About the Award
The Virginia Breast Cancer Foundation (VBCF) established the Sharon H. Kohlenberg Healthcare Service Award in 1995 to recognize Virginians employed in the healthcare field who “exhibit a deep and abiding commitment to the fight against breast cancer.” The award also honors the memory of Sherry Kohlenberg, a healthcare administrator and co-founder of VBCF, who died from breast cancer in 1993. The award honors a resident of Virginia who is a licensed / registered healthcare provider in the Commonwealth of Virginia and who is employed (not a volunteer) in a breast cancer-related field within a healthcare setting. The purpose of the award is to recognize healthcare professionals who go above and beyond what is normally expected of a competent, caring professional working with people affected by breast cancer. VBCF particularly seeks nominations of individuals reflecting the diversity of our Commonwealth.
Sharon Helen Kohlenberg was born on January 28, 1956 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She met and fell in love with her future husband Larry Goldman at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. After Graduating in 1979, they relocated to Larry’s hometown of Richmond, Virginia where Sherry began her career in healthcare. Upon earning her Master’s in Health Services Administration in 1986, she was selected to develop and direct the Medical College of Virginia’s Department of Risk Management. Through her role as risk manager, she advocated for patient rights while protecting the physicians and staff of the hospital. In 1988, Sherry and Larry proudly presented their son, Sammy, to the world. Following her diagnosis of breast cancer in 1990, Sherry became an outspoken breast cancer activist. The Virginia Breast Cancer Foundation may never have been founded without Sherry Kohlenberg’s enthusiasm and commitment. She was selected by President Clinton as one of the “Faces of Hope.” Sherry learned within two years of her diagnosis that she would die of breast cancer. In May of 1993, two months before her death, Sherry spoke at the National Breast Cancer Coalition’s rally in Washington. Sherry understood well the power of her own story, a young wife and mother who would soon die at the age of 37. Sherry very much wanted her death to have meaning in the fight against breast cancer. VBCF feels that by presenting this award each year in Sherry’s name, we honor her for the vibrant, competent healthcare worker she was. And the dynamic breast cancer activist she became.
- 1995: Harry Bear, MD and Tom Smith, MD of Virginia Commonwealth University’s Massey Cancer Center
- 1996: Claire Carman, MD of Norfolk Breast Care Specialists, and Kathy Spiegel, RN, of Virginia Commonwealth University’s Massey Cancer Center
- 1997: Susan Miesfeldt, MD of University of Virginia’s Medical Center
- 1998: Mark Ellis, MD of Williamsburg Radiation Therapy Center
- 1999: Karen Knapp, MD of Commonwealth Physicians for Women
- 2000: David Marcus Randolph, MD of Lewis Gale Oncology Center,Salem, VA
- 2001: Ellen Shaw de Paredes, MD of Virginia Commonwealth University Health System
- 2002: Andrea Pozez, MD of Virginia Commonwealth University Health System
- 2003: Pamela Worrel Black, ACSW, LCSW of Inova Fairfax Hospital
- 2004: Jennifer Harvey, MD of University of Virginia's Medical Center
- 2005: Mary Helen Hackney, MD of Virginia Commonwealth University Health System
- 2006: VCU Breast Cancer Genetics Team, comprised of Heather Creswick, MS, CGC, John Quillin, PhD, MPH, CGC, and Joann Bodurtha, MD, MPH, of Virginia Commonwealth University Health System
- 2007: Eric P. Melzig, MD and Linda RossCersley,RN of Richmond Surgical Group, Richmond, VA
- 2008: Meg Shrader, RN, Breast Cancer Navigator for Rockingham Memorial Hospital, Harrisonburg, VA
- 2009: George Knaysi, Jr., MD of Richmond Sugical Group, Richmond, VA
The nomination period for 2010 has ended.
