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.  

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.

Laurel Mellin, PhD, is a health psychologist and the founder of emotional brain training, which she developed during her 40 years as a faculty member in the School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, most recently as an associate professor of family and community medicine and pediatrics. She has a B.A. from UC Berkeley, a M.A. in nutrition from S.F. State University, and a PhD in health psychology and behavioral medicine from Northcentral University. Her work has received awards from the American Medical Association and the US Department of Consumer Affairs. Dr. Mellin is the author of 11 books on emotional brain training and is a New York Times bestselling author. She is a researcher and trains health professionals in the EBT Method.

Dr. Ashley S. Love, an experienced public health professional with over 20 years of expertise, is committed to addressing social determinants of health. Trained at Columbia University and Nova Southeastern University and having lived in Europe, Asia, and North America, she brings a multicultural perspective to her work. As the former State Epidemiologist of Delaware/Bureau Chief of Epidemiology, Dr. Love was crucial in effectively managing the H1N1 pandemic in 2009. Her interdisciplinary and interfaith approach, coupled with her experience working with diverse age and racial/minority groups, enriches her work. Dr. Love’s areas of expertise include public health, healthcare education, telehealth, nutrition, and gerontology. She has taught numerous community college and university courses, employing innovative approaches. She has been an award-winning educator, certified online instructor, and an active-duty military spouse for over two decades. She is an associate professor and director of graduate studies at the University of Incarnate Word’s Dreeben School of Education.

ProfessorSima A. Hamadeh is a Full Professor of Public Health Nutrition and the ProgramCoordinator of Nutrition and Dietetic Sciences at Haigazian University, and asenior lecturer in the Nutrition Master programs at Saint Joseph University inLebanon.

Shereceived her master’s degree in Community Nutrition and Ph.D. in Public HealthNutrition from University of Montreal-Canada. Her M.Sc. work was awarded the“Emerald Literati Network Awards for Excellence” in 2009. Her Ph.D. work washonored by Canadian experts in 2013 and awarded the “Prix d’ExcellenceScientifique Franco-Libanais” from the Société des Membres de la Légiond’Honneur au Liban & the French Embassy in Lebanon in 2015. Her outstandingpostdoctoral studies on “Science Journalism” at Northwestern University werenotably considered by TED team in US and TED in Arabic team to join them as ascience curator in 2023.

Prof.Hamadeh main research interest deals with public health nutrition matters andscience communication/journalism such as: public health promotion, food systemsand sustainability; nutrition in media and communication, nutrition economicsand consumerism, food citizenship, nutrition psychology, digital food andsports marketing, digital and media health literacy, and their relatedpolicies. She published several peer-reviewed papers, and scientific blogs andaudiovisuals exploring these topics from different perspectives, and shedesigned various significant comprehensive theoretical frameworks toconsolidate her research work.

Prof.Hamadeh works closely with different national and international ministries andorganizations on projects, seminars, research, and community programs. She hostedand was hosted on many panel discussions and podcasts, and has provided manytalks and keynote speeches in national and international scientific congresses.She was honored and awarded special prizes for her outstanding papers inEurope, Canada, Gulf countries, and in Lebanon. She is also a member of severalexecutive international scientific committees and associations and a reviewerfor distinguished scientific peer-reviewed journals and for health short movieapplications to the annual American Public Health Association conference.

Mostrecently, Prof. Hamadeh joined the new “Mentoring Program in Communication andMarketing” and the “Reviewer Committee for the National Physical EducationStandards” of the Society of Health & Physical Educators- USA. She is alsoa mentor in the American Public Health Association for health promotion,communication, and policies. In June 23 she was selected by TUFTS University asan expert panelist to engage in the consensus-building process of their“Leading A Sustainability Transition in Nutrition Globally-LASTING” project. Finally,in July 24 she was appointed by Emerald Publishing-UK as an Editor-in-Chief fora new Gold Open Scientific Journal “Global Smart Food Systems”.

Gabriella Pandolfelli, MPH is the Director of Epidemiology and Public Health Analytics. She is also a PhD Candidate in Population Health and Clinical Outcomes Research at Stony Brook University. She is actively involved in interprofessional education (IPE) and research projects that include a commitment to building successful community-academic partnerships, community engagement and participatory action research, and team-based IPE to improve health equity and access to resources while demonstrating community impact. Building upon her experience in community engagement, she is committed to research that focuses on cardiovascular disease and hypertension prevention interventions in community-based settings that promote access to care and health equity.

Dr. Karen Mancera-Cuevas is the Senior Director of Health Equity at the National Health Council. She works to help build health equity as a core competency through collaboration with other National Health Council departments. This includes developing programs, improving patient-centered outcomes, and working on current projects related to health equity. She also is the Chair of the American Public Health Association Public Health Education and Health Promotion Section, Chair for the Coalition of National Health Education Organizations, Associate Editor for the Progress in Community Health Partnerships Journal, the Regional Committee representative for the International Union for Promotion and Education, and Board Member of Professional Development for the Society of Public Health Education. She received her undergraduate degree in community health education from the University of Maryland and has degrees in public administration from DePaul University and in health policy from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She earned her DrPH from Walden University. The majority of Mancera-Cuevas’ professional career involved health education intersecting health policy and clinical research. She has worked in various settings – community nonprofit, health policy, academic and government sectors. 

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.