The 100th Philadelphia Award Virtual Event

Ala Stanford, MD, FAAP, FACS, and founder of the Black Doctors COVID-19 Consortium, and Brian L. Roberts, Chairman and CEO of Comcast Corporation, will receive the distinguished Philadelphia Award, celebrating its 100th anniversary. The award winners were selected by the Board of Trustees of the Philadelphia Award for their locally- and nationally-recognized leadership efforts to address racial and social disparities and inequities in healthcare and education around the COVID 19 pandemic. Additionally, Roberts is being recognized for his leadership of Comcast’s corporate citizenship.

Ala Stanford, MD, FAAP, FACS

To say Dr. Ala Stanford took matters into her own hands during the COVID-19 pandemic would be an understatement. As she saw the disparate impact the pandemic was having on Black, Brown, and poor communities, she fully committed herself to reducing health care disparities by providing testing, treatment, and vaccinations to these underserved populations. As Dr. Stanford puts it, “The pandemic created the opportunity to bring clear focus and direction to start chipping away at the barriers to healthcare one neighbor, one test, one vaccination at time." Her efforts led to the creation of the Black Doctors COVID-19 Consortium, which has tested and vaccinated over 75,000 residents in Philadelphia’s minority neighborhoods.

Brian L. Roberts

Born and raised in Philadelphia, Brian L. Roberts has long been passionate about supporting and empowering the City and its local communities – and that focus and commitment only intensified at the onset of the pandemic. Under Mr. Roberts’ leadership, Comcast worked tirelessly to keep employees safe; quickly ramped up efforts to connect as many low-income Americans to the Internet as possible; ensured network performance and reliability for customers; and supported small businesses through the creation of Comcast RISE. From growing Comcast in Philadelphia to his corporate and personal philanthropy to support the City–and the nation at large–during the COVID-19 pandemic, Mr. Roberts’s unwavering commitment has earned him the centennial Philadelphia Award.