Digital Institute for Higher Education Academy - Wednesday

Dr. Mike Underwood is Chief of the School-based Surveillance Branch (SBSB) in the Division of Adolescent and School Health, at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). SBSB manages surveillance systems across the United States tracking adolescent health behaviors and school-level policy and practices. His branch administers adolescent health surveys, including CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System and School Health Profiles. The Branch prioritizes efforts to build surveillance capacity, monitor emerging public health issues, and optimize data utilization for the betterment of adolescent health.

Dr. Bonnie Edmondson is an Associate Professor and Graduate Coordinator of the School Health Education Program at Southern Connecticut State University. She has over 35 years of experience as an educator, coach, and former professional athlete. Nationally, Dr. Edmondson has served on expert panels for the CDC and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is a peer reviewer for numerous professional publications and journals, and is a nationally renowned speaker on health and education policy and athletic coaching. At the state level, Bonnie lead the writing and implementation of numerous school health policies and programmatic guidance documents. In addition, she is a two-time national champion and former world ranked hammer thrower. She is active with USA Track and Field having served as head coach for the 2019 IAAF World Championship team, coach for the 2016 United States Olympic Team, and seven IAAF World Championship teams. Bonnie also serves as Chair of the prestigious USATF Women’s Commission and is a member of the Women’s Track and Field Executive Committee. Dr. Edmondson holds an EdD in Educational Leadership, an MS in School Health Education, and a BA in English.

Holly Alperin is a Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of New Hampshire in the Department of Kinesiology's Health and Physical Education program where she focuses her efforts on preparing students to teach in a skills-based health education classroom. Prior to this role, she spent 16 years at the MA Department of Elementary & Secondary Education in various roles related to school health including implementation of the Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child model. With over 20 years of experience working in the fields of public health and education, Ms. Alperin has a strong background in promoting school health programs through her work at the local, state, national, and international levels, and a specific interest in shaping the quality of skills-based health education programs in schools. Holly believes in the power of supporting the work of educators as they collectively work to improve student outcomes. She received her EdM in Policy, Planning and Administration from Boston University and her BS in Health Education/Health Promotion from Central Michigan University.

Lea Jaspers is the Health Education Specialist for the Maryland State Department of Education. In this role, she provides leadership, technical assistance, and coordination of health education programs throughout Maryland. Under her leadership Mayland updated the State regulation and instructional framework for Pre-K-12 Health Education programs and expanded the high school graduation requirement from a one-half credit to one full credit. Most recently Lea has been focusing her efforts on the expansion of higher education certification options in health education. Prior to this role, she served as the Wellness Specialist, for the Maryland State Department of Education and taught health education in Anne Arundel County Public Schools.

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.

Jordan Fuhrmeister, MPH, CHES is an Associate Project Director at the Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE). She brings her background in federal and state grant administration and public health non-profit management to lead the CDC Healthy Schools and CDC Arthritis cooperative agreements. Additional portfolios she directs include SOPHE Awards, Professional Preparation, and the National Committee on the Future of School Health Education. She has overseen and contributed to various CDC funded field resources for school health educators, and co-authored literature in areas of opioid addiction, school health, and childhood obesity to inform health policy and practice.

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.

James Mallare is an Associate Researcher at Wayne State University He has assisted in research initiatives that cover experiences across the life span from childhood and adolescent nutrition to cognition and physical activity in the older adult population. His areas of interest are in nutrition and chronic disease in low socio-economic populations and the professional preparation of community and school health educators at institutions for higher education. A native Canadian, he is constantly looking for connections and opportunities to collaborate internationally on matters of education and betterment of health systems.

Tiffany Edgar is a Lecturer in the Sport Administration and Management Program at Wayne State University in the College of Education’s Kinesiology, Health and Sports Studies Division. With 10+ years of college teaching experience, Tiffany’s primary responsibilities include teaching courses online, asynchronously, for both graduate and undergraduate courses. She has completed several Quality Matter’s courses focusing on online course design and learner centered approaches to online learning, including earning the Quality Matter’s Teaching Online Certificate for Higher Education as well as the Accelerated K-12 Reviewer Course for Higher Education. Tiffany also has experience working in K-12 physical education, coaching college, high school, and competitive youth fast-pitch softball, and college athletic administration in the roles of Senior Women’s Administrator and Athletic Academic Advisor.

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.

Emily M. Young, MSEd, MPH is the Paula E. Jayne Adolescent Sexual Health Fellow in the Division of Adolescent and School Health (DASH) at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A former high school educator in Baltimore City Public Schools, her interest is the implementation science of school-based health programs; specifically those that support health-enhancing behaviors through an integrated focus on academics, health and social services, positive youth development, and community engagement. Through her work with DASH, Emily develops evidence-informed tools for teachers and schools to strengthen health education delivery and instruction. She also provides technical assistance to school districts implementing STI and unintended pregnancy prevention programs. Emily earned a Master of Science in Education from Johns Hopkins University and an MPH in Maternal and Child Health from George Washington University.