On June 24, Serve Wisconsin hosted the 2026 Governor Service Awards, an annual event that recognizes volunteers across Wisconsin for the impact of their service. Governor Tony Evers celebrated the honorees at the Olbrich Botanical Gardens in Madison. Pete Daly, a long-time volunteer with the Center for Patient Partnerships, was honored as one of five “Volunteers of the Year.”

In his nomination, colleagues from the Center for Patient Partnerships described his service:

Pete Daly has dedicated more than 20 years of volunteer service to helping patients navigate complex healthcare systems through the Health Justice Clinic at the Center for Patient Partnerships.

After surviving advanced metastatic melanoma, Pete transformed his personal experience into a lifelong commitment to patient advocacy, mentorship, and compassionate care. Drawing from his own journey, he mentors students as they help patients challenge insurance denials, access medically necessary treatment and make informed healthcare decisions. His guiding philosophy emphasizes “recognizing the humanity at the center of care,” a principle reflected in the practical advocacy framework he developed known as “Pete’s Rules for Patients and Providers.”

Pete’s impact extends across both patient care and professional development. Through the clinic, he has helped support a program that served more than 500 clients in 2024 alone and secured over $750,000 in medical care through successful insurance appeals.

He has also mentored hundreds of graduate students who now carry his patient-centered approach into careers in law, healthcare, and public service. One student shared that working alongside Pete transformed “abstract concepts into real advocacy,” giving them the confidence to help clients secure lifesaving care.

Through resilience, empathy, and decades of service, Pete has helped create a more compassionate and equitable healthcare system for patients across Wisconsin and beyond.

Read the full press release from Serve Wisconsin.