WVU alumnus Danny Scalise II receives prestigious national prize, uncovering meaningful West Virginia connection

For West Virginia University alumnus Danny Scalise II receiving the 2025 Milton and Ruth Roemer Prize for Creative Local Public Health Work from the American Public Health Association felt like a full circle moment—connecting his education at WVU to a legacy of innovative public health work.

The Milton and Ruth Roemer Prize honors a local health officer for outstanding, innovative, and replicable public health initiatives. The prize was endowed by two devoted members of APHA, Milton Roemer, MD, and Ruth Roemer, JD, both of whom envisioned an annual prize to honor a public health worker engaged in innovative public health service in their community.

Scalise, a proud graduate of the WVU School of Public Health, serves as the public health director for Burke County Public Health in Lenior, North Carolina, where he uses his visionary leadership in multiple domains. Key programs initiated under his direction include launching a street medicine initiative, developing a mobile harm reduction program with syringe exchange and naloxone distribution, and establishing an academic health department model to expand the public health workforce.

“This award really reflects the incredible work of our team at Burke County Public Health," Scalise said. "I may have been the catalyst for some of these programs, but none of it would’ve happened without the dedication, creativity, and commitment of the people I work with every day."

For Scalise, this honor is even more special because of the unexpected, shared West Virginia connection. He learned Dr. Roemer once served as the local health official at the Monongalia County Health Department, and he credited that experience in West Virginia with shaping his future in public health.

"To receive an award endowed by him and his wife and to share that West Virginia connection is incredibly meaningful," Scalise noted.

In addition, the award was presented to Scalise by Beth Roemer, daughter of the prize's namesakes, during the 2025 APHA Annual Meeting and Expo in Philadelphia.

“Danny personifies the criteria of the Roemer Prize – leadership, creativity, replicable programs and mobilizing popular support for innovative work,” Beth Roemer shared.

Photo caption: Beth Roemer, daughter of the award's namesakes Milton and Ruth Roemer, and award recipient Danny Scalise, during the 2025 APHA Annual Meeting and Expo in Philadelphia. Photo credit: EZ Event Photography.

-WVU-

lw/1/12/26

CONTACT: Lindsay Wiles
Director of Marketing and Communications
WVU School of Public Health
304.293.1699; lindsay.wiles@hsc.wvu.edu