Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Tribute Awards

Tubman Center for Health & Freedom

Mission

The Tubman Center for Health & Freedom addresses health and wellness from both systemic and clinical approaches. By practicing medicine from the intersection of health and freedom, theyx address both the health of our patients as well as the factors that determine their health. Tubman Health provides primary and preventative care, community resources, social services, political education and advocacy.

A few words from Chief Operating Officer & Founder, Danisha Jefferson-Abye —

 “The Tubman Center for Health & Freedom delivers a model of care rooted in community wisdom and informed by the best of public health practice. Built from the ground up, Tubman Health’s approach integrates high-quality clinical care with community-designed solutions that address the systems that make our communities unwell. Our model centers dignity, trust, and belonging, recognizing that healing happens both inside and beyond the exam room.

Today, Tubman Health operates two community-owned clinics that serve as living examples of what it looks like to reimagine healthcare through the leadership of marginalized communities. Our healing spaces function not only as clinics, but as spaces of restoration, connection, and possibility. In the coming year, we will gather to turn soil on our third and largest clinic, a major milestone in this journey to advance #MedicineforthePeople. 

As an institution rooted in the only municipality named after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., we carry a unique responsibility to practice this vision not as a commemorative ideal, but as a living commitment to justice, equity, and service. Tubman Health is proud to contribute a homegrown solution that reflects this call.

Receiving the UW Medicine Martin Luther King Jr. Distinguished Service Award is both an honor and an affirmation. It recognizes the collective labor of our staff, partners, and community members, and reinforces our commitment to continue building healthcare a model of care that is unshakably rooted in love, accountability, and liberation.”

School of Nursing

Dr. Christine Stevens

Dr. Christine Stevens, PhD, RN is an associate professor in the UW Tacoma School of Nursing & Healthcare Leadership whose work reflects Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s enduring call for justice, compassion, and service. Through community-engaged, participatory research, she partners with underserved communities to address food insecurity and structural inequities that threaten health and dignity. A dedicated educator and mentor, Dr. Stevens empowers students to center equity and advocacy in nursing practice. Her leadership advances systemic change while honoring community voice, fostering belonging, and strengthening pathways toward a more just and caring society.

School of Dentistry

Dr. James E. Newman, Jr., Clinical Associate Professor

Dr. James Newman, Jr. was selected by the UW School of Dentistry to receive this year’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Service award because of his consistent and empathetic presence at the School’s volunteer clinical outreach activities. As a faculty member at these volunteer clinical outreach activities, Dr. Newman not only supervises and instructs dental students who are delivering care, he also mentors and role-models the principles of giving back to the community for them through his selfless service. In partnership with students and other faculty volunteers, he works with community-based organizations that are addressing the systemic barriers to culturally relevant and sensitive healthcare for immigrants and refugees and those organizations addressing the oral health needs of our neighbors and their families who are focusing on breaking the cycles of homelessness, domestic violence or addiction. Students in the School of Dentistry know that Dr. Newman will champion these person-centered volunteer efforts alongside them because of their shared commitment to improving the human condition. Because many of these community-serving events are interprofessional and involve students from the Schools of Medicine, Nursing and MEDEX NW, Dr. Newman’s empathy and influence extend beyond the School of Dentistry. His commitment to service has been recognized by the Academy of General Dentistry by awarding him their Lifetime Learning and Service Recognition Award in 2020. His unwavering dedication as an educator, role model and advocate for vulnerable populations is regularly recognized and appreciated by students, staff and his faculty peers in the School of Dentistry.

School of Social Work

Charlotte J. Sanders MSW, LICSW, Assistant Teaching Professor

Charlotte Sanders joined the School of Social Work in Dec. 2014 as a teaching associate, serving as the field lead for the School’s newly created Northwest Leaders in Behavioral Health Program. Sanders has been involved in social services for more than 22 years, primarily serving Seattle youth and young adults in different homeless service settings and capacities, ranging from direct service, program management and advocacy.

Most recently, she worked with NeighborCare Health’s Homeless Youth Clinic as the youth clinic manager and onsite social worker. She continues to work as an on-call intake social worker for Washington state’s Children’s Administration Central Intake Unit. Prior to moving to the Seattle area, she provided therapy and case management services to children through the Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic located in the same town in which she was raised. Sanders also co-chairs the UW interprofessional course on homelessness.

School of Pharmacy

Alex Tu

The UW School of Pharmacy is proud to announce that Alex Tu, Manager of Academic Operations in the School of Pharmacy, has been selected as the recipient of the 2026 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Service Award.

