Andrea Ivory, founder and executive director, The Women's Breast Health Initiative, Miami Lakes, Fla. After Ivory was diagnosed and treated for breast cancer, she realized that having access to early detection and treatment had saved her life. To reach women without access to these vital services, Ivory founded an organization that knocks on nearly 500 doors each week to educate women about breast cancer, early detection, and how to receive low- or no-cost mammograms. Then her organization circles back to neighborhoods with a mammography van to provide free breast cancer screenings. Today, the Women's Breast Health Initiative has a volunteer coordinator on every college campus in the Miami area. The organization recently launched the b4pink campaign to inform all women about the importance of healthy eating, exercise, and other steps to reduce the risk of breast cancer.

Deb Jastrebski, founder and chief executive officer, Practice Without Pressure, Newark, Del. Jastrebski, whose son has Down syndrome, was appalled to find that health care providers would often sedate people with disabilities or put them in in a straitjacket during routine medical exams. Her son's fear of dental exams prompted him to scream until the blood vessels in his face broke; ultimately, this led to missed medical visits and health problems. Jastrebski resolved to find a better way for people with disabilities to receive care. She created Practice Wthout Pressure to help prepare people with special needs to handle health care appointments calmly and without sedation. In 2009, her approach saved the state of Delaware from having to pay $260,000 in costs for sedation. Today, in addition to working with hundreds of individuals and families, Practice Without Pressure trains health care providers on how to compassionately and safely treat people with disabilities.

Richard Nares, MFA, founder and executive director, The Emilio Nares Foundation, San Diego, Calif. After the Nares family lost their only child, Emilio, to cancer before his sixth birthday, they channeled their grief into providing support and guidance to families facing the same overwhelming journey. In 2002, Nares founded the Emilio Nares Foundation in their son's memory. The foundation provides a variety of life-enhancing programs, including "Ride with Emilio," which helps transport children battling cancer to their medical visits. Healthy snacks are offered to the young cancer patients, and the foundation also provides support groups where caregivers can knit, sew, and create artwork. A resource center and computer lab is available to families, as well as bereavement and burial support. The Foundation also conducts bone marrow registry recruitment campaigns.

Gabriel Rinc-n, DDS, founding executive director, Mixteca Organization Inc., Brooklyn, N.Y. In the early days of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, Rinc-n spent part of his dental residency caring for AIDS patients. At that time, according to Rinc-n, little information was circulated in Spanish about HIV in New York City's Mexican American community, where taboos surrounded the topics of sex and gender roles. So Rinc-n developed a culturally sensitive presentation to educate Mexicans and other Latinos about HIV, its symptoms, how it is spread, and how it can be prevented. He later started Mixteca Organization, which provides a broad scope of health and education programs-literacy and computer classes, English-language courses, and after-school programs-to thousands of Hispanic New Yorkers each year. Meanwhile, Rinc-n continues to practice dentistry and is working on tackling another taboo among Hispanics: domestic violence.

Source: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation