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. 

Dr. Terry O’Toole serves as Chief of the Program Development and Evaluation Branch, Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  Dr. O’Toole provides leadership and subject matter expertise to state and community-based programs, national partners, and health organizations focused on chronic disease prevention, obesity, nutrition, and physical activity. He earned his Doctor of Philosophy in Health Behavior from Indiana University, Master of Education in Health and Physical Education from the University of Louisville, and Master of Divinity from Southern Seminary. Terry and his wife have two kids in college.  Terry really enjoys being outside, especially on a bike.

Dr. Roe has been a professor of public health and community health education at San Jose State University for over 29 years, where she served as chair for the Health Science and Recreation Department from 2001-2013. She brings more than two decades of scholarship and editorial experience, including as founding associate editor for HPP’s “Circle of Research and Practice” Department; co-editor of HPP’s first supplement devoted to health disparities in 2002; and editorial board member of SOPHE’s Pedagogy in Health Promotion Journal.

René Lavinghouze has over 32 years in designing, conducting, and managing evaluations focusing on prevention programs and is currently the Translation Team Lead in the Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity at CDC.  Her focus is on the study of program infrastructure as the foundation that supports program capacity, implementation, and sustainability.  She is lead author of the Component Model of Infrastructure (CMI), a practical, systems-approach model that supports program implementation and enables outcome measurement, links infrastructure to capacity, and facilitates the likelihood of sustainable public health achievements.  She was the evaluation lead in the Office on Smoking and Health at CDC for 6 years and has worked in the Division of Oral Health and in HIV/AIDS prevention at CDC.  Prior to coming to CDC, she worked at a private evaluation and organizational service firm for over 7 years and has worked in academic and local health department settings.  She received her Master’s in Community Psychology from Georgia State University and a Master’s in Interactive Technology from The University of Alabama.

LaNita S. Wright is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Promotion and Physical Education, Public Health Education program at Kennesaw State University. She teaches undergraduate courses pertaining to public health theory, planning, implementation and evaluation.

Her current research focuses on how interconnected systems influence health-promoting behaviors, especially among adolescents, with a recent research project focusing on the Black Church’s role in preventing teen pregnancy. She also recently facilitated a community engagement project (alongside a nonprofit) pertaining to the local community’s perceptions of sexual health related topics and implementation. Her recent work has been published in Health Promotion Practice and Journal of Adolescence.

LaNita offers professional service in various ways, including peer-reviewing manuscripts for multiple journals and book publishers, and serving on the Health Promotion Practice Editorial Board.

She received a Doctor of Philosophy in Health Promotion and a Master of Public Health in Health Promotion Sciences from the University of Oklahoma. She received a Bachelor of Science in Health Services Administration from Auburn University.

LaNita is a passionate, dedicated public health professional. She finds joy in playing an active role in the development of young people through research, teaching, training, and mentoring.  

Dr. Laura Kettel Khan is currently the Senior Scientist in the Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia.  Dr. Kettel Khan is internationally known in the field of obesity prevention evaluation methodology and research design of multi-sectoral interventions and serves on numerous national advisory committees related to evaluation which build the evidence for policy, systems, and environmental (PSE) strategies for healthy communities.  She represents the CDC on numerous national partnerships with public and private funders which focus on healthy eating and active living.  Dr. Kettel Khan graduated with a doctoral degree in Nutritional Sciences from the University of Arizona in 1992, finished her post-doctoral training at Cornell University in 1994, after which she joined the Emory University Rollins School of Public Health, Department of International Nutrition, followed by her current position at the CDC since 1996. She has authored more than 150 peer reviewed articles and book chapters. 

Samuel Baxter, PhD, MPH is a postdoctoral fellow in Public Health Sciences at Clemson University.  He coordinates a five-year CDC High Obesity Program (HOP) that utilizes policy, systems, and environmental change approaches to address obesity in three rural South Carolina counties. Dr. Baxter’s research and work has focused on social and environmental factors that influence health opportunities and outcomes. Specific areas of expertise include: the role of racism in health equity research, quantitative and qualitative analysis of health inequities, cardiovascular disease prevention, and men’s health. Dr. Baxter earned his MPH from Morehouse School of Medicine (Atlanta, Georgia) and PhD in Health Policy and Management from the Gillings School of Global Public Health at UNC (Chapel Hill, NC). He is an alumni of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Policy Research Scholars Program.

