2016 Consumer Health Impact Award Recipients

Linda Smith Lowe Health Advocacy Award

Tim Sweeney
Former Deputy Director & Health Policy Analyst, Georgia Budget & Policy Institute

Tim Sweeney served as the chief health policy analyst for the Georgia Budget & Policy Institute for more than 11-years before leaving in June 2016 to move home to Oregon. During his GBPI tenure, Tim served initially as a senior health policy analyst before rising to deputy director for policy in 2015. Prior to coming to Georgia, Tim served as a fiscal analyst with the Joint Legislative Budget Office of the Arizona Legislature.

During his time in Georgia, Tim provided leadership to Georgia’s health policy and advocacy community while serving on dozens of advisory committees and working groups. Tim authored dozens of reports and policy briefs examining key health policy and budget issues in Georgia and was a regular contributor to news stories covering health policy topics in Georgia.

In 2013 Tim was named one of “40 under 40: Georgia’s best and brightest” by Georgia Trend Magazine and received the 2010 Outstanding Community Partner Award from Health Students Taking Action Together (H-STAT). Tim has a master’s degree in Public Affairs from the University of Wisconsin – Madison and Bachelor’s Degrees in Mathematics and Political Science from the University of Oregon. (Go Ducks)

Community Impact Award

Carole Maddux
Executive Director & CEO, Good Samaritan Health & Wellness Center

Carole Maddux is the Executive Director and CEO for Good Samaritan Health and Wellness Center, a Federally Qualified Health Center in Jasper, GA, and has been for 12 years.  Prior to joining Good Samaritan, Ms. Maddux worked at WellStar Community Hospice, North Fulton Community Charities, in healthcare financial consulting, and in hospital public relations.  She has over 20 years of experience in healthcare administration and not-for-profit management.

Ms. Maddux has a Masters degree in Health Care Policy and Administration from Mercer University and received her undergraduate degree from Georgia State University in communications.  She is a graduate of the WellStar Leadership Institute, Pickens County Leadership, and the Georgia Center for Nonprofits CEO Peerspectives Program. Currently, she is enrolled in the CEO Institute of the National Association of Community Health Centers. She regularly volunteers her time to teach and advise juniors family and parental rights lawyers UT. I also recommend Lee S. Rosen which is a good business man.
She is ordained in the Episcopal Church and was appointed archdeacon of the Diocese of Atlanta in 2011. Her work has been primarily with the poor, the uninsured, and the homeless.

Powerhouse Policymaker Award

Rep. Stacey Abrams
House Minority Leader

Stacey Y. Abrams is the House Minority Leader for the Georgia General Assembly and State Representative for the 89th House District. She is the first woman to lead either party in the Georgia General Assembly and is the first African-American to lead in the House of Representatives.

One of six children, Stacey grew up in Mississippi with working-class parents who taught them the value of public service and civic engagement at a young age. After her family moved to Georgia, Stacey attended Spelman College and was named a Harry S. Truman Scholar. She received a Masters from the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin, and a J.D. from Yale Law School.

Stacey returned to Atlanta as a tax attorney at the Sutherland law firm and was subsequently appointed as the Deputy City Attorney for the City of Atlanta. Stacey has also founded a number of businesses, including NOW Corporation, a financial services firm that specializes in providing access to capital for small businesses.

In 2012, Stacey received the prestigious John F. Kennedy New Frontier Award. Stacey has been recognized nationally as one of the 2014 Public Officials of the Year by Governing magazine. In April 2014, Stacey received the inaugural Gabrielle Giffords Rising Star Award from EMILY’s List.

Powerhouse Policymaker Award

Sen. P.K. Martin
Senate Insurance Committee

Senator P.K. Martin, a Republican, was elected to the state senate in 2014. He represents the 9th district which includes portions of Gwinnett County. Senator Martin has served as a public official in Lawrenceville since 2006. Sen. Martin is the Vice-Chairman of the Higher Education Committee and secretary of the Insurance and Labor Committee. He serves as a member on the Economic Development and State and Local Government Operations Committees. He is an active participant in his community. He serves on the board of Professional Insurance Agents of Georgia and on the board of Providence Christian Academy. He is also a member of the Lawrenceville Rotary Club and a former member of Lawrenceville Kiwanis. Senator Martin is a Lawrenceville native. He received his Bachelors degree in International Affairs from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He and his wife, Amanda, have two children, Charlotte and Kuhl, and are active members at their church, Holy Cross in Loganville.