SMART Leader Wins Prestigious Community Health Award

Great news to share! Susan Rodriguez, president and founding director of long-time Ms. Foundation grantee SMART (Sisterhood Mobilized for AIDS/HIV Research & Treatment) has been chosen to receive the 2010 Community Health Leaders Award from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation!

This prestigious national award honors 10 individuals who have worked—often at great personal or professional risk—to improve the health and quality of life for vulnerable men, women and children in underserved communities across the United States. Each honoree receives $125,000 to support their ongoing work, as well as the chance to network and collaborate with other leaders from around the country.

Since its founding in 1998, Susan has helped grow SMART into a force to be reckoned with in the fight against HIV/AIDS. The organization is now New York City’s premiere HIV treatment education program run by and for women living with the disease, providing education, information and critical support networks to the many women in New York who continue to battle this disease.

We couldn’t be prouder of Susan, or happier for SMART that she's won this award. It's recognition well-deserved.

Congratulations, Susan!

For more information on how SMART is helping women in New York City face HIV/AIDS, watch the moving video below, featured in the Voices From the Field section of our website.