Founding editor Health Promotion Practice and President, Public Health Systems Consultants 

Randy is a nationally recognized public health professional with over thirty-five years’ experience in implementing health promotion/disease prevention initiatives in state health departments and voluntary health organizations with an emphasis on chronic disease prevention and control, cancer control, tobacco control, community-based health promotion, and healthy public policy. He is currently President of Public Health Systems Consultants and serves as the Sr. Public Health Consultant for Cancer Control with the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors (NACDD). He is an Adjunct Faculty member for several leading academic public health programs. Randy has written and presented on the importance of engaging public health practitioners along with researchers and engaged communities as a key factor in advancing implementation science. 

He has authored or co-authored numerous articles on health promotion and chronic disease prevention. Randy is the Founding Editor of the journal, Health Promotion Practice, a journal of the Society for Public Health Education. He has been awarded the Society for Public Health Education’s Distinguished Fellow Award, the Society’s highest honor. 

Jeanine is the managing editor of Health Promotion Practice, SOPHE’s practice-based journal, as well as the founding editorial manager for SOPHE’s youngest journal, Pedagogy in Health Promotion. Since 2014, Jeanine has had the opportunity to collaborate with four EIC’s, as well as guest editors and editorial boards to deliver best practices and innovative approaches in over 70 issues for these health education publications that continue to grow in submissions, visibility, and contributions to the field. Jeanine enjoys gaining a broad perspective of public health initiatives by supporting editorial leadership, authors, and reviewers that help enhance her competencies as a Certified Health Education Specialist. In addition to her work with the journals, Jeanine has worked as a technical assistance coordinator for Partnering 4 Health and supports grant writing teams. 

Prior to earning her Masters in Health Promotion Management from the American University in 2013, Jeanine taught middle school English for students with language-based learning differences and worked as a writing tutor at the US Coast Guard Academy. Jeanine shares her dedication to healthy living with her four children and maintains sanity with running, reading, and lots of coffee!

Dr. Leah Michele Maynard has worked in the Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for 20 years.  She is an epidemiologist on the Healthy Food Environments team, where she serves as a subject matter expert for food service guidelines.  She was the lead author for the Food Service Guidelines for Federal Facilities and now primarily translates science into materials (web and pdf) related to implementation of food service guidelines.    

LaNita S. Wright is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Promotion and Physical Education, Public Health Education program at Kennesaw State University. She teaches undergraduate courses pertaining to public health theory, planning, implementation and evaluation.

Her current research focuses on how interconnected systems influence health-promoting behaviors, especially among adolescents, with a recent research project focusing on the Black Church’s role in preventing teen pregnancy. She also recently facilitated a community engagement project (alongside a nonprofit) pertaining to the local community’s perceptions of sexual health related topics and implementation. Her recent work has been published in Health Promotion Practice and Journal of Adolescence.

LaNita offers professional service in various ways, including peer-reviewing manuscripts for multiple journals and book publishers, and serving on the Health Promotion Practice Editorial Board.

She received a Doctor of Philosophy in Health Promotion and a Master of Public Health in Health Promotion Sciences from the University of Oklahoma. She received a Bachelor of Science in Health Services Administration from Auburn University.

LaNita is a passionate, dedicated public health professional. She finds joy in playing an active role in the development of young people through research, teaching, training, and mentoring.  

Founding editor Health Promotion Practice and President, Public Health Systems Consultants 

Randy is a nationally recognized public health professional with over thirty-five years’ experience in implementing health promotion/disease prevention initiatives in state health departments and voluntary health organizations with an emphasis on chronic disease prevention and control, cancer control, tobacco control, community-based health promotion, and healthy public policy. He is currently President of Public Health Systems Consultants and serves as the Sr. Public Health Consultant for Cancer Control with the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors (NACDD). He is an Adjunct Faculty member for several leading academic public health programs. Randy has written and presented on the importance of engaging public health practitioners along with researchers and engaged communities as a key factor in advancing implementation science. 

He has authored or co-authored numerous articles on health promotion and chronic disease prevention. Randy is the Founding Editor of the journal, Health Promotion Practice, a journal of the Society for Public Health Education. He has been awarded the Society for Public Health Education’s Distinguished Fellow Award, the Society’s highest honor. 

Jeanine is the managing editor of Health Promotion Practice, SOPHE’s practice-based journal, as well as the founding editorial manager for SOPHE’s youngest journal, Pedagogy in Health Promotion. Since 2014, Jeanine has had the opportunity to collaborate with four EIC’s, as well as guest editors and editorial boards to deliver best practices and innovative approaches in over 70 issues for these health education publications that continue to grow in submissions, visibility, and contributions to the field. Jeanine enjoys gaining a broad perspective of public health initiatives by supporting editorial leadership, authors, and reviewers that help enhance her competencies as a Certified Health Education Specialist. In addition to her work with the journals, Jeanine has worked as a technical assistance coordinator for Partnering 4 Health and supports grant writing teams. 

