Dr. Finnie is a health scientist with the Community Guide Program working on the effectiveness review team for social determinants of health. Dr. Finnie has been with the Community Guide Program since 2011 and has contributed to systematic reviews on topics including mental health, obesity, cardiovascular disease, tobacco control, and social determinants of health. Dr. Finnie holds a Bachelor of Science in psychology from the University of Arizona and Master of Public Health with a concentration in behavioral science and health education from Emory Rollins School of Public Health. She holds a doctor of public health (DrPH) degree with a global health concentration from the University of Texas School of Public Health. 

Dr. Harmon (Cherokee Nation Operational Solutions) is a behavioral scientist with the Community Guide Program, currently working in the areas of social determinants of health and substance use prevention. She has been with the Community Guide Program since 2019 and has contributed to systematic reviews on topics including heart disease and stroke prevention, physical activity, tobacco cessation, and mental health. Dr. Harmon holds a PhD in sociology from Georgia State University.

Dr. Escoffery is a Professor in the department of Behavioral, Health, and Social Sciences at the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory. She has studied cancer prevention and control and the uptake of evidence-based interventions for over 15 years. She is the PI of the Emory Cancer Prevention and Control Research Network which is exploring multilevel interventions to increase HPV vaccination among rural residents in GA. She is active in SOPHE at the state and national level.

Dr. Erin K. O'Neill is Associate Professor and Chairperson of Population Health & Exercise Science Department at New Jersey City University.  Her interest is in improving the understanding of developing healthier educational environments and/or college campuses to assist transitioning young adults to becoming productive and inquisitive additions to a global society.  

Kimberly Price is an associate professor of public health and director of the Master of Public Health program.  She has been on faculty at LR since the fall of 2014 and teaches in the areas of health promotion program planning and evaluation, epidemiology and community engagement. Prior to coming to LR, she worked for more than 15 years as a health education specialist in clinical and community settings. She has devoted her career to promoting wellness and understanding social determinants of health.

Price has coordinated programs at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, the NJ War-Related Illness and Injury Center, as well as other projects with nonprofit agencies in urban communities. She currently serves as a Trustee on the board for the Society of Public Health Education (SOPHE) and has served on the board of directors for MountainTrue, Medical Advocates for Healthy Air and on the executive board for North Carolina SOPHE.

Her scholarly interests include reducing health inequities, addressing health literacy and program evaluation and assessment.

In 2023, she received the Roediger Distinguished Service Professorship, designated annually by the university president in recognition of distinguished service to the university, profession and community.

Anqunette Parham is experienced in blending research, public health, legal analysis, and policy development with leadership experience in direct care and program administration in community and clinical settings. She is well versed in developing, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating programs for non-profits, health care organizations, and municipalities. She has over a decade of experience writing successful federal, state, and local grant applications securing over $5 million in funds.

Falen Petros, MS has four years of experience in public health communication, education and community engagement. This experience includes day-to-day project management and communications support for regional public health programs – made possible by federal, state and county funds. These programs have promoted SUD stigma reduction, vaccine adoption, health literacy among racial and ethnic minorities and launched county-wide maternal health services. Under Falen's leadership, a $3.6M grant was awarded a one-year extension and was up for 4 national and regional awards.

Additionally, Falen has served child care systems and health systems as a public health communicator and health educator. She champions health literacy as a vehicle to advance health equity.

Marline D. Edmond is a first-generation Haitian- American professional with 10 combined years of expertise in public health, community engagement, partnership, and stakeholder management. She is a Master Certified Health Education Specialist (MCHES) and Howard University Culture, Communication, and Media PhD student with a focus in Health Communication. She is an active member and NJ Chapter Delegate of the Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE) and NJ Ambassador for Black Ladies in Public Health (BLiPH). She is passionate about improving the health/racial disparities, health equity, and health literacy in the Haitian communities she serves.

