Chair & Associate Professor
Department of Health Informatics & Information Management
Texas State University
Round Rock, TX United States

HIMSS Partner Award: HIMSS-ACCE Excellence in Clinical Engineering and Information Technology Synergies Award

Ilir Kullolli, MS
VP and Chief Operating Officer, Digital Information Solutions
Stanford Medicine Children’s Health
Palo Alto, CA United States

HIMSS Partner Award: HIMSS-AMDIS Physician Executive Leader Award

Roosevelt De Los Santos, MD, MBA, MS, FAAP, FACHE, FAMIA, CHCIO
Medical Director, Health Informatics
Trinity Health
Fort Lauderdale, FL United States

HIMSS Partner Award: HIMSS-ANI Nursing Informatics Leadership

Olga Kagan, PhD, RN, CIMI, FHIMSS, FAAAAI, NYAM Fellow
Founder & Principal, OKHCC
Consortium Faculty & Associate Adjunct Professor, The CUNY School of Professional Studies
Adjunct Faculty, Molloy University
New York, NY United States

HIMSS Policy Influencer Award

Maheshwara Rao Appannan, MBBS, MPH, DrPH, CMIA, PHEM, LIM-SEA
Director, Digital Health Division
Ministry of Health
Putrajaya, Malaysia

Luis Belén
Chief Executive Officer
National Health IT Collaborative for the Underserved (NHIT)
Washington, DC United States

Osama Elhassan, PhD, MSc, FIAHSI
Chair, ZIMAM
Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Steven Lane, MD, MPH
Chief Medical Officer, Health Gorilla | Family Physician, Sutter Health
Palo Alto, CA United States

Meghan O'Connell, MD, MPH (Cherokee)
Chief Public Health Officer
Great Plains Tribal Leaders Health Board
Rapid City, SD United States

Josh Wymer, DNP, MSPM, MA, RN, CPDHTS, CDH-E, CHCIO, FHIMSS, FACHE, FAAN
Chief Health Information & Data Strategy Officer
Missouri Department of Health & Senior Services
Saint Louis, MO United States

Julia Zarb, PhD
CEO + Founder
Blue x Blue Inc.
Toronto, Ontario Canada

HIMSS Most Influential Women in Health IT Award

Mary Joy Garcia-Dia, RN, DNP, FAAN, FHIMSS
Program Director Nursing Informatics, Information Technology Department
Institute of Nursing Excellence and Innovation
New York-Presbyterian
New York, NY United States

Nelita Iuppa, DNP, MS, BSN, NEA-BC, RN-BC, FHIMSS
Enterprise Office of Nursing Informatics
Cleveland Clinic
Cleveland, OH United States

Sangita Reddy, Dr
Promoter Director
Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd
Hyderabad, India

Surya Shenoy, DNP, RN, CCRN-K, NI-BC, CPHIMS
Regional Clinical Informatics Consultant
Kaiser Permanente
Pleasanton, CA United States

HIMSS Foundation Scholarship Recipients (Masters & Undergraduate)

Masters Scholarship Recipient

Bessy Lovos Davila
George Mason University
Fairfax, VA
Major: Health Informatics

Undergraduate Scholarship Recipient

Etana Israel
University of Nevada-Las Vegas
Henderson, NV
Major: Bachelor's of Science in Healthcare Administration and Policy

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