2023 DELPH Cohort

Yoann Sophie Antoine is a public health professional with ample expertise in community health, substance use disorder, health education, and environmental health. Antoine currently serves as the health equity coordinator for the city of Medford, Massachusetts. In this capacity, she provides advocacy for the protection and advancement of public health within the community. Furthermore, Antoine provides support to the City of Medford by intentionally centering equity in public health program planning and implementation throughout the city.

Antoine collaborates with a wide range of internal and external stakeholders to reduce structural barriers to health stemming from unjust social, economic, and structural circumstances that disproportionately affect racially, ethnically, and linguistically diverse communities, people with disabilities, people experiencing homelessness or housing insecurity, people of all gender identities and sexual orientations, and other individuals. Her research interests include migrant health, minority health, mental wellness, chronic disease prevention, environmental infectious diseases, and reproductive and sexual health.

Antoine earned a Bachelor of Arts in Hispanic and Iberian studies with a concentration in Spanish translation and interpretation from the University of Massachusetts Boston and a Master of Public Health from Nova Southeastern University. Antoine is a Community Health Worker instructor and serves as an advisory board member for the Massachusetts Association of Community Health Workers.

Tosha Bock has spent most of her life in Oregon. After growing up in small towns, she settled in Portland following graduation with her Bachelor of Science. Bock’s experience being a biracial woman growing up in rural Oregon was pivotal to molding her understanding of race and geographical intersectionality and solidified her commitment to advancing health equity. She has a unique set of lived and professional experiences that has been largely untapped for a population that is undeniably growing within the nation.

Bock has spent most of her career working within public and behavioral Health. She has over 20 years of professional experience that spans nonprofit, county, and state-level sectors. She is currently the Social Influences on Health Strategist within the Public Health Division of the Oregon Health Authority. Her role supports the state health improvement plan, Healthier Together Oregon, by leading two crucial workgroups toward meaningful change in the structural and social determinants of health. Additionally, Bock is a part of the leadership team within the Oregon Health Authority’s Black, African, and African American Employee Resource Group and serves to uplift her colleagues through this role as well.

Bock is passionate about building connections and fostering trust across the state of Oregon by leading with a human-centered, inclusive, and trauma-informed approach to building relationships that center community voice, shared power, and health equity. She strives to build capacity for all voices to be heard and uplifted and for long-standing cultural and structural change to occur in her home state.

Subha Chandar has broad experience in public health, ranging from the local level to national level, in government, associations, and hospitals. Her areas of expertise include governmental public health systems, management, strategic planning, facilitation, and program evaluation. She worked for NACCHO where she led several programs, initially in environmental health, moving to H1N1 response and emerging issues, and ultimately to workforce development, law, and ethics.

Chandar completed her Master of Public Health at The George Washington University, with a concentration in international health promotion. She also completed the three-year CDC Public Health Prevention Service specialist fellowship program, which included one year at CDC and a two-year assignment at the Minnesota Department of Health.

Currently, Chandar serves as the deputy director of the Environmental Health Bureau at the Maryland Department of Health. She manages the bureau’s operations, including regulatory programs for food protection and recreation; injury and violence prevention programs; and data and epidemiology programs. She facilitated the Bureau response and recovery from COVID-19 pandemic and from a network incident. She serves on the administration-wide Health Equity Work Group Steering Committee and chairs the Sustainability Subcommittee. She strives to integrate health equity and environmental justice in the bureau and the department overall to better serve communities.

Ebony Nicole Fortune is a public health administrator with over 20 years of experience. In her current role at the DC Department of Health, she serves as the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program Manager. Fortune manages a team of nine program officers and program coordinators. As the Ryan White program manager, Fortune and her team provide programmatic guidance and oversight to over 40 sub-recipients in the Washington, D.C. EMA, for both the Ryan White Parts A and B programs with total grant awards of over $47 million.

Fortune holds a Bachelor of Science in Health Science, a Master of Public Health in Community Health, and a graduate certificate in Healthcare Administration. Fortune is a veteran public health professional experienced in project and program management; quality improvement; program development and coordination; technical assistance and training; grant writing; data analysis; budget oversight and planning; and holds a Lean Six Sigma green belt certification.

