NNPHI - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Director of the Bridging Sectors for Health
- Director, Bridging Sectors for Health
- Director, Bridging Sectors for Health / Washington, D.C.
Adam Lustig is the Director of the Bridging Sectors for Health portfolio at the National Network of Public Health Institutes. In this role, he provides strategic direction for projects that work across sectors to engage key stakeholders in addressing the social determinants of health and advancing equity.
Adam was most recently a Senior Policy Development Manager at the Trust for America's Health (TFAH). His responsibilities included leading TFAH's Promoting Health and Cost Control in States (PHACCS) project. The PHACCS project sought to promote the adoption and implementation of effective, evidence-based state public health policies outside the healthcare sector that will have a positive impact on residents' well-being. Prior to joining TFAH, he was the Senior Manager of Health Systems Transformation at the National Network of Public Health Institutes. Mr. Lustig has also held positions at the Advisory Board Company, the National Pharmaceutical Council and the University of Pennsylvania.
He received his MS in Health Policy from the Thomas Jefferson University College of Population Health and a BA in Public Policy from the State University of New York at Albany.
Job Titles:
- Senior Program Associate, Climate and Crisis Preparedness
- Senior Program Associate, Climate and Crisis Preparedness / Washington, D.C.
Ajay is a Senior Program Associate within the Climate and Crisis Preparedness program. He supports key programmatic work in CCP projects including Project Firstline, an-infection prevention and control initiative, and the Coaching for Enhanced Disease Intervention Skills program, and other environmental health projects.
Ajay's passion for public health began in high school when he joined his local volunteer EMS agency and discovered emergency preparedness and response. His goal to protect families and communities alike from natural and man-made disasters has guided him to advocate for improved climate change adaptation and mitigation research and projects.
Ajay holds his master's degree in public health with a concentration in Environmental and Occupational Health from the George Washington University in Washington, D.C. His graduate thesis focused assessing the impact that wildfire smoke may have on climate change and its implications. Prior to joining NNPHI, Ajay was an Emergency Medical Technician and telecommunications operator at the George Washington University Department of Emergency Medicine.
Job Titles:
- Senior Program Associate, Bridging
- Senior Program Associate, Bridging / New Orleans, LA
Ajayi Pickering-Haynes is a public health creative, speaker, published writer, health equity strategist, and innovator from St. Thomas U.S. Virgin Islands located in the Central Florida area. Over the past few years, he has leveraged his public health training and lived experience to ideate, strategize, and apply health equity in the non-profit, health department, and hospital system settings through trained grant writing, evaluation, design-thinking, project management, facilitation, technical and creative writing, and cross-sector collaboration skills.
Currently, he is completing a Masters in Public Health from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Job Titles:
- Program Associate, Evidence to Action
- Program Associate, Evidence to Action / Washington, DC
Alida Austin is a Program Associate for the Evidence to Action (E2A) team at the National Network of Public Health Institutes (NNPHI). In this role, Alida provides administrative assistance, support for project related research, and works on dissemination activities in E2A and between portfolios. She also supports project management tasks, data collection and management, and in the publication process.
Alida's interest in public health began in high school, after spending two years as an EMT-B in her hometown, seeing how the social determinants of health directly impact a person's health and wellbeing. She believes that health equity is achieved through racial, economic, climate and social justice, and works towards those goals in her personal life and at NNPHI. She appreciates working alongside a team of people who share these values.
Alida holds a bachelor's degree from American University in Washington, DC in Public Health and Political Science. She has previously worked with climate justice focused groups in DC, and has completed internships with organizations working on COVID-19 vaccine equity and for justice the LGBTQ+ community.
Job Titles:
- Member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority
- Program Manager - Partner Relations, Health and Racial Equity
- Program Manager - Partner Relations, Health and Racial Equity / New Orleans, LA
- Program Manager - Partner Relationships for Health and Racial Equity
Amanda Franklin is a Program Manager - Partner Relationships for Health and Racial Equity at the National Network of Public Health Institutes (NNPHI). In this role, she is responsible for establishing and maintaining relationships with key partners across the network and beyond to ensure the development of high-quality deliverables that support the mission of NNPHI and the Health and Racial Equity portfolio.
Amanda's passion for public health and being of service to others comes from her upbringing. Growing up in two vastly different communities, she experienced the differences in access and opportunities. This ignited her passion for health equity particularly in rural communities. Before joining NNPHI, Amanda worked for the Louisiana State University School of Medicine in several roles, at their Lafayette and Baton Rouge Branch campuses.
Amanda is a proud member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated. She is a Certified Associate in Project Management and holds a master's degree in Health Administration from Louisiana State University - Shreveport and a master's degree in Public Health from Baylor University.
Job Titles:
- Planner of Convening at the National Network of Public Health Institute
- Senior Meeting Planner, Convenings
- Senior Meeting Planner, Convenings / Atlanta, GA.
Amy Erskine is the Senior Meeting Planner of Convening at the National Network of Public Health Institute. Her hospitality career of more than 20 years has allowed her to better understand and appreciate the importance of a strong, detailed work ethic and the role of the strategic meeting manager.
Amy believes the key to any successful event is teamwork and she values the vast knowledge base within the NNPHI organization. The Convenings organized, planned and executed by NNPHI bring a wide variety of thought leaders and subject matter experts together to collaborate on important issues.
