The University of Wisconsin Department of Family Medicine and Community Health recently celebrated the 25th anniversary of the McGovern-Tracy Awards. Established in 2001, the awards honor Isabel McGovern Kerr and her family’s legacy as primary care physicians in Wisconsin, as well as Michele Tracy, a medical student whose commitment to service continues to inspire new generations of physicians to care for both their patients and communities.
Michele Tracy’s family honors her legacy at the McGovern-Tracy Awards. From left: Dera Johnsen-Tracy, Brandon Tracy, Layla Tracy, Candi Tracy, and Dan Tracy.
A commemorative video marking the anniversary featured reflections from Tracy’s brother, Brandon Tracy, who remembered his sister with warmth and humor. He spoke of her love of the outdoors, her jubilant personality, and unwavering dedication to helping people in need. “She had a bigger goal for community health,” he recalled, adding that the awards seek to honor her spirit. “We look for those types of people in our community who are pursuing an endeavor, a goal, or a mission that’s bigger than them.” This commitment to community service connects Michele Tracy to the McGovern-Tracy Scholarship recipients and to community health leaders like the night’s keynote speaker, Dr. Kjersti Knox.
Knox is a nationally recognized leader in community‑engaged medicine and medical education at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. An alumna of the school and director of the Training in Urban Medicine and Public Health (TRIUMPH) program, she has devoted her career to preparing physicians to partner authentically with communities to advance health equity. In introducing her, Dr. Dave Rakel emphasized that “community engagement is the hard, messy work — but it’s essential,” underscoring the central theme of Knox’s remarks: that caring for patients begins with caring for the communities in which they live.
Dr. Kjersti Knox delivers the keynote address at the 25th annual McGovern-Tracy Awards.
Knox reflected on the people and communities that have shaped her work, thanking her family, mentors, colleagues, and the students she has taught and learned from over nearly 15 years in medical education. She described the TRIUMPH program’s mission as an effort to ask, and continually expand, a fundamental question: “Who has access to health care in our country?” Through immersive training in Milwaukee and long‑standing partnerships with more than 50 community organizations, trainees learn to care for underserved populations while building leadership and advocacy skills to change systems of care. Knox emphasized that this community‑engaged approach is rooted in family medicine’s tradition of partnership, humility, and shared leadership with neighbors outside of the clinic.
Learn more about Kjersti Knox, MD
She also acknowledged the tension of practicing medicine amid current social and policy challenges, describing a “split‑screen life” that holds both struggle and hope. Sharing stories from patients facing profound uncertainty to trainees and community partners modeling resilience, Knox illustrated what she calls asset‑based community medicine — an approach that holds hard truths while intentionally cultivating strengths. In a lighthearted moment, she recounted a lesson from a seventh grader during a winter camping trip she led. When time ran short to build a fire, the student urged the group to “take the L and move on.” For Knox, the message was clear — knowing when to pivot, care for one another, and keep moving forward together matters. She closed by celebrating the award recipients as “ambassadors of hope” and inviting the community to find joy in working together to build a health system that cares for everyone.
One group committed to moving forward together is this year’s McGovern-Tracy Scholars. Medical student and resident recipients demonstrated a devotion to community service, a passion for health equity, and a dedication to education and mentorship. Their collective work spans food insecurity, care for immigrants and refugees, reproductive and maternal health, mental health, addiction medicine, and rural and underserved populations — each grounded in strong community partnerships and respect for lived experience. Together, these scholars reflect a shared belief that meaningful change comes from relationship‑building, advocacy, and leading with empathy, innovation, and integrity.
In addition to the McGovern-Tracy Scholars, several other awards and scholarships were given at the ceremony honoring compassionate care, advocacy, and mentorship.
Meet the Award Recipients
McGovern-Tracy medical student and resident scholars. Front row from left: Justine Resnik, MD; Spenser Marting, MD; Julie Vaughan, MD; and Brynn Beversdorf. Back row from left: Samantha Prince, MD; Briana Krewson, DO, MPH; Brenen Skalitzky; and Madison Kurth. Not pictured: Rita Henien Bybee, DO.
MaKayla Pilling, left, and Paige Alexander receive the Jan Ashe Memorial Award for Excellence in Community Radiography.
Justin Doan, right, receives the Compassion in Action Award from Dr. Mark Beamsley.
Recipients of the Brillman Scholarships. From left: Lauren Priem, Sydnee Livingston, Savannah Rios, and Taryn McGinn Valley. McGinn Valley also received the Dr. Lester Brillman Leadership and Advocacy Award. Not pictured: Lindsey Christianson. Christianson also received the WAFP Founders Award.
Recipients of the Robert F. and Irma K. Korbitz Endowed Scholarships in Family Medicine. From left: Christian Pelayo, Isabella Cook Mendez, and Molinna Bui. Not pictured: Seamus McWilliams.
Dr. Robert Macnack, left, and Dr. Sean Duffy, recipients of the Brillman Mentorship in Family Medicine Award.
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Published: May 2026