TEAM UP TAKE ACTION CONFERENCE
In partnership with Dartmouth Health and the Vermont PHA
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2023 I 8:00 AM - 5:30 PM I Hanover Inn Dartmouth
SCHEDULE & SPEAKERSWHY ATTEND?
This conference is approved for 5.5 CME and CNA continuing education credits.
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Friday, December 1, 2023
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8:00 - 8:45 AM
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Continental Breakfast
Location: Grand Ballroom Foyer |
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8:45 - 9:00 AM
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Welcome Remarks
Rosemary Caron, PhD, MPH - Conference EMCEE Dean, School of Healthcare Leadership MGH Institute of Health Professions Location: Grand Ballroom |
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9:00 - 10:30 AM
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Opening Keynote Panel: The Road to Health Equity: State-wide and Healthcare System Initiatives
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought to light significant health disparities in the United States caused by structural and social determinants such as racism and misguided policies on health, housing, and education. Therefore, as a society, it is imperative to provide medical care to all, and it is essential to treat all individuals based on their health needs irrespective of their insurance status, race or ethnicity, immigration status, and other attributes. The opening keynote panel convenes leaders to discuss initiatives and actions to advance and achieve health equity and improve health outcomes on state-wide and healthcare system levels. Moderator Rosemary Caron, PhD, MPH, Dean for MGH Institute’s School of Healthcare Leadership Panelists
Location: Grand Ballroom |
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10:30 - 10:45 AM
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Refreshment Break
Location: Grand Ballroom Foyer |
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10:45 - 11:45 AM
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Breakout Session 1: Simple Tools for Measuring and Learning from Health Equity Work at the Local Level
This session will provide an overview of Vermont Public Health Institute and a deeper dive into two of the tools provided to community partners: the ABLE Health Equity Self-Assessments and the After Action Review/Emergency Learning template. The session will be a combination of didactic and hands-on learning, and will include “real life from the community examples” of how the After Action Review/Emergency Learning Tool has been used in Vermont. Learning Objectives Upon completion, attendees will:
Panelists
Onsite Support: Sally Kerschner, RN, MSN, Secretary, VTPHA & Member of NHPHA Program Committee Location: Ford Sayre Room Breakout Session 2: Addressing Rural Health Equity in Primary Care in Rural Northern New England
Over 37% of the population and 84% of the landmass in New Hampshire is considered rural. Most New Hampshire towns are considered rural, and approximately seventeen percent (17%) of the state's residents are 65 years or older. This trend is growing each year. Barriers to delivering primary care services and training to primary care physicians in rural Northern New England include long distances, lack of transportation, inclement weather, lack of access to broadband and other technology, poverty, and staff recruitment and retention. To address some of these challenges, strengthen primary care in rural Northern New England, and support the NASEM objectives, Dartmouth Health has recently launched a Primary Care Innovation & Research Center (PCIRC) in collaboration with the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth. The PCIRC's vision is to strengthen primary care in rural Northern New England by launching an initiative to support innovative and collaborative primary care research, education, policy, and practice. This session will discuss how PCIRC advances rural health equity and sustainability in a multi-prong approach. Learning Objectives Upon completion, attendees will:
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Onsite Support: Holly A. Gaspar, Manager of medical legal partnership, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center and Clinics & Member of NHPHA Program Committee Location: Grand Ballroom |
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11:45 AM - 12:45 PM
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Breakout Session 3: Happy, Healthy, Lead-Free Me!
Opportunities for lead exposure are plentiful in many children’s environments. But, the risk of lead exposure is not equal among children – children living in poverty and children of color bear a disproportionate burden of exposure primarily through contact with lead dust from deteriorating lead-based paint in older housing. Most families are not engaged in lead poisoning prevention materials until after their children have been exposed. The recently released children’s board book, Happy, Healthy, Lead-Free Me!, is a valuable primary prevention and education messaging tool and clinical adjunct on lead exposure prevention and the importance of pediatric lead level testing. Learning Objectives Upon completion, attendees will:
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Onsite Support: Sally Kerschner, RN, MSN, Secretary, VTPHA & Member of NHPHA Program Committee Location: Ford Sayre Room Breakout Session 4: COVID and the Public Mental Health System: Ensuring Access to Care
During the COVID pandemic, the public mental health system was commonly the main contact with healthcare professionals for its clients with severe and persistent mental illness (SPMI). It connected clients to public health guidance and vaccines as trusted messengers in supporting behavioral health crises in isolation and quarantine centers, providing logistical support for vaccination efforts at the mental health center, and ensuring its clients could participate in vaccine efforts directed for the general public. State hospitals created mass vaccination plans in psychiatric inpatient facilities, and agencies enacted ad hoc behavioral health crisis standards of care. Patients with SPMI had enough barriers to accessing high-quality health care before COVID to the extent that they were described as a health disparity population with a life expectancy 10-25 years shorter than the general population. During the pandemic, the mental health system had a role in mitigating those barriers. This panel will include representatives of NH Hospital and community mental health centers to discuss their experiences and lessons learned in the COVID era. Learning Objectives Upon completion, attendees will:
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Onsite Support: Holly A. Gaspar, Manager of medical legal partnership, Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center and Clinics & Member of NHPHA Program Committee Location: Grand Ballroom |
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12:45 - 2:15 PM
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Luncheon Keynote Panel: Advancing Health Equity through Advocacy and Policy
Achieving health equity requires close attention to policies that impact the conditions in which people live, learn, work, play, and worship. In this session, lawmakers and health advocates will examine the 2023 legislative session, identify trends, challenges, and takeaways, and explore key issues to watch in the 2024 legislative session. Moderator James Monahan, President, The Dupont Group & White Birch Communications Panelists
Location: Grand Ballroom |
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2:15 - 3:15 PM
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Breakout Session 5: Moving Towards Health Equity in Home Visiting
Perinatal and postpartum depression is prevalent among birthing people, regardless of race, ethnicity or language one speaks. Developmental delays can occur in any child. NH’s Healthy Families America Home Visiting Program utilizes continuous quality improvement practices to improve the efficacy of depression screening to all program participants and developmental screenings to all children enrolled. During this session we will explore how to use program data and stakeholder voice to create meaningful interventions on how home visitors conduct depression and developmental screens and provide referrals for elevated screens that place family at the center of the work. Learning Objectives Upon completion, attendees will:
