The Association of Clinicians for the Underserved (ACU) is honored to represent clinicians, administrators, advocates, and others who are dedicated to improving access to quality healthcare for underserved populations. During our Annual Conference, ACU will give special acknowledgment to individuals and organizations in the field that stand out for their commitment to elevating care, clinicians, and communities. Please submit your nomination by Sunday, June 1st, 2026 for the following awards to be presented at ACU's 2026 Annual Conference* on July 26-29, 2026:

Clinician of the Year: The clinician of the year represents the heart of our work and has demonstrated their commitment to improving the health of underserved communities through compassion and excellence in health care delivery.

Congressional Champion: This award recognizes a member of Congress who serves as a champion for increased access to care, improvements to health care delivery, and support for the healthcare workforce.

Marc Wetherhorn Advocate of the Year: This award recognizes a clinician, administrator, patient, or student whose advocacy efforts have contributed to improvements to policies and/or systems that impact the health of underserved populations.

Organizational Excellence: This award recognizes organizations that have implemented innovative and effective strategies to improve health care in underserved communities. Strategies may include but are not limited to efforts to sustain a skilled and capable workforce and programs and collaborations to increase access to services and improve patient outcomes.

Excellence in Behavioral Health: This award recognizes a clinician or administrator who has demonstrated commitment, vision, and excellence in their work to improve access to and quality of behavioral healthcare for patients in medically underserved areas. The winner of this award will receive free registration to the Behavioral Health Leadership Forum in addition to free conference registration.

Geiger Gibson-ACU Next Generation of Excellence Award: For those studying or pursuing training in pursuit of a health profession, including medicine, nursing, midwifery, dentistry, pharmacy, behavioral health, and allied health fields, at any stage from undergraduate study through clinical training. Eligible nominees have gone beyond the requirements of their studies or training to demonstrate initiative and leadership in addressing the healthcare needs of underserved communities, whether through organizing, advocacy, direct service, innovation in care delivery, or actively shaping programs and challenging systems to drive measurable change.

ACU encourages you to complete a version of your nomination for your records. You can access and download a blank form here.

If you have any questions, please contact Narine Hovnanian at nhovnanian@clinicians.org.

*Note: All award recipients will receive free conference registration.

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* 1. Your Name

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* 3. Your Organization

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* 4. Your Job Title

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* 5. For which award category are you nominating a candidate?

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