Before joining NNPHI, Amy was engaged in the Pharmaceutical Industry where she oversaw Marketing Agreements and Deliverables for Congresses. Over the years, she has honed her skill-set and fully-understands the importance of collaboration as well as what she considers to be an essential part of planning and execution of an event to be - which is teamwork.
In her free time, Amy enjoys painting, creating something from nothing, gardening and hanging out with her husband and their two dogs. Amy graduated from Georgia State University with a degree in psychology and a minor in journalism.
Job Titles:
- Program Manager for the National Coordinating Center for Public Health Training
- Program Manager, National Coordinating Center for Public Health Training ( NCCPHT )
- Program Manager, National Coordinating Center for Public Health Training ( NCCPHT ) Baltimore
Amy Jacobs is a Program Manager for the National Coordinating Center for Public Health Training (NCCPHT) within the National Network of Public Health Institutes (NNPHI). Her focus is Project ECHO, a program she's drawn to because of its mission to deinstitutionalize best practices for equity and innovation in healthcare.
Amy's public health journey started as a FoodCorps AmeriCorps service member in Camden, New Jersey. Through her role in FoodCorps, she solidified her ethos of care, community, and equity in public health. She worked in program management at FoodCorps for years after, supporting health justice in the northeastern United States and beyond.
In 2021, Amy graduated with a Master of Public Health from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, Maryland. Most recently, Amy served as the Chief of Staff on the operations and executive leadership teams for the Maryland Department of Health's Covid-19 Recovery Program. Since living in Baltimore, she has completed meaningful studies with Health Justice Commons and A Sacred Passing, worked at a local nonprofit as a curriculum development manager and training facilitator, and served as a caregiver for older adults.
In her free time, Amy serves on the board of the Mental Health Emergency Fund, a Baltimore-based nonprofit that offers stipends and peer support to folks in need. She is also an avid gardener, a dance enthusiast, and a dog parent to a lively cattle dog mix named Luna.
Job Titles:
- Executive Director, Texas Health Institute
As the Executive Director at Texas Health Institute (THI), Ankit leads a range of research, development, and evaluation projects at THI aimed at achieving health improvement through research, translation, policy, and partnerships. An avid systems thinker and public health entrepreneur, Ankit is a trained dentist and public health professional with formal training in health policy and management. Ankit is a experienced specialist in dental public health, systems alignment, use of research and data in healthcare decision making, health policy planning and development. In his current role at THI, Akit oversees all of THI's research and evaluation efforts. This includes, the role as a PI or Co-Investigator or Administrator on federal and privately funded grants/projects that develop, support, or evaluate models to assess population health needs and inform health improvement efforts.
Job Titles:
- Program Associate, National Coordinating Center for Public Health Training ( NCCPHT )
Job Titles:
- Program Manager, Bridging Sectors to Create Health
- Program Manager, Bridging Sectors to Create Health / Arlington, VA
Anthony Oberg, MPA, is a Program Manager on the Bridging Sectors to Create Health Portfolio at the National Network of Public Health Institutes (NNPHI). He received his master's degree in Public Administration from American University in 2015. As a person with a disability, his lived experience with Cerebral Palsy has influenced his professional life and approach to public health work.
Prior to working at NNPHI, Anthony worked for a federal contractor in VA, where learned the importance of document accessibility and making sure information can reach as many audiences as possible. Using his lived experience alongside his project coordination expertise Anthony hopes to increase awareness of disability in the public health space.
Job Titles:
- Senior Public Health Analyst for the National Coordinating Center for Public Health Training
- Senior Public Health Analyst, Workforce Development, NCCPHT
- Senior Public Health Analyst, Workforce Development, NCCPHT / Fort Worth, TX
April is a Senior Public Health Analyst for the National Coordinating Center for Public Health Training (NCCPHT) at the National Network of Public Health Institutes (NNPHI). In this role, she provides project management support and subject matter expertise to NCCPHT's public health workforce development initiatives. This includes partnering with public health training centers and public health institutes to plan, develop, and coordinate technical assistance and training provided to State, Local, and Tribal Health Departments across the nation.
She loves working in the field of public health because she is always surrounded and inspired by public servants who are passionate and dedicated to improving the health and well-being of people and communities through development of creative approaches to reduce health and social disparities and achieve health equity. She's passionate about improving public health professional opportunities to people from underserved communities with lived-experience, and elevating the public health field to the future workforce.
Prior to joining NNPHI, April spent four years at Health and Human Service Departments in Texas (Austin and Dallas) focused on health and social service strategic planning and research. She has a Bachelor's in Biology from The University of Texas at Arlington, and a Master's in Public Health from the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University. Aside from public health, she loves SCUBA diving, sewing, live music, any physical outdoor activity, and quality time with friends and family.
Job Titles:
- Program Manager for the National Coordinating Center for Public Health Training
- Program Manager, National Coordinating Center for Public Health Training ( NCCPHT )
- Program Manager, National Coordinating Center for Public Health Training ( NCCPHT ) Memphis, TN
Asha Bell is a Program Manager for the National Coordinating Center for Public Health Training (NCCPHT) at the National Network of Public Health Institutes (NNPHI). In this role, she helps coordinate responses to training and technical assistance requests brought forward by state and local public health departments.
