Jessie Menkens to Receive Families USA Health Care Advocate of the Year Award

Washington, D.C. – Families USA announced today that Jessie Menkens, Navigator Program Coordinator for the Alaska Primary Care Association, will be presented with this year’s Health Advocate Award in honor of her outstanding outreach and enrollment contributions on behalf of Alaska’s health care consumers.

“Jessie has devoted her career to helping her fellow Alaskans get access to quality, affordable health care,” said Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA. “Her tireless work shows the difference dedicated individuals can make in charting a better health care course for their state and nation.”

The award will be presented Friday, Feb. 17, at an awards luncheon on the second day of Families USA’s 22nd Annual Health Action Conference.

In her current job, Menkens manages a statewide navigator program, oversees a team of navigators, manages the “Get Covered Alaska” outreach campaigns, and acts as a spokesperson for the Affordable Care Act in Alaska.

Prior to her work with the Alaska Primary Care Association, Menkens worked for the Alaska Community Foundation. Prior to her time at the Foundation she worked for over five years at Thread, Alaska’s early care and education referral network.

In her personal time, Ms. Menkens has helped create nonpartisan citizen coalitions to advocate for high-quality public education, and successfully helped advocate for Medicaid expansion in Alaska. She currently serves on the nonpartisan National Enrollment Steering Committee, sponsored by Families USA. In addition, she is co-facilitator of the Alaska ACA Educators Coalition, a founding member of Great Alaska Schools, and serves on the Advisory Board at the Anchorage Community House, LLC.