U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion

PCSFN Lifetime Impact Award

After a multi-year pause, the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness & Nutrition is opening the 2024 nominations period May 7, 2024. To stay up to date on the awards program and other physical activity initiatives, sign up for email updates.

The President's Council on Sports, Fitness & Nutrition Lifetime Impact Award (formerly the PCSFN Lifetime Achievement Award) celebrates individuals whose careers have greatly contributed to the advancement or promotion of physical activity, fitness, sports, or nutrition nationwide. This year’s award will honor up to 5 individuals. 

Selection Criteria 

Factors considered in the selection process include: 

  • Alignment of experience with the PCSFN mission to promote healthy eating and physical activity for all people, regardless of background or ability  
  • Span and scope of career  
  • Length of service in the field 
  • Quantitative impact of individual’s work  
  • Qualitative legacy of individual’s work  

Submit a Nomination 

OMB No. 0990-0379
Exp. Date  10/31/2026 

To nominate yourself or someone else, please submit the nomination materials by 12:00pm ET on July 1, 2024, and include the following information: 

  1. A description of the nominated individual. Format can be written (i.e., cover letter no longer than 2 pages) or audiovisual (e.g., video file no longer than 2 minutes) and must include key takeaways related to qualifications of the nominee based on the selection criteria.  
  2. Nominee resume (no more than 10 pages)  
  3. Note including nominator contact information, nominee contact information, and signature of nominee acknowledging acceptance of nomination 
  4. Contact information for two references 

Please title each file to include the nominee’s full name, the award name, and file type prior to submitting. See the example below: 

John Smith_Lifetime Impact Award_Resume 

If you encounter issues in submitting, please reach out to fitness@hhs.gov.  

According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB control number. The valid OMB control number for this information collection is 0990-0379. The time required to complete this information collection is estimated to average no more than 60 minutes per response, including the time to review instructions. . If you have comments concerning the accuracy of the time estimate(s) or suggestions for improving this form, please write to:  U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, OS/OCIO/PRA, 200 Independence Ave., S.W., Suite 336-E, Washington D.C. 20201,   Attention: PRA Reports Clearance Officer

*Awards were not distributed in 2017 and 2018 based on the timing of Council member appointment and swearing in.

2019 Lifetime Achievement Awardees

James R. Andrews, MD - Dr. Andrews is a world renowned physician and preeminent leader in the field of Orthopedic Sports Medicine, blazing a path for future generations through his use of minimally invasive arthroscopic surgery. Dr. Andrews is a founding partner and medical director for the Andrews Institute in Gulf Breeze, Florida, and is President and Chairman of the Board of the Andrews Research and Education Foundation. He is also one of the founding members of the Andrews Sports Medicine & Orthopedic Center and the American Sports Medicine Institute (ASMI), directing both to international prominence. He has made major contributions to baseball and throwing athletes of all ages though the STOP (Sports Trauma and Overuse Prevention) Sports Injuries campaign, Pitching Guidelines (prevent fatigue-related overuse injuries in throwing athletes), and MLB/USA Baseball Pitch Smart program. He was inducted into Alabama Sports Hall of Fame, LSU Alumni Hall of Distinction, State of Louisiana Spots Hall of Fame, and is a member of the “Louisiana Legends.” Dr. Andrews is a member of the Sports Medicine Committee of the U.S. Olympic Committee and he has served on the Medical and Safety Advisory Committee of USA Baseball, the Board of Little League Baseball, Inc., and the NCAA Competitive Safeguards in Medical Aspects of Sports Committee. One of the most recognizable sports surgeons in the world, Dr. Andrews currently serves as an orthopedic consultant for the Washington Redskins, Tampa Bay Rays, and the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA). He has over 350 published academic contributions, has mentored more than 400 sports medicine fellowship trainees, and is an international speaker and author.

Donna de Varona - Ms. de Varona is a two-time Olympic Gold Medalist in swimming who served as the first President and Chairman of the Women’s Sports Foundation. An Emmy award winning pioneer broadcaster at age 17, she became the youngest and one of the first women in sports broadcasting, making her debut on ABC ‘s Wide World of Sports.  For five decades, she served on numerous Presidential commissions and also as a go to consultant to the U.S. Senate on critical legislation such a Title IX, the Olympic and Paralympic Sports Act as well as the establishment of the United States Anti-Doping Agency.   Awarded five honorary doctorates for her advocacy, she currently serves on the International Olympic Committee’s Women and Sports Commission and has been a long-time member of the Executive Board of Special Olympics International. A founder of the Women Athletes Business Network, she is President of DAMAR Productions, a consulting and marketing sports company.