David A. Birch, PhD, is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Health Science at The University of Alabama. He served as professor and department chair from 2011-2018. From 2001-2008 he served as professor and chair of the Department of Health Education and Recreation, Southern Illinois University Car­bondale. Dr. Birch is a past president of the American Association for Health Education (AAHE) and the Society for Public Health Edu­cation (SOPHE). He has served on the Board of Directors of AAHE, the American School Health Association (ASHA), the Foundation for the Advancement of Health Education, the National Association of Health Education Centers, and the SOPHE Board of Trustees. Dr. Birch has served in various leadership positions in national committees and task forces. He is currently a member of the editorial board of Health Education & Behavior. He is a former member of the editorial boards of the Journal of School Health, Pedagogy in Health Promotion-The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, the Ameri­can Journal of Health Education, and the American Journal of Health Studies. Dr. Birch is a Charter Fellow of AAHE and an ASHA Fellow. He has received the highest professional award from three organizations: the ASHA William A. Howe Award (2019), the SOPHE Distin­guished Fellow Award (2018), and the Eta Sigma Gamma Honor Award (2015) along with numerous other professional awards. He was the 2008 Ann E. Nolte Scholar in Health Education, Illinois State University. As a fac­ulty member at Indiana University, Dr. Birch received the Trustee’s Teaching Award and the Teaching Excellence Recognition Award.

Hannah P. Catalano, PhD, MCHES, is an associate professor of public health at Uni­versity of North Carolina–Wilmington (UNCW). She is an editorial board member for the Jour­nal of School Health. She is a member of the National Committee on the Future of School Health. She is also a member of the SOPHE Think Tank work group that provides strategic direction on the Institute for Higher Education Academy intended for teacher preparation programs and updates the SOPHE Model Toolkit for K-12 School Health Educators. She is a Founding Faculty Fellow of the UNC-UNCW Research Collaboratory in the College of Health & Human Services at UNCW. She founded and currently leads the Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child Research Collaboratory (WSCCRC) at UNCW, which is a unique initiative to engage college students in scholarly discussions around WSCC and to facilitate meaningful research on the model. She has served on the board of directors for the American School Health Association (ASHA) and co-chaired the ASHA Research and Pub­lications Committee. She previously served as a member of the National Consensus on School Health Expert Review Group. She is a former Future Leaders Academy Fellow of ASHA and NextUp Leadership Development Fellow of UNCW. She is a former health and physical education teacher at a Title I school. Her scholarship centers broadly around child and adolescent health, quality school health education, and the Whole School, Whole Com­munity, Whole Child model.

Rosemary Reilly-Chammat, EdD, is the associate director of school health and extended learning in the Office of Student, Community and Academic Supports in the Rhode Island Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (RIDE). She has served in a variety of roles in RIDE over the past 10 years. In addition, she worked for 26 years in the Rhode Island Department of Health, leading a variety of efforts related to student health and health in schools. She is the past president of the Society of State Leaders of Health and Physical Education and is on the board of the American School Health Association (ASHA). She received an ASHA Fellow Award in 2021.

Sue Baldwin, PhD, MCHES, FASHA, has worked as a health educator for more than 25 years designing, implementing, and evaluating health education programs and curricula. She has taught at the collegiate and high school levels for nearly two decades. Dr. Baldwin has been the Buffalo Public Schools district wellness coordinator for seven years and in 2020 was appointed the supervisor of health and physical education in Buffalo, New York. Under her direction the Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC) initiative was implemented across 60 schools. The program was awarded the 2019 American School Health Association WSCC District Wide Implementation Award, recognition from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention with a district site visit, and urban district recognition from ASCD for the district’s use of the WSCC model. Dr. Baldwin has received numerous awards for her work in school health. She received her bachelor’s from Gannon University, her master’s from Slippery Rock University, and her doctorate from Kent State University. Moreover, she completed a master’s in educational leadership and policy at SUNY Buffalo and obtained her school building and school district leader certifications in New York.

M. Elaine Auld, MPH, MCHES, is the chief executive officer, emerita, for the Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE). As SOPHE’s chief executive officer from 1995 to 2021 she oversaw the organization’s portfolio in professional preparation, professional development, research, publications, and advocacy. Over her more than 40-year career, Ms. Auld has published some 50 journal articles and book chapters on the profession’s role in community and school health education, health equity, national and international workforce development, and public policy. With regard to the Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child model, Ms. Auld was principal investigator on several Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cooperative agreements that provided training and materials development for professionals, promoted the model as part of the National Task Force on the Future of School Health Education, and helped establish SOPHE’s School Health Teacher Education Standards used in credentialing.