Alex Tu is a dedicated educator whose work exemplifies Dr. King’s principles of equity, empowerment, and service. In addition to Alex’s outstanding leadership and support within the School of Pharmacy, he also serves as a Co-director with the UW Study abroad program, “Public Health London: Dark Empire – Race, Health & Society in Britain” with creator of this program, Dr. Clarence Spigner. Through this course, Alex mentors interdisciplinary learners to explore healthcare systems and social determinants of health to provide historical context and address current health issues. Alex’s guidance supports inclusion and collaboration among students across pharmacy, public health, and other disciplines at UW.

Alex ensures that service initiatives are culturally responsive and driven by community priorities. Alex’s collaborative leadership style builds strong, inclusive environments where every voice is valued. His work inspires colleagues and students alike, strengthening both academic and neighborhood communities through compassion and collaboration.

School of Public Health

Anjulie Ganti

Anjulie embodies Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s teachings and philosophy through her work and impact on UW and the surrounding community throughout King County and the state; most notably through experiential learning and curriculum design and training. Starting in Autumn 2018, Anjulie worked tirelessly with community partners, faculty, and students to overhaul experiential learning within the Public Health-Global Health (PH-GH) Major and community. Students gained skills around cultural humility, in addition to a foundation in public health, prior to engaging with community-based organizations (CBOs) to learn how to be in community with people because how students show up and interact with others matters.

Anjulie coordinated with community-based organizations such as the Somali Health Board, Vulnerable Populations Strategic Initiative, and UW Disability Advocacy Project, to name a few, to establish projects for 300+ students annually that deepened their learning and applied practice and benefited the organizations and the people served by them. These efforts have resulted in expanded health education, skills development, and awareness for future public health leaders.

Anjulie’s relationships and leadership as a bridge builder with communities is one of the reasons why she is receiving this award. These relationships were not formed in the last month, the last quarter or the last year. These connections were formed from struggle, personal sacrifice, discomfort and sometimes safety. In 2023 Dr Ganti received the Distinguished Teaching Award. That was in recognition of her status as teacher and educator for thousands of students.

Dr Ganti is receiving this year’s SPH Community Service Award for her work in always putting our communities at the center of public health. She is a treasure to all marginalized communities that she has worked with and we hope that we can just take a moment to recognize her for her advocacy for justice and equality, for embodying the spirit of Dr. King, and for taking to heart Dr King’s cry that “injustice in health is the worst injustice of all.”

SPH is grateful to work with her and see the impact she has had with students, faculty, staff, and community partners.

School of Medicine

Dr. Deji Adeniyi 

Dr. Adedeji Adeniyi, who goes by Deji (Day-g), was born in Lagos, Nigeria, and lived in Tacoma, Washington—one of the first places he called home after moving to the United States. He is currently a Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation (PM&R) resident at the University of Washington and completed his intern year at Mount Sinai Morningside–West, where he was honored as Intern of the Year, as voted by his peers. He attended Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons for medical school.

Deji embodies the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. through his commitment to expanding opportunity and breaking down barriers in medicine. As the Founder and Director of the Columbia PM&R Series, he created a nationally recognized pipeline program that provides early specialty exposure, mentorship, and hands-on learning for high school, undergraduate, and pre-medical students from underrepresented and marginalized backgrounds. Each workshop brings together 50–90 students and integrates PM&R with other specialties, including surgery, emergency medicine, orthopedics, and oncology. Through the organization, Deji also mentors trainees in educational research, helping them develop skills in study design, data analysis, and scholarly writing. His leadership has been recognized nationally, including First Place at the Annual Medical Education Conference (AMEC), Best in Medical Education at the Bronx County Medical Society Symposium, and the Panacea Research Grant.

Beyond education, Deji remains deeply involved in service and advocacy. Through a free, student-run clinic, he led care for uninsured and undocumented patients while supporting student volunteers in delivering compassionate, high-quality care. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he also co-founded Mask On, March On, raising over $12,000 and distributing more than 10,000 PPE items to frontline workers.

A former U.S. Fulbright Scholar and proud QuestBridge alumnus, Deji understands firsthand the challenges faced by first-generation, low-income students. He is passionate about paying it forward through mentorship and pipeline programs such as SHPEP, MAPS, and his PM&R Series.

Fun facts: Deji speaks Mandarin Chinese, which he learned while living in Taiwan and China, loves spicy food, and enjoys traveling and learning from different cultures.

