2026 Eugene A. Stead Jr. Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient Advances Health Equity Through Service

Howard Straker has championed health equity within the PA profession and empowered generations of PAs to serve communities in need

May 14, 2026

By Dave Andrews

Howard Straker, EdD, MPH, PA-C, is the 2026 recipient of the Eugene A. Stead Jr. Lifetime Achievement Award. The honor—AAPA’s highest distinction—recognizes individuals whose work has made a lasting, far-reaching impact on the physician associate profession.

“It is a treasure to think that my colleagues—people with similar roles and purpose [to mine]—think that my work and practice for health and justice embody the values of our profession,” Straker said. “I am humbled and awed to be in the category with the previous recipients and Dr. Eugene Stead.”

For more than four decades, Straker has built a career that bridges clinical care, education, and public health. He currently serves as director of the joint degree PA/MPH program at The George Washington University, where he is also an associate professor.

Straker’s teaching largely emphasizes preparing future clinicians and public health professionals to serve in underserved communities—an area that has defined much of his life’s work.

A Calling Rooted in Community
Growing up in a medically underserved neighborhood in New York City, Straker saw early on how limited access to care affected those around him. These experiences, and his mother’s dedication to community service and advocacy, sparked a desire from a young age to make a difference and led him to explore a career in medicine. That sense of purpose stayed with him through college and ultimately shaped his decision to become a PA.

Straker said his path became clear after meeting a group of PA students from the Harlem Hospital PA program during a community health fair. Their enthusiasm and commitment to a different model of care left a lasting impression.

Since entering the profession, Straker has devoted himself to caring for vulnerable populations. His work has taken him from urban communities in Brooklyn and Baltimore to rural Alaska, as well as to correctional facilities like Sing Sing in New York. Across these settings, his focus has remained consistent: expanding access and improving care for those who need it most.

“The PA profession is part of the solution to address our healthcare present and future,” Straker said. “It has also given me the opportunity to contribute to correcting inequities in medicine and our society. I have been blessed to be able to touch thousands of patients through teaching hundreds of PAs and other health professionals.”

Leadership with a Lasting Impact
Throughout his career, Straker has contributed extensively to research, authoring more than 30 peer-reviewed publications, overseeing numerous research projects, and presenting at conferences around the world. His leadership has included service on several committees and task forces focused on identifying and reducing healthcare disparities, particularly among minority populations. He is also a past president of the District of Columbia Academy of PAs (DCAPA).

His leadership within the Physician Assistant Education Association (PAEA) culminated in his roles as president in 2020 and immediate past president in 2021. In his term as president, Straker navigated the challenges of COVID-19, as well as evolving national discussions around race and social issues.

“He is deeply respected not only for his expertise, but for his authenticity, generosity, and ability to address the most challenging topics—race, privilege, structural violence—with unparalleled courage and compassion,” said Dr. Sara Fletcher, CAE, CEO of PAEA. “His work has shaped how PAs are educated, how communities are served, and how health equity is understood and advanced within the field.”

Acclaimed for His Devotion to Advocacy
Straker’s commitment extends far beyond the clinic and classroom. He has played an active role in advancing the PA profession at local, regional, and national levels, while also collaborating with organizations such as the Society of Primary Care Policy Fellows, the Association of Clinicians for the Underserved, and the American Public Health Association.

Through this work, Straker has helped shape advocacy efforts spanning the intersection of healthcare delivery, public health, and policy, earning widespread recognition along the way. Among numerous honors, he was named a Distinguished Alumnus of the Yale PA program and received the DC Metropolitan Public Health Association Individual Achievement Award for his advocacy on behalf of patients, their communities and PAs. He has also received awards from DCAPA and the New York Society of PAs.

In 2016, the University of Utah PA program presented him with the “Patron of the Profession” award. The George Washington University has also recognized his service with four major awards—and the GW Milken Institute School of Public Health recently announced the establishment of the Howard Straker Distinguished Service Award, for a PA/MPH student who has demonstrated exceptional commitment to strengthening public service to improve the health and wellbeing of underserved communities.

“From his early work establishing adolescent clinics and peer educator programs in Brooklyn to his grassroots efforts in New Orleans’ 9th Ward following Hurricane Katrina, Dr. Straker has consistently shown up for vulnerable populations,” said Lorenzo Norris, senior associate dean for education at The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. “His career is a testament to the power of a healthcare professional who uses their platform to address the social determinants of health and ensure that the most marginalized voices are heard and protected.”