Northwest Chapter Optimism Awards

The Optimism Awards honor individuals who embody APDA’s tagline, “Strength in optimism. Hope in progress.” by making a meaningful impact on the Parkinson’s community through support, education, wellness, and/or research. These awards celebrate extraordinary people who positively influence the lives of those impacted by Parkinson’s, demonstrating optimism through their contributions, while offering inspiration and hope for all that can be accomplished.

Every year, APDA Northwest honors and celebrates two distinct Optimism Award winners who help expand APDA’s mission. The winners are honored at our Magic of Hope Gala and Auction for their dedication to making a difference for those impacted by Parkinson’s disease to live life to the fullest. This is an opportunity to honor both those directly impacted by a diagnosis of PD, and others directly impacted, as well as the professionals dedicated to their care. Please help us to recognize those individuals who are making a difference throughout our service area (Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho).

You can nominate people in these two categories:

Community Member Award – recognizing individuals with Parkinson’s, caregivers, or other community members.
Service Provider Award – honoring healthcare professionals such as neurologists, speech therapists, movement disorder specialists, home health specialists, physical therapists, and more.

NOMINATION GUIDELINES

We invite members of our Parkinson’s disease community to submit nominations for consideration to by January 7^th using the nomination form below. The APDA Northwest Chapter staff and the Magic of Hope Planning Committee will review all nominations and determine the award recipients.

Nominees will not be evaluated by the number of submissions received. For circumstances where multiple people would like to submit a nomination, we strongly encourage the nominators to collaborate on the application and submit only one nomination.

Winners will be contacted and invited to attend the Magic of Hope Gala and Auction on Saturday, March 14 at the Sheraton Grand Seattle, where they will be awarded the 2026 Optimism Award.

Nomination Categories and Candidate Recommendations

Optimism Award – Community Member
Parkinson’s community members who go above and beyond, who may be care partners, patients, support group leaders (volunteer/unpaid), volunteers, donors and philanthropists or individuals with passion for Parkinson’s disease who are making a difference in the lives of those living with PD.

Optimism Award – Service Provider
Healthcare professionals who are providing care to Parkinson’s patients and their families.
Physicians, neurologists, neurosurgeons, physiotherapists, speech and swallowing therapists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, massage therapists, chiropractors, researchers, nurses, clinical research coordinators, educators, fitness instructors, and other healthcare practitioners working in the fields related to Parkinson’s disease.

Individuals cannot nominate themselves. Previous award recipients are not eligible. Previous nominees can be nominated again. The list of past nominees can be found at the bottom of this page.

NOMINATION PROCESS

Nominations must be submitted by completing the nomination form below. The nomination process is open from November 1, 2025 to January 7, 2026.

Questions, please contact Heidi Murdock at (206)798-3205 or hmurdock@apdaparkinson.org

Your Name(Required)

First Last

Location(Required)

City State / Province / Region

Phone(Required)

Email(Required)

Nominee Name

First Last

Nominee Address(Required)

City State / Province / Region

Phone(Required)

Email(Required)

Nominee Profession (if applicable)

Optimism Award Category(Required)

Community Member

Service Provider

Provide a detailed description of how the nominee is involved with the Parkinson’s Community.(Required)

Describe how the nominee exemplifies “Strength in optimism, hope in progress” and how they are making a meaningful contribution to our Parkinson’s community.(Required)

What motivated you to nominate this individual for this Optimism Award?(Required)