The University of Iowa College of Public Health recently honored four Iowa public health leaders whose work is helping to promote better health, prevent disease, and build stronger communities throughout the state.

The 2025 Iowa Public Health Heroes Awards were presented to Sadie Nolan, senior public health nurse at Linn County Public Health; Nick Salazar, president of the League of United Latin American Citizens Council 371; Kelly Wells Sittig, executive director of the Iowa Cancer Consortium; and Marie Torres, health equity coordinator at Pottawatamie Public Health.

The award recipients were honored Tuesday, April 1, during a reception and awards ceremony at the Public Health Conference of Iowa in Des Moines.

Since 2012, the College of Public Health’s Iowa Public Health Heroes Award program has recognized exceptional efforts by individuals from diverse career paths whose work improves health and wellness throughout Iowa. Award recipients are nominated by their peers in the Iowa public health practice community.

“The health of all Iowans is enhanced through the leadership and service of so many dedicated professionals working in the public health sector,” says Edith Parker, dean of the College of Public Health. “We are proud to honor these four individuals and to recognize their outstanding work in the communities they serve.”

About the Recipients

Sadie Nolan is the senior public health nurse at Linn County Public Health and is the chair of the Linn County Immunization Coalition. She leads county-wide efforts to promote vaccine safety and decrease barriers for individuals seeking access to vaccines.

Sadie is a passionate and dedicated professional and has built countless relationships and collaborations to promote vaccine confidence; from medical providers to school nurses, to local, state, and national partners, she brings people together and works tirelessly to create healthy communities.

Sadie has hosted numerous workshops and educational and promotional events, working to bring vaccines to those with barriers to access. She has been a champion of the Vaccines for Adults program that has provided more than 650 vaccines to individuals in Linn County who do not have health insurance or have health insurance that does not cover the cost of vaccines. Sadie has worked on multiple programs to take vaccines to the wider community, including providing free influenza vaccines at the annual Stand Down event in Linn County for veterans and those who are unhoused.

Nick Salazar currently serves as the president of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) Council 371 in Muscatine, Iowa. He is also the president of the board of the Diversity Service Center of Iowa, an immigrant legal services organization in Muscatine. In addition to his community leadership, Nick works in Muscatine as a Supply Chain Manager at Kraft Heinz, the same company his family members worked for when they moved to Iowa from Texas in the 1960s.

Nick’s nominators wrote that he emerged as a public health leader during the COVID-19 pandemic, when he and other LULAC leaders were some of the first Iowans to sound the alarm about risk to meatpacking workers who were classed as essential workers and continued working in close quarters with limited protections, especially in the early days of the pandemic. Nick and other LULAC leaders advocated for safer working conditions, access to testing and vaccination, and expanded access to pandemic relief resources.

More recently, he has worked with University of Iowa faculty members Nicole Novak and Julianna Pacheco on the Iowa Vital Voices Project, a participatory action research project focused on civic engagement and political voice as a root determinant of health for Latinos in Iowa.

Kelly Wells Sittig is the executive director of the Iowa Cancer Consortium, the state’s comprehensive cancer coalition and has been a critical part of cancer control in Iowa since 2010 when she joined the consortium as the communications coordinator.

In her nomination letter, Natoshia Askelson and colleagues wrote that Kelly’s dedication to building on individual and community strengths is evident in her work. “From cancer survivors to legislators to researchers to non-profit leaders, Kelly knows everyone, and she has an ability to bring together partners,” they wrote. “This skill is particularly important because addressing Iowa’s high cancer rates is becoming increasingly challenging.”

One example of this is the formation of the Environmental Task Force, established in response to community concerns and interests. This task force enables partners to integrate cancer control strategies with environmental considerations and vice versa, fostering a holistic approach to both fields. These connections have been instrumental in fostering collaborations that drive impactful public health initiatives.

Maria Torres is the Health Equity Coordinator at Pottawattamie County Public Health with a passion for community connection and advocating for the rights of those most in need. She founded “The CommUnity Project” as a place where people can convene, find purpose, and build trust. She started the “Wings Around Town” project to bring people together through art. And most recently, helped create “Together for Change,” a program that educates immigrants, refugees, and migrants about their rights and guides them in creating an emergency plan for their home.

Elizabeth Faber, director of the Iowa Immunizes Coalition, said she has “been consistently impressed by Maria’s unwavering dedication to improving public health outcomes” as well as her outstanding interpersonal skills and profound sense of empathy and compassion.

Her nomination letter concludes, “Maria Torres IS a public health hero. With no formal training in public health, she intuitively and deeply understands the values of public health, has and continues to make incalculable improvements in the lives of Iowans, and promotes a broader understanding of public health by honoring lived experiences.”