Asha is passionate about serving underserved communities and is dedicated to working to improve health outcomes of historically disadvantaged people. She holds a belief that everyone should have an equal opportunity to live a healthy life. Asha previously worked in clinical research for over five years; this work led her to understand and value the importance of giving a voice to those often left unheard. Asha is committed to a career focused on the progression of individual and community health, especially in the most diverse and vulnerable populations. She hopes to decrease the burden felt by communities in need; her work supporting technical assistance through the Public Health Infrastructure grant aligns directly with these goals.
Prior to her current role, Asha worked as a Special Assistant to the President and CEO at the CDC Foundation. She holds a master's degree in public health with a concentration on health promotion and behavior from Georgia State University and a BA in public health from Agnes Scott College located in Atlanta, Ga. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends, playing sports, and eating good food.
Job Titles:
- Senior Associate for the Communications and Convening Portfolio
- Senior Associate, Communications and Convenings
- Senior Associate, Communications and Convenings / New Orleans, LA
Avery is a Senior Associate for the Communications and Convening Portfolio at the National Network of Public Health Institutes. In this role, Avery provides conference logistics and customer service, administrative assistance, and supports financial management.
Avery has a background in communications, having honed her skills through a diverse range of professional experiences. Before joining NNPHI, Avery worked as a Health and Safety Coordinator with Disney General Entertainment on several productions during the COVID-19 pandemic, which sparked an interest in working in public health. Driven by a desire to make a positive impact on society, she understands the importance of advancing public health to improve overall quality of life.
Job Titles:
- Senior Program Associate, Bridging Sectors to Create Health
- Senior Program Associate, Bridging Sectors to Create Health / New Orleans, LA
Ayanna Woolfork is a Senior Program Associate for the Bridging Sectors to Create Health team. In this role, Ayanna provides support by engaging and collaborating with external program partners and facilitating program activities and communications.
While a public health student, Ayanna discovered her areas of passion are improving minority maternal-child health outcomes, advocating for women's health, and developing interdisciplinary programming that improves health equity for vulnerable communities. Ayanna is a trained doula and utilizes her experience as a birth worker to her work in improving public health outcomes.
Before joining NNPHI, Ayanna worked for the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as a Public Health Advisor and was stationed at the Albuquerque Area Tribal Epidemiology Center. During her time at AASTEC, she was the project coordinator for the Tribal Pregnancy Risk Assessment and Monitoring Program. Ayanna holds a Bachelor of Science in Public Health from Dillard University and a Master of Public Health in Health Policy and Systems Management from Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center New Orleans.
Job Titles:
- Program Associate, Network Engagement
- Program Associate, Network Engagement / New Orleans, LA.
Brady Carrington is a Program Associate of the Network Engagement portfolio at the National Network of Public Health Institutes (NNPHI) where he supports NNPHI member activities through technical assistance, capacity building, and programmatic support. Brady received his Bachelor of Arts in sociology from the University of Georgia where he cultivated his interest in social theory and the study of disparate health outcomes among communities. Brady also holds a master's degree in public administration from the University of New Orleans where his studies focused on voting rights, public policy, and nonprofit management. In his free time, Brady enjoys traveling, playing tennis, teaching music, and searching for new recipes expand his culinary repertoire.
Job Titles:
- HR & Payroll Specialist
- HR & Payroll Specialist / New Orleans, LA
Brandi Bradley is a dedicated HR & Payroll Specialist at the National Network of Public Health Institutes. Armed with a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Southern University of New Orleans, she is currently pursuing a Master of Business Administration with a concentration in Human Resources from Southern New Hampshire University.
With a passion for optimizing organizational efficiency, Brandi brings a wealth of expertise in human resources and payroll management to her role. Her commitment to fostering a positive work environment and ensuring seamless payroll processes makes her an invaluable asset to the team.
Job Titles:
- Senior Program Manager, Health Promotion
- Senior Program Manager, Health Promotion / Washington, D.C.
Brittany Bunn is a Senior Program Manager, Health Promotion, at the National Network of Public Health Institutes (NNPHI). As a part of the Communications and Convening portfolio, she works across portfolios to develop and manage NNPHI-led programs, projects, and convenings of all sizes and ensure that they are implemented through a health-equity lens while building and maintaining high quality relationships with public health organizations and providing subject matter expertise in several areas relevant to public health.
With a passion for helping others and advocating for those whose voices have been unjustly silenced or negated, working in Public Health has allowed her to create systemic changes on a mainstream level through various projects and convenings. For her, it is important to change the narrative especially for the BIPOC community as through her work she sees herself, friends, family, and community. Her goal is to one day ensure that your zip code does not determine your future success or health.
Brittany holds a Master of Arts in International Security Studies from Trinity Washington University, Washington D.C., and B.A from Bennett College for Women in Greensboro, North Carolina. She is also a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated, serves on the City of Bowie Diversity Committee, a veteran Reading Partner, and Chairs the Communication Committee for Junior League of Annapolis. Outside of her love of volunteering and health advocacy, she believes life is meant to be enjoyed whether with family, friends, pets, yoga, self-care, traveling or her personal favorite, fishing; you should always find time to do things that make you put your phone down.