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Location: Grand Ballroom Breakout Session 6: Health Policy Roundtable: Translating Research into Policy
This session explores the role of healthcare research findings from the perspective of health professionals and state legislatures and how to effectively utilize and communicate research data to advance health equity at the state policy level. Learning Objectives Upon completion, attendees will:
Moderator Jo Porter, Chief Strategy Officer, NH Center for Justice and Equity and Adjunct, IHPP, University of New Hampshire Panelists
Onsite Support: Sally Kerschner, RN, MSN, Secretary, VTPHA & Member of NHPHA Program Committee Location: Ford Sayre Room |
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3:15 - 3:30 PM
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Refreshment Break
Location: Grand Ballroom Foyer |
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3:30 - 4:30 PM
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Breakout Session 7: Wellness on Wheels Initiative: A Prevention Model to Address the Social Determinants of Health in the City of Manchester
The Wellness on Wheels Initiative, a partner initiative led by Makin’ It Happens and Amoskeag Health, as part of the Greater Manchester Public Health Network, is a community-based coordinated response to promote behaviors that measurably improve our communities' overall health and well-being. In this session, panelists will discuss the role of data in identifying local prevention needs to address the social determinants of health and how to build local resources and readiness to address prevention needs and improve health equity. Learning Objectives Upon completion, attendees will:
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Location: Grand Ballroom Breakout Session 8: Achieving Equitable Emergency Response: Applying Lessons from Vermont's COVID-19 Experience
This session delves into the remarkable success achieved by the Vermont Health Equity Initiative (VHEI), and partners, in ensuring an equitable emergency response during the COVID-19 pandemic in the State of Vermont. Participants will gain insights into replicable best practices employed in Vermont, resulting in equitable interventions. Topics include healthcare delivery models that maximize access, principles for developing and sustaining effective partnerships between community groups and institutions, and other learned lessons. Learning Objectives Upon completion, attendees will:
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Onsite Support: Sally Kerschner, RN, MSN, Secretary, VTPHA & Member of NHPHA Program Committee Location: Ford Sayre Room |
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4:30 - 5:30 PM
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Closing Keynote Panel: Leveraging Community Expertise to Advance Health Equity
The session examines how governments and organizations adopt community engagement approaches to foster collaboration and equitable power-sharing with communities that experience health disparities. Moderator Rosemary Caron, PhD, MPH, Dean for MGH Institute’s School of Healthcare Leadership Panelists
Location: Grand Ballroom |
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Rosemary Caron, PhD, MPH - Conference EMCEE
Rosemary Caron, PhD, MPH, is the Dean of School of Healthcare Leadership at the
MGH Institute of Health Professions. Dr. Rosemary has over 25 years of professional experience in academic leadership and public health practice. During her 17 years prior at UNH, Dr. Caron excelled in academic leadership roles, including Director of it's Master’s in Public Health program, Director of Undergraduate Studies, and Chairperson of the Department of Health Management and Policy. She also served as adjunct associate professor of Pediatrics at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College. A leading voice in building healthier communities, Caron was a public health practitioner before entering academia. |
Health System Keynote Panelists
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Susan Mooney, MD, MS, FACOG, President and Chief Executive Officer, Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital
Sue Mooney, MD, MS, FACOG, has been the President and CEO of Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital since April of 2013. She completed her undergraduate degree at Princeton University, her Medical Education at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and her residency at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque.
She joined the Medical Staff at APD in 2000 as a full-time Obstetrician/Gynecologist and continued in that role until 2005 when she took a leave of absence to pursue fellowship training as a Veterans Administration Quality Scholar. During that two-year period of time, she received a Master’s Degree in Healthcare Quality Improvement from the Center for Evaluative Clinical Sciences at Dartmouth (now The Dartmouth Institute). Upon her return to APD, she became the Medical Director of Quality and ultimately the Chief Medical Officer before transitioning to her current role. Dr. Mooney is passionate about improving the quality of care that APD provides to patients. In her spare time, Dr. Mooney enjoys spending time with her family enjoying the outdoors. |
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Jeffrey C. Fetter, MD, Chief Medical Officer, New Hampshire Hospital and Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth
Jeffrey C. Fetter, MD attended Johns Hopkins University, received his medical degree from Case Western Reserve School of Medicine, completed a combined residency in Internal Medicine and Psychiatry at Dartmouth-Hitchcock, and is board certified in psychiatry and internal medicine. Dr. Fetter also completed the University of New Hampshire Physician Leadership Development Program. He is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth who has focused his career on addressing clinical care at the interface of psychiatry and general medicine.
Dr. Fetter began his practice at New Hampshire Hospital, as a staff psychiatrist leading a psychiatric team treating medically ill patients, and a multidisciplinary Cardiometabolic Consultation Service. He moved to Concord Hospital where he headed the Consultation-Liaison Service, but also practiced in the Emergency Department, ECT service, inpatient unit, and a cardiometabolic psychiatry clinic. As Chief Medical Officer (CMO) at the NH Department of Corrections he oversaw primary care of over 2000 inmates in three prisons and three halfway houses. He managed a substantial influenza outbreak in 2015, and established a prison hospice program. He also practiced psychiatry in the Residential Treatment Unit and the Special Housing Unit (solitary confinement). At Riverbend Community Mental Health Center, Dr. Fetter served as CMO overseeing psychiatric care in settings including the Community Support Program, integrated primary care/mental health settings, and residential services. He provided direct patient care on the ACT team. He led the agency’s response to the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Currently CMO of New Hampshire Hospital, Dr. Fetter is responsible for oversight of clinical services. He participates in educational programs for trainees and staff and has been active in the NH state mental health system’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Fetter has published several articles on clinical and public health management of COVID-19 in community mental health and psychiatric hospital settings. Dr. Fetter is the recipient of the Abraham Lenzner, MD Award in Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry, the Association of Medicine and Psychiatry’s Martin Fenton, MD Award, the NH Public Health Association’s Friend of Public Health Award, the NH Psychiatric Society’s Leadership Award in 2021, and the National Alliance for Mental Illness’ Exemplary Psychiatrist for 2023. He is also a scout leader and plays fiddle in an old-time string band. |
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Matthew D. Gibb, MD, MHCDS, Senior Vice President and Chief Clinical Officer, Concord Hospital Health System
Dr. Gibb is the Chief Clinical Officer and Senior Vice President of the Concord Hospital Health System where his responsibilities include the 500 provider Concord Hospital Medical Group, Quality and Safety, Clinical Innovation, Informatics, Graduate Medical Education, Research, and Clinical Strategy for the 3 hospital health system.