Fortune is an active member of a Divine 9 public service organization, whose focus is on empowering underserved populations of the Washington, D.C. community, with a concentration on improving the social and life skills of adolescent girls while also providing access to higher educational resources.

Fortune is the proud mom of two who enjoys traveling, listening to audio books, and spending time with friends and family.

Takisha Fuller is a dedicated public health professional with experience in epidemiology, preparedness, prevention, health education and promotion. She currently serves as the deputy director in the Epidemiology, Surveillance and Informatics service area at the Cuyahoga County Board of Health (CCBH) in Parma, Ohio. A proud graduate of the University of Mount Union, Fuller was inspired to pursue a career in public health after working as a prevention support specialist, planning, implementing, and evaluating prescription misuse prevention programs on college campuses. Prior to working as the deputy director, Fuller served as the Disease and Emergency supervisor, where she was responsible for: all surveillance, investigation, and control activities for communicable disease—including COVID-19; providing directions and leadership to staff engaged in communicable disease and emergency preparedness; monitoring outbreak response activities; and leading the research, funding, and maintenance of CCBH public health programs.

In her free time, Fuller can be found serving with her local church, building community with young moms, and enjoying quality time with her husband and two young boys.

Karla Granado has 12 years of experience across various aspects of public health and healthcare delivery, with a focus on addressing health equity through serving marginalized, disinvested communities. Granado has a proven track record of developing, maintaining, and expanding evidence-based, equitable programs.

Key highlights of her experience include: implementing a cervical cancer prevention and navigation program within a safety net hospital system for a primarily uninsured, Latina population; developing and implementing a heart attack and stroke quality improvement project across the state of Texas; and co-founding Take the Pressure Off, NYC!, New York City’s first comprehensive hypertension initiative, which included providing strategic leadership and overseeing a coalition of more than 100 organizations. Most recently, Granado provides oversight for more than 10 healthcare delivery service lines and leads initiatives aimed at providing access to medical care and social determinants of health services for the uninsured population in Travis County, Texas.

Granado received a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology, Health Promotion, and Fitness from the University of Texas at Austin and a Master of Public Health in Health Promotion and Health Education at the University of Texas School of Public Health.

Kristina Herrera is an agency manager for the Tuolumne County Public Health Department. She is involved with several health promotion projects, including epidemiology and geographic information systems (GIS) mapping of health-related data, nutrition, physical activity, and oral health grants; coalition building work, health education and outreach in rural populations, and health communications and social media strategy. She has experience in youth engagement and coordinating youth leadership and advocacy coalitions.

Herrera was the project director for the local Tobacco Control Program for over eight years and is experienced in rural health policy and health equity efforts in rural populations. Recently, she has served as the planning section chief in the Tuolumne County COVID-19 emergency response. She currently oversees the department’s epidemiology and communications units and supports workforce development.

Outside of public health, Herrera is a professional wedding and event planner, avid calligrapher and crafter, hiker, and lover of flowers and snacks. Herrera received her Bachelor of Science in Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior from the University of California, Davis and Master of Public Health from George Washington University.

Samia Hussein currently serves as the director for the Office of Multicultural Health Equity for the Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services. In this position, she is responsible for overseeing diversity, equity, and inclusion programs and initiatives on a state-level impacting over 3000 employees. In her previous role as community health liaison for a local hospital, she oversaw the implementation of a mobile mammography program and provided breast health education in the community. Hussein has over 13 years of public health experience having worked in different settings and is also a public health consultant for non-profits.

Hussein is very passionate about social justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion in her community. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she utilized her EMT certification and, under the CT Governor’s Executive Order, was able to serve her community by providing COVID-19 vaccinations at mobile clinics.

