Massachusetts Public Health Alliance’s 2026 Lemuel Shattuck Award presented to Dana-Farber’s Magnolia Contreras

Today, Magnolia Contreras, MSW, MBA, Vice President of Community Health at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, was honored with The Lemuel Shattuck Award for Significant Contributions to Public Health Practice at the Massachusetts Public Health Alliance’s 2026 spring awards breakfast, in Boston.

The annual spring awards recognize leaders whose work strengthens public health and advances health equity across Massachusetts. Contreras’ decades-long career has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to eliminating health inequities, including efforts to extend expert, equitable, and compassionate cancer care – prevention, screening and early detection – into historically marginalized communities.

“At a time when our field faces significant challenges, it feels especially meaningful to demonstrate the power of an alliance for health equity and to lift up individuals and organizations whose leadership, vision, and persistence continue to move us forward,” said Carlene Pavlos, Massachusetts Public Health Alliance (MPHA) Executive Director.

Contreras, who joined Dana-Farber in 2007, oversees the Institute’s Community Health and Community Benefits programs. She is charged with helping Dana-Farber carry out its Community Benefits mission through the delivery of evidence-based cancer prevention, screening and early detection programs, and working across the cancer continuum to help improve cancer care outcomes. Additionally, Contreras serves as co-chair of the Boston Community Health Collaborative, a membership organization that aims to strengthen connections across sectors and among organizations contributing to the health and well-being of residents in Boston.

The 2026 awards honor individuals who have broken down systemic barriers for people with HIV/AIDS, changed the public health response to substance use disorder, expanded equitable access to information and health care, and strengthened the workforce of community health workers. In addition to Contreras’ receiving the Lemuel Shattuck Award for Significant Contributions to Public Health Practice, the Paul Revere Award for Outstanding Leadership in Public Health was presented to Jean McGuire of Northeastern University; the Augustus Hinton Award for Public Health Leadership in Medicine was presented to Dr. Miriam Komaromy of Boston Medical Center and Boston University; and the Community Leadership Award for excellence demonstrated by outstanding initiative, impact of work, and true partnership with the community was awarded to the Massachusetts Association of Community Health Workers (MACHW).

Cheryl Bartlett, RN, New Bedford Community Health President and CEO, event Co-Chair, said, “When we celebrate these remarkable awardees, we remind ourselves of the progress we have made while also finding strength in our community in these challenging times.”

Event Co-Chair Harold Cox, MSSW, Boston University School of Public Health Professor of the Practice in Community Health Sciences, added, “We are fortunate in Massachusetts to have the leadership of MPHA and these worthy awardees to light a path towards our shared vision for healthy, equitable, thriving, and just communities.”