Dr. Benes is an Assistant Professor and Coordinator of School Health Education at Southern Connecticut State University. She was previously the Program Director for Physical and Health Education programs at Boston University as well as serving as an Associate Clinical Professor at Merrimack College. Dr. Benes has multiple published articles in peer reviewed journals as well as a recently published textbook. She also presents at local and national conferences regularly and is actively engaged in service to the physical and health education professions as well as to the community. Dr. Benes' research interests include skills-based health education, equity & justice in health education, physical activity in schools, and enhancing school-based physical and health education programming. Dr. Benes is also a Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES), a certified Health & Well-Being coach, and is the President-Elect of SHAPE America.

Rachael Dombrowski, PhD, MPH, designs, implements and evaluates multilevel interventions to advance social justice and improve community health. Dr. Dombrowski is a faculty member of California State University San Marcos where she conducts community-based participatory research, including program development and evaluation within the Midwest and nation-wide. Dr. Dombrowski serves as an evaluator for the Best Food Forward school-based nutrition supports intervention, and recently conducted an assessment of over 300 grocery stores for the Great Grocer Project. Prior to working in academia, Dr. Dombrowski spent over 10 years directing and evaluating several multilevel interventions focused on policy, systems and environmental change within schools, communities, hospitals and corner stores in suburban Cook County and Chicago, Illinois. She is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Chicago (PhD) and the University of Michigan (MPH). She has worked in the public health field for over 15 years.

Mrs. Hackett is the Project Director for the Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) Program federal cooperative agreement, a nationwide community-based program to reduce racial and ethnic health disparities in cooperation with the CDC Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity (DNPAO). She has over 40 years of experience of public experience with 27 years in Chronic Disease and Health Promotion program development and implementation including nutrition, cardiovascular disease prevention, gerontology, injury prevention, women’s health, HIV/AIDS awareness, health education, physical activity and program integration. Ten (10) years in maternal and child health. Work has included over 30 years’ experience working in State and local health departments and  10 years’ experience working in non-profit sector three of which was as an Executive Director. Her experience is extensive in the areas of Policy, Environment, and Systems (PES) Change; providing technical assistance and capacity building; planning, organizing and directing programs; development, implementation and monitoring of federal categorical grants and community-based grants; and, fiscal management including budget preparations, and resource allocation. 

Mrs. Hackett has a Master of Science Degree (SM) in Public Health Nutrition from the Harvard School of Public Health (Boston, MA) and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Pre-Medicine from Bennett College (Greensboro, NC). She is a Certified Public Manager (CPM) (Rutgers, The State University in New Brunswick, NJ), and a Certified Master Trainer in Chronic Disease Self-Management (As instructed by Stanford University Patient Education Research Center. She is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Ministry Degree from Payne Theological Seminary. 

Rachael Dombrowski, PhD, MPH, designs, implements and evaluates multilevel interventions to advance social justice and improve community health. Dr. Dombrowski is a faculty member of California State University San Marcos where she conducts community-based participatory research, including program development and evaluation within the Midwest and nation-wide. Dr. Dombrowski serves as an evaluator for the Best Food Forward school-based nutrition supports intervention, and recently conducted an assessment of over 300 grocery stores for the Great Grocer Project. Prior to working in academia, Dr. Dombrowski spent over 10 years directing and evaluating several multilevel interventions focused on policy, systems and environmental change within schools, communities, hospitals and corner stores in suburban Cook County and Chicago, Illinois. She is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Chicago (PhD) and the University of Michigan (MPH). She has worked in the public health field for over 15 years.

Mrs. Hackett is the Project Director for the Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) Program federal cooperative agreement, a nationwide community-based program to reduce racial and ethnic health disparities in cooperation with the CDC Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity (DNPAO). She has over 40 years of experience of public experience with 27 years in Chronic Disease and Health Promotion program development and implementation including nutrition, cardiovascular disease prevention, gerontology, injury prevention, women’s health, HIV/AIDS awareness, health education, physical activity and program integration. Ten (10) years in maternal and child health. Work has included over 30 years’ experience working in State and local health departments and  10 years’ experience working in non-profit sector three of which was as an Executive Director. Her experience is extensive in the areas of Policy, Environment, and Systems (PES) Change; providing technical assistance and capacity building; planning, organizing and directing programs; development, implementation and monitoring of federal categorical grants and community-based grants; and, fiscal management including budget preparations, and resource allocation. 

Mrs. Hackett has a Master of Science Degree (SM) in Public Health Nutrition from the Harvard School of Public Health (Boston, MA) and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Pre-Medicine from Bennett College (Greensboro, NC). She is a Certified Public Manager (CPM) (Rutgers, The State University in New Brunswick, NJ), and a Certified Master Trainer in Chronic Disease Self-Management (As instructed by Stanford University Patient Education Research Center. She is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Ministry Degree from Payne Theological Seminary. 

A longtime leader and presence in the field, Dr. William Datema has served in education and public health for over 40 years, including service from local to international levels. He has held several national leadership positions in the United States including branch chief roles at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in school health and community health, Director of Partnerships for Children’s Health at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and Executive Director of Eta Sigma Gamma national health education honorary society and the Society of State Leaders of Health and Physical Education.