Dr. Gibb has been with the Concord Hospital Health System since September 2019. An accomplished physician executive and practicing interventional cardiologist, Dr. Gibb has a long track record of leadership. He has extensive experience managing clinical operations, service line development, team building, growth, organizational re-structuring, and population health strategies. His strengths include a deep understanding of physician behavior and motivations, a demonstrated ability to lead physicians, mentor future leaders, and contribute as a C-Suite executive in large health care systems. Dr. Gibb was previously with the Carle Health System in Urbana, Illinois for 24 years where he served in a variety of roles with escalating responsibilities. Prior to coming to Concord, he was Executive Vice President and System Chief Medical Officer of Carle Health, a multi hospital integrated delivery system with over 1000 providers. While at Carle, Dr. Gibb had a distinguished career in interventional cardiology, served for 9 years as the Board Chair of the Carle Clinic Association, was Medical Director of the Carle Heart and Vascular Institute and, a driving force for the creation of the Carle Illinois College of Medicine. Before entering private practice, Dr Gibb served as a physician in the United States Navy on active duty for 12 years where he also became certified as a Naval Flight Surgeon after graduating from the Naval Aerospace Medical Institute. Dr. Gibb is a graduate of Dartmouth College, the Saint Louis University School of Medicine, and also holds a Master of Health Care Delivery Science degree from Dartmouth College and the Tuck School of Business. He is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology, the American College of Physicians, and The Society of Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions. Dr. Gibb has served on numerous boards and foundations including the Carle Physicians Group (Board Chair), the Carle Foundation, Health Alliance Medical Plans, Stratum Med, and the American Medical Group Association. Dr. Gibb is Board Certified in Internal Medicine, Cardiology, and Interventional Cardiology. |
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Jonathan Billings, MS, Chief Operating Officer, Northwestern Medical Center
Jonathan Billings is the Chief Operating Officer of Northwestern Medical Center in Vermont and has served on the hospital’s senior leadership team for 34 years. He served as the hospital's Interim CEO in 2022 and is currently one of the Executive Sponsors of the hospital's Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging initiatives. Jonathan earned his Masters in Health Promotion Management from Nebraska Methodist College and his Bachelors in Journalism & English from St. Michael’s College. Jonathan is an avid kayaker, hiker, cyclist, and wandering wildlife photographer.
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Denise Smith, Director of Population Health, Northwestern Medical Center
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Government Keynote Panelists
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Patricia Tilley, MS Ed, Director, Division of Public Health Services, NH Department of Health and Human Services
Patricia Tilley has spent greater than 25 years in support of children and their families as a classroom teacher, family resource center director, Maternal and Child Health Title V Director and public health professional.
She is currently the Director of the Division of Public Health Services within the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services. Her role is to foster systemic approaches to promote health and wellbeing, prevent chronic conditions and to reduce health inequities across the lifespan. She is responsible for the coordination and assessment of public health systems and policies and works in partnership with communities to protect, promote and improve the health of all Granite Staters. Tricia has spent much of her career focusing on strategies to support families by preventing adverse childhood experiences through systems that encourage safe, stable, nurturing relationships and environments for families with an emphasis on early prevention. Tricia earned a BA in Developmental Psychology from Hampshire College, Amherst, MA and a MS Ed from the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA. |
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Betsy Rosenfeld, JD, Regional Health Administrator, Region 1, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health
Betsy Rosenfeld is the Regional Health Administrator (RHA) for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH), which serves the six New England states in HHS Region 1 (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont). As the chief regional public health official for HHS/OASH, Ms. Rosenfeld leads a team responsible for a broad portfolio of public health work organized around principles of health equity and eliminating racism: addressing the broad range of health disparities, especially as they have manifested during the COVID-19 pandemic; girls’ and women’s health; infectious disease; substance use and mental health; poverty, economic empowerment, and supporting an economy built on dignity; and climate change and environmental justice. In addition, the New England HHS/OASH team has led the nation in developing and leading a 75-member community health worker (CHW) regional coalition which works on CHW policy issues across the New England states as well as participating in national-level policy initiatives. The Region 1 CHW policy work underway since 2002 has, with state and other partners, focused on: securing high quality training for CHWs in a variety of health domains; encouraging reliable, insurance-based reimbursement for CHW services; integrating CHWs into the community-based health care team with respect and reciprocity; and supporting the robust evaluation of the impact of CHW services on individuals and communities.
Ms. Rosenfeld serves as the primary liaison for state and local public health officials as they interact with HHS/OASH, and her team regularly partners with other federal agencies, as well as community based organizations, academic public health and medical centers, health delivery systems, philanthropies and a broad range of non-health partners to improve health outcomes across the New England states. Prior to serving as the RHA in Region 1, Ms. Rosenfeld served as the Deputy Regional Health Administrator (DRHA). Prior to her federal service, Ms. Rosenfeld worked as a health care lawyer at Ropes & Gray in Boston on matters ranging from patient care issues to health system mergers. During law school, Ms. Rosenfeld worked as a legal services lawyer, representing low-income clients on housing and health matters. Ms. Rosenfeld graduated from Harvard College and Harvard Law School, and has served on numerous non-profit boards and committees in the New England region. |
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Mark Levine, MD, Health Commissioner
Dr. Mark Levine was appointed commissioner of health by Governor Phil Scott and began service on March 6, 2017. Prior to his appointment, Dr. Levine was a professor of medicine at the University of Vermont – a position he still holds, associate dean for graduate medical education, and designated institutional official at the College of Medicine and UVM Medical Center. He also served as vice chair for education in the Department of Medicine.