Hussein earned her Bachelor of Science in Biology from Central Connecticut State University and her Master of Public Health from the University of Connecticut. She is currently enrolled in Mercer University’s public health doctorate program specializing in diverse populations and health equity. Hussein has received numerous community service and leadership awards for her commitment towards equity and social justice. She is affiliated with multiple professional organizations and a board member of non-profit organizations. Hussein is also a small-business owner of African Adornments, empowering women in Africa through entrepreneurship. Hussein was born in Cairo, Egypt and grew up between Egypt and the Bronx, NY. She currently resides in Connecticut.

Erika Kirtz received her Master of Public Health degree from Tennessee State University in Nashville, TN. After graduation, she completed the Commissioner’s Fellow in Public Health fellowship with the Tennessee Department of Health. After the fellowship, she served as the assistant director of value-based purchasing in the Long-Term Services and Support program with the state’s Medicaid department. She led the value-based purchasing initiative designed to incentivize long-term care facilities to deliver high-quality healthcare services to their residents.

Kirtz has a passion for health equity and advocating for underserved communities. She is currently the first Health Equity Epidemiologist with the Healthcare-Associated Infections and Antimicrobial Resistance (HAI/AR) Program at the Tennessee Department of Health – a position she helped create. She is tasked with developing and implementing systematic program changes that aid the HAI/AR team in better understanding health disparities and inequities. In 2022, she was awarded the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation National Award for Outstanding Epidemiology Practice in Addressing Racial and Ethnic Disparities.

She is a member of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee and the Guidelines Committee for the Society of Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA). She also serves as a member of the Health Equity subcommittee with the Council for State and Territorial Epidemiologists.

Erika is pursuing her Doctor of Public Health degree in Health Equity and Social Justice at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She enjoys spending time with family and friends, woodworking and DIY projects, traveling, and playing the cello.

Keon Lewis a proud Carolina (Marion, SC and Charlotte, NC) native, joins the DELPH Cohort with a diverse range of experience that spans from leadership roles held in the hospital, mental health, and educational sector. Currently, he serves as the equity coordinator for the Cabarrus Health Alliance, where he works strategically to ensure total equity is achieved through equitable polices, program development, resource accessibility, and high quality of care.

Lewis’ scope of work includes the successful management of the CDC AA 466 Advancing Equity Grant. This grant prompted participating agencies to address COVID-19 related health disparities through the advancement of health equity. Lewis developed a comprehensive Equity Action Plan which led to key policy, practice, systemic, environmental, and community-based strategies change. This success culminated in his innovative development of CHA’s inaugural “CHAsm Summit”. This annual conference will serve as a clarion call for leaders to identify best practices that help to close gaps on inequities and open paths for equity.

Keon holds a Master of Health Services Administration degree from Strayer University and a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He was recently accepted into North Carolina A&T State University’s Ph.D. Leadership Studies Program where he will join a diverse cohort of students from both public and private sectors. Aside from his professional aspirations, Lewis serves as the chair of the board of directors for the national award-winning North Carolina Chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

Lisette Marquez currently serves as a prevention specialist for the Office of Border Public Health at the Texas Department of State Health Services. There, she leads various projects that look to decrease disparities in access to healthcare services in the rural communities of west Texas. Additionally, she coordinates the efforts of the regional community health workers.

Marquez is a passionate healthcare professional who has spent 14 years in public and private healthcare settings in both Mexico and the United States. She has led quality improvement efforts of the organizations she has worked at while applying awareness of the diverse cultural values of the communities she has served. Her experience has allowed her the opportunity of becoming acquainted with the healthcare needs of underserved populations in both countries and appreciating the importance of delivering equitable value-based healthcare.

Marquez grew up in both El Paso, Texas and Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua—two cities from different countries with close connection and interdependence. In 2010, she received her Doctor of Medicine from the University of Guanajuato in Leon, Guanajuato. In 2020, she completed a Master of Public Health and Healthcare Management from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.

Marquez is an avid lover of the arts, attending concerts, plays, and museums at every opportunity. She enjoys painting, exercising, traveling, reading, cooking, and—most of all—spending time with her loved ones.

