St. Mary’s County Health Officer Dr. Meena Brewster has received the 2026 National Champion of Local Governmental Public Health Award, one of the highest individual honors given by the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), the organization representing nearly 3,000 local health departments nationwide.
The award recognizes public health leaders who have advanced the visibility, importance, and impact of local governmental public health through leadership, innovation, and service. NACCHO credited Brewster with strengthening local public health practice both in Maryland and nationally, citing her work on collaboration, workforce development, and leadership development.
“This recognition is truly a reflection of the extraordinary people I have the privilege of serving alongside every day,” Brewster said in a statement, thanking the St. Mary’s County Health Department team, community partners, and colleagues across Maryland. “Local public health changes lives every day. When we invest in people, build strong partnerships, and lead with purpose, communities thrive.”
Brewster received the award at NACCHO’s 2026 Annual Conference, where local public health leaders from across the country gathered to share practices and discuss strategies for improving community health. Brewster has served on NACCHO’s national Board of Directors, representing local health departments across the mid-Atlantic region.
“Her commitment to advancing public health priorities and amplifying the voice of local health departments serves as an example for public health leaders across the country,” NACCHO CEO Lori Tremmel Freeman said, pointing to Brewster’s local impact, her role in Maryland’s statewide public health transformation efforts, and her work on NACCHO’s board.
The honor follows a run of recent national recognition for the St. Mary’s County Health Department, which earned two NACCHO Promising Practice Awards earlier this year for its public health laboratory expansion and workplace safety program.