Dr. Levine received his B.A. in biology from the University of Connecticut and M.D. from the University of Rochester. He completed his internal medicine residency and chief resident year at the University of Vermont, and a fellowship in general internal medicine at the University of North Carolina. Dr. Levine’s general internal medicine practice focused on health promotion and disease prevention, preventative health screening and clinical nutrition, chronic disease management, and solving complex diagnostic dilemmas. With this experience, Dr. Levine understands the challenges our health care system holds for both patients and physicians. This informs his interest in improving public health through policies that foster a culture of health. Dr. Levine has served on the American College of Physicians Board of Regents, and as governor of its Vermont chapter; as vice president and president-elect of the Vermont Medical Society; and was a longstanding member of the Vermont Department of Health’s Primary Care-Public Health Integration Workgroup. He successfully directed large NIH and HRSA educational grants related to nutrition-preventive medicine competencies for general physicians. |
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Reuben Hampton, MBA, Director, Office of Health Equity, NH DHHS
Reuben Hampton, MBA, is the Director of the Office of Health Equity at the New Hampshire Department of Health & Human Services (DHHS). His work focuses on identifying and addressing health disparities for marginalized populations across the state, and ensuring equitable access to effective, quality DHHS programs and services for all clients. Reuben previously worked as a program manager and consultant, where he has taken on leadership roles on diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives including policy, strategic plan development and implementation, as well as community engagement. He has been a board member of the The Family Place, an Upper Valley family resource center, since 2019 and serves as the board's treasurer and DEI committee chair. Reuben received his undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania and his masters degree from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, where he is a member of the school's Inclusion, Diversity, Equity in Action (IDEA) committee.
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Rudolph Fedrizzi, MD, Public Health Services District Director, Vermont Department of Health
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Policy Keynote Panelists
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NH House Representative David Nagel, MD
Dr. David Nagel is a specialist in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation who, for the past thirty years, has specialized in pain management, acupuncture, and interventional pain management in Concord, New Hampshire. His interests include doctor-patient communication and advocacy and social justice for those who suffer from chronic pain. He is the author of the critically reviewed book Needless Suffering; How Society Fails Those with Chronic Pain. Described as a “self-help book for society” with “the potential to change the way we talk about pain in America." Needless Suffering offers a broad sociological look at how we, as a culture, treat those who suffer, too often needlessly harming them, and how, through public policy and personal behavior, we can do much better. Dr. Nagel is one of the founders of the New Hampshire Pain Collaborative and the President and founder of the Nagel Pain Community, non-profit organizations dedicated to the education of the public, health professionals, and legislators on the needs of those who suffer from chronic pain. He is a member/Ambassador of the US Pain Foundation and the Pain Connection, both patient advocacy groups. He is a member of the NFL Players’ Association Pain Committee and the co-chair of the pain management best practices sub-committee, one of several endeavors outlining best practices for pain management that he is a part of.
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Debbie Ingram, VT former State Senator
DEBBIE INGRAM of Williston, Chittenden County, graduated with a Bachelors degree in Communication from Stanford University and earned a Master of Divinity degree from Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California. Debbie also completed a Fellowship at Cambridge University, England. She has worked for the last twelve years as the Executive Director of Vermont Interfaith Action, a coalition of congregations throughout the State that seeks to effect systemic change around issues of social justice. She served two terms on the Williston Selectboard, where she chaired the Affordable Housing Task Force and the Housing Trust Fund Task Force. Debbie is Williston's alternate to the Chittenden County Regional Planning Commission, where she chaired the Public Participation Plan Committee. Before her election to the Senate, Debbie served on statewide committees for housing and for health care, and as a Senator she has served on the Health & Welfare and Education committees. Debbie began her career in the film and television industry in Los Angeles, where she worked in development and production, and she ran a communications consulting firm in Bangladesh for seven years, writing, producing, and directing award-winning videos. Debbie is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ (UCC) and has served as Chair of the Board of Directors of the Vermont Conference of the UCC and as Moderator of the Conference. This is Debbie’s second term in the Senate.
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Jerry Knirk practiced as an orthopedic spine surgeon until arthritis in his thumbs stopped his surgical career. He then practiced as a non-operative spinal physician. In 2016 he embarked on a legislative career, serving in the New Hampshire House of Representatives, on the Health, Human Services and Elderly Affairs Committee, for 6 years. In the House his work pivoted to public health, with a focus on healthcare issues and policy. He worked on health care reform and to improve health care access and protect public health, especially during the COVID pandemic.
He has served on numerous legislative committees and commissions. He currently serves as the chair of the Therapeutic Cannabis Medical Oversight Board, charged with medical oversight of the New Hampshire Therapeutic Cannabis Program and in 2022 served as the chair of the New Hampshire State Health Assessment/ State Health Improvement Plan Advisory Council, aiding the development of the long term plan for improving health outcomes in NH. He serves on the Endowment for Health Advisory Council. After working on lead poisoning bills in the House, he now serves on the Childhood Lead Stakeholder’s Group and the Statewide Clinical Lead Advisory Committee. |
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Theo Kennedy, Esq., MPH, General Practitioner & Public Policy Attorney, Otis & Kennedy
Mr. Kennedy was born in Brunswick, Maine, and grew up mostly in New York. He graduated cum laude in 1983 from Middlebury College. Theo received his Juris Doctor in 1991, and a Master of Public Health with a concentration in Environmental Health in 1994 from Boston University. Theo was licensed to practice law in Massachusetts in 1994, working in real property, banking, and debtor-creditor law as a title examiner and lender counsel performing closings, as well as handling a motion practice and banking litigation support for a private law firm in Boston. He also spent a year with a sole practitioner doing plaintiff-side personal injury law before returning to the areas of banking and real property as a senior counselor for a statewide not-for-profit in Massachusetts that assisted elders in financial distress and foreclosure. Intent on returning to Vermont, he joined the Vermont Department of Public Service in the Consumer Affairs and Public Information Division in January 1999, becoming conversant in public utility regulatory and consumer matters. In 2001, he joined the Vermont Department of Banking, Insurance, Securities and Health Care Administration as a Staff Attorney and Director of Health Rates and Forms, where he developed expertise in the health insurance industry and legislative and regulatory healthcare issues. Prior to joining Otis & Kennedy in July 2010, Theo helped oversee legislative, regulatory, data analysis, and policy matters for seven years in the Vermont Department for Children and Families as Director of Planning, Policy, and Regulation.
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James Monahan, President, The Dupont Group & White Birch Communications
Jim Monahan has a strong and established public affairs practice that focuses on representing businesses, trade associations and non-profit organizations before state and federal governmental agencies. This work includes an emphasis on policy development, legislative advocacy and effective communications.
