The Executive Committee of the Orange County Substance Abuse Prevention Network (OCSAPN), in conjunction with the 2006 Annual Showcase Subcommittee, established this award to honor Linda Kearns and her more than 31 years of work in the field of youth alcohol, tobacco, other drugs, violence, HIV/AIDS, & teen pregnancy prevention as well as positive youth development strategies in Orange County. Linda attended the very first OCSAPN meeting in 1980 and has faithfully served as an Executive Committee member in almost every capacity, including Chairperson, since that time.

Each year, we choose a new recipient who best exemplifies true and selfless dedication to the field of prevention.

2006
Linda Kearns, BSW
Orange County Department of Education
Prevention Programs

2007
Debra L. Stout, Psy.D.
DoctorS Nonprofit Consulting

2008
Mike Darnold
Early Intervention Team

Barbara Leon
Fullerton Joint Union High School District

2009
Fernando Leon
La Calle News, Inc

Lourdes Gutierrez
Community Services Program, Inc
Project Faith in Youth

Vicki Walker
Orange County Department of Education
Safe & Drug Free Schools
Tobacco Use Prevention Education
OC Counseling Network

2010
Bill Beacham, Ph.D.
Center for Drug Free Communities

Yvonne Gladle
OC Dept of Education

2011
Max Schneider, MD
Chapman Medical Center

Joanne Lambert
Santiago de Compostela Catholic Church

Dallas M. Stout, Psy.D.
DoctorS Nonprofit Consulting

2012
Elke Petras
Orange County Department of Education

Pattie Ochoa
Touchstones

2013
Teri Rocco
Garden Grove Unified School District

2014
Danielle Nava
California Conference for Equality and Justice

2015
Della Lisi
Orange County Health Care Agency

2016
Sgt. Mike Pixomatis
Orange County Sheriff’s Department

2017
Nancy Colocino
Irvine Prevention Coalition

Mindy Hawkins
Laguna Beach High School

2018
Gwen Drenick
National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, Orange County

2019
Amy Buch
Orange County Health Care Agency

2020
Stacy Deeble-Reynolds
Orange County Department of Education

2021
Laura Buscemi-Beebe
Orange County Health Care Agency