Liaisons to the Task Force
The Task Force and Community Guide began in 1996.The founders understood right away that it was impossible for the Task Force to represent all of the perspectives and experiences needed to inform their work. Therefore, they invited Liaison organizations and agencies to participate in the process of developing the Community Guide. Liaison representatives:
- Represent the views, concerns, and needs of their organization and constituents
- Provide input into review prioritization and Task Force recommendations findings
- Serve on, or recommend participants to serve on individual systematic review teams
- Disseminate Task Force recommendations among their members and constituents
- Help their members and constituents translate Task Force recommendations into action
- Provide feedback on how Task Force recommendations and findings were disseminated, implemented, and used, and how well the recommendations and findings met the needs of their constituents
Federal Agency Liaisons to the Task Force
Organization |
Name |
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Liaison: Therese Miller, DrPHLead, Prevention & Care Management PortfolioCenter for Primary Care, Prevention & Clinical Partnerships Alternate Liaison: Claire A. Weschler, MSEd, CHESSenior Program Coordinator |
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Liaison: Barbara Gray, MIA, MLnPublic Health Analyst (PRC Research Dissemination Team Lead)Alternate Liaison: Jo Anne Grunbaum, EdDHealth Scientist (PRC Research and Evaluation Team Lead) |
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Liaison: Jayaram Srinivasan, MD, MPH, CPHSenior Clinical Advisor & 13th Luther L. Terry Senior Fellow in Preventive Medicine |
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Liaison: Leila C. Kahwati, MD, MPHDeputy Chief Consultant for Preventive MedicineAlternate Liaison: Linda S. Kinsinger, MD, MPH,Chief Consultant for Preventive Medicine |
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Liaison: Martin Rice, MS, RN-BC, CPHIMSDeputy Director, Office of Health Information Technology and QualityAlternate Liaison: Amber Berrian, MPHPublic Health Analyst |
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Liaison: Alberta Becenti, MPHPublic Health Advisor |
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Liaison: Barry Portnoy, PhDSenior Advisor for Disease Prevention, Office of Disease Prevention, Office of the Director |
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Liaison: Kevin D. Hennessy, PhDSenior Public Health Analyst and Science to Service Coordinator |
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Liaison: John Y. Oh, MD, MPH, Lt Col, USAF, MC, SFSChief, Health Promotion, Air Force Medical Support AgencyAlternate Liaison: Patrick L. Keller, MD, MPH, MAJ, USAF, MCDeputy Chief Health Promotion Operations, Air Force Medical Operations Agency |
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Liaison: Linda Spencer, PhD, MPH, RN, Col (ret)Director, Public Health Nursing Leadership Program, Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, Emory University |
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Liaison: William (Bill) Calvert, MS, MPH, MBADeputy Director for Public Health, Navy and Marine Corps Public Health Center |
Organization Liaisons to the Task Force
Organization |
Name |
|---|---|
Liaison: Patrick B. McGarry, PhDAssistant Division Director, Scientific Activities Section |
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Liaison: Mary Jo Goolsby, EdD, MSN, NP-C, FAANPDirector of Education and ResearchAlternate Liaison: JoEllen Wynne, RN, MSN, FNP-BCEducation and Research Specialist |
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Liaison: Joseph F. Hagan, Jr., MD, FAAPMember, Bright Futures Education Center Steering Committee and Editor, Bright Futures:Guidelines for Health Supervision of Infants, Children and Adolescents, 3rd EditionAlternate Liaison: Darcy Steinberg-Hastings, MPHDirector, Division of Developmental Pediatrics and Preventive Services, AAP |
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Liaison: Robert J. McNellis, MPH, PA-CVice President, Science and Public Health; Visiting Senior Scholar and Medical Officer with AHRQ’s Prevention and Care Management TeamAlternate Liaison: Marie-Michèle Léger, MPH, PA-CDirector, International and Clinical Affairs |
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Liaison: Tisha Titus, MD, MPHStaff Preventionist |
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Liaison: Donald W. Zeigler, PhDDirector of Prevention and Healthy Lifestyles, Division of Science, Medicine and Public Health |
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Liaison: Regina Davis Moss, MPH, CHESAssociate Executive Director, Public Health Policy and Practice |
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Liaison: Casey Korba, MSSenior Manager, Public Health and Prevention |
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Liaison: Michael P. Eriksen, ScDProfessor and MPH Program Director, Georgia State University |
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Liaison: Harrison C. Spencer, MD, MPH, CPHPresident and CEO |
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Liaison: Sharon Moffatt, RN, BSN, MSNChief of Health Promotion and Disease PreventionAlternate Liaison: Albert J. Terrillion, DrPH, CPH, CHESSenior Director, Family and Community Health |
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Liaison: Jessie Gruman, PhDExecutive DirectorAlternate Liaison: Dorothy Jeffress, MBA, MSW, MAExecutive Director |