In his decorated career, Datema has volunteered in many prominent roles including as the President-Elect of the National Parent-Teacher Association (PTA), President of the Foundation for the Advancement of Health Education, and Chair-Elect of the Missouri State University Alumni Association. He is also a board member of the CATCH Global Foundation and Action for Healthy Kids. He previously served on the global boards of ASCD and the International Union for Health Promotion and Education; the national boards of the American Association for Health Education (AAHE), American School Health Association (ASHA), National Commission for Health Education Credentialing, and National PTA; and as chair of the national board and a founding board member of Action for Healthy Kids. He is the United States representative for the UNESCO Chair for Global Health and Education.

He holds a Doctor of Public Health in health policy and management from the University of Georgia, and a Master of Science and Bachelor of Science in Education from Missouri State University. Dr. Datema has presented in 48 U.S. states and 12 other nations, and he has authored and contributed to numerous publications. He is a fellow of ASHA and AAHE, a Master Certified Health Education Specialist (MCHES), and a member of Delta Omega national public health honorary society and Eta Sigma Gamma.

Holly Hunt, MA, is Chief of the Healthy Schools Branch in the Division of Population Health (DPH), at CDC’s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP). The School Health Branch leads chronic disease prevention activities specific to children and adolescents in schools with a focus on obesity prevention, nutrition and physical activity, and management of chronic conditions. With a long history of working across education and public health agencies, the School Health Branch provides rich partnerships and expertise for implementing public health practices in schools.Ms. Hunt leads innovative projects in research application, evaluation, and program and professional development. Prior to joining the Branch, Ms. Hunt served as the Deputy Director of CDC’s Division of Adolescent and School Health (DASH), responsible for the overall management of Division operations and establishing effective working partnerships with key national, federal, and nonprofit organizations working to improve the health of youth. Ms. Hunt joined CDC in 1997 and has served as the Associate Director for Policy, Evaluation, and Legislation, Director of Science Education, and as a Project Officer to CDC-funded national, state and local school health projects. Before joining CDC, Ms. Hunt served for seven years as an HIV Prevention Education Consultant in the Kentucky Department of Education, responsible for the development and implementation of statewide HIV prevention and school health programs, professional development, and community partnerships to promote the health of school-aged youth.

Melissa Fahrenbruch, MEd is the Program and Professional Development Team Lead in the Division of Population Health’s School Health Branch, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Melissa earned a BS in Education from the University of Nebraska, and a master’s in educational leadership from Doane College. She has over 25 years of experience in the education field as a teacher, coach and as a high school principal. Her school health expertise led her to Kansas and was the Director of CDC’s Coordinated School Health Program in the early 2000s. She then moved to Atlanta to serve as a Project Officer of that program which led her to her current position as team lead. Melissa currently oversees two school health cooperative agreements for states and national organizations and is the lead for internal and external professional development events for CDC staff and funded partners.

Sarah Lee is team lead for the Research Application and Evaluation Team, with the Healthy Schools Branch, Division of Population Health at the CDC. Her team focuses on chronic disease prevention and management in schools, providing scientific expertise and leadership on pertinent documents, surveillance systems, and CDC school health programs. Sarah earned her M.S. in Community Health Promotion from the University of Montana, and her PhD in Exercise and Wellness Education from Arizona State University. Sarah has authored over 40 manuscripts, reports, book chapters, and commentaries. Throughout the pandemic, Sarah served in numerous deployments to CDC’s COVID-19 emergency response as the team lead for the Community Guidance team and the Deputy for the Community Interventions and Critical Populations Task Force. She has been at CDC for 18 years, all of which have been dedicated to improving school and student health.

Marlene Tappe is Professor and Former Chair, Department of Health Science at Minnesota State University, Mankato, where she has served since 2005.  She has some 40 years of experience in school health education and has served as an expert and advisor to many CDC and HHS initiatives and publications. Dr. Tappe received her master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Illinois-Champaign, and her undergraduate degree from Minnesota State University in school health education and physical education.

Dr. Bonni C. Hodges, a SUNY Distinguished Service Professor and Professor in the Health Department at SUNY Cortland, has been working in school and community health for over 30 years. She has a particular interest in the intersection of school and community health practice. She has published in such journals as Health Promotion Practice, the Journal of School Health, American Journal of Health Education, and the Health Educator. She was the director of the 5-year School Health Systems Change Project and is currently Co-Director of the Institute for DIII College Athlete Wellbeing and Athletic Leadership. She eaned a B.S. in physical education/athletic training from Ithaca College, a M.S. in exercise science from Northeastern University, and a Ph.D from the University of Maryland-College Park.

Dr. Kandice Porter is a Professor and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs of the Department of Health Promotion and Physical Education at Kennesaw State University. For over twenty years, she has taught health education methods coursework in a HPETE P-12 program. Currently, she is working with the GADOE to train professionals to develop curricula aligned with the newly approved Georgia Standards of Excellence for health education.