Jim’s professional focus includes energy, transportation and environmental issues. In addition, he does work in the health care field, with an emphasis on Medicaid policy. Jim also oversees the Dupont Group’s public relations division, White Birch Communications Group. In recent years, Jim has been the public policy architect of a number of major legislative and regulatory initiatives including environmental and energy campaigns, as well as projects in the Medicaid and behavioral health arenas. Jim was elected as Merrimack County Treasurer in the Fall of 2008 and served one term. Currently, he serves on the Concord Zoning Board of Adjustment. Jim is well known for providing news media analysis on topics around politics and public policy. Formerly, Jim was a member of the Independent System Operator (ISO) New England Board Advisory Committee, and a contributing editor to the political website Primary Diner. Jim is a 3-time Ironman (140.2) finisher, is currently on the Board of Directors and has served as President of the Granite State Racing Team and is a founder of the Granite State Endurance Club. |
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Max Perkins, Senior Policy Manager, Unite Us
Mr. Perkins began his career on Capitol Hill in 2008 as a non-partisan staffer for the U.S. Senate Committee on Rules and Administration. While serving the Rules Committee, Mr. Perkins worked under the direction of distinguished leaders in Congress, such as the late-Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and current Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY), as well as former-Senator Robert Bennett (R-UT). He fondly recalls coordinating and moderating the annual Capitol Hill Summer Intern Lecture Series, which brings high-profile speakers from politics and pop culture to Capitol Hill.
Prior to starting his professional career in government, Max served as the Assistant Offensive Coordinator and Wide Receivers Coach for the Catholic Cardinals Division III football program, where he was also a 4-year varsity letterman. He is especially proud of his impact on and off the field. His contributions to the offense helped the team win the 2008 Old Dominion Athletic Conference league championship and the 2008 ECAC Bowl Game against Johns Hopkins University. Mr. Perkins received his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., and lives in Madbury, NH with his wife, Caitlyn; son, Luke; and daughters, Violet and Ava. |
Community-Based Organizations Keynote Panelists
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Beth Shrader, Director of Programs, Prevention Works! VT
Beth has worked in Vermont's substance misuse prevention field since 2004, starting as the Director of the Brattleboro Area Prevention Coalition. Prior to joining Prevention Works! VT as a full-time staff member in July 2023, Beth has worked for PW! VT as a consultant for two and a half years. As the Director of Programs, she coordinates workforce and professional development projects, networking opportunities, and other programming. Beth is also the principal of a consulting organization serving nonprofit organizations in the Northeast whose clients include hospitals and health services organizations, law enforcement agencies, local government, as well as substance abuse prevention coalitions. Before moving to Vermont two decades ago, Beth had been involved in nonprofit management, higher education, and volunteer administration for twenty years in New Jersey. Beth holds a degree from Rutgers University and attended North Carolina State University.
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Alice Ely, Executive Director, Public Health Council of the Upper Valley
Alice Ely is an Executive Director of the Public Health Council of the Upper Valley, which serves as the Advisory Council for one of the State of New Hampshire’s 13 regional health networks. PHC is a broad coalition of advocates on public and population health issues in the greater Upper Valley region. Ms. Ely has been a leader in the effort to build community-driven leadership for public health improvement in the Upper Valley of New Hampshire and Vermont since 2010. She has a strong reputation for working effectively with groups representing different interests, adapting to an ever-changing economic and political landscape, and to maximizing scarce resources.
Alice has experience in strategically planning for system/infrastructure transformation. While serving as Prevention Administrator for the NH Division of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention and Recovery from 2000-2003, she was a key architect of the regional substance abuse prevention system implemented with the NH Strategic Prevention Framework grant. While serving as Division of Public Health Services, Bureau of Prevention Services Chief from 2003-2007, Ms. Ely was involved in the Division’s planning for public health regionalization. Alice received her Master of Public Health in Health Behavior and Health Education from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1994. |
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Belan Antensaye, Co-Founder & Programs Director, Vermont Health Equity Initiative
Belan is a lifelong Vermonter dedicated to her equity in her community. Since receiving her Bachelor of Arts in Biology and Sociology from Cornell University, she has focused her personal and professional efforts on community development and public policy through a strict equity lens. She has worked for the Community and Economic Development Office working to close opportunity gaps in educational and career opportunities faced by BIPOC youth and families, particularly within immigrant and refugee communities. Concurrently, Belan worked to restructure and expand the City of Burlington Equity Report, measuring disparities in the city and offering data-based policy recommendations to promote equity across various domains such as public health, education, and housing.
When not at work, Belan enjoys creating and enjoying music, cooking meals with loved ones, and spending time outside! She also serves as the Board of Directors for Up for Learning and as a Corporator for Northfield Savings Bank. |
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Alena Berube, MS, PhD Candidate, Health Policy and Clinical Practice, The Dartmouth Institute
Alena Berube is a PhD student at The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice. Her research focuses on the antecedents and consequences of high performing health systems, with a particular interest in the implementation of high-quality primary care for all. Before joining TDI, Alena served as the Director of Health Policy for Vermont’s Green Mountain Care Board, where she oversaw a number of the state's regulatory processes and policy development, including topics such as hospital and health plan budgets and Vermont’s all-payer ACO model. Alena came to health policy with deep experience in organizational science research as well as corporate and public finance, holding a Master's of Science in Strategic Management and Entrepreneurship from the University of Maryland at College Park and a bachelor's degree in Finance from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.
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Timothy E. Burdick, MD, MBA, MSc FAAFP, Vice Chair and Associate Professor, Department of Community and Family Medicine, Dartmouth Health and Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth
Timothy has been a practicing family physician for the past 20 years, including time as a medical director and leading quality improvement and implementation teams. For the past 15 years, he led many large clinical and research informatics projects, including at Central Vermont Medical Center, the University of Vermont, OCHIN, and Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU). As Chief Medical Informatics Officer at OCHIN, he worked on clinical and research informatics projects with rural health clinics in more than 30 states. At OHSU, he was the inaugural Chief Clinical Research Informatics Officer and led the CTSA Informatics Core, overseeing all clinical research informatics systems and governance. At Dartmouth, he oversees the use of data and informatics systems for research, including pragmatics implementation studies in clinical settings. In these roles, he supported individual research projects and also worked to develop research informatics infrastructure across organizations in order to make research more efficient. For the past four years, he has also taught statistics for quality improvement course in The Dartmouth Institute’s MPH program.