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Liaison: Donald B. Bishop, PhChief, Center for Health Promotion, Minnesota Department of HealthAlternate Liaison: Heidi L. KellerHealth Promotion & Social Marketing Consultant, Olympia, Washington |
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Liaison: Rose Marie Martinez, ScDSenior Director, Board on Population Health and Public Health Practice |
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Liaison: Kim E. Barnhill, MSAdministrator, Jefferson and Madison County Health DepartmentsAlternate Liaison: Truemenda C. Green, MADirector, Healthy Communities/Chronic Disease |
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Liaison: Marie M. Fallon, EdDChief Executive Officer |
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Liaison: Russell RubinMarketing and Communications Manager, Learning Resource Center |
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Liaison: Elizabeth Daniels, PhD, RNAssistant Professor, Georgia Health Sciences University, College of NursingAlternate Liaison: Alexandra A. Garcia, PhD, RNAssociate Professor, The University of Texas at Austin School of Nursing |
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Liaison: Bojana Beric, MD, PhDAssistant Professor of Health Studies, The Marjorie K. Unterberg School of Nursing & Health Studies, Monmouth University |
Federal Agency Liaisons to the Task Force Biosketches
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Guide to Clinical Preventive Services 
Liaison: Therese Miller, DrPH
Therese Miller is the lead of the Prevention and Care Management Portfolio for the Center for Primary Care, Prevention and Clinical Partnerships at AHRQ. Dr. Miller has more than 10 years experience managing public health projects including the Hospital-Based Rural Health Care Program, Pathways to Adulthood: A Three Generation Urban Study, and the National Evaluation of The Healthy Steps for Young Children Program. She holds a doctoral degree in public health and a certificate in health communications. Her interests include social marketing and public health.
Alternate Liaison: Claire A. Weschler, MSEd, CHES
Claire Weschler, MSEd, CHES is a senior program coordinator at the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality for the Prevention and Care Management Portfolio. She serves as a health promotion specialist, working on programs related to the improvement of primary care; including integration of self-management support principles; building, sustaining, and measuring relationships between the clinical and community settings; and communicating the recommendations of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. She is also the Wellness Coordinator for the Agency; improving work life at AHRQ through health and wellness. Professional areas of interest include lifestyle behavior change and tool development to improve the provision of preventive services.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Prevention Research Centers
Liaison: Barbara Gray, MIA, MLn
As the public health analyst and PRC research dissemination team lead, Barbara Gray manages policy, communications, and dissemination for the PRC Program at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She holds graduate degrees in information management and international affairs, including a concentration in international media and communication. She has been formally associated with the PRC Program since 1999. Ms. Gray has worked at CDC since 1988 in areas of infectious and chronic disease. Her achievements include serving as the senior technical editor for the Surgeon General's 1992 report on smoking and health (in collaboration with the Pan American Health Organization) and working with the Task Force on Genetics and Public Health, which defined the current Office of Genomics and Disease Prevention at CDC. Before joining CDC, Ms. Gray worked in technical communications and consumer marketing in the computer industry.
Alternate Liaison: Jo Anne Grunbaum, EdD
Jo Anne Grunbaum is the team leader of the Research and Evaluation Team for the PRC Program at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Her office funds academic health centers to conduct prevention research using a community-based participatory approach. Her team developed and implemented a national evaluation of the PRC Program. Dr. Grunbaum's research activities focus on the health of youth with specific interest in determinants of risk behaviors and health outcomes. She has 21 years experience in design and implementation of research related to the health of children and adolescents.
Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
Liaison: Jayaram Srinivasan, MD, MPH, CPH
Jayaram Srinivasan is the senior clinical advisor for the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. He currently serves as the 13th Luther L. Terry Senior Fellow in Preventive Medicine. Dr. Srinivasan is a preventive medicine specialist with expertise in health policy and administration. Dr. Srinivasan also has experience in epidemiological surveillance, healthcare quality improvement, and community-based approaches for disease prevention. He provides evidence-based clinical guidance to develop and implement the policies and programs of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Dr. Srinivasan supervises and mentors fellows, residents, and students across various disciplines. He is a strong advocate of population-based approaches for chronic disease prevention.
Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Office of Patient Care Services, National Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention
Liaison: Leila C. Kahwati, MD, MPH
Leila Kahwati is the deputy chief consultant for preventive medicine within the Veterans Health Administration. She works within the National Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, a field-based national Program Office within the VHA. She serves as medical officer for many of the center's clinical activities and oversees the center's collaborative research and evaluation activities. Dr. Kahwati's experience and professional interests include obesity/weight management, clinical preventive services, and quality improvement within healthcare systems. She is board-certified in family medicine and general preventive medicine/public health.
Alternate Liaison: Linda S. Kinsinger, MD, MPH
Linda Kinsinger is the chief consultant for preventive medicine within the Veterans Health Administration. She directs the National Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, a field-based national Program Office within the VHA. Dr. Kinsinger's experience and professional interests include screening, immunizations, and quality improvement within healthcare systems. She is board certified in internal medicine and general preventive medicine/public health.
Health Resources and Services Administration
Liaison: Martin Rice, MS, RN-BC, CPHIMS
Mr. Rice is the deputy director of the Office of Health Information Technology and Quality at HRSA. He is a registered nurse and nurse informaticist. Mr. Rice began his nursing career working in geriatric psychiatry, along with chronic and post acute care. Since receiving his masters in nursing informatics from the University of Maryland School of Nursing, he has been involved in Electronic Health Record implementation, data modeling/design, enterprise architecture, clinical quality measures, retooling clinical quality measures, and data standards.
Mr. Rice began his career in nursing informatics at North Arundel Hospital Home Health Care as their director of Information Technology where he implemented electronic charting and billing from a paper based system. In 2004, he transitioned to the federal government where he worked at the National Naval Medical Center (NNMC) in Bethesda, MD managing their inpatient clinical information systems. In 2007, Mr. Rice transferred to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Systems in the Office of Clinical Systems and Quality, Quality Measures and Health Assessment Group. There, he was involved in the system upgrade for the post acute care assessment instrument, MDS 2.0 to MDS 3.0, the Continuity Assessment Record and Evaluation (CARE) pilot, HITSP hospital e-measure development, clinical quality measures for the HITECH rule, HHS retooling project, and Business Process Models for the National Level Repository that will be supporting HITECH. Mr. Rice was an adjunct instructor (2001-2007) for a face to face and virtual Nursing Informatics class at the University of Maryland School of Nursing and continues to teach at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing.
Altternate Liaison: Amber Berrian, MPH
Amber Berrian is a public health analyst within HRSA’s Office of Health Information Technology and Quality. For the past 6 years, Ms. Berrian has worked on issues to address quality improvement within HRSA’s health service delivery programs. Some of them include patient safety, health literacy, cultural competency and clinical performance measurement. She continues to work on agency-wide quality activities with key interests in health information technology adoption and implementation, advancing clinical prevention interventions, and public health policy. She has a master’s degree in epidemiology/biostatistics.
Indian Health Service
Liaison: Alberta Becenti, MPH
Alberta Becenti is a public health advisor for Health Promotion/Disease Prevention (HP/DP) with the IHS Division of Clinical & Community Health Services. Ms. Becenti has worked for IHS 6 years as a director of Community & Clinical Health services and 6 years as the national consultant in HP/DP. Major areas of focus include physical activity, tobacco prevention, and nutrition.
National Institutes of Health
Liaison: Barry Portnoy, PhD
Barry Portnoy serves as senior advisor for disease prevention for the Office of Disease Prevention (ODP), Office of the Director, National Institutes of Health (NIH). His current responsibilities include coordinating and stimulating collaborative prevention research projects across the NIH. Prior to joining ODP, Dr. Portnoy was with the National Cancer Institute (NCI), Division of Cancer Prevention. He also served as the NCI coordinator for the Department of Health and Human Services Healthy People 2000 and 2010 Objectives. He serves on a number of trans-NIH committees such as the OppNet Steering Committee for Basic Behavioral and Social Sciences, the NIH's Prevention Coordinators Committee and the NIH Nutrition Coordinating Committee. He has held academic appointments at the University of Virginia and the University of Maryland. He also served as an evaluation consultant to the National High Blood Pressure Education Program, the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Disease, the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion and the Department of Education. He holds a doctoral degree in public health education. His research interests include the design and evaluation of chronic disease prevention and control interventions.