Deborah A. Fortune, Ph.D., MCHES, is an associate professor in the Department of Health Education at North Carolina Central University and is a Master Certified Health Education Specialist. Prior to her current position, Dr. Fortune was the director of the National HIV and CSHE Project with the American Association for Health Education. She has been a faculty member at the following institutions: East Tennessee State University, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and Marymount University.

Dr. Fortune received her B.S. degree in Biology from Mississippi University for Women, her M.S. degree in Community Health Education from the University of Southern Mississippi, and her Ph.D. in Public Health Education from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Dr. Fortune has provided instructor training in comprehensive school health education (Growing Healthy curriculum and Teenage Health Teaching Modules), HIV/AIDS for African Americans, youth violence prevention, and cultural diversity in health education. Her research interests include HIV and sexual health among African American college women, youth violence prevention, professional preparation in health education, and faculty and youth mentoring. She has published and made numerous presentations on those topics.

Dr. Gardiner’s work has been rooted in community and public health nutrition both as a practitioner and researcher. In her current role as an Assistant Professor in the Health Sciences Department at the University of Missouri Kansas City, her research is focused on looking at nutrition through the lens of health equity to explore food and nutrition security, access to healthy food, and the intersection between hunger and health. She has received both internal and external grants as a principal or co-investigator to support her work, including a recent federally funded, multi-year, CDC award. Beyond her scholarly work, she also provides service in leadership roles on state (e.g. Missouri Council for Activity and Nutrition), Regional (e.g SOPHE Midwest chapter) and national (American Society for Nutrition) level working groups. Dr. Gardiner is passionate about supporting healthy food consumption among food insecure college students and has been exploring this topic and potential intervention pathways for over five years. 

Dr. Matthew Chrisman is an Associate Professor in the School of Nursing and Health Studies at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. His work has involved community-based studies promoting health, including nutrition education and physical activity. He has served as PI or Co-PI on numerous grants, including two specifically focused on assessing and understanding food insecurity in college students. Dr. Chrisman is a member of the Missouri Council for Activity and Nutrition, the American Public Health Association, and the Society for Public Health Education, and serves on the Executive Committee and Steering Committee of the Greater KC Food Policy Coalition.

Andrea Cullers, PhD, RD, is Professor in the Kinesiology Department and Co-Director of the Lion Co-op Center for Nutrition Security at Missouri Southern State University in Joplin, Missouri. She received her BS in Dietetics and Nutrition from the University of Arkansas, her MS from University of Kansas Medical Center in Clinical Nutrition and her PhD from the University of California, Davis in Nutritional Biology with an emphasis in Community and International Nutrition. Dr. Cullers is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and completed her training at KUMC. Locally, Dr. Cullers is currently chair of Joplin Area Food Action Network OneJoplin Health Team and serves on the Community Health Collaborative. At the state level she serves on the Missouri Council for Activity and Nutrition Steering Committee and is part of the Food Systems Workgroup, she also is delegate-elect for the Missouri Academy of Dietetics and Nutrition.  Andrea loves playing outside and exploring the world with her husband and son.

Candace Rodman serves as the Missouri Council for Activity and Nutrition (MOCAN) Executive Director which acts to unify MO organizations, healthcare professionals, educators, government officials and public health entities to create policies that better the health of Missourians. Her previous work as a Nutrition and Health Specialist for the University of Missouri Extension, has brought her closer to the needs of the communities around Missouri and allowed her to work alongside those engaging in health outreach at a local level. Now, as a State Specialist for MU Extension and MOCAN Executive Director, Candace works to influence health policy at a broader state level, including food insecurity.

Allene began working for the University of Missouri Extension since 2019, and has helped educate low- income populations through cooking classes and grocery store tours, where they addressed how to stretch food dollars. She attended the Voices for Food conference in Lansing, MI, in 2019, learning about choice pantries and how to work with food pantries to improve use and nutritional food consumption. Allene worked closely with her USDA pantry in Richmon, Missouri, to give simple, educational talks and food demonstrations to aid recipients in using their food items. After joining the Missouri Council for Activity and Nutrition (MOCAN) in 2020 and becoming the Food Systems Work Group Co-Chair, Allene joined a team interested in studying food insecurity in college students. That team was to become the SNAP for U Team, collaborating across institutions to receive 2 grants to further study SNAP knowledge and utilization in Missouri college students, SNAP knowledge among college administrators, along with barriers and facilitators affecting student access to SNAP in Missouri. As MOCAN Food Systems Work Group Co-Chair from 2020-2023, Allene helped obtain speakers related to topics like SNAP and Double Up Food Bucks eligibility and processes, as well as aided in setting work group goals for expanding education and (hopeful) expansion of SNAP and WIC utilization statewide.

