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Immunize Kansas Coalition Executive Director Honored with Equity in Immunization Award at National Conference

IKC Members Represent Kansas at the 16th Annual National Conference for Immunization Coalitions and Partnerships

April 17, 2024

Immunize Kansas Coalition and partners are back from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where they attended the 16th Annual National Conference for Immunization Coalitions and Partners (NCICP), the only conference dedicated to collaboration and partnership as a way to improve immunization uptake, educate our communities, and prevent the spread of disease. Our coalition was featured multiple times at the conference with several presentations given, and IKC Executive Director, Geovannie Gone received an honorable award!

The conference was filled with innovative strategies, educational resources, and networking with partners from across the country! We're eager to take lessons learned to the next level in Kansas. Kansas was represented well with many IKC members and partners, with 12 attending and three of us speaking during breakout sessions.

IKC Executive Director, Geovannie Gone presented "Reaching Rural and Hard-to-Reach Communities: Strengthening Vaccine Access and Confidence" a session focused on strategic solutions to breaking barriers and building confidence.

Later in the week, IKC Community Health Specialists, Lucy Watie and Marixendra Alvarez presented "Building Partnerships Through an Equity Lens" sharing about the difference in outreach efforts among rural and urban communities.

The most notable moment of the conference was the award ceremony, where Geovannie Gone, IKC Executive Director received the Equity in Immunization Award! The award highlights her innovative strategies and efforts to build vaccine access and equity initiatives across the state of Kansas.

"What a journey this last year has been!! I feel so humbled to have been recognized nationally with the Equity in Immunization Award. This award has definitely put our state of Kansas in the eyes of all other 500+ national partners allowing us to further our reach and be recognized as innovators in health equity,” she shared.

As Chair of IKC, Amanda Applegate, expressed her excitement about the award recognition. "Our board was thrilled to celebrate Geovannie’s award – her contributions to equity in immunization access are well known in Kansas, but seeing them recognized at the national level is always heartening. We are blessed to have such a force for good working to help protect Kansans from vaccine-preventable diseases,” she stated.

Most of all, we enjoyed connecting with partners from across the country. We would like to thank the Pennsylvania Immunization Coalition for hosting such an impactful conference full of history, knowledge, and insight shared by others in the immunization community across the nation