https://www.aspph.org/texas-am-faculty-named-outstanding-community-health-worker-by-apha/

Ms. Paula Saldaña has been selected the 2016 Outstanding Community Health Worker by the American Public Health Association (APHA) Community Health Worker (CHW) Section. Saldaña was chosen from a competitive field of national and international nominees.

[Photo: Ms. Paula Saldaña]

A Texas certified CHW and CHW instructor, Ms. Saldaña is a training specialist with the National Community Health Worker Training Center (NCHWTC) housed within the Center for Community Health Development at the Texas A&M School of Public Health. Through multiple Center projects funded by the Cancer Prevention Research Institute of Texas, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Texas Department of State Health Services, she has delivered community-based training, education and outreach in South Texas. With over 20 years experience as a CHW, her bilingual, bicultural background and expertise in curriculum development, program planning, in-person and online training and community capacity building have greatly benefited NCHWTC and Texas A&M in the lower Rio Grande Valley.

“I am truly and honestly thrilled to receive this award,” stated Ms. Saldaña. “If I, as a promotora, am able to make a person’s life a little better, I feel that I am rewarded every day.”

She has been recognized nationally on the Rachel Maddow Show and the Esther B. Holder Award from the Center for Sustainable Health Outreach Unity for her commitment and passion for serving her community.

Ms. Saldaña will receive the award at the Annual APHA Meeting in Denver, Colorado on October 31.