Dr. Nicolette Warren Powe is Assistant Professor of Public Health in the Department of Health Professions and the Department of Graduate Studies in Health & Rehabilitation Sciences at Youngstown State University. She received a DrPH in Health Education from the Loma Linda University, an MS in Health Promotion/Human Sciences from North Carolina Central University, and a BS in Community Health Education/Healthcare Ethics from Kent State University. Dr. Powe is a public health scientist whose primary interest is behavioral risk factors for chronic disease prevention. Dr. Powe’s research investigates racial/ethnic and sex differences in adherence to cardiometabolic self-management practices, specifically in young adults. Dr. Powe also studies applied health education theories to the implementation of health promotion programs and the dissemination of chronic disease program outcomes. 

Dr. Powe’s work has resulted in the publication of the Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) Minority National Organizations (MNO) Success Stories showcasing the health equity projects that worked towards closing the health disparity gap in at least one of the racial and ethnic minority groups. Dr. Powe serves on the Youngstown American Heart Association Board and the Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio Board. She is a member of The Links, Incorporated Youngstown Chapter. She was elected to the Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE) editorial board for Pedagogy in Health Promotion: The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning journal.
 

Dr. Escoffery is a Professor in the department of Behavioral, Health, and Social Sciences at the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory. She has studied cancer prevention and control and the uptake of evidence-based interventions for over 15 years. She is the PI of the Emory Cancer Prevention and Control Research Network which is exploring multilevel interventions to increase HPV vaccination among rural residents in GA. She is active in SOPHE at the state and national level.

Laura B. Plunkett, MPH, provides technical assistance and support to 13 U.S. Administration for Community Living (ACL) grant-funded community-based organizations throughout the country who are offering evidence-based falls prevention and chronic disease self-management education. In addition, she also supports and assists with the development and implementation of community-integrated health care initiatives and business acumen activities to increase sustainability efforts of the Aging Network.

Kathleen Zuke has been with the Center for Healthy Aging since 2015. In this role, she works collaboratively with community-based partners across the country to identify, implement, and sustain evidence-based programs that support older adults in staying well and aging in the community, including chronic disease self-management education, falls prevention, and behavioral health.

Program Specialist, Center for Healthy Aging, National Council on Aging: Kate Gibbons provides technical assistance to U.S. Administration for Community Living grantees implementing evidence-based falls prevention and chronic disease self-management education. Additionally, at NCOA, Kate grows and coordinates community educational efforts, develops resources for professionals and aging adults, and supports the Aging Mastery Program.

Yoko Meusch, MA, is a Program Associate for the Center for Healthy Aging at National Council on Aging. Yoko provides technical assistance to U.S. Administration for Community Living (ACL) grant-funded community-based organizations promoting and implementing evidence-based Falls Prevention and Chronic Disease Self-Management education programs. In addition, she is a program administrator for Aging Mastery Program®, an NCOA’s signature program for aging well. 

Yoko holds a Bachelor's degree in Management Studies from the University of Maryland Global Campus and a Master's Degree in Health Communication from Johns Hopkins University.

Julie Friedman, MPH is a member of the LA County Sexual and Gender Diverse Women’s Health Collaborative and as the director of the Iris Cantor-UCLA Women’s Health Education and Research Center, she oversees the operation of the Collaborative. At the Center, her work focuses on the social determinants of women’s health. In collaboration with cross-sector partners, she engages in education, research, and advocacy initiatives focused on vulnerable women in LA County to advance their health across the lifespan. Previously she was the executive director of the Early Childhood Parenting Center, managed the employee health promotion program at the Los Angeles Times, and was a consultant with Growing Health Partnerships working with nonprofit organizations. She has published articles on worksite wellness, health promotion, and women’s health. She serves as a Board of Supervisors appointee to the LA County Commission for Women where she is the Chair of the Health Committee.   