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Elliott Fisher, MD, MPH, Professor, The Dartmouth Institute
A leading healthcare researcher and advocate for improving health system performance, Elliott Fisher is a professor of Medicine, Community and Family Medicine and Health Policy at The Dartmouth Institute and the Geisel School of Medicine. In his early work, Fisher explored the causes and consequences of the dramatic differences in healthcare spending and utilization across the country, research which led him to the conclusion that the United States was wasting a substantial portion of spending on avoidable and potentially harmful care. The landmark research was cited by Peter R. Orszag as President Barack Obama’s administration crafted the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
Fisher was one of the originators of the concept of “accountable care organizations” (ACOs) and worked with colleagues to carry out the research that led to their inclusion in the Affordable Care Act. His current research is exploring how physician practices, hospitals and integrated delivery systems have adopted innovations in payment and delivery and their impact on patient care. He has published over 200 research articles and commentaries and is a member of the Institute of Medicine. His research and opinions have appeared in multiple national media outlets, including The New York Times and 60 Minutes. Fisher is a strong supporter of locally organized, financed and operated community health collaboratives and is a co-founder of ReThink Health. As the flagship initiative of The Rippel Foundation, ReThink is dedicated to accelerating health system reform and was founded on the provocative theory that because both health and health care are locally produced, communities themselves can and should be key agents of reform. He earned a BA from Harvard College, a MD from Harvard Medical School, and a MPH from the University of Washington. |
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Elisabeth B. Wilson, MD, MPH, MS-HPEd, Department Chair and Professor, Community and Family Medicine, Dartmouth Health and Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth
Elisabeth Wilson, MD, MPH, MS-HPEd is currently serving as Chair of Family Medicine at Maine Medical Center in Portland, Maine. In this role, Dr. Wilson oversees the academic mission of the department and co-leads a clinical service line. In addition to her administrative responsibilities, she also has the opportunity to teach, pursue her scholarly interests, and see patients in a community-based health center. Dr. Wilson has retained a volunteer appointment in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). She values the ongoing collaboration with her cherished colleagues at UCSF and the opportunity to teach students, residents and faculty when she visits the Bay Area.
Dr. Wilson graduated from the combined MD/MPH program at Tufts University School of Medicine and completed her residency training in Family Medicine at UCSF. After a three-year health services research fellowship, Dr. Wilson joined the UCSF faculty in 2005. At UCSF, she served as the first Director of the Program in Medical Education for the Urban Underserved (PRIME-US) in the School of Medicine, the Vice Chair of Education in the Department of Family and Community Medicine, and one of the Dean's Diversity Leaders in the Differences Matter Initiative. In 2017, Dr. Wilson returned to the East Coast to be closer to her family, taking on the role of Department Chair at Maine Medical Center, a Tufts University affiliate. |
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Amber Barnato, MD, MPH, MS, Director, Dartmouth Institute
Amber E. Barnato is the Director of The Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice. She is a physician health services researcher with dual clinical training in preventive medicine and public health and in hospice and palliative medicine. Her research focuses on variation in end-of-life intensive care unit (ICU) and life-sustaining treatment use. Barnato's research is the source of the frequently cited statistic that “one in five Americans will die with ICU services” and the key finding that Black patients’ higher use of intensive care at the end of life is largely attributable to their use of higher-intensity hospitals. Her work has focused both on refining measures of hospital end-of-life treatment intensity and exploring the mechanisms underlying variations in these measures using mixed qualitative and quantitative approaches, including participant observation, simulation, and mental-models interviewing. This research has led to a conceptual model regarding the interplay among provider social norms, patient and family expectations, and physician decision making heuristics, which she summarized in an invited overview in Health Affairs.
More recently she has begun developing and testing interventions to modify patient and provider behavior related to advance care planning and end-of-life decision-making using behavioral decision theory with the goal of better aligning patient values with medical decisions and reducing the burden of surrogate decision making. Visit the Apple store to download her most recent video game intervention, Hopewell Hospitalist, and try your hand at solving the mystery of Andy’s grandfather’s disappearance while also changing the way you think about advance care planning. In 2021, Barnato was appointed as the Director of the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice (TDI) and named the John E. Wennberg Distinguished Professor of Health Policy and Clinical Practice. Under her leadership, TDI will deepen its focus on equity in healthcare delivery and advancing an organizational culture that values diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. She was previously the inaugural Susan J. and Richard M. Levy 1960 Distinguished Professor in Health Care Delivery at TDI. Before that, she was associate professor of medicine, clinical and translational science, and health policy and management, at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Graduate School of Public Health. Throughout her career she has published more than 170 research articles, advised more than 60 medical students committed to clinical research careers, and mentored eight faculty through their transition to independence. Barnato earned a BA from the University of California at Berkeley, an MD from Harvard Medical School, an MPH from the University of California at Berkeley, and an MS from Stanford University. |
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Kari White, Director of Community Health Equity, NEK Prosper!
Kari White (Pronounced: KAHR-ee WIEt (hear name)) (she/her) is the Director of Community Health Equity at Northern Counties Health Care in the Northeast Kingdom (NEK) of VT where she has worked for the past 11 years including seven as the Director of Quality and Compliance and Privacy Officer. In her current role, Kari serves as the facilitator of two Collective Impact Accountable Health Communities: NEK Prosper! (est. 2013) and Vibrant ONE (est. 2021). Kari brings 15+ years of community health leadership working with partners at the national, state, and local level to claim identity and context expertise within health systems change initiatives. Her focus is on centering equitable practice through inclusive design, creative and play-based engagement and aligned action. Kari holds credentials in Complex Facilitation (Conversation Factory), Advanced Systems Thinking (Waters Center) and as an ACE Interface Master Trainer/Community Resilience Coach. Kari serves on multiple State and local committees, as the Northeast Kingdom Human Services Board Vice President and as the Co-founder facilitator of the Neurodivergent Professionals Working Group. When not working, you will often find Kari researching special interests (currently the intersection of neurodivergence, gender, mental health and increased morbidity and mortality), playing games, or dancing around the old farmhouse of her dreams/nightmares with her supportive fourth grade teacher husband and four incredible kids.