Amber Mendiola is the administrator of the Non-Communicable Disease Programs at the Division Public Health Services, under the Commonwealth Healthcare Corporation (CHCC) of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). Mendiola managed many campaigns to improve the island community’s health and prevent non-communicable diseases. She spearheaded Let’s Move Marianas! initiative, which was in line with Michelle Obama’s nationwide campaign to fight childhood obesity. In 2014, Let’s Move Marianas! initiative received a gold medal, recognizing amazing work to improve family health.

Mendiola serves as CNMI’s representative on the Cancer Council of the Pacific Islands and the Pacific Chronic Disease Council. She is the vice president of the CNMI Public School System Parent Advisory Council where she integrates public health education into parent engagement and support. Recently, ASTHO collaborated with Mendiola to publish “Weaving and Layering Funding: A Territorial Health Agency’s Guide to Effective Health Financing”, sharing successes that improved functions within the chronic disease programs at CHCC.

Moreover, Mendiola has overcome many challenges and has made it her personal and career goal to help others similarly overcome obstacles hindering better health outcomes. Mendiola is a compassionate and determined leader who wants to do the best for the island community and is committed to ensuring they achieve optimal health.

Before joining the Connecticut Department of Public Health, Deputy Commissioner Lisa Morrissey worked as a local health official since 2012, serving in various cities and districts in Connecticut. She also serves as an adjunct professor in public health at the University of Bridgeport and Western Connecticut State University, where she teaches public health practice, epidemiology, and program monitoring and evaluation, among other topics.

Morrissey received her Master of Public Health in epidemiology and environmental health science from New York Medical College. She also received her Bachelor of Psychology from Albertus Magnus College, and she has experience in population health, epidemiology, health equity, and strategic planning, among other disciplines.

Morrissey oversees the Environmental Health and Drinking Water Branch, Local Health, Public Health Preparedness, and the Office of Health Equity at the Connecticut Department of Public Health.

Kristen Newman is a program manager at the Prince George’s County Health Department who works to improve maternal and infant outcomes. With almost three decades of experience as a nurse, Newman has focused more than half of her nursing career on maternal and infant health. Initially serving as an inpatient nurse and eventually manager, she later transitioned to a public health setting so that she could focus more on the root causes of poor maternal and infant health outcomes. Newman received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from The Catholic University of Maryland in Washington, DC, her Master of Public Health from American Public University, and her Doctor of Public Health at Walden University.

Newman found her passion in public health and desires to improve outcomes for women and infants at risk for negative outcomes within her own community. As the coordinator for the Fetal and Infant Mortality Review and the Child Fatality Review teams for Prince George’s County, Newman has worked with community stakeholders to understand the root causes for poor outcomes in these populations. As a result of these meetings, unsafe sleep practices have been a special focus for community prevention. Newman, along with her staff and key community stakeholders, has worked to educate and reinforce both Safe Sleep education and practices amongst mothers, families, and caregivers to prevent sleep-related deaths throughout the county.

Nassira Nicola is the deputy director of programs and operations at the Office of Health Equity of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH), overseeing the department's programs in Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services, Health Care-Based Interpreter Services, Health and Disability, and Housing Stability. Their efforts include providing training and technical assistance to public health programs to build their capacity to partner with individuals with disabilities and those for whom English is not their primary language, in work ranging from data collection and policy development to communications and direct services.

Nicola also co-designed and led the department's Vaccine Ambassador Program, which brought MDPH staff face-to-face with members of the public throughout 2021 to foster authentic and accurate conversation about the COVID-19 vaccines in the early days of their availability.

Nicola holds a Master of Arts in linguistics from the University of Chicago—focusing on the language and culture of the Deaf community in Montreal—and an ADA Coordinator Certification from the Great Plains ADA Center.

Jannae Parrott is an evaluation analyst for the Bureau of Epidemiology Services at the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Her career has taken her all over the United States, affording her the opportunity to work in local, state, tribal, and federal levels of governmental public health. Through her work, Parrott has developed a passion for data and ensuring data practices reflect an understanding of the communities and contexts that influence health.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Parrott successfully led the development of two peer-reviewed published manuscripts on the population prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies, describing disparities in prevalence in populations of color. Since that time, Parrott has helped establish and promote the agency’s first evaluation collaborative and continues to lead and collaborate on equity-related epi research projects with partners across the agency, including most recently a project to identify equity-related innovations in NYC’s supportive housing initiative.