Job Titles:
- Program Manager, NCCPHT
- Program Manager, NCCPHT / New Orleans, LA
Caitlin Moore, MSW, MPH, is a Program Manager for the National Coordinating Center for Public Health Training (NCCPHT) within the National Network of Public Health Institutes (NNPHI). In her position, Caitlin manages the Public Health Learning Navigator, which provides access to peer-reviewed trainings to bolster the public health workforce.
Caitlin has a passion for ensuring that public health professionals have the current best knowledge and skills to serve their communities.
Previously, Caitlin worked for one of NNPHI's member institutes, the Georgia Health Policy Center, where she assisted on projects focused on aligning systems for health and addressing the health disparities resulting from the pandemic, structural racism, and the economic downturn. However, Caitlin was first introduced to the field of public health when providing direct care and organizing a mentoring program at a youth homeless shelter in New Orleans. Caitlin earned her MSW and MPH from the University of Georgia and her BA from Whitman College. These and other experiences fuel Caitlin's professional mission to foster health and racial equity in communities.
Job Titles:
- Senior Director of Communications
- Senior Director, Communications & Convening
- Senior Director, Communications & Convening / Atlanta, GA
Carmelita Marrow is the Senior Director of Communications and Convening at the National Network of Public Health Institutes (NNPH). In this role Carmelita brings communications skills and strategic meeting management expertise spanning over 20 years.
Carmelita believes communication is the key to success. Everyone in an organization has a communications role. Carmelita has a passion for convening groups of people to learn, connect and share experiences and information. Whether we convene face-to-face or virtually, convening allows humans to cross-pollinate.
Before joining NNPHI, Carmelita led a stellar team as Vice President of Meeting Services at EMCVenues for eight years, where she provided management, leadership, and support for all Robert Wood Johnson Foundation funded meetings. She has proven abilities in strategic sourcing, contract negotiations, savings/cost avoidance, and return on investment reporting. She provides expert-level execution in key areas of strategic meeting and event planning, including attendee technologies, risk mitigation, project and budget oversight, as well as supplier and client relationship management. Carmelita attended the University of North Carolina, Asheville.
Job Titles:
- Program Assistant
- Program Assistant, Evidence to Action
- Program Assistant, Evidence to Action / Washington, DC
Catherine Chon is a Program Assistant for the Evidence to Action (E2A) team at the National Network of Public Health Institutes. In this role, she supports her team with administrative assistance, logistics management, research and data collection, and meeting/event coordination.
Throughout her undergraduate experience, Catherine developed her passion for working alongside marginalized communities to improve their access to health resources and has completed internships focusing on health equity and health information campaigns. She strives to combine her passions for cultural literacy, community empowerment, and health equity in her professional trajectory.
Catherine holds a Bachelor's degree in Human Health with a minor in Lusophone Studies from Emory University in Atlanta. She is excited to contribute in NNPHI's work to expand healthcare access and to advance health equity.
Job Titles:
- Administrative Assistant
- Administrative Assistant / New Orleans, LA
Chenel Bolden serves as the Administrative Assistant at the National Network of Public Health Institutes (NNPHI). She is responsible for all office support throughout the organization.
Chenel has over 20 years of experience with office support and management.
Job Titles:
- General Ledger / Grant Accountant
Job Titles:
- Senior Communications Manager ( PHIG )
- Senior Communications Manager for NNPHI 's Communications
Chloe Lake is a Senior Communications Manager for NNPHI's Communications and Convenings Portfolio. Her work focuses on the Public Health Infrastructure Grant (PHIG), and she is the primary point of contact at NNPHI for PHIG-related communications. In this role, she coordinates with two other national organizations, the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) and the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB), to keep PHIG recipients and partners informed and engaged in their shared work.
Job Titles:
- Tribal Public Health Advisor, National Coordinating Center for Public Health Training ( NCCPHT )
- Tribal Public Health Advisor, National Coordinating Center for Public Health Training ( NCCPHT ) Oklahoma
Chris Tall Bear (Southern Cheyenne) is the Tribal Public Health Advisor for the National Network of Public Health Institutes (NNPHI). Within this role, he provides project management support and subject matter expertise to the diverse and growing array of public health projects related to tribal health as part of the National Coordinating Center for Public Health training (NCCPHT) at NNPHI. The NCCPHT Collaborates with public health training centers, member public health institutes and a wide range of national, state, tribal and local partners to build the capacity of the public health workforce.
Chris has worked in the tribal public health realm for over 20 years. Prior to joining NNPHI, he worked for Southern Plains Tribal Health Board-Tribal Epi Center overseeing several grants in his time there. While serving his tribe, his most fulfilling legacy was developing and implementing the Special Diabetes Program for Indians with his own tribal nation, the Cheyenne & Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma. Currently he serves on the City of Norman's Human Rights Commission. He was appointed as the Cheyenne representative to the National Park Service for the Cheyenne & Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma.
He has a deep understanding and appreciation for his Cheyenne culture and traditions. Although he has earned degrees within the academic world, he considers his true education is through his lived experience and participation within his own tribal community.
Job Titles:
- Evaluation Scientist, Evidence to Action ( E2A )
- Evaluation Scientist, Evidence to Action ( E2A ) Kansas
Christiana is an Evaluation Scientist at the National Network of Public Health Institutes (NNPHI) in the Evidence to Action (E2A) portfolio. In this role, she provides evaluation subject matter expertise and services to support the CDC Public Health Infrastructure Grant (PHIG) and other NNPHI projects.
