Arlene Guindon is the Senior Program Manager of the Analytics and Logistics Team at the National Kidney Foundation of Michigan (NKFM). Arlene’s focus at the NKFM is to support NKFM’s mission through turning data assets into community value. She does this by leading and supporting teams in aligning funders, programs, and participant goals via data collection, analysis, reporting, and application integration. Prior to NKFM, Arlene was the Director of Healthcare Analytics at Mayo Clinic where she led the integration of analytic and reporting initiatives associated with population health management and claims data. Specifically relevant to this initiative is Arlene’s work with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. She presented at their Grand Rounds in Atlanta, Georgia on “Real World Implementation of the National Diabetes Prevention Program,” November 2018. Additionally, Arlene presented at the American Diabetes Association 65th Advanced Postgraduate Course, “Real World Implementation of the National Diabetes Prevention Program,” (San Francisco, CA: February 2018). Arlene holds a Master’s Degree in Public Health from the University of Michigan.
Benjamin M. Bluml, RPh, is the Executive Director and Senior Vice President of Research & Innovation at American Pharmacists Association Foundation (APhA). Ben is the Principal Investigator for the Foundation’s 1705 Collaborative Agreement and has worked for the Foundation for over 20 years. He was recently appointed to the position of Executive Director of the Foundation.
Cassandra Stish is the Chief Customer Officer for Welld Health headquartered in Charlottesville, Virginia. She is responsible for nurturing Welld’s community-integrated health and industry partnerships and representing client priorities that guide product development. In 2012, Cassandra helped start what has grown to be Welld; a technology solution with the mission to empower community-based service providers as they establish their place in the healthcare continuum. Cassandra lives in rural central Virginia with her husband and three inquisitive miniature schnauzers who like to make themselves heard on zoom calls from time to time.
Charlene Wallace works with organizations and stakeholders to bend the curve on diabetes. As National Director of the Diabetes Prevention Program for the American Diabetes Association (ADA), she leads the ADA’s diabetes prevention efforts related to the National DPP lifestyle change program. Charlene’s strong focus on disparate populations allows her to utilize her public health experience to advance work with underrepresented populations. With expertise in program development and evaluation, Charlene leads ADA’s CDC 1705 cooperative agreement as well as directing the planning and development of the ADA’s data management and reporting platform, DPP Express.
Chris Wilks is a Senior Manager with Leavitt Partners, a Health Management Associates (HMA) Company. At HMA, Chris manages long-term projects and works closely with clients to design, implement, and execute work focused on public health. Chris also provides content expertise on behavioral health disorders, chronic disease prevention, and qualitative research methods. Chris is a member of a team of colleagues who support the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors in CDC-funded work to expand the National Diabetes Prevention Program lifestyle change program. Prior to joining Leavitt Partners, Chris managed community-based grants from the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. These grants provided homelessness prevention services, and support services for recovery from substance use disorders to 20,000 individuals and families. Chris has conducted and published original quantitative and qualitative research and completed service evaluations for local governments and non-profit organizations. Chris earned a Doctor of Philosophy in Public Health from The Ohio State University, a Master of Public Administration from New York University, and a Bachelor of Arts from Yale University.
Dr. Christopher Holliday is Director of the Division of Diabetes Translation (DDT) in the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, where he provides leadership and strategic direction to the science and programs conducted in DDT to prevent type 2 diabetes, prevent diabetes complications, reduce health disparities, and improve the health of all people with diabetes. Before joining CDC in 2021, Dr. Holliday was with the American Medical Association (AMA), where he served as Director, Population Health and Clinical-Community Linkages, Improving Health Outcomes. He led AMA’s landmark engagement with YMCA of the USA, under a Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation demonstration grant that facilitated Medicare coverage for the National Diabetes Prevention Program (National DPP) lifestyle change program. Throughout his career, Dr. Holliday has focused on improving outcomes for populations disproportionately impacted by chronic and mental health conditions, addressing root cause social and structural determinants of health, including access to care. Before joining AMA, Dr. Holliday was Director of the Adler School of Professional Psychology’s National Center of Excellence and served as the chief executive officer for a national organization promoting access to care for the uninsured and underinsured. For a dozen years before that, he held progressive leadership positions in the Georgia Department of Public Health, heading chronic disease prevention and health promotion initiatives. After beginning his academic career at Northwestern University (BA, Psychology), Dr. Holliday received an MPH in Health Policy and Management at Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health and trained as a community psychologist and applied research scientists, earning an MA and a PhD in community psychology at Georgia State University. He is board-certified in healthcare management as a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives.