Harborview

Vanessa Gray , Tarrell Harrison Jr., Kimmy Siebens, And the 8 East Unit Practice Council team, led by Aaliyah Ismail and Teresa Enloe

Vanessa Gray 

Vanessa Gray serves as the Executive Chef at Harborview Medical Center, overseeing the patient and retail food service menus.  Over the past few years, Chef Vanessa has worked collaboratively with the UW Cultural Observances Implementation Subcommittee (COIS) to develop a cohesive observance plan for the cultures we celebrate, leading the way for UW Medicine in menu development.  Chef Vanessa uses her passion for food history and recipe creating to bring culturally diverse foods into a space where others can taste and learn about traditions different from their own. Each month, including Black Hisotry Month, Asian Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander (ANHPI) month, Pride month, Latinae/Hispanic Heritage month and Native American Heritage month feature recipes from chefs who identify with the culture and their bios are featured in the cafeteria and online.  Additionally, Chef Vanessa has sought out recipes from nations within each larger observance group, recognizing that even within one culture, there are many sub-cultures to celebrate.  Black History month includes Southern fare, in addition to some items from Jamaica and Haiti and other countries.  ANHPI month highlights dishes from countries including the Philippines, South Korea, Japan, China and India, among others and from Hawaii. Chef Vanessa’s express goal is to give significance and exposure to the variety of cultures around us because as we grow infamiliarity, we grow in empathy. 

Tarrell Harrison Jr. 

Tarrell is a Violence Prevention Specialist on the Violence Intervention and Prevention Program (VIPP) team at Harborview. Tarrell works with patients and families impacted by gun violence while they are inpatient at the hospital and beyond–in particular, youth and spinal cord injury patients. Tarrell spends hours cultivating rapport and relationships with these patients. He is so kind and calm with staff and families. He sits with them–for hours if needed. He is able to exist in these challenging situations with patients and families and just provide space for them to express difficult emotions. He is also a champion of helping patients advocate and of cultivating the relationship between patient and provider. Gun violence disproportionately impacts communities of color and Tarrell not only supports the community with his role at HMC but also his work at the local community centers where he engages in mentoring and coaching. As the patients discharge back to their communities, Tarrell makes sure that they are connected to the wrap-around services that will help them navigate their return life after admission to the hospital. He has participated in many educational trainings for HMC staff about gun violence and trauma informed care and has volunteered at Stop the Bleed trainings for our community-based organizations (a lifesaving program designed to teach individuals how to respond effectively to severe bleeding emergencies before professional help arrives). Tarrell’s signature style of clothing always brings a smile from everyone whose path he crosses. 

Kimmy Siebens, RN 

Kimmy is an RN on 9MB, Trauma/Surgical ICU.  Kimmy is a force to be reckoned with; she runs two non-profits over in Bremerton. One helps the unhoused and people on low/fixed incomes with veterinary care for their pets and the other helps the unhoused community with a variety of issues. Kimmy has selflessly dedicated many hours of unpaid time to helping the unhoused community in Bremerton and she has frequently battled law enforcement and local councils/government in fighting for the rights of this group of people. She is a regular at local council meetings, fighting for the rights of the underserved population in her community and is a general bug in the ear of local councilors to make sure that the voices within this population are heard at all levels and that their needs are not overlooked. She has helped countless individuals and families back into housing and works through her network of contacts, supporting people in all aspects of this journey. She also helps people get into treatment/detox for substance abuse. The people that Kimmy so selflessly helps are not just names on a piece of paper.  They become her friends and they know that if Kimmy can help she will help. Kimmy regularly holds giveaways of pet food and pet supplies to pets in need and she has helped countless pets get the veterinary care they desperately need–all at no cost to the pet owner. Kimmy wants everyone in the Bremerton community the thrive and prosper and with her help they are doing that. 

The 8EH Unit Practice Council (UPC), led by Aaliyah Ismail & Teresa Enloe 

The 8EH Unit Practice Council has demonstrated exceptional commitment to health equity and patient empowerment through their innovative wound care education initiative. This project addresses a critical gap: nursing staff on the 8E burn unit identified a knowledge gap in providing wound care education to refugee, immigrant, and asylum-seeking patients with limited English proficiency. In response, the UPC is collaborating with EthnoMed and Interpreter Services to develop multilingual burn wound care education videos and translate discharge teaching handouts into the most used languages at Harborview Medical Center. These resources, designed for low-literacy audiences and shared via accessible platforms like YouTube, ensure patients receive clear, culturally appropriate guidance for post-discharge care. By removing language and literacy barriers, the UPC empowers patients to manage their recovery confidently and safely, directly addressing community needs and improving the human condition. Their work exemplifies Martin Luther King Jr.’s principles and the theme “Mission Possible: Building Community Together We Rise,” making the 8EH UPC a truly deserving nominee for the 2026 MLK Jr. Community Service Award. 

