Josephine Jean (Joey) Ellis, M.S.M., Agassiz, British Columbia
Meritorious Service Medal (civil division)
From 1997 to 2001, Josephine Ellis coordinated the National Peer Education Counselor Program at Mountain Institution in Agassiz, British Columbia. On her own initiative, she developed and implemented the three-month program to teach offenders with HIV, AIDS and other terminal illnesses the basic skills in palliative care based on a holistic approach. A role model of compassion and devotion, she has since trained dozens of inmates as caregivers, who in turn have moved on to help their fellow inmates or found work in the health care field as part of their reintegration into the community.