Award criteria for all awards:

Process for Nominations:

• Nominations open June 1^st and close June 30^th
• A call for nominations will be sent out in the CFHA Newsletter, Listserv, and social media channels by CFHA staff and SIG leadership when applicable.
• Nominations must come from the membership-at-large, and self-nominations will be accepted for all awards. Current Board members and SIG leadership are not eligible to participate in the nomination process, nor can they be nominated for an award.
• A nomination consists of a 1000-word or less statement that describes why this person, organization, or team is uniquely qualified for an award using the form below.

Selection Process:

• Nominations are submitted to SIG Leadership for review and/or the Board for approval to certify the nominees are eligible for selection.
• After viewing each statement of nomination, all current CFHA members may vote for their selection (or abstain from voting if they choose to do so).
• After the voting is complete, one nominee for each award will be submitted to the Board of Directors for final endorsement (no specific scoring process will be used in this final selection process completed by the Board)
• If there is not a nomination for an award submitted between June 1^st and June 30^th, that award will not be given that year.

Notification to Awardee:

• The nominator and awardee will be notified in August by the CFHA BOD president or staff, ahead of the 2025 conference where the awardee will be publicly acknowledged. Awardees will receive:
  • a plaque or gift
  • 50% off conference registration the following year (2026) – This discount is not transferable to another year. In the event that multiple individuals or an organization is nominated, only one of the nominees will be selected to receive the 50% discount.
  • Recognition on the website, conference app, and signage at the conference
• The awardee will be made aware of who nominated them for the award.

Award to Be Conferred When:

• To be conferred at the annual conference, the specific time to be determined by the conference committee and staff for that year.

This award is the quintessential organizational award for members who have advanced the field of collaborative care, and who show intellectual, behavioral, and relational qualities that exemplify Don’s excellence and contributions.

Dr. Mike Bruner is a shining example of these ideals, embodying the spirit of integrated care through his profound commitment to connection, mentorship, and community-building. Throughout his career, Dr. Bruner has made a lasting impact on the field not only through his clinical and academic contributions, but through the way he brings people together—creating inclusive, uplifting spaces where learners and colleagues feel welcomed, supported, and inspired.

From his early days as a graduate student passionate about integrated care research to his current role as a trusted supervisor, educator, and leader, Dr. Bruner has remained a steadfast advocate for collaborative practice and training the next generation. He is widely recognized as a generous contributor within the CFHA community, always willing to share knowledge, offer guidance, and provide encouragement. His mentorship has served as a guidepost for many professionals navigating their own paths in integrated care, with ripple effects that extend far beyond his immediate team.

Dr. Bruner exemplifies Don Bloch’s legacy through his warmth, intellectual humility, and unwavering dedication to advancing integrated healthcare. His ability to foster meaningful relationships, cultivate supportive learning environments, and champion the values of compassion and collaboration makes him an extraordinary recipient of the Don Bloch Award.

This award recognizes individuals who have made outstanding contributions to health care through their commitment and use of the Collaborative Care (CoCM) model.

Clare McNutt, PA-C, MSHS, is a nationally recognized leader in behavioral health integration and an extraordinary champion of the Collaborative Care Model. For more than 15 years, Clare has advanced integrated care through clinical innovation, operational leadership, and policy advocacy, always grounded in a deep commitment to equity, access, and whole-person health.

As Senior Vice President of Health System Integration at the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute, Clare leads multidisciplinary efforts supporting health systems across 19 states in implementing and sustaining evidence-based collaborative care programs, particularly CoCM. Her ability to bridge frontline clinical realities with large-scale systems transformation has helped expand the reach of integrated behavioral health care—from pilot initiatives to multi-state adoption and Medicaid reimbursement reform. Clare’s work powerfully demonstrates that CoCM improves outcomes for patients, providers, and communities alike.

In addition to her implementation and policy expertise, Clare is a passionate educator and generous mentor. Serving as affiliate faculty at Dell Medical School and assistant clinical professor at George Washington University, she invests deeply in training the next generation of integrated care professionals. Through national webinars, conferences, and hands-on guidance, she empowers teams to deliver collaborative care across pediatric, adult, perinatal, and specialty settings.

Clare McNutt exemplifies the spirit of this award through her transformational leadership, unwavering dedication to accessible mental health care, and tireless advancement of the Collaborative Care Model as a standard of care.

This award recognizes individuals, teams, and organizations who have made outstanding contributions to pediatric behavioral health care through their commitment to improving youth health under a holistic, integrated, and equitable lens.

Stacey Ouellette, LCSW, has been a guiding force in pediatric behavioral health integration within MaineHealth for nearly a decade, serving as a dedicated program leader, system advocate, and the heart and soul of integrated care across the region. As the leader of MaineHealth’s expansive Behavioral Health Integration (BHI) program—one of the largest in the country—Stacey provides visionary leadership to more than 100 behavioral health clinicians embedded in over 75 primary care, specialty care, and school-based health settings.