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
Liaison: Kevin D. Hennessy, PhD
Kevin D. Hennessy is a senior public health analyst and the science to service coordinator for SAMHSA, an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Dr. Hennessy provides leadership to SAMHSA's Science to Service Initiative -- a systematic interagency effort to promote greater use of effective, evidence-based mental health and substance abuse interventions within routine clinical and community-based settings, and to strengthen feedback from the field to influence and frame services research programs. Prior to joining SAMHSA in 2004, Dr. Hennessy served for 10 years as a senior health policy analyst in HHS' Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, providing analysis and leadership on issues of mental health and substance abuse research, programs, and policy. While on detail to SAMHSA in 2002, Dr. Hennessy served as a senior policy advisor to the President's New Freedom Mental Health Commission. He has published more than two dozen articles on mental health and substance abuse financing and service delivery issues. Dr. Hennessy has a Doctorate in clinical psychology and a Master's in public policy. He is a licensed psychologist in the State of Maryland, currently providing psychiatric triage services part-time at Howard County General Hospital, a component of the John Hopkins Hospital system.
United States Air Force
Liaison: John Y. Oh, MD, MPH, Lt Col, USAF, MC, SFS
John Oh, Lt Col, USAF, MC, SFS, is a preventive medicine physician with the Air Force currently serving as Chief, Health Promotion at Air Force Medical Support Agency. He assists the Air Force Surgeon General in developing, evaluating, and modifying Air Force health promotion policies. He completed training in internal medicine and preventive medicine, as well as the CDC Epidemic Intelligence Service program. His research interests include preventive medicine and applied epidemiology.
Alternate Liaison: Patrick L. Keller, MD, MPH, MAJ, USAF, MC
Patrick L. Keller, MAJ, USAF, MC, is a preventive medicine and family physician with the Air Force. He is currently serving as the deputy chief of Health Promotion Operations. He provides direct support to Health Promotion teams at Air Force bases around the world. He also supports and assists in development of Air Force policy and programs in tobacco, nutrition, and physical activity including the Air Force Fitness Program. His professional interests include developing and deploying consistent qualitative and quantitative data monitoring methods at every AF installation. He hopes to see health promoters responding quickly to specific health and wellness outcomes in discrete populations and tailoring their programs to directly improve those outcomes.
United States Army Public Health Command
Liaison: Linda Spencer, PhD, MPH, RN, Col (ret)
Linda Spencer, Col. (ret) has 25 years active and reserve duty in the U.S. Army, over 20 years of university level teaching experience and is currently director of the Public Health Nursing Leadership Program at Emory University Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing. She administers the Public Health Nursing Masters program, including budget planning, curriculum development, student supervision, and teaching. She also teaches emergency preparedness classes to healthcare professionals and is certified in Advanced Disaster Life Support. Dr. Spencer's expertise and key interests include military health issues, health education distance learning, adult education principles, and emergency preparedness.
United States Navy Medicine
Liaison: William (Bill) Calvert, MS, MPH, MBA
Bill Calvert is the deputy director for public health providing strategic leadership and facilitation for the Command's Public Health Directorate, advice and technical assistance to the Director, administering policies, and management control to ensure core product line execution of its three Departments: Preventive Medicine, Health Promotion and Wellness, and the Epi-Data Center. He is the primary technical advisor for health promotion and community health education issues and is the Navy's professionally recognized expert with responsibility to direct the planning, implementation, evaluation and interpretation of complex public health programs and projects. His key areas of interest and expertise are worksite health promotion and dissemination of Community Guide information, translated from scientific reviews and Task Force recommendations, to health promotion practitioners for programmatic use.
Organization Liaisons to the Task Force Biosketches
American Academy of Family Physicians
Liaison: Patrick B. McGarry, PhD
Patrick B. McGarry, PhD, is the assistant division director for the Scientific Activities Section at the AAFP. His primary responsibilities include serving as team leader for the AAFP staff assigned to the Commission Health of the Public. He received his Ph.D. in Education, specializing in community health education. Dr. McGarry was extremely fortunate to be able to study under Dr. Elena Sliepcevich, author of the landmark School Health Education Study (1961-1969). Prior to coming to AAFP, Dr. McGarry worked at the Illinois Department of Public Health (1993-2009), in multiple functions, including as the Illinois Tobacco Free Communities program manager. Part of his duties included the administration of the Smoke-Free Illinois Act and was active in the effort to overturn pre-emption in Illinois. He also served as the Illinois Project for Local Assessment of Needs (IPLAN) administrator. IPLAN is a community health needs assessment and planning process modified from NACCHO's APEX-PH that local health departments are required to complete to be certified. IPLAN was recognized in 1999 by ASTHO by receiving the second place Vision Award. Dr. McGarry's area of expertise is in community health planning, tobacco control, and school health education.