Prior to earning her Masters in Health Promotion Management from the American University in 2013, Jeanine taught middle school English for students with language-based learning differences and worked as a writing tutor at the US Coast Guard Academy. Jeanine shares her dedication to healthy living with her four children and maintains sanity with running, reading, and lots of coffee!

Joseph Lee is originally from Madison County, NC. He attended Duke University for an undergraduate degree in Spanish and Latin American Studies. He has an MPH in maternal and child health and a PhD in health behavior from the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health. Joseph is now an associate professor in the Department of Health Education and Promotion, College of Health and Human Performance, where he conducts research on tobacco prevention and control and LGBT health inequities.

Danielle (Dani) R. Brittain, PhD, is a Professor and Associate Dean for Academic and Student Affairs in the Colorado School of Public Health at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. Her research concerns the: (a) identification of social-psychological factors impacting adherence to physical activity among marginalized populations of women (i.e., adult lesbians; women with non-cancer chronic pain) and (b) development of theoretically-driven interventions targeting social and behavior change processes that aid in the self-management and maintenance of physical activity. Dr. Brittain is actively involved in the Society for Public Health Education and is an Associate Editor for Practice Notes in Health Promotion Practice. In her spare time, she enjoys being outside, being active, and playing with her dog Harper.

Kerry Gabbert is a visiting instructor at West Virginia University Extension Service, and program coordinator for Extension’s CDC High Obesity Program project, ‘Be Wild, Be Wonderful, Be Healthy’. Prior roles include program coordinator for WV’s SNAP-Ed program, and development and implementation of worksite wellness and stress management programs across the state.

Kerry earned her MPH in 2013 and is currently a PhD student at WVU’s School of Public Health.

Founding editor Health Promotion Practice and President, Public Health Systems Consultants 

Randy is a nationally recognized public health professional with over thirty-five years’ experience in implementing health promotion/disease prevention initiatives in state health departments and voluntary health organizations with an emphasis on chronic disease prevention and control, cancer control, tobacco control, community-based health promotion, and healthy public policy. He is currently President of Public Health Systems Consultants and serves as the Sr. Public Health Consultant for Cancer Control with the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors (NACDD). He is an Adjunct Faculty member for several leading academic public health programs. Randy has written and presented on the importance of engaging public health practitioners along with researchers and engaged communities as a key factor in advancing implementation science. 

He has authored or co-authored numerous articles on health promotion and chronic disease prevention. Randy is the Founding Editor of the journal, Health Promotion Practice, a journal of the Society for Public Health Education. He has been awarded the Society for Public Health Education’s Distinguished Fellow Award, the Society’s highest honor. 

LaNita S. Wright is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Promotion and Physical Education, Public Health Education program at Kennesaw State University. She teaches undergraduate courses pertaining to public health theory, planning, implementation and evaluation.

Her current research focuses on how interconnected systems influence health-promoting behaviors, especially among adolescents, with a recent research project focusing on the Black Church’s role in preventing teen pregnancy. She also recently facilitated a community engagement project (alongside a nonprofit) pertaining to the local community’s perceptions of sexual health related topics and implementation. Her recent work has been published in Health Promotion Practice and Journal of Adolescence.

LaNita offers professional service in various ways, including peer-reviewing manuscripts for multiple journals and book publishers, and serving on the Health Promotion Practice Editorial Board.

She received a Doctor of Philosophy in Health Promotion and a Master of Public Health in Health Promotion Sciences from the University of Oklahoma. She received a Bachelor of Science in Health Services Administration from Auburn University.

LaNita is a passionate, dedicated public health professional. She finds joy in playing an active role in the development of young people through research, teaching, training, and mentoring.  

Joseph Lee is originally from Madison County, NC. He attended Duke University for an undergraduate degree in Spanish and Latin American Studies. He has an MPH in maternal and child health and a PhD in health behavior from the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health. Joseph is now an associate professor in the Department of Health Education and Promotion, College of Health and Human Performance, where he conducts research on tobacco prevention and control and LGBT health inequities.

Danielle (Dani) R. Brittain, PhD, is a Professor and Associate Dean for Academic and Student Affairs in the Colorado School of Public Health at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. Her research concerns the: (a) identification of social-psychological factors impacting adherence to physical activity among marginalized populations of women (i.e., adult lesbians; women with non-cancer chronic pain) and (b) development of theoretically-driven interventions targeting social and behavior change processes that aid in the self-management and maintenance of physical activity. Dr. Brittain is actively involved in the Society for Public Health Education and is an Associate Editor for Practice Notes in Health Promotion Practice. In her spare time, she enjoys being outside, being active, and playing with her dog Harper.