A central focus of Stacey’s work has been advancing integrated behavioral health programming for children, youth, and families. Under her leadership, behavioral health clinicians are now integrated into every pediatric practice across the system, ensuring that young patients receive timely, holistic, and equitable support. Stacey has also played a key role in securing grant funding to expand services, including the development of Early Child Development Specialists who partner directly with pediatric teams to provide caregiver education and help families access critical resources.

Stacey serves as the Behavioral Health Lead for the MaineHealth ACES (Adverse Childhood Experiences) and Resiliency Program, spearheading implementation of innovative care team models designed to assess, intervene, and monitor pediatric adversity, developmental concerns, behavioral health symptoms, and health-related social needs. Her efforts have helped spread trauma-informed, resiliency-building practices across MaineHealth through consistent screening, coordinated workflows, and integrated support services.

An accomplished clinician and educator, Stacey has led or contributed to more than 40 trainings with over 2,000 participants, strengthening system-wide capacity to respond to the pediatric mental health crisis with compassion, consistency, and evidence-based care. Known for her integrity, collaborative spirit, and commitment to doing what is right, Stacey continues to break down barriers between medical and behavioral health care while inspiring trust, empowerment, and innovation across teams.

Stacey Ouellette exemplifies the present and future of pediatric behavioral health integration, and her leadership has made a lasting difference for children, youth, and families throughout Maine and beyond.

This award recognizes individuals who have made outstanding contributions to health care through their commitment and use of the Primary Care Behavioral Health (PCBH) model.

Dr. Stacy A. Ogbeide is a nationally recognized leader in integrated care whose dedication, scholarship, and service have profoundly advanced the Primary Care Behavioral Health (PCBH) model across clinical, academic, and policy settings. As a board-certified clinical health psychologist, Dr. Ogbeide has extensive experience delivering high-fidelity PCBH services while also training and mentoring the next generation of behavioral health consultants.

Serving as Associate Professor and Assistant Dean for Faculty at UT Health San Antonio, Dr. Ogbeide has led interprofessional training initiatives that embed behavioral health into primary care environments and support diverse patient populations across the lifespan. Her work spans pediatric, adult, geriatric, medically complex, and underserved communities, reflecting the flexibility and reach of PCBH when implemented with excellence and equity at the forefront.

Dr. Ogbeide is also a prolific scholar and editor, with more than 60 peer-reviewed publications focused on integrated care, supervision, workforce development, and health equity. Her contributions to supervision competencies, brief interventions, and team-based care have helped define best practices in PCBH implementation. She has also played a critical role in workforce development through multiple HRSA-funded initiatives designed to expand access to integrated care in underserved settings.

Beyond her clinical and academic achievements, Dr. Ogbeide is a trusted national leader within the integrated care community. She has served on the Board of Directors for the Collaborative Family Healthcare Association, contributed to the AHRQ-sponsored National Integration Academy Council, and advised national organizations on clinical guidelines, billing structures, and sustainable care delivery.

Through her humility, rigor, compassion, and unwavering commitment to equity, Dr. Ogbeide exemplifies the very best of Primary Care Behavioral Health and is richly deserving of recognition for her outstanding contributions to the field.

This competitive award supports the work of a trainee or early career professional whose research project significantly contributes to the field of integrated care. CFHA is proud to support Mara Sindoni’s project entitled, “Assessing Patient Satisfaction in Primary Care Behavioral Health (PCBH): The Psychometric Validation of a Patient Satisfaction Measure for PCBH Settings.”

Integrated health care exists on a spectrum of collaboration, with the Primary Care Behavioral Health (PCBH) model representing one of the highest levels of integration by embedding behavioral health consultants directly within primary care teams. Although PCBH has been widely implemented and is hypothesized to improve access, patient experience, and clinical outcomes, rigorous research evaluating its benefits—particularly in the area of patient satisfaction—remains limited.

Mara’s project addresses a critical gap in the integrated care literature by piloting and validating a newly developed, multidimensional measure of patient satisfaction designed specifically for PCBH settings. Existing tools often fail to capture the unique elements of behavioral health care delivered in primary care, such as coordination between providers, ease of referral, access to services, and patient-centered communication.

The two aims of Mara’s project are: (1) to pilot this measure of patient satisfaction with PCBH services across a system of integrated primary care clinics in South Central Appalachia, and (2) to assess its psychometric properties, including validity, reliability, and factor structure. By strengthening the ability of researchers and healthcare systems to evaluate patient-centered outcomes in PCBH, this work will provide an important foundation for improving quality and advancing the evidence base for integrated care.

CFHA is proud to support Mara Sindoni’s promising contributions to the future of Primary Care Behavioral Health research and practice.