Theme: My Health, My Choice: What does Empowering Teen Sexual Health and STI Prevention look like? 

The 2025 Open Call focuses on promoting teen-centered, inclusive, and stigma-free conversations about teen sexual health and sexually transmitted infections (STIs). The contest was open to any individual or any group to share original submissions surrounding the above theme to address the following goals:

  • Empower teens with knowledge, resources, and confidence to navigate STI prevention, testing, and treatment without barriers.
  • Expand access to sexual health education and healthcare services to ensure teens receive timely and accurate information.
  • Reduce stigma and foster safe, supportive environments where teens can openly engage with trusted adults and access necessary care.

Judging Criteria

A Judging Committee was organized to evaluate the submissions. Each submission was reviewed by at least five judges from the judging team, consisting of people with diverse backgrounds and experiences (including teens).

Submissions were scored using the following criteria:

●    Relevance to the open call theme
●    Relevance to program target populations (middle and high school students, teachers, parents, guardians, and other caring adults)
●    Creativity
●    Inclusivity
●    Feasibility of information for program use
●    Overall quality

JUDGES

●    Adryan Adams-Ruiz
●    Alex Rago, EVMS
●    Amy Matzke-Fawcett, Joint School of Public Health at ODU and NSU
●    Audrey Mosley, Norfolk Public Schools
●    Beth Parker, EVMS
●    Betty Wade Coyle, Prevent Child Abuse Hampton Roads
●    Darrick Person, Norfolk Public Schools
●    Diana Tagbor, Inova
●    Elizabeth Ying, TH360 Teen Advisory 
●    George Abraham, Health Services 
●    Haley Hunsaker, EVMS
●    Hannah Ying, TH360 Teen Advisory 
●    Harsha Snitha Kamineni, Riley Children's Hospital - Indiana University School of medicine
●    Janele Marek, Chesapeake Regional Healthcare
●    Jillian Churchwell
●    Karen Li, VCU
●    Karen Nanez, EVMS
●    Kathy Lamm, Virginia Department of Public Health
●    Kevin Jiang
●    Kimberlee Murray, Hampton Roads Workforce Council
●    Kisha King, VDH - Norfolk Health District
●    Liyun Wu, NSU
●    Luna He    
●    Luwam Abeselom    
●    Madison Beardslee, VDH
●    Maggie Tu    
●    Matt Herman, EVMS
●    Nancy Welch, Chesapeake Health Department
●    Rachel Brown,    VDH - Norfolk Health District
●    Robert S Hewitt Jr, Virginia Beach Human Services Prevention
●    Stella Zhu, TH360 Teen Advisory 
●    Stephanie Hudson, VDH 
●    Vernisha Ames, Healthy Portsmouth
●    Will Jiang    

2025 winners

We received 55 submissions responding to the theme “My Health, My Choice: What does Empowering Teen Sexual Health and STI Prevention look like?”  We identified 31 submissions for awards, with the help of a group of 32 independent judges who represented diverse sub-populations. 

Winning Submissions

Teen Submissions
1st- Luna H.
2nd- Anna Y.
2nd- Maggie T. 
3rd- Will J. 
3rd- Luna H. 

3rd- Paul W. 

 

College/Graduate Submissions

1st- Adedolapo A.

2nd- Williams W. 

2nd- Harsha K.

3rd- Charity M.

3rd- Frederick S. 

3rd- Kalanni S. 

 

Adult/Parent/Professional Submissions

1st- Ivana L.  

2nd- Amanda J. 

2nd- Yada M. 

3rd- Uriel J.

3rd- Diego C. 

3rd- Haiden F. 

 

Innovation Award

Wendy S. 

 

Honorable Mentions

April L.

Harrison T. 

Kevin J. 

Jermaine D. 

Shaun B. 

Lyn H.

Aaren H. 

Hannah Y. 

George A. 

Francis M. 

Yoshita P.

Gabriela A.