Cristina Vocalan is the Chief Strategy Officer at the Hawaiʻi Primary Care Association (HPCA), an organization that advocates for and provides support to Hawaiʻi’s Community Health Centers. Cristina has been with HPCA for ten years and in that capacity has focused on clinical technical assistance, quality improvement, and implementing programmatic and policy initiatives. Cristina is a Registered Nurse and previously worked in community health centers, a free clinic, and at the Hawaiʻi Department of Health. Cristina particularly enjoys this phase of her career because it blends her professional interests and past experiences: clinical delivery, public health and promoting access to care and health equity. She enjoys traveling and playing in the ocean, is rediscovering gardening, and is always looking forward to a new adventure with her family.
Dawn Batman is a Program Specialist at the Montgomery County Office of Senior Services. Dawn holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from the Pennsylvania State University. She has worked with Montgomery County offices for over 20 years starting her career in the Office of Children and Youth, moving to the Health Department and finally finding her home at the Office of Senior Services. Dawn is responsible to deliver health and wellness programs to seniors at senior centers, high-rises, faith-based organizations and other places seniors meet. Dawn is a Lifestyle Coach for the CDC’s Diabetes Prevention Program, Certified Instructor for Healthy Steps for Older Adults, Healthy Steps in Motion, Walk with Ease, WISE, Tai Chi for Arthritis, Chronic Disease Self-Management, Bingocize and CarFit . Dawn is also a Master Trainer for A Matter of Balance: Managing Concerns About Falls. Dawn lives in Horsham with her husband, Tom and their teenage son Charlie and dog Huckleberry. Dawn enjoys spending time with her family, reading, watching movies and dining out.
Dr. Deb Koester is an Assistant Professor and Director of the Division of Community Health in the Department of Family and Community Health at the Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine, Marshall Health/Marshall University. At Marshall, Dr. Koester leads program areas with teams focusing on chronic disease, a long-standing community health worker program, substance use, and expanded school mental health. The community health workers program is currently active in three states with over 30 sites that have been established over the past ten years and more than 60 diabetes coalitions are active in eight states. Dr. Koester’s background includes a PhD in public health and Doctorate of Nursing Practice.
Debra Sanchez-Torres has over three decades of public health and legislative policy experience. Currently, Debra is a Senior Advisor in the Division of Diabetes Translation. She has been with DDT for ten years, serving as the Associate Director for the National Diabetes Prevention Program and, most recently, a Senior Advisor in the Program Implementation Branch responsible for various program initiatives and special projects. Debra has been with CDC for 20 years, starting her career with the Office on Smoking and Health (OSH) as a project officer and Deputy Branch Chief for the OSH-Global Health Program. Ms. Sanchez-Torres also worked in the Division of Population Health as the Deputy Branch Chief for the Healthy Aging Program. Before working at CDC, Debra worked for local non-governmental organizations on legislative policy and the State of New Mexico Department of Health, leading the rural health and primary care program and Tobacco Use Prevention and Control Program. Debra holds a bachelor’s degree from New Mexico State University and an MPH from the University of New Mexico. Debra enjoys traveling, hiking, photography, and spending time with family and friends.
Gina Trignani, M.S., R.D., L.D.N., is the Director for Training and Capacity Building at Health Promotion Council, a subsidiary of Public Health Management Corporation. Over her many years of clinical and public health industry experience, as a registered dietitian, diabetes educator, clinical research associate, and project director, she has championed the delivery of and access to evidence-based chronic disease management and prevention programs with a focus on diabetes and diabetes prevention. She oversees a portfolio of grant funded projects which aim to bridge alliances with local, statewide and national partners in the provision of direct services, technical assistance, thought leadership, in addition to, policy and systems change. Gina is passionate about working with communities to address social determinants of health and reducing barriers to access and sustainability of evidence-based programs. Likewise, she strives to identify innovative solutions to continue to close the gaps within community and clinical integration, payment solutions, return on investment, and continuous quality improvement.