Dean Karnazes - Mr. Karnazes is a world-renowned ultramarathoner and endurance athlete, hailed as one of the fittest men on the planet by Men’s Fitness and named one of the “Top 100 Most Influential People in the World” by TIME magazine. He once ran 50 marathons, in all 50 states, in 50 consecutive days, stopping at schools along the way to speak to students about the importance of living a healthy, active lifestyle. Mr. Karnazes is a New York Times bestselling author and has served as a U.S. Athlete Ambassador on sports diplomacy envoys to Central Asia and Latin America. He has worked with many non-profit organizations and served on the boards of Girls on the Run and Karno Kids. A frequent speaker, he has traveled the world, running and competing on all seven continents, twice over.

Debra Kibbe - Ms. Kibbe is a Senior Research Associate at the Georgia Health Policy Center at Georgia State University. For over 20 years, she has worked on the advancement and promotion of physical activity, fitness, and nutrition for children conducting research in healthcare, education, and community settings. She led the development of TAKE10, a classroom-based program that integrates physical activity with nutrition and academic concepts, in the U.S., Brazil, and China. Ms. Kibbe is a founding faculty member for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics certificate program on child and adolescent overweight, now in its 15th year, and a 10-year member of the Southern Obesity Summit planning committee. Debra has been a leader in Georgia’s childhood obesity efforts since 1999 and helped educate state leaders leading to the passage of the Georgia Student Health and Physical Education (SHAPE) Act. Ms. Kibbe is the former Director of the Physical Activity and Nutrition (PAN) Program for the International Life Sciences Institute Research Foundation and assistant volleyball competition manager for the 1996 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Atlanta.

Jill Vialet - Ms. Vialet is the CEO and Founder of Playworks, the leading national nonprofit leveraging the power of inclusive, safe, and healthy play at school every day. For over 25 years, she has worked to empower youth to be their best, improve their behavior and attitudes towards school, and achieve physical and emotional health through increasing their level of daily physical activity. Currently serving more than 900,000 students in 1,800 schools, Playworks has made great strides in physical healthy and emotional learning by promoting play, chiefly for low-income students in urban schools. Ms. Vialet authored the book Recess Rules, a novel for kids 8 to 13 about making recess fun. Forbes named Ms. Vialet as one of 30 social entrepreneurs on its Impact 30 list for using business to solve social issues and the Women’s Sports Foundation recognized her on their 40 for 40 list. She has won numerous awards for her work including the Ashoka Fellowship, James Irvine Foundation Leadership Award, and the 2015 PCSFN Community Leadership Award. Prior to Playworks, she founded two additional non-profits, and combined with Playworks they impact over four million youth in 23 states.

Previous Lifetime Achievement Awardees

To learn more about previous awardees, view archived Lifetime Achievement Awards.

2016 Lifetime Achievement Awardees

  • Charles B. “Chuck” Corbin, Ph.D. 
  • Diane H. Hart, CHES, NCCA, CPT 
  • Richard J. Hodes, M.D. 
  • Rafer Johnson 
  • Ken Min, PhD (hon.) 

2015 Lifetime Achievement Awardees

  • Barbara E. Ainsworth, Ph.D., M.P.H., F.A.C.S.M., F.N.A.K. 
  • Hon. Margaret J. Giannini, M.D., F.A.A.P. 
  • Billy Mills 
  • Russell R. Pate, Ph.D. 
  • Joan Sullivan-Morris 

2014 Lifetime Achievement Awardees

  • Steven N. Blair, PhD
  • Boyd Epley
  • Kathleen Ann Cordes 
  • Barbara L. Drinkwater, PhD 
  • Jane Katz, EdD 

2013 Lifetime Achievement Awardees

  • Ruth Alexander, EdD
  • Kirk M. Bauer, JD
  • Grandmaster Moo Yong Lee
  • Emilio (“Dee”) DaBramo
  • Antronette (Toni) Yancey, MD, MPH

2012 Lifetime Achievement Awardees

  • Linn Goldberg M.D. 
  • Thomas L. McKenzie Ph.D. 
  • Jacki Sorensen 
  • Charles Sterling Ed.D. 
  • Pat Head Summitt

2011 Lifetime Achievement Awardees

  • Sihak Henry Cho 
  • Robert "Bobby" Dodd, Ph.D. 
  • William G. McNamara 
  • James F. Sallis, Ph.D. 
  • Judith C. Young, Ph.D. 

2010 Lifetime Achievement Awardees

  • Darell Hammond 
  • Barbara Jones "BJ" Slater 

2009 Lifetime Achievement Awardees

  • Asahel "Ash" E. Hayes, Ed.D. 
  • George P. Nissen 
  • Betty Perkins-Carpenter, Ph.D. 

2008 Lifetime Achievement Awardees

  • Dr. Richard O. Keelor, Ph.D. 

2007 Lifetime Achievement Awardees

  • Ken Cooper, M.D. 
  • Jack LaLanne 
  • Bonnie Prudden 
  • Bud Seretean 
  • Judi Sheppard Missett 
  • Joe Weider