THE VALUED VOICE

Katherine Gray has won this year’s Stephen F. Brenton Health Policy Scholar Award, which honors a UW-Madison La Follette School of Public Affairs graduate candidate demonstrating a career interest in advancing health care policy in Wisconsin. The annual award is $8,000, which can be used to pay for tuition while pursuing advanced studies. The award is administered by the UW Foundation and endowed by funds raised by WHA members in 2014.
 
In her application, Gray said she wants to focus on working with adult day care centers and respite opportunities for those suffering from dementia and other cognitive impairments. While working as a care provider for adults with dementia “my passion for improvement only increased.” 

Gray holds a bachelor’s degree in child, adult and family services from Iowa State University. She is currently working with Heartland Senior Services in Verona and expects to obtain her Master of Public Affairs degree from LaFollette in spring 2022. 
 
“I am beyond excited to combine the work I love, with the degree I love, in the state I love. My goal is to develop and improve public policy that advocates for adults with cognitive disorders as well as the frontline workers serving them. Because of your generous gift, I am even more equipped to be a pillar of change in my industry as well as a successful student in my coursework. I am incredibly grateful for your belief in my mission and contribution to making it possible,” Gray said in her thanks for receiving the award.
 
First awarded in 2015, the Stephen F. Brenton Health Policy Scholar Award was created to honor former WHA President Stephen Brenton, himself a UW-Madison graduate (BA ’76, Political Science) and a steadfast advocate for sound health care policy in Wisconsin.