The City of Alexandria’s Public Health Advisory Commission announced today that Rosy Noguchi will receive the 2026 Flora K. Casey Public Health Award. The award, named for the late Flora K. Casey, honors individuals or organizations that have made outstanding contributions to advancing public health and wellbeing for the people of Alexandria.

The Public Health Advisory Commission welcomes all members of the community to attend the Flora K. Casey Award Ceremony, which will be held on Tuesday, June 9, from 5–6:30 p.m. on the first floor of the Del Pepper Community Resource Center, located at 4850 Mark Center Drive.

About the Winner

Rosy Noguchi is the coordinator of the Alexandria Medical Reserve Corps (MRC), presiding in the Alexandria Health Department’s Office of Public Health Emergency Management.

In her role, Rosy manages hundreds of active MRC volunteers — Alexandria residents with both medical and non-medical skills and a passion for public health. Each year, she deploys MRC volunteers to complete hundreds of hours of public health service by providing immunizations, promoting health initiatives, and even partaking in exercises that test our city's readiness for public health emergencies. Noguchi also ensures volunteers receive routine training on topics like infection prevention and basic life support. Many MRC volunteers cite Noguchi’s dedication and personal support as key reasons they remain committed to public health volunteering in Alexandria.

Having grown up in Alexandria and graduated from Alexandria City High School (formerly T.C. Williams), Rosy began supporting health as a parkour coach for older adults where she helped people move their bodies in new ways while connecting with their neighbors. When the COVID-19 pandemic reached Alexandria, Rosy began helping to coordinate vaccine clinics, quickly becoming an important part of our City’s COVID response. Noguchi later became the coordinator for the MRC volunteer force, championing new trainings for volunteers — such as Stop the Bleed and hands-only CPR — and leading broad outreach efforts to bring in volunteers of all ages and backgrounds.

“The Commission is thrilled to recognize Rosy as the winner of this year’s Casey Award,” said Cassandra Walter, Chair of Alexandria’s Public Health Advisory Commission. “Talk to anyone who volunteers for public health in Alexandria, and Rosy’s name will probably come up. She’s personally invested in the public health of this city, and her efforts have given back to our community’s health tenfold through the volunteers she supports.”

More information about the Flora K. Casey Award and this year’s award ceremony is available on the Casey Award website. 

For media inquiries only, please contact Eve Elliott at eve.elliott@vdh.virginia.gov or call 804.467.5160. 

If you prefer communication in another language, free interpretation and translation services are available to you, please email LanguageAccess@alexandriava.gov or call 703.746.3960.  For reasonable disability accommodations, please email Casey.Colzani@vdh.virginia.gov or call 703.746.4956.