Rachael Dombrowski, PhD, MPH, designs, implements and evaluates multilevel interventions to advance social justice and improve community health. Dr. Dombrowski is a faculty member of California State University San Marcos where she conducts community-based participatory research, including program development and evaluation within the Midwest and nation-wide. Dr. Dombrowski serves as an evaluator for the Best Food Forward school-based nutrition supports intervention, and recently conducted an assessment of over 300 grocery stores for the Great Grocer Project. Prior to working in academia, Dr. Dombrowski spent over 10 years directing and evaluating several multilevel interventions focused on policy, systems and environmental change within schools, communities, hospitals and corner stores in suburban Cook County and Chicago, Illinois. She is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Chicago (PhD) and the University of Michigan (MPH). She has worked in the public health field for over 15 years.

Dr. Seraphine Pitt Barnes currently serves as a health scientist in the CDC’s Division of Population Health, Healthy Schools Branch. Seraphine designs and conducts cross-cutting school-based evaluation research. She also oversees the school health evaluation activities of the Healthy Schools Program (1801) and provides evaluation technical assistance to grantees and a variety of partners with the goal of improving nutrition, physical activity, and managing chronic health conditions in schools. Seraphine also serves as the lead for the School Health Index. Dr. Pitt Barnes earned her master’s and doctoral degrees in Public Health from the University of South Florida.

Leigh Szucs, Ph.D., CHES is a Health Scientist in the Division of Adolescent and School Health (DASH) at the U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Her research focuses on implementation and evaluation of school-based health education programs, specifically sexuality education to prevent STIs, including HIV, and unintended pregnancy. Through this work, Leigh also provides technical and capability building assistance to school districts and NGOs, using evidence-informed strategies that address adolescent sexual health outcomes, and protective factors to support the social, emotional, and learning needs of youth. Leigh earned a Master of Education in Health Education at Texas State University and PhD in Health Education at Texas A&M University.

LCDR Mpofu was commissioned as a Scientist officer in the U.S. Public Health Service and joined CDC as an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer in 2012. She completed her PhD in Health Behavior and Health Education with a focus in Epidemiology at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor and has an MPH in Epidemiology from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. While at CDC, she has worked as an Epidemiologist in the Division of Reproductive Health and Office of Minority Health and Health Equity. She currently serves as Team Lead for Scientific Support and Innovation in the Division of Adolescent and School Health in the National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention at CDC.

Lloyd Kolbe is Emeritus Professor at Indiana University School of Public Health. He conducts health policy research and development to improve the health and education of young people in the U.S. and other nations; has held senior appointments within private-sector, academic, and federal government agencies; and served from 1985-2003 as founding director of CDC’s Division of Adolescent and School Health.

Dr. Brieah Hudson is a native of Jackson, Ms. She is a product of the Jackson Public School District. Dr. Hudson received her Bachelor’s degree in Community Health Science from University of Southern Mississippi. She received her Master’s Degree and Doctorate in Public Health from Jackson State University. Dr. Hudson worked for the MS Department of Health for 14 years as well as an adjunct professor for Walden and Jackson State University. She has joined Jackson State University as a full time Assistant Professor & the Health Education Program Coordinator since 2021 in the College of Education and Human Development Health, Physical Education and Recreation Department.

Mrs. Jackie Dipzinski graduated with a BS in Health Science from SUNY Brockport and an Ed.M in Education from The University at Buffalo. Mrs. Dipzinski joined the Department of Public Health and Health Education at SUNY College at Brockport as a full-time faculty member in August 2018. In this role she teaches courses in health education teaching methods, health communication, principals and philosophies of health education, experiential in health education, assessment and evaluation in health education, research methods in health education, foundations of school health and safe and healthy relationships. Mrs. Dipzinski also serves as the Coordinator of the School Health Education program since August 2018. She also serves as Field Placement Coordinator. In 2019, she published an article titled "Using Standards-Based Rubrics to Facilitate Online Peer Assessment, Response, and Reflection" with TOPR. Prior to joining the faculty at SUNY Brockport, Mrs. Dipzinski taught and coordinated health for grades 6-8 at the East Irondequoit Central School District for 15.5 years. During the last 10 years of her time at East Irondequoit, she also served at the Coordinator and Elective Teacher for AVID. She is a National Trainer for AVID's Culturally Relevant Teaching (2018-2021) for educators. She also served as a American Red Cross Instructor from 2003-2013.

Dr. Knutson has been a faculty professor of Health Education and Physical Education at MSUM since Fall of 2012. Prior to MSUM she had invested 6 additional years in Higher Ed: one (1) year at Youngstown State University, Youngstown, OH and five (5) years at St. Cloud State University, St. Cloud, MN. She also has taught 17 years in the K-12 system. She received her undergrad in Health and Physical Education from the University of Minnesota Morris. She has a Master's in Administrative Leadership and Administration (SCSU), a Master's in Health and Physical Education with DAPE (SCSU) and received her PhD from Capella University in Post-Secondary and Adult Education. She now devotes her time to teacher preparation programs for Health Education and Physical Education. She is currently a MN SHAPE Board Member for Higher Ed Division and has previously served 9 years on the MN SHAPE Board in various capacities.