The head of the Greater Rochester Health Foundation, John Urban, accepted the Champions of Change award at the White House on Friday.
The president and CEO of the YMCA of Greater Rochester nominated Urban for the honor.
The award highlights people who played a major role in strengthening their communities.
The event recognized YMCA leaders and Y Partners for addressing childhood obesity, child hunger and education among others.
Urban participated in a panel discussion after receiving the honor. He spoke about the impact of poverty and race on a person's health.
"Over 50 percent of the children in the city are living at or below the poverty level. The poorest zip code in the city, the average life expectancy of the people living in that zip code is 17 years less than it is of the community average."
Urban goes on to say, "While we talk about this politely as disparities. I would suggest that's its time to start talking about this as inequality and be prepared to address this head on."
The YMCA of Greater Rochester was one of about a dozen Ys being honored at the White House.