The Center for Patient Partnerships (CPP) is extremely proud to celebrate longtime volunteer Pete Daly, who was recently recognized as a 2026 Governor’s Service Award Volunteer of the Year by Governor Tony Evers and Serve Wisconsin. Pete was honored at the 2026 Governor’s Service Awards ceremony on June 24 at the Olbrich Botanical Gardens in Madison, acknowledging more than two decades of service to patients, students and greater communities across Wisconsin.
Pete has dedicated more than 20 years of volunteer service to helping patients navigate complex healthcare systems through the Health Justice Clinic at the CPP. After surviving advanced metastatic melanoma, Pete has used his own healthcare experiences to help other patients navigate the complex healthcare system and access the care they need.
Applying the knowledge from this personal journey, Pete mentors students as they help patients challenge insurance denials, access medically necessary treatment and make informed healthcare decisions. His approach emphasizes what he describes as “recognizing the humanity at the center of care,” part of a greater advocacy framework he developed known as “Pete’s Rules for Patients and Providers,” which has helped shape the experiences of many future advocates and health professionals.
Pete’s impact reaches beyond individual cases. Through this involvement with the Health Justice Clinic, he has supported a program that has secured hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical care through successful insurance appeals. He has also mentored hundreds of graduate and professional students who have carried this patient-centered approach into careers in healthcare, law, public service, and policy advocacy.
One student shared that working alongside Pete has transformed “abstract concepts into real advocacy,” providing the confidence and skills needed to help clients receive the care they need. Through his resilience, dedication, and empathy, Pete has helped create a more equitable, patient-centered healthcare system in Wisconsin.
We are grateful for Pete’s amazing commitment to the Center for Patient Partnerships, our students, and the patients we serve. His work embodies the CPP mission of advancing health justice through advocacy, education, and partnership.
Thank you, Pete, for all that you do!
Learn more about the 2026 Governor’s Service Awards here.