Awards

Cross Cultural Innovation and Engagement Award

This award honors effective efforts to ensure that diversity and inclusion are high priorities within NAMI.

Exemplary Psychiatrist Awards

This award honors psychiatrists who have made exceptional contributions to improve the lives of people living with mental health conditions.

For the 2023 Exemplary Psychiatrist Award, an individual must have set an example for his or her professional colleagues. NAMI wants to recognize those psychiatrists who have made substantial contributions to NAMI Affiliate or NAMI State Organization activities. These are the doctors who have “gone the extra mile” with NAMI members in ways such as

Working alongside NAMI members for access to care, research, funding, or other NAMI priorities,
Ensuring that the NAMI perspective helps shape state and local services,
Providing comprehensive treatment to people with mental illness including medical, rehabilitative and social needs,
Educating family members and/or people with mental illness, andEducating the public and fighting against prejudice and discrimination.
Nominees must not have received this award in previous years. Check out the list of all previous award winners.

The submission must be from a board officer or the executive director of the NAMI State Organization or NAMI Affiliate. Members may make personal nominations, but those nominations will need to be sent from a NAMI State Organization or NAMI Affiliate board officer or executive director.

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Joyce Burland Inspiration Award

This award honors a NAMI staff member or volunteer who has demonstrated creativity, dedication and resourcefulness to offer or expand NAMI’s national education programs, and who has served as an inspiration to families, individuals with a mental health condition or the general public through their work with NAMI programs.

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Lionel Aldridge Champions Award

This award honors an individual with mental illness who demonstrates courage, leadership and service in their work to promote recovery and ensure that all people with mental illness live full lives in their communities.

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Outstanding NAMI Affiliate Award

This award honors a NAMI Affiliate that demonstrates exceptional leadership, strong community presence, outreach to diverse communities and exemplary stewardship of the NAMI mission and Standards of Excellence.

For 2023, we invite nominations that recognize NAMI Affiliates who have substantially contributed to one of our 3 strategic goals:

People Get Help Early,
People Get the Best Possible Care, or
People Get Diverted from Justice System Involvement.

The NAMI Affiliate must be in good standing with NAMI National.

Self-nominations are accepted.

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Outstanding NAMI State Organization

This award honors a NAMI State Organization that demonstrates exceptional leadership, strong state or community presence, outreach to diverse communities, and exemplary stewardship of the NAMI mission and Standards of Excellence.

For 2023, we invite nominations that recognize NAMI State Organizations who have substantially contributed to one of our 3 strategic goals:

People Get Help Early,
People Get the Best Possible Care, or
People Get Diverted from Justice System Involvement.

The NAMI State Organization must be in good standing with NAMI National.

Self-nominations are accepted.

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Richard and Betsy Greer Advocacy Award

This award honors NAMI advocates whose leadership and vision has advanced policy and advocacy efforts that impact individuals living with mental illness and their families.

For 2023, we invite nominations that recognize individuals who have substantially advanced policy or advocacy related to our strategic goal of People Get Diverted from Justice System Involvement — whether 988 specifically or crisis response more generally.

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Rona and Ken Purdy Award for Distinguished Service

This award honors an individual or organization whose has raised public awareness, reduced stigma and advanced our mission to build better lives for people with mental illness and their families.

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Sam Cochran Criminal Justice Award

This award honors an exemplary individual whose work in the criminal justice system has improved the fair and humane treatment of people with mental illness.

For 2023, we invite nominations that recognize individuals who have substantially contributed to our strategic goal of People Get Diverted from Justice System Involvement.

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Young Leader Award

This award honors a youth or young adult (age 25 and under) who exemplifies exceptional leadership among their peers to foster a culture of recovery and resiliency that helps young people with mental illness live full lives in their communities.

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