The new "Dr. Cheryl Taylor Award for Leadership and Vision" was presented by the federal Centers for Disease Control’s Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) initiative at a recent ceremony in Washington, D.C.

Taylor has worked with REACH since its inception in 1999. The REACH initiative has contributed significant evidence-based health outcomes and community-based participatory approaches to the goal of advancing health equity.

REACH's board voted unanimously to name the award after Taylor as a reminder to researchers of the character, values, integrity, compassion, and determination one must bring to their work, the organization said.

"The work that Dr. Taylor contributed to the National REACH project and the Imperative is unparallel," Eleanor Hinton Hoytt, president and CEO of the Imperative said. "In 2005, Hurricane Katrina threatened the work of this project. But even in the face of catastrophic disaster, Cheryl stayed the course and kept our vision intact of eliminating racial and ethnic health disparities in New Orleans. I cannot think of anyone more deserving of receiving this award and being its namesake."

The REACH award is another major citation that Taylor has won over the past year. She was chosen the 2009 international winner of the prestigious Daniel J. Pesut "Spirit of Renewal Award" for Nursing Excellence from the Honor Society of Nursing of Sigma Theta Tau International (STTI). The Louisiana Nurses Foundation and the Louisiana State Nurses Association recently named Taylor the recipient of the "Outstanding Nurse Researcher" award.