Meet Our 2026 Social Services Professional of the Year!

March is National Social Work Month—when we honor our amazing social services team members, including the winner of our second-ever Social Services Professional of the Year Award. This year there were many outstanding nominees for the award, with 37 team members nominated. To see the full list of nominees, click here.

VNS Health is proud to announce that our 2026 Social Services Professional of the Year is… Asha Lyons!

As a Licensed Social Worker in our Gender Affirmation Program (GAP), Asha provides services to transgender and nonbinary patients who are healing at home after gender-affirming surgery. This is a physically and emotionally demanding recovery that patients often navigate with little or no support from family and friends.

Through her own personal experience and her skilled, empathetic care, Asha becomes that support for her patients. One recent GAP patient was having difficulty following surgery. He called Asha and started telling her how he had no one to talk to, then he caught himself. “That’s right,” he declared. “I have Asha.”

Drawing on her own background as a trans woman who’s had gender-affirming surgeries, Asha always keeps top of mind the things she lacked during her own recovery. “Throughout multiple affirming surgeries, I did not always have the support I needed—people who could cook, clean, or accompany me to my appointments,” she says.

That firsthand understanding shapes all of her interactions. “It’s those little things that really mean the most,” she says. Asha supports her patients every step of the way during their complex recovery journey, including preparing them for their critical first follow-up appointment with the surgeon. “There’s so much going on in those appointments,” she says. “I explain to patients what they need to know and what questions to ask. I want them to leave with clarity.”

A colleague described watching Asha counsel a patient who was struggling financially and emotionally after surgery. “By the end of the call, the patient was visibly in a better state of mind and became overwhelmed with emotion with how much their mood had improved from just one call,” the colleague noted.

Asha also helps GAP patients connect with additional resources where necessary. When another patient recently revealed to Asha that she had been selling her medications because she couldn’t afford food or furniture, the GAP team stepped in with a couch, groceries, and other needed supplies. The patient was in tears, Asha recalls, telling her gratefully, “‘I didn’t know this support existed.”

As powerful as each individual patient story is, what also distinguishes Asha’s work is the way she goes beyond patient care to advocate for LGBTQ+ New Yorkers. This includes supervising and mentoring the next generation of GAP social services professionals and actively working to expand the GAP training program.

In addition, Asha has spent years attending community meetings, health summits and conferences to spread the word about GAP, as well as engaging directly with city and state lawmakers on improving access to gender-affirming care. She also secured GAP’s membership in the New York City Trans and Queer Provider Advocacy Coalition, earning the program a seat at the table in citywide conversations about funding and policy., and currently serves as vice president on the Bronx Borough President’s LGBTQ+ Task Force. This past January Asha took another major step, embarking on a program to earn a doctoral degree in social work. “I want to improve as a social worker and I want to help elevate the profession,” she says. “As a social worker in our GAP program, my job isn’t just about direct care. It’s about policy, advocacy, and funding. I want to make sure we are doing the best we can for the community.”