Craig President Jandel Receives 2024 CBCA John Madden, Jr. Leadership Award

Craig Hospital President and CEO Jandel Allen-Davis, MD, was recognized by the Colorado Business Committee for the Arts (CBCA) with the 2024 John Madden, Jr. Leadership Award at its Annual Business for the Arts Awards event on March 12, 2024. Named for CBCA’s founding chairman, the John Madden, Jr. Leadership Award recognizes a lifetime of extraordinary leadership and a legacy of support for the arts.

“Jandel has infused creativity into every aspect of her life as a physician, healthcare executive, board member, philanthropist and renowned fiber artist,” the CBCA shared in an article. “She has stitched a professional and artistic legacy guided by equity and community service.”

Over the past few decades, Jandel’s art has been shown in 12 different venues, and her work is on permanent display in six locations in the Denver metro area. “I think I’m getting more and more comfortable with even owning the label ‘artist,’” Jandel said in an interview with the CBCA.

Watch the full video here.

From one of her first quilting shows at her children’s school in 2001 to a collaborative mixed media exhibit at Redline Gallery in 2017 to her contributions to the Black Heritage Art Exhibit at Children’s Hospital in 2021, Jandel’s journey as an artist and leader is tightly integrated.

This woven experience came to a head during the COVID-19 pandemic when Craig Hospital successfully kept the virus out of the vulnerable patient population for two years. In addition to leading all technical aspects of safely running a neurorehabilitation hospital and tending to the hearts and minds of staff, patients and families, Jandel made time to contribute personally. In March 2020 when the public was advised to wear fabric face coverings, Jandel handmade more than 1,000 masks for anyone at Craig who needed one.

Jandel’s passionate dedication to the arts and her community have marked her time as a leader, throughout her career and now, at Craig. Outside of the hospital, Jandel serves her community as a member of several boards and committees, including the Denver Museum of Nature and Science and the Denver Botanic Gardens where she just finished a 12-year term on the board.

We at Craig Hospital are proud to see Jandel honored as an artist and a leader and applaud her for this prestigious lifetime achievement.

“My commitment to and focus on the cultural vibrancy of this community and others, let alone my intent on incorporating creative methods into leadership and problem-solving on behalf of the communities we serve, will never waver,” Jandel said.

Read Jandel’s acceptance speech at the CBCA’s 2024 awards event and learn more about the John Madden, Jr. Leadership Award.