With her commitment to strengthening evaluation capacity across public health projects and partners, Christiana seeks to foster a culture of evaluation, implement participatory evaluation approaches, and develop responsive systems for continuous quality improvement.
Prior to joining NNPHI, Christiana spent four years at Emory Centers for Public Health Training and Technical Assistance where she conducted evaluations for CDC-funded and HRSA-funded grants and facilitated trainings for the American Evaluation Association. She has also worked at nonprofit, state government, and federal government organizations over her seven years in public health. Christiana is a Registered Dietitian and holds a Bachelor of Science in Nutrition from Baylor University as well as a Master of Public Health from the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University.
Job Titles:
- Director of Administrative Operations and Executive Support
- Director of Administrative Operations and Executive Support / Washington, DC
Christina Kirven is the Director of Administrative Operations and Executive Support to the CEO for the National Network of Public Health Institutes (NNPHI). She works directly with CEO and Executive Leadership Team (CFO & and CSO) on various projects and additional executive support across the network.
Christina Kirven is passionate about serving and identifying the socioeconomics that impacts underserved communities and disadvantaged small businesses.
Before joining NNPHI while pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Legal Support at Purdue University, Christina worked directly in small business negotiations for public sectors such as goods & services, food & beverage, and retail & wholesale trade. Before that, she spent over 15 years in C-level support in non-profit & financial services industries.
Job Titles:
- Associate Director for Climate
- Associate Director, Climate and Crisis Preparedness
- Associate Director, Climate and Crisis Preparedness / Washington, D.C.
Christine Ortiz Gumina is a Associate Director for Climate and Crisis Preparedness (CCP). Christine manages projects with topics that range from infection prevention and control to environmental health and disaster mortality surveillance.
Christine is also a Climate and Health Ambassador. Her passion for public health, and specifically the impacts of climate change on public health, stems from her personal experience with hurricane, and an interest in other climate change impacts such as wildfires, and flooding. She is driven by the desire to ensure that everyone no matter their social, racial, or economic background, has access to clean air, safe water and food, and healthy housing.
Prior to joining NNPHI, Christine was a project coordinator with the National Environmental Health Association working on a variety of environmental health capacity building projects ranging from emergency preparedness to building a student environmental health workforce pipeline.
She has previously held positions as an Environmental Health Specialist at the Norfolk Department of Health focused on community outreach in a variety of environmental health areas and as an intern with the Intergovernmental Pilot Project (IPP) with the Center of Sea Level at Old Dominion University. Her analysis on Climate Change and Environmental Health Effects in the Hampton Roads Region was part of the overall IPP report sent to the White House. Christine holds a master's degree in Public Health with a concentration in Global Environmental Health from Eastern Virginia Medical School/Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia.
Job Titles:
- Senior Vice President, Programs
- Senior Vice President, Programs / Atlanta, GA
Chris provides high-level, organization-wide, collaborative direction and support to NNPHI programs, staff, member institutes and partners to ensure effective alignment of strategies, resources, and program outcomes. He collaborates with the Senior Leadership Team to co-create vision, strategy, and support for the overall mission of NNPHI while developing strategies to assure program success. Based in Atlanta, GA, Chris serves as Principal Investigator for NNPHI's umbrella cooperative agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) OT18-1802: Strengthening Public Health Systems and Services Through National Partnerships to Improve and Protect the Nation's Health. He also serves as co-PI for CK20-2003 Improving Clinical and Public Health Outcomes through National Partnerships to Prevent and Control Emerging and Re-Emerging Infectious Disease. Chris provides support and oversight to NNPHI staff and contractors implementing a wide range of capacity building projects and initiatives through these CDC mechanisms and additional private foundation awards.
Chris's multidisciplinary background in social work and public health guides his professional mission: to improve public health through building and maintaining partnerships across sectors. Chris interned at the Louisiana Public Health Institute in its early days and became passionate about the institute model. Throughout his career he has been drawn to tobacco prevention and control given its high impact on preventing death and disability. Chris was Esri's Public Health Specialist from 2005-2010, linking public health geographic information systems users worldwide as a liaison to the public health sector. Over the past 20 years he has developed an expertise in nonprofit business operations as well as strategic and tactical success with planning and implementing public health projects and initiatives.
Chris graduated from Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine and Tulane School of Social Work in New Orleans, Louisiana and Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts.
Job Titles:
- Program Manager
- Program Manager, Partner Relationships, NCCPHT
- Program Manager, Partner Relationships, NCCPHT / Washington, DC
Claire Valletta works as a Program Manager for Partner Relationships on the National Coordinating Center for Public Health Training team. She is primarily focused on the Public Health Infrastructure Grant (PHIG) and leads contracts, invoicing, and partner relationships.
Claire brings to NNPHI a varied background, with most of her prior experience as a Microbiologist as well as leading and organizing biological sciences laboratories, both at the CDC and at the university research levels. She has a Masters in Public Policy and Management with a focus on Healthcare Management as well as a bachelor's degree in Biological Sciences. In addition, she has served as a US Peace Corps Volunteer.
In her spare time, Claire enjoys spending time with her family, developing new recipes, and pets of all kinds.
