On June 3-4, 2026, Alliance members, partners, decision-makers, and community leaders got together to celebrate the 2026 Transformative Change Award recipients during the Alliance’s annual conference. Transformative Change Awards recognize individuals, teams and organizations that have made extraordinary contributions to improving the health and wellbeing of people and communities in Ontario. This year’s recipients demonstrate the many ways they are working to deliver equitable, low-barrier, wraparound primary health care services to underserved and marginalized communities across the province. Join us in celebrating the 2026 Transformative Change Award recipients.

Community Health Champion Award: Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) for their report “Municipalities Under Pressure: The Growing Human and Financial Cost of Ontario’s Homelessness Crisis”

Community Health Champion award honours organizations and individuals within the health, social and community services sectors that work alongside the Alliance and Alliance members to advance equitable health and wellbeing for everyone in Ontario. This year, the Board selected the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) as the recipient of the Community Health Champion Award. This award is in recognition of the report AMO released last year titled “Municipalities Under Pressure: The Growing Human and Financial Cost of Ontario’s Homelessness Crisis”. The report brought attention to the growing toll of homelessness on individuals, families, communities, and governments, as well as called on provincial and federal governments to adopt long-term, comprehensive solutions. The Community Health Champion award recognizes this important work as well as celebrates our growing partnership with AMO, as we continue to advocate for affordable housing, income supports, mental health and substance use health services.

Jennifer Rayner Research for Health Equity Award: Research Partnership between Parkdale Queen West CHC and University of Toronto 

Last year, the Alliance Board introduced Jennifer Rayner Research for Health Equity Award to recognize the incredible research advances that support the Alliance’s vision and mission and to celebrate a researcher or research team that have made significant contributions to advancing health equity and team-based primary health care. This year’s recipient is the community–academic research partnership between Parkdale Queen West Community Health Centre and the University of Toronto. For nearly a decade, this partnership has examined and addressed the experiences of pregnant and postpartum parents facing structural barriers such as poverty, food insecurity, limited social supports, newcomer status, and inequities in perinatal care. The findings led to program changes at Parkdale Queen West and an expansion to other Canada Prenatal Nutrition Program sites. This research partnership, grounded in meaningful community engagement and cultural safety, demonstrates how academic and community institutions can work together to advance equity and drive system-level improvements.

# Transformative Change Awards (teams/organizations)

The Transformative Change Awards celebrate exceptional examples of the Model of Health and Wellbeing (MHWB) or the Model of Wholistic Health and Wellbeing (MWHWB) (for Indigenous organizations) in action.

Waterloo Wellington Regional Coordination Centre’s Centralized Intake Services

Run by Langs Community Health Centre, the Waterloo Wellington Regional Coordination Centre has fundamentally redesigned how individuals enter and move through care. By creating a single, coordinated entry point across multiple programs, the regional coordination centre team has improved healthcare access and system navigation, reduced administrative burden for providers, and supported system planning across the region. To learn more about the program, check out this video. 

Norfolk Perinatal and Newborn Care Partners

A collaboration between the Norfolk Family Health Team, Norfolk General Hospital, and Grand Erie Public Health, this program has reshaped maternal and newborn services in Norfolk County by breaking down silos and creating a seamless, integrated system. Through shared workflows, streamlined referrals, and coordinated communication, partners have expanded access, strengthened continuity of care and improved efficiency across the region. Watch the video to learn more. 

Gender Affirming Care Team at CHCs of Northumberland

In a region with limited services for trans and gender-diverse people and long wait times across Ontario, Community Health Centres of Northumberland (CHCN) decided to address the gap in services by developing a comprehensive, community-informed program that integrates medical care, peer support, and system navigation in a trusted primary care setting. By co-designing the program with trans and gender-diverse community members, embedding gender affirming care into the CHC’s core operations, and fostering an inclusive organizational culture, the CHCs of Northumberland have advanced equitable, inclusive, and safe gender-affirming care in their community and beyond. To learn more about CHCN’s Gender Affirming Care Team, watch this video. 

 

# Adrianna Tetley Legacy Award

Named after the Alliance’s former CEO, who left a deep imprint not only on the Alliance for Healthier Communities but also Ontario’s health care system, this award celebrates emerging leaders in the sector. This year, the Board selected two award recipients.

Celeste Turner, Population Health Team Manager, Niagara Falls Community Health Centre

Celeste Turner has been a frontline worker and a dedicated champion for the 2SLGBTQ+ community in Niagara for eight years. When Niagara Falls CHC received the Interprofessional Primary Care Team expansion funding, Celeste stepped into a management role and is now leading the newly created Population Health Team. In their new role, Celeste is guiding their team of seven to address systemic challenges with the right partners and supports. Celeste’s impact extends beyond their organization and the region of Niagara. For the past five years, they have been co-chairing the Alliance’s 2SLGBTQ+ Committee, supporting the Alliance and members in advancing health equity for sexually and gender-diverse communities in Ontario.

Racquel Hamlet, Chief Operations and Transformation Officer, TAIBU Community Health Centre.

Since joining TAIBU 15 years, Racquel Hamlet has consistently demonstrated leadership skills, tenacity and dedication of Adrianna Tetley. Among Racquel’s many accomplishments is the establishment of the Toronto Community Crisis Service, a community-based, culturally safe, trauma-informed, health-centered model community safety and crisis response model. Racquel also initiated and successfully implemented prevention services that address the disproportionate representation of Black children and families in the child welfare system. Racquel is known to staff, clients and community for her exceptional qualities: exemplary work, commitment to confronting and addressing anti-Black racism and other forms of oppression and discrimination, her ability to think strategically, her ease in forming trusting relationship with staff, community members, partners and interested parties, as well as her great personality rooted in deep respect for humanity.

