Celebrating friends and leaders!

MAMH's Annual Friend & Leader Award Dinner salutes individuals whose work contributes to progress in awareness, health promotion, prevention, and effective treatment for children and adults affected by mental health challenges throughout Massachusetts.

Join us on May 21, 2026, at the Seaport Hotel Boston to celebrate this year's awardees!

Sarah Iselin

President and CEO, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts
2026 Friend and Leader Award

Hon. Martin J. Walsh

Executive Director, National Hockey League Players Association (NHLPA)
2026 Spirit of Compassion Award

Howard Trachtman

Co-Founder, Metro Boston Recovery Learning Community and NAMI Greater Boston Consumer Advocacy Network
2026 Lifetime Achievement Award

Sponsorships and tickets for this year's event are now available!

Learn more

Past Honorees

Friend & Leader Award

  • Center for Public Representation and Foley Hoag, 2024
  • Michael Curry, 2023
  • Susan and Steve Pollock, 2022
  • Johnson & Johnson, Moderna & Pfizer, 2021
  • Robert F. Rivers, 2020
  • Hon. Karen E. Spilka, 2019
  • Hon. Robert A. DeLeo, 2018
  • Hon. Joe Kennedy, 2017
  • Bernard J. Carey, 2016
  • Andrew Dreyfus, 2015
  • Timothy R. Murphy
  • Nick Littlefield
  • Peter J. Scanlon, PhD
  • Jerrold Rosenbaum, MD
  • John E. Drew

Spirit of Compassion Award

  • Lyndia Downie, 2023
  • First Lady of the Commonwealth Lauren Baker, 2022
  • Sen. Julian Cyr & Rep. Marjorie Decker, 2021
  • Hon. Cindy Friedman, 2020
  • Matt Fishman, 2019
  • Audrey Shelto, 2018
  • Joy B. Rosen, 2017
  • Joan Mikula, 2016
  • Jean & James Hunt, 2015
  • Hon. Martin Walsh, 2014
  • Deborah Enos, 2013
  • Steven A. Tolman, 2012
  • Victoria Reggie Kennedy, 2011
  • Hon. Therese Murray, 2010

Partners in Progress Award

  • Senator Cynthia Stone Creem, Representative Ruth B. Balser, and Representative Kay Khan, 2024
  • Representative Sean Garballey, 2022
  • Gov. Charlie Baker, Health and Human Services Sec. Marylou Sudders, Senate Pres. Karen Spilka & House Speaker Ronald Mariano, 2021
  • Vic DiGravio, 2019
  • Mathieu Bermingham, MD, 2018
  • Hon. Frederick Berry, 2017
  • Hon. Brian Dempsey, 2016
  • Timothy O'Leary, 2016

Youth Mental Health Advocacy Award

  • Dr. Kevin Churchwell and Boston Children's Hospital, 2023
  • UMass President Marty Meehan, 2022

Special Recognition Award

  • Gemima St. Louis, PhD; President Nicholas Covino, PsyD; and William James College, 2024
  • WCVB Channel 5, 2021
  • Hon. Seth Moulton, 2020
  • Lisa Fortuna, MD, 2019

Lifetime Achievement Award

  • Dr. Mary Jane England, 2021
  • James T. Brett, 2018
  • Phil Johnston, 2017

Lifetime Advocacy Award

  • MAMH Governing Board Member Joseph D. Feaster, Jr., 2022


Dr. Mary Jane England sits with two members of her family outside at the 2021 Friend & Leader Award Dinner. They are all smiling and leaning in towards one another with a backdrop of Adirondack chairs and outdoor lights.
Guest emcee Karen Holmes Ward, of WCVB Channel 5, stands behind a podium smiling at the 2021 MAMH Friend & Leader Award Dinner. She's set along a backdrop of blue and black curtains, with a few crowd members applauding in the foreground.

Past Friend & Leader Programming

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