Job Titles:
- Program Manager, Evidence to Action
- Program Manager, Evidence to Action / Washington, DC
Dana Rosenberg, MPH, BSN, RN, is a Program Manager for Evidence to Action (E2A) at the National Network of Public Health Institutes (NNPHI) where she oversees project management on research and evaluation projects across the E2A portfolio. She also facilitates dissemination of research and evaluation project findings through a variety of communication mediums.
Job Titles:
- Associate at the National Network Public Health Institute
- Communications & Marketing Associate
- Communications & Marketing Associate / Washington, D.C.
Dandora Sillah is the Communication & Marketing Associate at the National Network Public Health Institute. In this role, she supports the communications portfolio to create impactful communications and marketing campaigns for public health projects across the organization using her experience in graphic design, visual ideation of concepts for projects, and tactical implementation of digital footprinting.
She is driven by a passion for designing eye-catching and creative posts, logos, and more for the public health community through social media and other platforms.
Dandora possesses a Bachelor of Science degree in Advertising & Graphic Design. Outside of her role at NNPHI, she is a contemporary artist with a passion for all things abstract and contemporary art and is also the author/illustrator of the children's book Heads UP!
Job Titles:
- Communications Manager
- NCCPHT Communications Manager
- NCCPHT Communications Manager / Atlanta, GA
Danielle Blakely is the NCCPHT Communications Manager at the National Network of Public Health Institutes (NNPHI). In this role, she supports several projects within the NCCPHT portfolio leading the communications components of projects related to training and workforce development.
She has a diverse background in public health with over 7 years experience in non-profit, state/ local health department, and the academia sector as it pertains to research in infectious and chronic diseases.
Her passion for public health dates to grade school years where her mother was a registered nurse and treated patients living with HIV/AIDS. She later went on to serve as an AmeriCorps member for United Way's Project Health Access, where she worked to increase access to care for Greater Atlanta's uninsured, underinsured, and homeless populations.
Danielle has a passion for public health and being a voice for the voiceless and serving undeserved communities. She believes that as public health professionals, we are dedicated to becoming lifelong learners and NNPHI's National Coordinating Center for Public Health Training fosters that ideology through their mission and work.
Danielle holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from Auburn University Montgomery and a Master of Public Health degree from A. T. Still University College of Graduate Health Studies.
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- Senior Program Associate, Convenings
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- Senior Meeting Planner, Event Technology
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- Director, Climate and Crisis Preparedness
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- Trustee Emeritus Former President & CEO, Public Health Solutions
Ms. Rautenberg, MHS, is the former president and CEO of Public Health Solutions (PHS), which is dedicated to improving the health status and well-being of New Yorkers. PHS has been a Title X grantee since 1982 and provides reproductive health services to 20,000 low-income women through a network of seven centers. Before joining PHS, she was executive director for special population projects at the New York Academy of Medicine as well as an independent consultant specializing in public health policy/program development and strategic planning. Ms. Rautenberg has an extensive background in planning and managing public health programs. From 1981-1990, she worked for the NYC Department of Health. Previously, she ran the Community and Family Health Center in Baltimore, developed the perinatal health plan for central Maryland, and was a family planning counselor in Washington, DC. She is a member of the Public Health Council of New York State and boards of the Human Services Council of New York, NNPHI, and the Family Planning Councils of America, and was past chair of the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association. Ms. Rautenberg has an MHS in comprehensive health planning and administration from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
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- Associate Director, Network Engagement
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- Senior Director, Network Engagement
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- Project ECHO Program Assistant, National Coordinating Center for Public Health Training ( NCCPHT )
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- Accountant for the National Network of Public Health Institute
Cheryl Orticke is a General Ledger Grant Accountant for the National Network of Public Health Institute. Cheryl's duties as a General Ledger/Grant Accountant are to manage the grant accounting, project budgeting, and general ledger functions of NNPHI. In addition, to the duties above, financial reporting (internal and external) on grant and contract activities, monitoring of subcontractor's/sub awardee's grant expenditures and providing financial and technical assistance to NNPHI budget managers regarding financial grants management and compliance.
Before joining NNPHI, Cheryl worked as a grant administrator and an accountant for not-for-profit organizations. Cheryl have decades of accounting experience that includes examining and analyzing accounts and ensuring compliance with financial reporting and other standard accounting procedures. Cheryl conferred my degree from the Southern University of New Orleans and hoped to expand my accounting skills further by increasing my education.
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- Senior Public Health Analyst, Bridging
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- Senior Program Manager, Bridging Sectors to Create Health
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- Program Associate, Climate and Crisis Preparedness
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- Communications and Marketing Intern
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- Senior Program Manager, NCCPHT
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- Program Assistant, Climate and Crisis Preparedness
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- Vice President of Technology, Strategy and Innovation
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- Founder and Trustee Former CEO, Louisiana Public Health Institute
Job Titles:
- Executive Director, Public Health Institute of Metropolitan Chicago ( PHIMC )
- President and Chief Executive Officer of Public Health Institute of Metropolitan Chicago
Karen A. Reitan currently serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of Public Health Institute of Metropolitan Chicago (PHIMC), overseeing the entire organization. She joined PHIMC in October 2007. Ms. Reitan has more than 20 years of experience in public health with special emphasis on HIV/AIDS prevention and policy. As Director of State Affairs at AIDS Foundation of Chicago, she worked for eight years lobbying the Illinois General Assembly in support of policies and legislation focused on protecting the health and ensuring the rights of people living with and at risk for AIDS. She also has considerable programmatic experience, managing a network of clinics funded to provide healthcare to people living with HIV/AIDS and a coalition of youth-serving agencies focused on expanding and enhancing HIV-prevention services for adolescents. Ms. Reitan has a Master of Arts in Social Work from University of Chicago's School of Social Service Administration and a Bachelor of Arts in Music from Oberlin College.