American Academy of Nurse Practitioners
Liaison: Mary Jo Goolsby, EdD, MSN, NP-C, FAANP
Mary Jo Goolsby is director of education and research at AANP. She oversees AANP’s continuing education program and all AANP research initiatives. The education component of her position includes development of educational activities, coordination of expert panels, creation of clinical tools, and accreditation of formal nurse practitioner continuing education programs. The research aspect involves oversight of the only U.S. national NP database, annual census surveys, periodic member surveys, large-scale sample surveys, and direction of the only national NP Practice Based Research Network (PBRN). Dr. Goolsby has a doctorate in education, master’s and bachelor’s degrees in nursing, and has been an adult nurse practitioner for over 25 years. She was inducted as a Fellow of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners in 2003. Her nurse practitioner practice has included general adult health, endocrinology, and pulmonology. Additional roles have included those of educator, administrator, and researcher. Dr. Goolsby has authored three books, several chapters and articles. She is a frequent speaker on issues related to nurse practitioners and healthcare.
Alternate Liaison: JoEllen Wynne, RN, MSN, FNP-BC
JoEllen Wynne is the education and research specialist for AANP and maintains part-time practice in a multi-disciplinary family practice clinic. In her AANP position, she participates in development of educational activities, coordination of expert panels, creation of clinical tools, and accreditation of formal nurse practitioner continuing education programs. Her research responsibilities include participation in coordination of projects for the only national Nurse Practitioner Practice Based Research Network. Ms. Wynne has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nursing and has been a Certified Family Nurse Practitioner for 10 years. Her practice has included family practice, internal medicine, emergency department and retail healthcare settings. She has also owned and operated an independent nurse practitioner family practice and functioned as administrator/practitioner for an internal medicine faculty practice clinic.
American Academy of Pediatrics
Liaison: Joseph F. Hagan, Jr., MD, FAAP
Joseph F. Hagan, Jr. is a clinical professor in pediatrics at the University of Vermont College of Medicine and the Vermont Children's Hospital. He is a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics Bright Futures Education Center Steering Committee with responsibility for developing and implementing the third edition of Bright Futures: Guidelines for Health Supervision of Infants, Children and Adolescents. Dr. Hagan chairs the Vermont Citizen's Advisory Board for the Vermont Agency of Human Services Department of Children and Families, and he also practices primary care pediatrics in Burlington, Vermont. Dr. Hagan's professional interests include teaching primary care pediatrics and developmental and behavioral pediatrics.
Alternate Liaison: Darcy Steinberg-Hastings, MPH
Darcy Steinberg-Hastings is the director of the AAP Division of Developmental Pediatrics and Preventive Services. Her responsibilities include working with AAP members and key partners to develop national child and adolescent health policy, overseeing several national initiatives and grants including the National Bright Futures education center and working with external partners on national programs focused on improving the health of children and adolescents. She has more than 20 years of experience in public health and primary care. Prior to coming to the AAP, Ms. Steinberg–Hastings was the director of Adolescent and School Health Policy at the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials. As a research assistant professor at Georgetown University School of Medicine, Department of Family Medicine, she taught classes for medical and nursing students on incorporating health promotion and prevention for diverse populations into practice and community settings. She has also worked as a health educator in rural health clinics and at a California county health department directing public health education projects in the community.
American Academy of Physician Assistants
Liaison: Robert J. McNellis, MPH, PA-C
Robert J. McNellis is the vice president of science and public health for AAPA, and also a visiting senior scholar and medical officer with AHRQ’s Prevention and Care Management Team, where he supports the U. S. Preventive Services Task Force. In his role with APPA, Mr. McNellis works to increase the visibility and importance of physician assistants (PAs) to the healthcare community at large by representing the profession. His responsibilities include monitoring medical and public health topics of interest to PAs, participating in public policy discussions, and presenting data about PAs to medical professionals, government agencies, professional associations and other interested parties. He also directs and coordinates the activities of staff to support several leadership groups within AAPA. His areas of expertise and professional interest include health professions education, delivery of clinical preventive services, patient safety and quality care initiatives, and evidence-based medicine.
Alternate Liaison: Marie-Michèle Léger, MPH, PA-C
Marie-Michèle Léger is the director of international and clinical affairs for AAPA. In addition to representing AAPA at clinical and scientific meetings, she disseminates findings to members, and works to promote the physician assistant profession to professional organizations and governmental agencies, both domestically and internationally. Ms. Léger has professional experience in the areas of vaccine-preventable diseases, adolescent sexual health, and access to health care. She also maintains interests in infection control, health care-associated infection, and emergency preparedness.