Before joining the NYC Health Department as an Evaluator, Jannae served as a Preparedness Field Assignee and a Public Health Associate at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In her previous role, her areas of focus included infectious disease surveillance and reporting and emergency response evaluation.

Jannae has a Bachelor of Science in medical anthropology from the University of Florida and a Master of Public Health from Oregon State University. In her free time, she loves to read, eat great food, play games in VR, and spend time with friends and family.

Brianna Scott was born and raised in San Antonio, TX, and moved to California in 2021 to pursue her career in communicable disease control and prevention for Long Beach. Scott is the healthcare-associated infections epidemiologist with the Communicable Disease Surveillance and Control Division at the Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services.

She received a Bachelor of Science in public health from Xavier University of Louisiana and a Master of Public Health from Louisiana State University Shreveport’s Health Sciences Center. In addition to her full-time career, Brianna is the vice president of the Southern California Public Health Association and a Delta Omega Honor Society member. She is attending Loma Linda University to obtain her doctorate in public health. Upon completing the degree program, Scott hopes to work as a neuroepidemiologist to understand better how infectious diseases influence and shape the global burden of neurological disorders.

Kim Tham, a first-generation Chinese American, is a health equity professional dedicated to strengthening public health protections and community resilience to environmental challenges like climate change and industrial pollution. She manages Environmental Toxics and Climate & Health Resilience programs for the Public Health Division at the Oregon Health Authority.

Being in community with diverse partners across public health practice as we tackle systemic challenges at the intersection of health, well-being, and justice is an important part of Tham’s work and practice. Tham has a decade of public health experience in environmental health, emergency preparedness, and policy at the federal, state, and local levels. She holds a Master of Public Health in Environmental and Occupational Health and a Bachelor of Science in Biosystems Engineering, both from the University of Arizona.

Samantha "Sam" To is the Communicable Disease Program manager for the Office of Rapid Response Disease Investigation at the Arizona Department of Health Services. In this role, she oversees the training and performance of hundreds of disease investigators as well as the development of educational materials and the management of investigative tools, surveys, and morbidity-specific guidance. Beginning her public health career at the local level, she is relishing this opportunity to work with an incredibly dedicated team at the state, supporting Arizonan communities with the rapid development and implementation of outbreak response structures and disease mitigation of morbidities of public health significance.

Born and raised in Las Vegas, she currently resides in Flagstaff, Arizona with her husband, toddler, and two dogs. When not working, she can be found in the kitchen trying new, complicated recipes to cook for her friends and family. To enjoys taking advantage of the many lakes and forests in the area for hiking, kayaking, and fishing. She’s an avid listener of This Podcast Will Kill You and is actively fielding audiobook suggestions (especially murder mysteries) but would just as likely to be re-watching her favorite comedies.

Sam hopes to see her career continue within the infectious disease field to support and enhance efforts provided to the local health jurisdictions and improve the health of all Arizonans.

Naomi Wilson has spent over two decades working in public health, leading data and evaluation projects for the Department of Defense, the University of Washington, and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. Currently, Wilson is the community assessment director for the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department. She leads a multidisciplinary team that provides population-level health assessments, data-driven program planning, program evaluation, and integrated qualitative and quantitative analysis.

Wilson earned her Master of Public Health from the University of Washington. She is vice chair of the Washington State Local Public Health Officials Assessment Committee, an affiliate faculty member of the University of Washington-Tacoma’s School of Nursing and Healthcare Leadership, chair of the City of Tacoma’s Human Services Commission, and leads the TPCHD Asian American and Pacific Islander Affinity Group. During the Pierce County COVID-19 response, Wilson served as director of data and surveillance.

When she's not working, Wilson enjoys spending her time cooking, riding her bike around Tacoma, and spending time with her two kids.