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- Associate Director, Communications & Marketing
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- Senior Vice President of Finance and Administration
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- Associate Director for Training & Workforce Development, NCCPHT
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- Program Associate, NCCPHT
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- Associate Director, Bridging Sectors to Create Health
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- President and CEO of Public Health Solutions
Lisa David is the President and CEO of Public Health Solutions. She leads the organization to support vulnerable families in achieving optimal health and building pathways to reach their potential. Under Lisa's guidance, PHS improves health outcomes and helps underserved families thrive by providing services within communities that need them most, serving as a critical link in public-private partnerships with government agencies to support over 200 community-based organizations across the city, and conducting independent research to evaluate program impact.
Lisa has over 30 years of experience in the public health and healthcare sectors. Prior to joining PHS, she held positions as the Interim CEO of Medicines360, the EVP and COO of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, and the Vice Chair for Administration of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Columbia School of Physicians and Surgeons. Lisa currently serves on the Health and Mental Health Advisory Committee for the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the Policy Committee of the United Hospital Fund, and the Priority and Strategy Council of the Human Services Council. She also serves on the board of directors of Medicines360, the board of directors of the National Network of Public Health Institutes (NNPHI), and the board of trustees of the Women's Health Activist Movement Global (WHAMglobal).
Lisa holds a BS in Biology from Barnard College, and an MBA from The Wharton School.
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- Program Analyst, Climate, Crisis, and Preparedness
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- Senior Program Manager, Health and Racial Equity
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- Communications & Marketing Manager
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- Training Associate, National Coordinating Center for Public Health Training ( NCCPHT )
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- Associate Director of Capacity Building & Technical Assistance, NCCPHT
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- Accounts Payable Specialist
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- Chairman President & CEO, Institute for Public Health Innovation
The Institute for Public Health Innovation (IPHI) appointed Mr. Rhein to be its first full-time President & CEO in January 2013, after helping to launch and build the Institute since 2009. For over 20 years, he has worked to improve the public's health, with a particular focus on providing strategic support to communities so they can strengthen their service systems and develop effective policy and programs to eliminate health inequities. His experience ranges from developing large-scale national initiatives to working alongside community-based organizations to design and implement local public health efforts.
Prior to joining IPHI, he served for 9 years with the National AIDS Fund (NAF), most recently as Vice President of Programs. From 1996 - 2001, Mr. Rhein managed grantmaking and technical assistance activities for W.K. Kellogg Foundation's National Program Office of the Turning Point: Collaborating for a New Century in Public Health initiative, based at the National Association of County & City Health Officials (NACCHO). Turning Point was a high-profile foundation investment in public health systems development that included 41 diverse local sites engaged in collaborative strategic planning and action to create more responsive, community-based public health systems.
Mr. Rhein holds a Master's degree in Public Administration from the University of Southern California and a Bachelor's degree from The George Washington University.
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- Program Associate, Evidence to Action ( E2A )
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- Program Assistant, Evidence to Action
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- Grants and Contracts Officer
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- Public Health Analyst, Climate and Crisis Preparedness
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- Grants and Contracts Specialist
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- Senior Program Associate, National Coordinating Center for Public Health Training ( NCCPHT )
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- Director of Research and Evaluation
Michigan Public Health Institute‘s Board of Directors named Dr. Canady, PhD, chief executive officer in early 2014. She is working to set the Institute's strategic direction in the midst of unprecedented changes spurred by national health reform, as well as transformations in Michigan's public health system. She is continuing to build a world-class infrastructure to support MPHI's innovative program areas and projects.
Dr. Canady is a nationally recognized thought leader in health disparities and inequities, cultural competence, and social justice. She came to MPHI from the Ingham County Health Department, the state's first public entity local health department and federally qualified health center, where she served as the appointed health officer. She is also an assistant professor at Michigan State University's College of Human Medicine's Program for Public Health.
Dr. Canady earned her PhD in Medical Sociology from Michigan State University, a master's degree in Public Administration from Western Michigan University, and a bachelor's degree in Public Health Nutrition from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
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- Senior General Ledger / Grant Accountant
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- CEO, Mississippi Public Health Institute
- Chief Executive Officer of the Mississippi Public Health Institute
Roy Hart is the chief executive officer of the Mississippi Public Health Institute (MSPHI). He serves as liaison to MSPHI's Board of Directors and provides leadership and management oversight for the institute's programs and partnerships. He originally joined MSPHI in 2015, as chief program officer after retiring from 30 years of state service. Upon leaving state service, Hart was given the Administrator of the Year Award in 2015, by the Mississippi Public Health Association. During his career as a public professional Hart gained significant executive management experience in prevention and chronic disease as well as maternal and child health and special needs populations. Key management positions with significant scope of responsibility held by him include Office Director for the Mississippi State Department of Health's (MSDH) Office of Tobacco Control significantly increasing the number of Mississippians covered by comprehensive smoke free air laws. While working with the MSDH he also directed the First Steps Infant and Toddler Early Intervention Program - The state's implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Part C. During this time he assisted with passage of state legislation enabling Mississippi's universal newborn hearing screening program and negotiated procurement of equipment and resources to train and equip all birthing hospitals in Mississippi with screening equipment. He was honored by National Easter Seals in 2002, as the recipient of the National Advocate of the Year award. Hart received his Master of Public Health from the University of Southern Mississippi with a concentration in health education and a minor concentration in health administration. He is a Certified Public Manager and a Certified Health Education Specialist.