American College of Preventive Medicine
Liaison: Tisha Titus, MD, MPH
Tisha Titus is the staff preventionist for the Atlanta VA Medical Center tasked with the creation, implementation and oversight of a facility wide employee wellness program including an employee smoking cessation clinic and health coaching. She also serves as the facility Medical Review Officer and medical staff BLS/ACLS instructor. Dr. Titus also serves as Regional Faculty and Chair for the American Heart Association’s Emergency Cardiovascular Care for Georgia; TARA Board member and Chair; and American College of Preventive Medicine Young Physicians Section member and Chair-Elect. Her professional areas of interest include global health, immunizations, prevention of infectious diseases, women’s health and quality improvement.
American Medical Association
Liaison: Donald W. Zeigler, PhD
Don Zeigler is director of prevention and healthy lifestyles at the American Medical Association (AMA) in the division of Science, Medicine and Public Health. Formerly, he served as the AMA’s director of long range health care trends and staffed the Council on Long Range Planning and Development. In addition, he served as deputy director of “A Matter of Degree,” a national program to reduce high risk drinking in college communities which was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. For over two decades, he was founding director of one of the first hospital-based community and worksite health promotion programs in the U.S.
Dr. Zeigler is active in the Section on Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drug Abuse and the Trade and Health Forum of the American Public Health Association (APHA), and he is co-chair of the health working group of the US-Russia Civil Society collaboration. His doctorate is in public health and health promotion, and he is an adjunct professor in Preventive Medicine and Health Systems Management at Rush University in Chicago. Dr. Zeigler’s areas of expertise are health promotion, global health, public health and trade agreements, and prevention policy.
American Public Health Association
Liaison: Regina Davis Moss, MPH, CHES
Regina Davis Moss is the Associate Executive Director of Public Health Policy and Practice for the American Public Health Association. She has over 15 years experience managing national health promotion and disease prevention initiatives addressing areas such as reproductive health, healthy aging, obesity prevention, health policy, and sustained capacity in public health. Prior to APHA, Ms. Davis Moss worked on health education efforts for the federal government; a multimedia health information service for a health policy foundation; and an epidemiologic research study investigating reproductive health issues. Her professional areas of interest include women's health, adolescent health, and prevention of sexually transmitted infections. Ms. Davis Moss is currently a doctoral candidate in Public Health focusing on Maternal and Child Health.
America’s Health Insurance Plans
Liaison: Casey Korba, MS
Casey Korba is senior manager for public health and prevention at AHIP. She works with AHIP member health plans and stakeholder partners on projects that support and advance health insurance plans' initiatives in clinical and community preventive services and partnerships, and health plan, employer, and community wellness activities. Her key areas of interest include obesity, worksite health, physical activity, nutrition, tobacco, and recommended preventive screening and interventions.
Association for Prevention Teaching and Research
Liaison: Michael P. Eriksen, ScD
Michael P. Eriksen is a professor at Georgia State University where he is also director of a CEPH-accredited master of public health degree program with 12 faculty and more than 100 students. He has written publications and had administrative experience with tobacco control, and he has published research on the topics of health promotion and obesity.
Association of Schools of Public Health
Liaison: Harrison C. Spencer, MD, MPH, CPH
Harrison C. Spencer is the first fulltime President and CEO of the Association of Schools of Public Health (ASPH). His prior positions include Dean of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and Dean of the Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine in New Orleans.
During a career with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Dr Spencer served as an EIS Officer and at the field station in El Salvador. He founded and directed the CDC research station in Nairobi, Kenya for 5 years and then served as Senior Medical Officer at the Malaria Action Program of the World Health Organization in Geneva. He has also served as Chief of the Parasitic Diseases Branch at CDC.
Dr. Spencer is board certified in both internal and preventive medicine, and is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and the American College of Preventive Medicine. He was elected a Founding Fellow of the UK Academy of Medical Sciences in 1998 and to the US Institute of Medicine in 2003. His areas of expertise include public health, global health, preparedness and epidemiology.
Association of State and Territorial Health Officials
Liaison: Sharon Moffatt, RN, BSN, MSN H
Sharon Moffatt is chief of Health Promotion and Disease Prevention for ASTHO. Prior to this, Ms. Moffatt held several positions at the Vermont Department of Health: state commissioner, state director of public health nursing, and assistant director of the Division of Community Public Health. She is a past president of the Association of State and Territorial Directors of Nursing and an adjunct assistant professor at the University of Vermont College of Nursing and Allied Health. Throughout her public health career Ms. Moffatt has worked in chronic disease prevention, environmental health, refugee health, maternal child health, school health, and children's mental health, as well as with a wide variety of professionals and key community partners to systematically improve the public's health. She has worked closely with the Vermont Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics to create a model of care coordination in the pediatric care provider setting for at-risk families. Most recently Moffatt has been an active contributor in leading the Vermont state Blueprint for Health a nationally recognized health reform initiative which has focused beyond health insurance reform to include support for health promotion and disease prevention opportunities.
