Trayce Leak

Trayce Leak currently serves as a health communication specialist for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Division of Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention. Leak is an internationally accredited (APR) public relations professional with more than 20 years of professional communications experience. Prior to joining CDC, Leak served as a college professor for more than 12 years.  Leak specializes in strategic communications, media relations and stakeholder engagement.   

Leak holds a doctor of philosophy in communication studies from Georgia State University, a master of science in public relations from Syracuse University, and a bachelor of science in sociology from Florida State University.    

Tonya O’Bryan

Tonya O’Bryan is a ‎Health Communication Specialist contractor in the Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention (DHDSP) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).  Her primary role in DHDSP is social media liaison, as she helps develop content, increase engagement across social platforms, and facilitate clearance needed for social platforms.

Tonya received a master’s degree in Health Promotion from Mississippi State University and has been a Certified Health Education Specialist for 5 years.  As a public health professional, Tonya is committed to educating and empowering communities and individuals to make informed decisions pertaining to their health through health promotion and utilizing technology as prevention.

Dr. Modele Ogunniyi

Dr. Modele Ogunniyi is an Associate Professor of Medicine and Senior Physician with the Division of Cardiology at Emory University School of Medicine. She also serves as the Associate Medical Director of the Grady Heart Failure Program. After receiving her medical degree from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, she obtained a Masters of Public Health and a Certificate in Health Finance and Management from Johns Hopkins University. Her postgraduate training includes a preventive medicine and public health fellowship at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, residency in internal medicine at Morehouse School of Medicine and cardiology fellowship at Vanderbilt University. Her research focuses on examining and eliminating disparities in cardiovascular disease, specifically, hypertension and diabetes as it relates to heart failure and more recently, palliative care in advanced heart failure patients. As a cardiovascular epidemiologist, she seeks to forge links between preventive medicine, public policy, quality improvement and scientific research. Dr. Ogunniyi is on the advisory board for two major initiatives of the American Heart Association in the Atlanta Area, targeting hypertension and heart failure in the community and is Principal Investigator on several clinical trials. She is an active member and volunteer of many professional organizations including the Association of Black Cardiologists (ABC), American Heart Association, American College of Cardiology (ACC), and the American College of Physicians. She is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians, American College of Cardiology, and American Heart Association. She serves on several national committees, including Co-Chair of the Membership/Member Relations Committee (ABC), Cardiovascular Disease in Women Committee of the ACC and on the Steering Committee of the National Hypertension Control Roundtable, a national initiative by the CDC to improve national hypertension control rates. She is the Vice President of Health Awareness Initiative, Africa, a not— for—profit organization, whose mission is to promote healthy lifestyles in African communities by creating health awareness through screening and education.

Lisa C. Richardson, MD, MPH

Lisa C. Richardson, MD, MPH, is director of the Division of Cancer Prevention and Control (DCPC), the largest unit within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. As director of DCPC, she works with partners at the national, state, and local levels to break down barriers to good health and create opportunities for everyone to live a long and healthy life. Under her leadership, DCPC’s national programs and initiatives have helped the cancer control community better understand differences among populations and design interventions that reduce disparities in cancer prevention, early detection and treatment. Dr. Richardson also provides guidance for the Division’s research agenda that includes the National Cancer Prevention and Control Research Network. A medical oncologist by training, she has authored or coauthored more than 150 peer-reviewed journal articles examining multi-sectoral approaches to improving cancer care access, delivery, and outcomes.

John Whitehill

John Whitehill has worked as a health scientist in the Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, GA since 2013. John has led several evaluation projects including rigorous evaluation assessments and multi-level national evaluations focused on leading heart disease strategies with tribal, county, and state governments. Recently, John has supported CDC’s efforts on the COVID-19 response working as an Evaluation Team Lead for the Deployer Support Unit and on the Community Mitigation and At-Risk Task Force tracking and evaluating different government orders as the country implemented Opening Up American Again. John has also led the start up for the implementation for the national rollout of HIV case-based surveillance in Kenya through the Global HIV & TB program for CDC. Before working at CDC, John was the Surveillance and Evaluation Manger for the Chronic Disease Section at the State of Nevada. John holds a BS and MPH from the University of Nevada, Reno.