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- Director, Health and Racial Equity
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- Senior Program Associate, NCCPHT
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- Senior Program Manager, NCCPHT
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- Chief Executive Officer of Louisiana Public Health Institute
Shelina Davis, MPH, MSW serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Louisiana Public Health Institute (LPHI) where she oversees the LPHI team and offers strategic direction to ensure health and racial equity; and champion health for people, within systems, and throughout communities. Shelina brings over 15 years of experience in public health, health care systems, leadership development, and health equity. Shelina serves on the Boards of the Albert Schweitzer Fellowship - New Orleans, Propeller and CARE: Companions and Animals for Reform and Equity. She was selected as Aspen Ideas Festival Health Scholar, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Office on Smoking and Health Leadership and Sustainability School Fellow, and National Council for Behavioral Health Addressing Health Disparities Leadership Program Participant. In April 2020, Shelina served on Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards' COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force, Louisiana Prisons Sub-Committee and Louisiana Resilient Commission, Manufacturers Sub-Committee to ensure the safety and well-being of all Louisianans during COVID-19. Currently, she serves on the Louisiana Office of Public Health's COVID-19 Vaccine Action Collaborative to support efforts to identify and define state-specific priority groups within the national guidance framework and prioritize the allocation of the initial doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Prior to joining LPHI, Shelina served as Assistant Vice President of Practice Improvement at the National Council for Behavioral Health based in Washington, DC, where she led the strategic oversight and development of public health initiatives - supporting community-based organizations as well as federal, state, local and tribal governmental agencies and their workforce in competencies in behavioral health as well as achieving health and racial equity.
Shelina holds dual-Masters in Public Health and Social Work from Tulane University Schools of Public Health and Tropical Medicine and Social Work; and a Bachelors of Science in Psychology from Xavier University of Louisiana.
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- President, Health Resources in Action
Dr. Ridini, EdD, became President of Health Resources in Action (HRiA) in March 2016. Prior to this appointment, he served for 17 years as vice president of the Community Health division at HRiA. He brings 25+ years of experience working in public health within the US and internationally. He has extensive experience in non-profit management and administration, with a professional background spanning research and evaluation, strategic planning and organizational development, grant making, and coalition building.
Dr. Ridini earned a bachelor's degree in biology and political science from Boston College followed by a master's in public health and a doctorate in education-both from Harvard University. He has served as a lecturer at Harvard and has authored two books on social change, Health and Sexuality Education in Schools: The Process of Community Change and Grassroots Social Action: Lessons in People Power Movements.
Prior to joining HRiA in 1998, Dr. Ridini was the director of the Massachusetts Prevention Center in Framingham, MA and education director at PRIDE, Inc., in Atlanta, GA. He also worked with U.S.A.I.D. and the Ministries of Health and Education in Belize to develop a national drug education curriculum.
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- Accounts Payable Specialist
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- Program Associate, Health and Racial Equity
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- Principal Research Scientist, Evidence to Action
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- Senior Program Manager, NCCPHT
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- Chief Executive Officer
- President
- President and CEO, National Network of Public Health Institutes ( NNPHI )
Dr. Lafronza, President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Network of Public Health Institutes (NNPHI), provides leadership and direction on all NNPHI initiatives and develops collaborative efforts with NNPHI's numerous public health institutes and partners throughout the nation. Dedicated to the vision of improving the public's health through innovation, NNPHI is the national membership network committed to helping public health institutes promote and sustain improved health and wellness for all. Beginning his career in health and human services in 1985, Dr. Lafronza has held health policy and programming positions in government, nonprofit, and university sectors to advance population health at multiple levels of intervention, including community, state, federal, national, and tribal spheres of influence. Prior to his current NNPHI appointment, Dr. Lafronza convened a winning team of colleagues to establish two nonprofit organizations, CommonHealth ACTION and the Institute for Public Health Innovation (IPHi), a public health institute serving the Washington, DC, Maryland, and Virginia region. Previous appointments included a ten-year stint with the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) where he served as the program director for the Turning Point National Program Office and senior advisor to NACCHO programs, executing program portfolios in excess of $14 million. Before joining NACCHO, Dr. Lafronza held an appointment with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry in Atlanta, Georgia that involved providing technical assistance to U.S. communities affected by hazardous waste. Dr. Lafronza's background in the fields of gerontology, behavioral health, community environmental health intervention, and public health systems development in communities, states, and American Indian/Alaska Native nations inform his perspectives and approaches.
Dr. Lafronza holds a doctorate of adult education, master of science, and certificate of gerontology. He also completed an Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Engineering Postgraduate Research Fellowship in Public Health, as well as two Salzburg Fellowships, focused on the social and economic determinants of public health. He is an active member of the American Public Health Association (APHA), and serves on the board of directors for Education, Training, and Research Associates (ETR).