Jen Barnhart is a Public Health Consultant at NACDD working on public and private payer coverage of the National Diabetes Prevention Program (National DPP) lifestyle change program. Through this work, Jen partners with State Health Departments, State Medicaid Agencies, delivery organizations, payers, and other stakeholders to promote sustainable payment mechanisms. Prior to NACDD, Jen launched her public health consulting and management firm, LUMA Health Consulting, focused on advancing community health through population health solutions. Prior to LUMA, Jen served in progressive leadership roles at the Maryland Department of Health including the Population Health Director, Public Health Services Chief of Staff, and Deputy Director of the Public Health Laboratory. Jen’s experience also includes the direction and management of community health and scientific research grants at Johns Hopkins University. Jen’s expertise is focused on the government sector and includes core public health service delivery, publicly funded healthcare programs, community health needs assessment, innovative payment mechanisms, grants management, public health workforce development, health policy, and social service delivery. Jen has 20 years of experience, including business, non-profit, pharma, academic, payer, and government sectors. Jen has a Master of Public Health from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, with a certificate in Public Mental Health Research, and undergraduate degrees in biology and biochemistry. Jen lives with her husband and their twin boy and girl in northern Baltimore County in Maryland.
Jen Wunderlich is Health & Fitness Center Manager at VINE Faith in Action, where she coordinates evidence-based classes. She has been a Diabetes Prevention Program lifestyle coach for five years. She is interested in preventing and managing chronic diseases. Jen earned her BS in Community Health and MS in Exercise Physiology from Minnesota State University, Mankato. She lives near Mankato with her husband and two children, is physically active, and loves to travel.
Jennifer Valera is the Health Literacy Director at Hāmākua-Kohala Health located on the Big Island of Hawaiʻi. Jennifer has been with Hāmākua-Kohala Health for 10 years. Jennifer is a Certified Health Coach & Tobacco Treatment Specialist and began teaching diabetes prevention in 2016.
Joanna DiBenedetto is a Public Health Consultant at the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors (NACDD). In her role with NACDD, Joanna provides technical assistance on scaling the National Diabetes Prevention Program (National DPP) and more specifically, the Medicare Diabetes Prevention program (MDPP). She provides guidance directly to states health departments as well as CDC-recognized organizations and MDPP suppliers on best practices for program implementation. She also works with payers- both public payers (Medicare and Medicaid) and private payers (employers and commercial insurers) as they work toward coverage of the National DPP lifestyle change program. Joanna has been working on the CDC-led National DPP as a subject matter expert in diabetes prevention since 2012.
John Robitscher, MPH, is the Chief Executive Officer of the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors. As CEO, John provides direction and leadership to achieve NACDD’s Mission, strategic plan, and annual operating and fundraising plans; and serves as steward of the Association’s funds. Since joining NACDD in 2005, he has led the organization’s acquisition of more than $300 million in funding for hundreds of chronic disease prevention and health promotion programs across all 50 states and U.S. territories.
Kimberly Truzzi is the Senior Data Coordinator at the National Kidney Foundation of Michigan (NKFM). Kim’s focus at the NKFM is supporting our Evidence-Based Programs through the lens of data. She does this through defining, drafting, testing, and implementing a metadata approach to program needs. Kim works across NKFM’s evidence-based programs from prevention to patient services. This broader approach allows her to obtain a full person view of aligning populations and programs. As part of her work, she is instrumental in delivering our CDC and CMS crosswalks. Kim holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from the University of Michigan.
Marilyn Hodgson, RN, MSN, CDCES, is the Quality Initiatives Coordinator for WI DHS Chronic Disease Prevention Program (CDPP). She coordinates work done in areas of diabetes management and prevention as well as use of electronic medical record (EMR) to identify populations of focus at healthcare systems and in communities across the state. Her work strives to find efficient ways to address barriers to both access and sustainability of evidence- based programs such as NDPP, MDPP and DSMES. Prior to joining CDPP she spent decades working in a large health system, developing and strengthening processes and procedures associated with education programs for all people with or susceptible to diabetes.
Mark Cullen is the Vice President of Strategy and Business Development at Trellis. Mark is responsible for Trellis’ home and community-based services strategy that focuses on assisting older adults in maintaining their independence and thriving as they age. As a part of that work, Mark leads the development of Trellis’ management services organization (MSO), including programs operating under the brand name Juniper (https://yourjuniper.org/). This effort creates a pathway for healthcare organizations (providers and payers) to access home and community-based services for their patients/members. In Minnesota, our statewide network includes over 80 organizations. Mark holds a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the University of South Dakota.
