Sedessie Spivey, DBA, MS, received the Al Dohany Community Service Award during the 2022 GPHA Annual Meeting and Conference on Jekyll Island. Established in 1999, the Al Dohany Award for Community Service honors public health leader, Al Dohany, who was highly respected among his peers and who made great contributions to the promotion of public health through his work with family connection and community groups at the local level. This award is presented annually to an individual who has made a positive contribution to community health through collaboration with the community and its leaders.

Dr. Spivey is the Manager of the Department of Health Assessment and Promotion, as well as the Planning Section Chief for the Incident Command Structure at DeKalb County Board of Health (DCBOH). She is a dedicated public health leader who has forged close partnerships between the DCBOH and local community organizations and leaders to address health disparities and achieve vital public health goals in DeKalb County.

Dr. Spivey has spearheaded and expanded numerous DeKalb County community health initiatives, including CDC’s Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH), the Men’s Health Clinic, the Park Prescription Celebration, the Minority Youth Violence Prevention Project, and the Center for Urban Research, Development, Sustainability, and Evaluation (CURDSE).

Furthermore, throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, she has led the effort for community outreach to ensure DeKalb County residents have access to COVID-19 vaccinations through DCBOH’s mobile health clinics. Her collaborative, community-centric efforts have served to improve health outcomes for all who live and work in DeKalb County.