Rochester, NY, July 23,2024 - The Monroe County Medical Society has recognized Michael Nazar, MD and Janice Harbin, DDS with its 2024 Edward Mott Moore Physician and Layperson Awards. This award recognizes individuals whose dedication to the community goes above and beyond the usual call of duty.

2024 Edward Mott Moore Physician Award
Michael Nazar, MD, University of Rochester

Michael Nazar, MD, is a retired Family Medicine physician and Physician Executive. A graduate of Amherst College and the University of Connecticut School of Medicine and Dentistry, Nazar has lived in Rochester since 1982. He completed his Family Medicine residency at the University of Rochester/ Highland Hospital training program. He is Board Certified in Family Medicine and Geriatric Medicine. He was a Clinical Associate Professor of Family Medicine at the University of Rochester Medical School.

Dr. Nazar held several administrative roles at Rochester Regional Health and its legacy institutions. This included Chair of Family Medicine at St. Mary’s Hospital, Senior Vice President, Unity Medical Group at Unity Hospital and Executive Vice President, Chief of Medical Groups at Rochester Regional Health. He left his administrative roles in 2017.

Dr Nazar has been active in several community and healthcare focused entities. He is a past Chair of The Finger Lakes HSA (now Common Ground Health). He remains on the Board of FLPPS (Finger Lakes Preferred Provider System) and is Co-Chair of its Clinical Quality Committee. He is Vice President of the Rochester Regional Physicians Organization and serves on the GRIPA Board

Dr Nazar lives in the City of Rochester with his wife, Kate Callery. He has two adult children, William Nazar of Miami and Alice Nazar of Denver.

2024 Edward Mott Moore Layperson Award

Janice Harbin, DDS

A 1979 graduate of Howard University College of Dentistry and a 2014 Healthcare Business Fellow, Dr. Janice Harbin’s extensive community health career has been dedicated to serving racially, socially and economically diverse populations for over 40 years. Dr. Harbin moved to Rochester, New York July, 2012 to take a position with Anthony L. Jordan Health Corporation, a multi-site Federally Qualified Health Center in western New York, as their Dental Director, before becoming their Interim CEO, November 2012. She assumed the position as their President and CEO in October 2013 and remained there until 2023. That November, she served as the consultant to the incoming CEO and continued serving as a dentist until her retirement December 31, 2023.

As a public health dentist since 1979, she headed the Detroit Department of Health and Wellness Promotion Adult Dental department, as well as served as Adjunct Faculty for the University Of Detroit Mercy School Of Dentistry, prior to relocating to New York. She served as Dental Director for Detroit Health Care for the Homeless (Advantage Health Centers), while improving operational efficiency and creating productive and sustainable dental teams and departments. From 1999 - 2003, she was professionally engaged as a community organizer with Metropolitan Organizing Strategy Enabling Strength (MOSES), Detroit, Michigan; providing training in leadership development and problem solving, for city and suburban faith-based Christian, Jewish and Muslim organizations. In 1999, representing the grassroots community, she worked on the national planning committee for the “President’s Council of Sustainable America”, chaired by Vice President Al Gore. She is the proud mother of three sons, Dane, Spencer, Elliott and niece, Carrie.

About Monroe County Medical Society

Over 1,200 physicians are members of the Monroe County Medical Society/7th District Branch. The Monroe County Medical Society is a non-profit organization formed to extend medical knowledge and to advance medical science, to elevate the standards of medicine, to promote reforms and to enlighten and direct public opinion in regard to the problems of health and medicine for the best interests of the people of Monroe County. For more information visit www.mcms.org or email mcms@mcms.org.