Michelle Hansen is a Public Health Consultant and leads the Umbrella Hub demonstration for NACDD. For more than 30 years she has contributed to the fields of nutrition, diabetes management, and diabetes and chronic disease prevention. While at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), she directed statewide initiatives to implement the National Diabetes Prevention Program. She also served as the Chronic Disease Section Manager and Self-Management Services Director. During her tenure, she implemented health systems interventions, social marketing campaigns, and cross-cutting statewide chronic disease initiatives. Prior to providing leadership at CDPHE, Michelle worked clinically as a Registered Dietitian and Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist (CDCES) at the Barbara Davis Center for Diabetes. She managed a Women, Infants, and Children’s (WIC) clinic at Tri-County Health Department after graduating with a Master of Science in Nutrition from Colorado State University. Michelle obtained her Bachelor of Science in Nutrition from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Dr. Nia Aitaoto is the Lead Consultant to the Pacific Islander Diabetes Prevention Program. She has over 20 years of experience in the health and education field focusing on cancer, diabetes, cultural competency, physical activity, nutrition, medication adherence and tobacco related initiatives. Dr. Aitaoto also specializes in providing technical assistance, data assessment and evaluation support to ministries of health, departments of health, community health centers and non-profit organizations in US, American Samoa, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, Republic of Belau and the Republic of the Marshall Islands.
Stacey M. Frede, PharmD, BCACP, CDCES, is Manager of Clinical Program Development for Kroger Health. Her main responsibilities are focused on population health and include developing, implementing and enhancing people-centered value-based care services across the multidisciplinary team; driving innovation in patient care through creation and support of services that improve the medication use process and integrate pharmacists into team based care environments; supporting interventions that improve clinical quality metrics in community pharmacy practice; collaborating with internal and external partners to create sustainable research that advances the profession of pharmacy; and leading postgraduate residency and fellowship programs for Kroger Health. Dr. Frede received her B.S. in Biochemistry from the University of Dayton and Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of Cincinnati. She completed a postgraduate PGY1 community pharmacy residency with the University of Cincinnati and Kroger Pharmacy. She has served in several leadership roles with Kroger Pharmacy aimed at evolving and advancing patient care in community practice. Numerous publications have resulted from innovative practice-based research and patient care services, including two publications receiving the Clinical Paper Research Award from the American Pharmacists Association. Her research interests include chronic disease prevention and management, transitions of care, population health, and advancement of community pharmacy practice. Dr. Frede is a Board-Certified Ambulatory Care Specialist, Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist, and an Adjunct Professor at the University of Cincinnati James L. Winkle College of Pharmacy.
Stephanie Watkins (DTTAC Certified Master Trainer Select) has served as HabitNu’s Director of Operations since 2016. An expert in Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP), and well-versed in Diabetes Self-Management Education (DSME) and Blood Pressure Self-Monitoring (BPSM) protocols, Stephanie has brought dozens of partners live on HabitNu’s platform and services, and in turn, has helped tens of thousands of participants reduce their risk of developing type-2 diabetes, and more effectively manage their chronic health conditions. As HabitNu’s Director of Operations, Stephanie advises organizations on improving the efficiency of every element of their care delivery processes, from Referral Management and Monitoring Device Connectivity, to Program Delivery, Participant Engagement, Reporting, and Billing/Claim Submission. HabitNu offers two models: 1) Providing DPP services directly, and 2) Providing HabitNu’s state-of-the- art technology platform with which providers can more sustainably and cost effectively deliver a range of chronic disease management services themselves. Stephanie guides HabitNu’s partners to speedy, successful implementations whichever model they select.
Wendy Childers has twenty years’ experience in public health practice and policy, health education, and instructional and curriculum design. As a Public Health Consultant with the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors (NACDD), she works with states to establish and operationalize Medicaid coverage for the CDC-led National Diabetes Prevention Program (National DPP) lifestyle change program. Wendy has been with NACDD for six years, during which time she worked on the Medicaid Coverage for the National DPP Demonstration Project with Maryland and Oregon, the CDC’s 6|18 Initiative, providing technical assistance to State Health Departments and Medicaid agencies, and organizing group-based, collaborative learning opportunities. Wendy received a Master of Public Health in behavioral sciences and health education from the Rollins School of Public Health (RSPH) at Emory University. Wendy lives in Decatur, GA with her husband, two teenage daughters, and various fur-babies.