 

# Denise Brooks Health Equity Champion Award: Axelle Janczur, former Executive Director of Access Alliance Multicultural Health and Community Services in Toronto

The Denise Brooks Award, named after a former ED of Hamilton Urban Core CHC, celebrates individuals who have made outstanding contributions to poverty reduction, advancing health equity and social justice, and show a strong commitment to anti-oppression and anti-racism. 

During her long career as Access Alliance’s Executive director, a career that spanned more than 21 years, Axelle demonstrated exceptional leadership and unwavering commitment to health equity, anti-oppression, and social justice. She pioneered the establishment of a community health centre in Toronto’s east end in partnership with four immigrant communities—creating one of the city’s earliest community-rooted, equity-driven health models. Long before equity and anti-oppression became sector priorities, Axelle consistently advocated for systemic change and led a provincially funded initiative to build health equity capacity across Ontario’s community health centres. A collaborative, courageous, and visionary leader, Axelle has delivered measurable, scalable, and lasting impact on dismantling barriers to healthcare and advancing equity across Ontario’s community health system.

 

# Joe Leonard Award: Marc Bisson, former Executive Director of Centre de santé communautaire de l’Estrie

Joe Leonard Award is the highest honour given by the Alliance for Healthier Communities. Named after the first executive director of LAMP CHC, this award recognizes individuals who have demonstrated extraordinary leadership, commitment and support for creative solutions to accessible, high quality and affordable health care. 

Marc Bisson is an exceptional leader with 32 years of service at Centre de santé communautaire de l’Estrie, 23 of those as Executive Director. Throughout his career, Marc has earned a reputation for his exceptional dedication to Ontario’s francophone community, particularly in the field of community health. His leadership at both the regional and provincial levels has always been driven by the values of collaboration, equity, inclusion and respect for the clients served by the CSCE. 

Marc has distinguished himself through his ability to develop innovative ways to make health care accessible to all, particularly Francophone, rural, and vulnerable communities. Firmly believing that accessibility is a fundamental right, he has consistently sought creative solutions tailored to the community context. Under his leadership, the CSCE has strengthened its interprofessional approaches, modernized its technological resources, broadened its regional partnerships, established new facilities to reach clients in rural areas, and supported the testing of new models of care. 

# What are the Transformative Change Awards?

Transformative Change Awards recognize and celebrate health champions within our membership who work at the forefront of transformative change to help us achieve the best possible health and wellbeing for everyone in Ontario. We’re looking for inspiring stories of leaders, innovators and collaborators who have reframed problems, broken new ground and created transformative solutions that have improved outcomes for people and communities facing barriers to good health.

# Awards are presented in the following categories:

Transformative Change Awards: Up to three (3) award recipients may be selected. The award is open to Alliance members only; teams, partnerships, organizations, collaboratives and programs are eligible for nominations.

Adrianna Tetley Legacy Award: One (1) award recipient is selected. The goal is to recognize an emerging leader in primary health care transformation who demonstrates tenacity and determination to improve the health and wellbeing of people and communities facing barriers to health.

Denise Brooks Health Equity Champion Award: One (1) award recipient is selected. The goal is to recognize individuals who have demonstrated outstanding contributions to advancing health equity.

Joe Leonard Award: One (1) award recipient is selected every year. This award is the highest recognition from the Alliance and is reserved for individuals only.

NEW THIS YEAR! Jennifer Rayner Research for Health Equity Award: One (1) award recipient will be selected. The goal is to celebrate a researcher or research team that has made significant contributions to the evidence for team-based primary health care and health equity through innovative and impactful research and has provided valuable insights for practices and policy.

The awards will be presented at the Alliance Conference Awards Gala in June 2026. Transformative Change Award recipients will be featured on Alliance’s blog and social media channels. We will work with Transformative Change Award recipients to produce short videos highlighting their achievements. We will also put together a media package and work with the award recipients to reach out to local media. You can see the stories and videos of the last year’s Transformative Change Awards recipients here.

# Nomination process:

Here is how the nomination process works:

 

# NEW IN 2026! Jennifer Rayner Research for Health Equity Award

This year, we are introducing a new award: Research for Health Equity Award. The award is named after Dr. Jennifer Rayner, Director of Research and Policy at the Alliance for Healthier Communities. Dr. Rayner has been instrumental in building the Alliance’s research program and has established connections with over 50 research partners from academia, primary care, and public health.   The award will celebrate a researcher or research team that has made significant contributions to the evidence for team-based primary health care and health equity through innovative and impactful research and has provided valuable insights for practices and policy.   Read the nomination guide (page 9) to learn more about the awards, eligibility and selection criteria. You can use this checklist to help prepare your nomination package. Submit the following materials electronically: 

  1. A nomination letter written by the nominator(s), clearly depicting why the nominee should receive this award. The letter should be no more than two pages in length.
  2. A brief summary (five pages or fewer) of their research impact or their current curriculum vitae. If more than five pages are included, the committee will only review the first five.
  3. One letter of support, which should include example(s) of real-world research impact and applicability to team-based primary health care and health equity.  

Send all supporting documents by email to the attention of:

Lisa Tisdel, Administrative Assistant Alliance for Healthier Communities E-mail: lisa.tisdel@allianceON.org

 

If you have any questions, please contact Oleksandra Budna, Communications and Member Relations Lead, at oleksandra.budna@allianceON.org.

Friday, June 12, 2026
Tags: 
Transformative Change Awards