FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Paige Rohe, prohe@chronicdisease.org, 404-924-8295
ATLANTA (Sept. 21, 2018) – The National Association of Chronic Disease Directors CEO John W. Robitscher and Board President Gabriel Kaplan announced today the election of the FY19 Board of Directors as well as the growth of NACDD Headquarters staff.
NACDD Welcomes New Board
The 17 Board Members were selected by their peers to provide strategic guidance and visionary leadership for the nation’s only professional association dedicated to serving chronic disease professionals in every U.S. state and territory.
“The new Board has a deep bench of talent and expertise, and combined decades of experience in chronic disease prevention, control, and health promotion,” said Dr. Kaplan, who also serves as the Chief of the Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention Branch at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
The new Board’s term begins Oct. 1, 2018, and includes the following public health leaders:
Officers
- President – Gabriel Kaplan, Colorado
- President Elect – Monica Morales, California
- Past President – Mehul Dalal, Connecticut
- Treasurer – Mary Manning, Minnesota
- Secretary – Judith Gabriele, New Mexico
At-Large Members
- Tomas Aguilar, Pennsylvania
- Appathurai Balamurugan, Arkansas
- Margaret Casey, New York
- Karen Girard, Oregon
- David Hoffman, New York
- Susan Kansagra, North Carolina
- Jill Myers-Geadelmann, Iowa
- Tari O’Connor, Alaska
- Kristi Pier, Maryland
- Shamarial Roberson, Florida
- Linda Scarpetta, Michigan
- Sonja Schriever, Idaho
In keeping with the tradition established by previous Board presidents, Dr. Kaplan will implement a President’s Challenge, a project intended to focus NACDD Member competency in an emerging or innovative issue in chronic disease prevention.
This year, NACDD will focus on taking chronic disease work further upstream in the disease continuum and demonstrating how public health can change the social determinants of health so that they better promote equitable health outcomes.
“Gabriel’s leadership during the past year has been instrumental in taking NACDD to the next level as we prepare to celebrate our 30th anniversary this spring,” said Robitscher. “We are excited to implement his challenge to our Members and our staff, and to bring on new and diverse voices to help lead us in these dynamic times for public health.”
“NACDD can serve as a national leader to the public health community on the ways that we can address the social determinants of health in our work,” Dr. Kaplan said. “The goal of my challenges is to help our Membership play these leadership roles in their communities.”
NACDD Celebrates Staff Growth
As part of its work serving as a model public health organization, NACDD invests in staff professional development and growth. As a result, NACDD leadership is proud to make the following personnel announcements:
- Kevenshay “Shay” Tarver has been promoted to Professional Development Specialist, where she leads planning efforts for NACDD’s annual Chronic Disease Academy. Tarver also is responsible for sustaining collaborative opportunities among environmental health and chronic disease programs.
- Ann Marie Jones has been promoted to Data Manager and will be responsible for managing all data collection related to the programs and projects of NACDD.
- Nancy Sutherland has been hired as Associate Director of Professional Development. Sutherland holds her CPLP® (Certified Professional in Learning and Performance) and has spent more than 15 years working with world-class organizations to plan for and design meaningful training. She is passionate about developing achievable objectives that align to real needs of the audience and building training that meets those objectives.
“Our staff is exceptionally dedicated to the work we do every day, and we are delighted to promote staff and hire staff into new leadership roles within the organization,” said Robitscher.
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The National Association of Chronic Disease Directors
Promoting Health. Preventing Disease.
The National Association of Chronic Disease Directors (NACDD) and its more than 7,000 members seek to strengthen state-based leadership and expertise for chronic disease prevention and control in states and nationally. Established in 1988, in partnership with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the NACDD is the only membership association of its kind to serve and represent every chronic disease division in all states and U.S. territories. For more information, visit chronicdisease.org.