Sequoia Thompson is a Steering Committee member of the LA County Sexual and Gender Diverse Women’s Health Collaborative. As a healer through dialogue, Sequoia utilizes her background in psychology and craft as a motivational speaker, and somatic dialogue facilitator to empower her audience to see themselves as changemakers who create spaces that offer dignity, holistic care, and psychological safety for all identities and ways of being.

Sequoia incorporates storytelling to humanize discussions around Intersectional Identity, Inclusive Language, Racial Equity, and Accountability. This pairing of storytelling and administrative decolonizing creates an impactful ambiance for transformational and sustainable change. Her transnational research investigating European and American heteronormative colonialism fuels her passion for social justice and QTBIPOC advocacy. 
Sequoia is an ardent advocate for mental health and incorporates her journey through Major Depressive Disorder to empower those who may not have the resources to understand the condition and thrive through and with it.

Gabrielle Agana Pascua is a consultant for the City of West Hollywood, serving as the Training Coordinator for the LA County Sexual & Gender Diverse Women’s Health Collaborative. She is also the Program Coordinator for the Iris Cantor – UCLA Women’s Health Education & Research Center, where she previously was an intern. She graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2023 with a Bachelor of Science in Human Biology & Society. Throughout her undergraduate education, Gabrielle volunteered with UCLA’s Mobile Clinic Project as a Caseworker and member of the Health Education Committee. She brought street-side clinic access to West Hollywood at sites such as Salvation Army, the Los Angeles LGBT Center, and Hollywood Food Coalition. She now volunteers with UCLA’s Companion Care, which seeks to build sustainable bridges and establish a continuum of care between people experiencing homelessness with existing health and social services network in Los Angeles.

Dr. Jody Vogelzang, a nationally recognized speaker, researcher, registered dietitian, and health education specialist, is an expert in community health who has spent the last two decades teaching in higher education.  Her peers have formally recognized her for excellence in professional practice (Excellence in Public Health Nutrition (AND) and Achievements in Public Health Nutrition (APA) and for dedication to the high standards of the nutrition and dietetics profession through active participation, leadership, and devotion to serving others in nutrition and dietetics, as well as allied health fields (AND Medallion Award).  
She holds a bachelor’s degree in dietetics from Michigan State University, a Master's Degree in Health Science from Grand Valley State University, a Master's of Arts in Biology from Miami University, and a Doctorate in Health Services specializing in community health from Walden University. She regularly volunteers in professional and community organizations locally, nationally, and internationally.

Sely-Ann Johnson, PhD, brings diverse expertise in public health, teaching, research, and epidemiology, focusing on disaster preparedness, prevention, and food safety. In her previous role at the CDC Foundation, she served as an epidemiologist, overseeing multiple analytic projects. Her duties involved developing project summaries and data briefs, implementing process improvements, overseeing the creation of Tableau visualizations, and analyzing data to produce actionable outputs for stakeholders. She currently teaches public health courses at Ball State University and Perdue Global. Dr. Johnson holds a Ph.D. in Health Education and a Master of Public Health from the University of Toledo.

Dr. Kanekar is an Associate Professor and Graduate Program Coordinator for Health Education and Health Promotion at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. His fourteen years of teaching experience involves more than 30 different courses (undergraduate and graduate) in the areas of public health, health education, and health promotion. Recipient of numerous teaching awards at the international, national, and local levels, his pedagogical techniques involve online –distance learning, hybrid, and face-to-face courses. His research areas of interest focus on adolescent health, measurement in health education, global health, online and hybrid pedagogy, and health behavior interventions. He currently serves on the Society for Public Health Education Ethics Committee and Editorial Board of the American Journal of Public Health and Journal of Alcohol and Drug Education at the national level and as Member at Large Finance at the Arkansas Society for Public Health Education at the state level.

Yuliya Shneyderman, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Health Education at the Borough of Manhattan Community College. She co-coordinates the Associate in Science degree in Public Health. Her research interests are environmental health, sexual and reproductive health, and vaccine hesitancy. She serves on the SOPHE Ethics Committee.