UWMC

Drs Nico Fesser and Boris Pavic, Emergency Medicine Residency/Department of Emergency Medicine

Dr. Nicolas Fesser and Dr. Boris Pavic are fourth-year Emergency Medicine residents at the University of Washington, classmates, roommates, and close friends whose shared work reflects a deep commitment to equity, dignity, and community partnership. Dr. Fesser founded Fesser and Friends as a 2nd year medical student. Since then, this U.S.-based nonprofit has been dedicated to supporting children affected by armed conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, and during their intern year, while living together in a small downtown Seattle apartment, recruited Dr. Pavic to serve as the organization’s Director of External Affairs. 

Together, they lead Fesser and Friends in close collaboration with Congolese organizations and community leaders to address child soldier recruitment and underage sexual exploitation, while supporting long-term rehabilitation for children affected by violence and displacement in eastern DRC. During their residency, they have traveled to the region twice, using their own funds and vacation time to support the mission. This commitment has included work in Goma during periods of acute instability, including following the M23 takeover, when many international organizations, including the United Nations, were withdrawing from the area. Their work has supported hundreds of children through safe housing, access to education, trauma-informed mental health care, family reunification, and vocational training, and has provided more than 200,000 meals to children and families. Central to their approach is the belief that meaningful, lasting change occurs when communities define their own solutions. 

Rather than imposing external models, Drs. Fesser and Pavic prioritize building local capacity and leadership. They employ Congolese staff at fair wages, invest in vocational pathways including carpentry, agriculture, mechanics, and tailoring, and support children in reclaiming not only safety, but childhood itself. Their work is carried out in partnership with Congolese organizations such as World Hope Givers, which guide regional child-protection efforts and collaborate with government and international partners. Together, they have helped establish rehabilitation centers, resupply schools, train local teachers, and, most recently, support a clean-water initiative led entirely through local decision-making. 

Within UW Medicine, Drs. Fesser and Pavic are recognized for their commitment to equitable, compassionate patient care, advocacy for vulnerable and marginalized patients, and dedication to resident education and mentorship. They have been actively involved in fostering community within the emergency department through collaboration, peer support, and service initiatives that strengthen connections across residents, nurses, faculty, and staff. None of this work would be possible without the UW Medicine community. Through creative, community-driven fundraisers, including neighborhood block parties and a sold-out event aboard the Hiyu ferry on Lake Washington, they have brought together residents, faculty, nurses, and staff from across multiple UW Medicine campuses. These gatherings have served not only to raise critical support but to cultivate shared purpose and collective ownership in a mission that extends far beyond Seattle. Through this shared commitment, the work happening in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has been carried forward by the generosity and solidarity of the UW community. 

Next year, following graduation from UW, Dr. Fesser will be joining Stanford University, and Dr. Pavic will be joining the University of Pennsylvania as a Global Health fellows. Their continued paths reflect an enduring commitment to humanitarian service and to carrying this collaborative mission forward. 

UW Medicine Primary Care

Karen Figueroa

Karen is at the heart of the primary care equity, diversity and inclusion committee. If there is any initiative that requires a push to help UW Primary care be a more inclusive place, you can bet that Karen is there, making sure no one gets left behind, making sure no one is forgotten and reminding us all that our diversity is our strength. Karen is able to see nuances of bias and works to address them. She does all of this with steadfastness, determination, and collaboration. Karen exemplifies true leadership and unwavering commitment to addressing community needs. As a co-lead for our EDI workgroup, she demonstrates a deep passion for promoting cultural history and knowledge across all entities. Her dedication extends beyond policy—she has spearheaded impactful projects for our clinics to give back to the community, including clothing drives and our newest initiative, the shared food pantry. Through these efforts, Karen continues to inspire and lead by example.

UWMC

Patti Noritake Matsuda, PT, PhD, DPT

Patti Noritake Matsuda, PT, PhD, DPT is a physical therapist and Associate Professor in the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine and is the Director of Service Learning and Community Engagement, and a Co-Director, UW-EvergreenHealth Physical Therapy Neurologic Residency Program in the Division of Physical Therapy. Her clinical and research experience and interest is in the area of falls and fall prevention in various patient populations including older adults and those with neurologic diagnoses, and neurorehabilitation. She is passionate about service learning in and one of her greatest joys is working with students in various community settings, seeing their enthusiasm working with those in need of their services and having them recognize how much they have to offer others. She serves on the UW SoM Service Learning Advisory Committee (SLAC), the Interprofessional Service Learning Advisory Committee (IPSLAC), and works on developing interprofessional opportunities for service learning.          

Sponsored by the UW Health Sciences Services and the UW Medicine Office of Healthcare Equity.