Alternate Liaison: Albert J. Terrillion, DrPH, CPH, CHES
Albert Terrillion is the senior director for family and community at ASTHO, where his responsibilities include directing policy initiatives and state level support in health equity, maternal and child health, access to quality care, and genomics. Prior to joining ASTHO, he worked at The Center for Applied Environmental Public Health and Tulane University for ten years, managing programs such as public health training and education initiatives, environmental health communications and health education, social marketing initiatives, program evaluation, and various research projects. His research has included health policy tracking in Louisiana, service learning in undergraduate public health education, and environmental perception and experience as determinants of subjective ratings of health. In addition, he has been an active leader in reestablishing neighborhood and community services following Hurricane Katrina. His key areas of interest are public health integration, social justice in health, genomics, primary care and public health workforce initiatives, and cultural competencies.
Center for Advancing Health
Liaison: Jessie Gruman, PhD
Jessie Gruman is the founder and president of CFAH. She also is a professorial lecturer in the School of Public Health at The George Washington University and a Fellow of the Society of Behavioral Medicine. Dr. Gruman has published numerous articles and essays as well as a book for the general public, After Shock: What to Do When the Doctor Gives You – or Someone You Love – a Devastating Diagnosis (2007), which is about how people use scientific information to make decisions about their health care. She has a doctorate in social psychology and has worked in the private, public, and voluntary health sectors. Her areas of interest include advocacy for health research and decision making around health care.
Alternate Liaison: Dorothy Jeffress, MBA, MSW, MA
Dorothy Jeffress, executive director, joined CFAH in March 2008. Prior positions include vice president of the Center for Information Therapy from 2005 to 2008 and assistant vice president of Value Based Purchasing for the National Business Coalition on Health (NBCH) from 2003 to 2005. She also worked in health care quality improvement and performance measurement with NCQA and with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health as the director of a CDC/state-funded women's health promotion and chronic disease prevention program. She has managed a TPA for self-funded employee benefit programs and also been a benefit manager for a mid-sized employer.
Directors of Health Promotion and Education
Liaison: Donald B. Bishop, PhD
Don Bishop is immediate Past-President of DHPE and a current board member. He has been chief of the Minnesota Center for Health Promotion at the Minnesota Department of Health since 1986. The center includes programs for chronic disease risk reduction/healthy communities, heart disease and stroke, diabetes, alcohol abuse prevention, health behavior research, oral health, and injury and violence prevention. He is also an adjunct associate professor at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health. Dr. Bishop has served as project director on numerous CDC grants and principal investigator on many NIH studies for improved nutrition and physical activity in children, including the American Indian Children Walking for Health Program and 5-A-Day LANA Preschool Program. He holds his doctorate in community psychology and completed a post-doctoral program in health psychology before moving to Minnesota.
Alternate Liaison: Heidi L. Keller
A member of DPHE, Heidi L. Keller is director of the Office of Health Promotion, Washington State Department of Health. In this role, she oversees health promotion and health education projects, campaigns, and community grants. She also administers the Preventive Health and Health Services Block Grant, disseminates health promotion resources through an online clearinghouse, and serves as a consultant and advisor on health promotion practice and evidence-based strategies. Ms. Keller serves as an advisor to two Prevention Research Centers and her areas of expertise include social marketing and health communications, coalition development and community organizing, and health message design.
Institute of Medicine
Liaison: Rose Marie Martinez, ScD
Rose Marie Martinez is the senior director for the Institute of Medicine’s Board on Population Health and Public Health Practice. In this role, Dr. Martinez directs a portfolio of projects that address prevention strategies and interventions that focus on the general population or subgroups of the population. Topics have included HIV prevention strategies, tobacco use prevention, childhood immunizations issues, public health system preparedness, and injury prevention and poison control, among others. Her areas of expertise include policy analysis and program evaluation.
National Association of County and City Health Officials
Liaison: Kim E. Barnhill, MS
Kim E. Barnhill is the administrator of the Jefferson and Madison County Health Departments. In this role, she has focused on increasing access to dental care; linking Smart Growth principles to public health initiatives; enhancing health care career opportunities for local high school students; and increasing the availability of indoor and outdoor physical activity facilities. Ms. Barnhill serves on the Board of Directors for NACCHO and chairs the NACCHO Injury Prevention workgroup. She has a master’s degree in adult education and gerontology and she is currently pursuing a master of public health.