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Jo Porter, Chief Strategy Officer, NH Center for Justice and Equity and Adjunct, IHPP, University of New Hampshire
Josephine (Jo) Porter, MPH, has over 20 years’ experience public health, program development, grant management, and leadership experience. She spent 15 years with the Institute for Health Policy and Practice at the University of New Hampshire, serving as the Director for over seven years. She was part of the leadership team that guided IHPP through periods of significant growth in team and portfolio.
Jo has served nationally as the co-chair of the All-Payer Claims Database Council and part of Academy Health’s State-University Partnership Learning Network (SUPLN). She was on the SUPLN steering committee, serving a term as the Chair. Jo has held appointments at the state and federal levels on a variety of committees. Jo is a self-proclaimed data geek with a passion for health data collection, dissemination, and using data to effectively inform effective decision and policy making. Jo earned her Master of Public Health degree with dual concentrations in Epidemiology/Biostatistics and Social/Behavioral Health from Boston University, with honors. She graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of New Hampshire with a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology and a minor in Health Management and Policy. Jo currently sits on the Board of Directors for the NH Fiscal Policy Institute and the Leadership Team for the NH Food Alliance. |
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Ginger Widger, Infection Prevention Coordinator, New Hampshire Hospital
Ginger has worked as a Psychiatric Nurse at New Hampshire Hospital since 2000 and earned her ANCC Board-Certified Psychiatric Nurse certification in 2003. In 2017 Ginger transitioned to the role of the New Hampshire Hospital Infection Prevention Coordinator.
Prior to working at New Hampshire Hospital, Ginger gained experience working in medical Pediatrics in Michigan, California, and Massachusetts since 1984. Ginger is an active member of the American Nurses Association (ANA), New Hampshire Infection Control and Epidemiology Professionals (NHICEP), and the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC). She earned an Associate of Science in Nursing from Southwestern Michigan College, and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Franklin Pierce University. |
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Mary Forsythe-Taber, CPS, Executive Director, Makin’ It Happen Coalition for Resilient Youth, Inc.
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Gail Gettens, MS, ECMP, Child Development Specialist, Health Communications Advisor, NH Division of Public Health Services
Gail Gettens is the Health Communication Coordinator for the NH Division of Public Health Services Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program; Gail provides clinical management and prevention technical assistance and education and outreach to pediatricians, nurses, educators, and parents. She is an experienced child development specialist and program manager. Along with colleague Knatalie Vetter, Gail is co-author of the recently released children’s board book, Happy, Healthy, Lead-Free Me! developed with clinical support from NH Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics and R1: Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit/Boston Children’s Hospital. Her successful work increasing NH’s pediatric lead level testing numbers was published in the January/February 2019 Special Edition of Journal of Public Health Management and Practice in an article she co-authored titled: Changing a State’s Climate to Increase Blood Lead Level Testing. Gail, a graduate of Dartmouth College, completed a Master’s Degree in Child Development and Early Childhood Education at Wheelock College (Boston) and has dedicated much of her professional career to educating on lead poisoning prevention and the importance of lead-level testing for young children.
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Bradley Herring, PhD, McKerley Professor, Economics Department, Paul College of Business, Health Management and Policy, College of HHS, University of New Hampshire
Bradley Herring, PhD, joined the University of New Hampshire in the fall of 2020 as the Forrest D. McKerley Professor of Health Economics, with a joint appointment in the Economics Department of the Paul College of Business and Economics and the Health Management and Policy Department in the College of Health and Human Services. His research primarily focuses on several economic and policy issues related to health insurance markets and healthcare reform, including the dynamics of coverage within the employment-based and individual health insurance markets and the effects of health insurance market concentration. He also devotes a portion of his research on interdisciplinary projects into certain social determinants of health, specifically neighborhood poverty and the food environment. He has published articles in the Journal of Health Economics, New England Journal of Medicine, and JAMA, and his research has been funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Health and Human Services ASPE, and AHRQ. Dr. Herring previously held faculty appointments in the Schools of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University and Emory University. His policy experience includes serving as a Senior Staff Economist with the White House’s Council of Economic Advisers and serving as the Chair of the Board of Directors for the Maryland Health Insurance Plan. He received his PhD from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and completed a two-year RWJF Scholars in Health Policy fellowship at Yale University.
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Marilou Patalinjug Tyner, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Greater Nashua Mental Health
Marilou B. Patalinjug Tyner is currently the Chief Medical Officer at the Greater Nashua Mental Health Center. Marilou has held this position for 6 years and 5 months. Prior to that, they were the Chief Medical Officer at Highland-Clarksburg Hospital for 2 years and 2 months. Marilou has also been a Clinical Assistant Professor at CAMC WVU Department of Behavioral Medicine & Psychiatry for 11 years and 8 months, where they conducted Forensic Psychiatry Seminars for Psychiatry Residents. Tyner is also a Psychiatrist at Highland Behavioral Health Services, where they have been for 10 years and 5 months. In this role, they are responsible for the diagnosis and psychopharmacologic management of general adult psychiatric disorders, both in the outpatient and inpatient settings. Marilou is also the Medical Director for the Assessment Unit at Highland Hospital.Tyner began their career as a Research Assistant at Nathan Kline Institute, where they worked for 4 years and 11 months. Marilou then completed their residency at NYU School of Medicine, serving as Chief Resident for 1 year before becoming a Resident Psychiatrist at New York University Medical Center for 4 years.
Marilou B. Patalinjug Tyner is a psychiatrist who has worked in New York and the Philippines. Marilou completed their Doctor of Medicine at the University of the Philippines College of Medicine in 1987 and their Psychiatry Residency Program at the University of the Philippines in 1992. Marilou has also been a Forensic Psychiatry Fellow at the New York State Office of Mental Health. |
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Laural Ruggles, MBA, MPH, Consultant, Vermont Public Health Institute and Vermont Community Health Equity Partnership (VT CHEP)
Laural Ruggles MBA, MPH exemplifies her commitment to her community and improving health and well-being in her work and in her personal life. Laural spent most of her professional career in healthcare. Her commitment to her community goes beyond her work; over the decades she has volunteered her time to working on local school improvement projects, women’s issues, place-based solutions for social gatherings, improved access to healthy food, and low-cost options for physical activity.
