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 Chapter Advocate Volunteer Award
• HIMSS Chapter Leader Volunteer Award
• HIMSS Founder Award
• HIMSS CXO Senior Executive Award
• HIMSS Global Patient Innovator Award
• HIMSS Health Equity Award 
• HIMSS John A. Page Distinguished Fellow Award
• HIMSS Partner Award: HIMSS-ACCE Excellence in Clinical Engineering and Information Technology Synergies Award
• HIMSS Partner Award: HIMSS-AMDIS Physician Executive Leader Award
• HIMSS Partner Award: HIMSS-ANI Nursing Informatics Leadership
• HIMSS Policy Influencer Award
• HIMSS Most Influential Women in Health IT Award
• 2025 HIMSS Foundation Scholarship Recipients

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 Innovation, UC Davis Health 
Executive Director, Cloud Innovation Center  
Sacramento, 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 
Medical Director of Clinical Informatics 
Saudi Aramco  
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 
Health Informatics Specialist, Dubai Health Authority 
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 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