Danielle (Dani) R. Brittain, PhD, is a Professor and Associate Dean for Academic and Student Affairs in the Colorado School of Public Health at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. Her research concerns the: (a) identification of social-psychological factors impacting adherence to physical activity among marginalized populations of women (i.e., adult lesbians; women with non-cancer chronic pain) and (b) development of theoretically-driven interventions targeting social and behavior change processes that aid in the self-management and maintenance of physical activity. Dr. Brittain is actively involved in the Society for Public Health Education and is an Associate Editor for Practice Notes in Health Promotion Practice. In her spare time, she enjoys being outside, being active, and playing with her dog Harper.

Founding editor Health Promotion Practice and President, Public Health Systems Consultants 

Randy is a nationally recognized public health professional with over thirty-five years’ experience in implementing health promotion/disease prevention initiatives in state health departments and voluntary health organizations with an emphasis on chronic disease prevention and control, cancer control, tobacco control, community-based health promotion, and healthy public policy. He is currently President of Public Health Systems Consultants and serves as the Sr. Public Health Consultant for Cancer Control with the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors (NACDD). He is an Adjunct Faculty member for several leading academic public health programs. Randy has written and presented on the importance of engaging public health practitioners along with researchers and engaged communities as a key factor in advancing implementation science. 

He has authored or co-authored numerous articles on health promotion and chronic disease prevention. Randy is the Founding Editor of the journal, Health Promotion Practice, a journal of the Society for Public Health Education. He has been awarded the Society for Public Health Education’s Distinguished Fellow Award, the Society’s highest honor. 

René Lavinghouze has over 32 years in designing, conducting, and managing evaluations focusing on prevention programs and is currently the Translation Team Lead in the Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity at CDC.  Her focus is on the study of program infrastructure as the foundation that supports program capacity, implementation, and sustainability.  She is lead author of the Component Model of Infrastructure (CMI), a practical, systems-approach model that supports program implementation and enables outcome measurement, links infrastructure to capacity, and facilitates the likelihood of sustainable public health achievements.  She was the evaluation lead in the Office on Smoking and Health at CDC for 6 years and has worked in the Division of Oral Health and in HIV/AIDS prevention at CDC.  Prior to coming to CDC, she worked at a private evaluation and organizational service firm for over 7 years and has worked in academic and local health department settings.  She received her Master’s in Community Psychology from Georgia State University and a Master’s in Interactive Technology from The University of Alabama.

Dr. Laura Kettel Khan is currently the Senior Scientist in the Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia.  Dr. Kettel Khan is internationally known in the field of obesity prevention evaluation methodology and research design of multi-sectoral interventions and serves on numerous national advisory committees related to evaluation which build the evidence for policy, systems, and environmental (PSE) strategies for healthy communities.  She represents the CDC on numerous national partnerships with public and private funders which focus on healthy eating and active living.  Dr. Kettel Khan graduated with a doctoral degree in Nutritional Sciences from the University of Arizona in 1992, finished her post-doctoral training at Cornell University in 1994, after which she joined the Emory University Rollins School of Public Health, Department of International Nutrition, followed by her current position at the CDC since 1996. She has authored more than 150 peer reviewed articles and book chapters. 

Jeanine is the managing editor of Health Promotion Practice, SOPHE’s practice-based journal, as well as the founding editorial manager for SOPHE’s youngest journal, Pedagogy in Health Promotion. Since 2014, Jeanine has had the opportunity to collaborate with four EIC’s, as well as guest editors and editorial boards to deliver best practices and innovative approaches in over 70 issues for these health education publications that continue to grow in submissions, visibility, and contributions to the field. Jeanine enjoys gaining a broad perspective of public health initiatives by supporting editorial leadership, authors, and reviewers that help enhance her competencies as a Certified Health Education Specialist. In addition to her work with the journals, Jeanine has worked as a technical assistance coordinator for Partnering 4 Health and supports grant writing teams. 

Prior to earning her Masters in Health Promotion Management from the American University in 2013, Jeanine taught middle school English for students with language-based learning differences and worked as a writing tutor at the US Coast Guard Academy. Jeanine shares her dedication to healthy living with her four children and maintains sanity with running, reading, and lots of coffee!

Joseph Lee is originally from Madison County, NC. He attended Duke University for an undergraduate degree in Spanish and Latin American Studies. He has an MPH in maternal and child health and a PhD in health behavior from the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health. Joseph is now an associate professor in the Department of Health Education and Promotion, College of Health and Human Performance, where he conducts research on tobacco prevention and control and LGBT health inequities.