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Seddon R. Savage, MD, Educator, Advocate, and Clinical Associate Professor, Dartmouth Geisel School of Medicine
Seddon R. Savage, MD, MS, is a clinician, educator, and advocate in the fields of addiction medicine and pain medicine. She earned a BA from Barnard College in 1973, an MS from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1976, and her MD from Dartmouth Medical School in 1980. She is an associate professor on the adjunct faculty of Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, directed the Dartmouth Center on Addiction Recovery and Education (DCARE) from September 2004 through January 2016, and now serves as an advisor to the Dartmouth Hitchcock Substance Use and Mental Health Initiative. Trained in anesthesiology, she was certified in addiction medicine by the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) in 1990, by the American Board of Addiction Medicine in 2010 and is an elected fellow of ASAM. She earned a certificate of added qualifications (CAQ) in pain medicine from the American Board of Anesthesiology (1992) and is certified in pain medicine by the American Academy of Pain Medicine (1996).
Dr. Savage has held a number of national leadership positions in addiction medicine and pain medicine. She chaired the ASAM Committee on Pain from 1990-2003. She chaired the joint Liaison Committee on Pain and Addiction (LCPA) between the American Society of Addiction Medicine, the America Pain Society and the American Academy of Pain Medicine from 1999 through September 2005. She served as President of the American Pain Society in 2010-2012. |
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Stephanie Savard, Director of Strategic Initiatives, Amoskeag Health
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Lissa A. Sirois, MPH, RD, IBCLC, Bureau Chief, Family Health and Nutrition, Division of Public Health Services, NH Department of Health and Human Services
Lissa Sirois is the Bureau Chief for the Family Health and Nutrition Bureau at the NH Division of Public Health Services. At DHHS she provides oversight to the Nutrition Services Section and Maternal and Child Health Section, which includes programs such as the WIC Nutrition Program, Farmers Market Nutrition Program, Home visiting, family planning, newborn screening and Child Fatality. Her responsibilities include public policy and legislation, federal program budgets, contract management and staff development. Lissa has been working in public health nutrition for over 20 years, with a fiery passion for children and families. Lissa is a Registered Dietitian and International Board Certified Lactation Consultant. She received her undergraduate degree in Nutrition Sciences from the University of NH and her Master of Public Health from Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine. In addition to her role at Public Health she serves in multiple volunteer roles, including the past Chair for the NH Breastfeeding Task Force, a member of Dartmouth’s MPH Community Advisory Board and a girls’ volleyball coach for her local Boys and Girls Club.
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Knatalie Vetter, Lead Poisoning Prevention Program Supervisor, NH Division of Public Health Services
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Paula Gyurcsan, Home Visiting Program Manager, NH DHHS Division of Public Health Services
Paula Gyurcsan is the Home Visiting Manager at New Hampshire (NH) Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Public Health Services for the Healthy Families America (HFA) program, through NH’s Maternal Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program (MIEHV). Ms. Gyurcsan has been involved with the HFA program for over five years serving as the program manager in Strafford County and Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) Lead for Public Health. Paula supports six agencies who implement the HFA program statewide by facilitating role specific reflective supervision groups, leading CQI projects, onboarding new staff, conducting site visits and developing strategies to increase access to services in NH She serves as an HFA model peer reviewer throughout the national HFA network and is a member of the HFA National Advisory Committee. Ms. Gyurcsan earned a Master’s degree in Education (school counseling) from Plymouth State University. Through Paula’s work in the school system, she realized that supporting children starts in their home. She lives in a bilingual home with her husband of 24 years and is a parent of three young adults, one who has Autism.
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Delmy Bonilla, Family Support Specialist, Waypoint
Delmy Bonilla was born and raised in El Salvador, San Salvador and moved to Manchester, NH with her family when she was a young adult. It was through the experiences connecting her family and friends with services that she discovered a passion for working with families.
Delmy is an intake worker and Family Support Specialist in Waypoint’s Healthy Families America (HFA) Program. She has over 25 years of experience working with minority, refugees, and undocumented families. These families speak a variety of languages including Spanish, Swahili and Rohingya. She is trained in the PHQ-9 (Patient Health Questionnaire), the EPDS (Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale) IPV/Relationship Assessment Tool and The Ages and Stages Questionnaires, ASQ-3 and ASQ-SE. She provides interpretation/translation services to clients in Spanish. Delmy is the 2019 recipient of the NH HFA (Healthy Families America) Shining Star Award for outstanding work in the field of Infant Mental Health and Strengthening Families. She has earned the NH Early Childhood and Family Mental Health credential. Delmy previously worked with the NH Minority Health Coalition, Women to Woman Program-Peer Educator, REACH 2010 Initiative-Latino Program Peer Educator, Hablemos de Diabetes (“Let’s Talk about Diabetes.”) Certified Home Visitor and the Manchester Community Health Center. |
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Wiewei Wang, Co-Founder & Executive Director, Community and Policy, The Vermont Professionals of Color Network
Weiwei Wang immigrated from Beijing, China as a child and grew up in Vermont, California, and Utah. After completing undergraduate studies at Connecticut College, she worked in various roles in higher education, fitness, event management, international shipping logistics and trade, project management, and research. Through all of these experiences, Weiwei has focused on access to community as a source of self- and community empowerment, and community building as a source of grounding and inspiration. This has driven her work within the Burlington community and has been fostered through her work as a founding member of the VT Professionals of Color Network. As Yuri Kochiyama said, “Life is not what you alone make it. Life is the input of everyone who touched your life and every experience that entered it. We are all part of one another.” Community is vital.
Currently, she serves as the Director of Operations and Development for the VT PoC Network, and is a co-founder of the Vermont Health Equity Initiative. Weiwei serves on the boards of Public Assets Institute, The Governor’s Institute of Vermont, Champlain College Stiller School of Business Dean’s Advisory Council, UVM Cancer Center’s Community Advisory Council, and the State of Vermont’s Racial Equity Advisory Panel. She is an alum of Vermont Changemakers Table (’18), New Leaders Council – Vermont Chapter (’20), and Leadership Champlain (’22). When not working, Weiwei loves to work. For “fun” she likes to give herself anxiety by performing stand-up at the Vermont Comedy Club. She has recently successfully completed two obedience training classes with her dog, Don Covito “Vito” Corleone. Vito is very proud of her accomplishments. |
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