OVERLAND PARK – The Kansas Public Health Association has awarded Sunflower Foundation President and CEO Brandon Skidmore with the 2024 Samuel J. Crumbine Medal, the highest award given by the organization.
Winners of the award, named after KPHA founder and internationally renowned public health leader Dr. Samuel J. Crumbine, are selected for their meritorious service and state, regional or national recognition related to the improvement of the health of Kansans and/or the environment of the state.
“What a privilege to join a phenomenal lineage of previous award winners, many of whom continue and have been mentors in my journey throughout public health,” Skidmore said in accepting the award on Sept. 12 at the KPHA annual conference in Overland Park.
In introducing Skidmore, KPHA President Ruaa Hassaballa recognized him for his dedication, innovation and leadership over the course of a more than 20-year career in public health in Kansas and called him an “exemplary role model” and “deserving recipient” of the prestigious Crumbine medal.
“His colleagues and partners have consistently observed his exceptional leadership and dedication, noting his ability to foster strong partnerships and develop influential national allies,” Hassaballa said, also acknowledging Skidmore’s commitment to serving on the KPHA board for the past eight years. “ … While it is his last year as a board member, we look forward to working with him as a public health leader driving change in the state.”
Over his eight years with Sunflower Foundation, Skidmore has worked to develop regional and national partnerships that leverage the work of the foundation and its grantees. Prior to being named president and CEO in April, he oversaw the foundation’s work in public health, mental health, primary and acute care, and integrated care, which unites primary care and behavioral care into one seamless system.
In that time, he has helped elevate the foundation’s work in integrated care, an initiative that has grown to include support for rural health clinics across the state, and has been a leader in advancing the foundation’s investments in public health in Kansas and its work with national funders to develop recommendations to modernize the U.S. public health system.
Skidmore earned a Bachelor of Arts in Biology from the University of Kansas before embarking on a career in public health, including a 13-year stint in state government, where he served in a variety of leadership positions within the Kansas Department of Health and Environment’s (KDHE) Bureau of Health Promotion. Prior to his time at KDHE, he served as a public health consultant, providing support to community coalitions and nonprofit organizations from across the country working to improve the health of their communities.
Skidmore told the public health leaders from across the state who were in attendance that the accomplishments he has achieved over his career were not his alone.
“It takes all of us and then some to do the work and achieve the goals that we hope to achieve in our communities,” Skidmore said.
See a list of past winners of the Samuel J. Crumbine Medal.