Alternate Liaison: Truemenda C. Green, MA
Truemenda Green is the director of the Healthy Communities/Chronic Disease Programs at NACCHO, overseeing all NACCHO’s chronic disease prevention projects, including obesity, healthy eating, sodium reduction, healthy communities and the built environment. In providing oversight and guidance, Ms. Green serves as lead program and budgetary manager, working closely with project staff to plan, implement, and evaluate other healthy communities/chronic disease-related projects; and assist local public health officials in their role of assuring the public’s health through chronic disease prevention and health promotion.
Prior to coming to NACCHO, Ms. Green was a program manager/grant administrator for two large public health programs at the Maryland State Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, where she managed a statewide minority outreach and technical assistance program on cancer and tobacco prevention as well as the Office of Preparedness’s statewide hospital preparedness program. Ms. Green has a masters of arts in policy, legal and ethical studies with a concentration on health policy, health administration. She holds a bachelor’s of science in biology/pre-medicine and is currently completing a doctorate in public administration and masters in business administration.
National Association of Local Boards of Health
Liaison: Marie M. Fallon, EdD
Marie Fallon is the Chief Executive Officer at the National Association of Local Boards of Health (NALBOH). NALBOH is a non-profit 501(c)3 membership association that was established in 1992 as the national voice for effective and competent public health governance. NALBOH's mission is to strengthen local boards of health, enabling them to promote and protect the health of their communities through education, technical assistance, and advocacy. Previous to her position with NALBOH, Dr. Fallon was employed as a Chief Financial Officer, Controller, and Budget Director in hospitals (NY and PA) and a visiting nurse & hospice association (OH). Her master's degree is in health services administration and her doctorate is in education focused on leadership studies. She serves on numerous national and local boards and committees. Dr. Fallon's primary interests include volunteer leadership and citizen engagement.
Public Health Foundation
Liaison: Russell Rubin
Russell Rubin is the marketing and communications manager for the Learning Resource Center (LRC) at the Public Health Foundation (PHF). His responsibilities include marketing LRC’s products and services to public health industry professionals, by identifying and implementing multiplatform and integrated marketing strategies, and management of PHF’s website. He brings over eight years of award-winning marketing experience in agency and internal corporate marketing departments, where he led the development of innovative and targeted messaging campaigns. His professional interests include adopting social media and partnerships for better public health communications.
Quad Council of Public Health Nursing Organizations
Liaison: Elizabeth Daniels, PhD, RN
Betty B. Daniels is an assistant professor in the College of Nursing at Georgia Health Sciences University. She has been involved in public health nursing practice and teaching for more than 30 years and has worked closely with practicing public health nurses (PHN) in the state of Georgia and nationally through the PHN organizations that comprise the Quad Council (Public Health Nursing Section of the American Public Health Association, Association of State & Territorial Directors of Nursing, Association of Community Health Nursing Educators, Community Health Council of the American Nurses Association). Dr. Daniels holds a master's degree in Family and Community Health Nursing and a PhD in Post-Secondary and Adult Education with a research focus in self-directed and online learning.
Alternate Liaison: Alexandra A. Garcia, PhD, RN
Alexandra Garcia is an associate professor at The University of Texas at Austin School of Nursing where she teaches courses on public health nursing, research, and global health. She is an elected officer of the Public Health Nursing Section of the American Public Health Association (one of the four organizations that comprise the Quad Council of Public Health Nursing Organizations) and of the Texas Public Health Association. She has been principal investigator or co-investigator on several NIH-funded studies and has published research findings pertaining to Mexican Americans’ diabetes symptom experiences and self-management strategies.
Society for Public Health Education
Bojana Beric, MD, PhD
Bojana Beric is an Assistant Professor of Health Studies at Monmouth University in New Jersey. She is a co-director of the Center for Human and Community Wellness: Community Campus Partnerships for Health, and a co-chair of the Global Understanding Convention at Monmouth University in New Jersey. In addition, Dr. Beric is a Visiting Professor University of Novi Sad, Serbia, Europe, where she practiced medicine before moving to United States, in former Yugoslavia.
As an MD with a PhD in Health Education, Dr. Beric's professional interests have been focused on teaching, preparation of the public health workforce, community-campus partnerships for health and wellness and global and international health issues. Her research interests include methods of health information communication, the organization of a community of learners to promote health and prevent disease, and advancing health literacy.
- Page last reviewed: June 3, 2011
- Page last updated: June 3, 2011
- Content source: The Guide to Community Preventive Services
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