| Tamela Milan-Alexander, MAPPA, Chair Elect Tamela is a part of the Maternal and Child Health Partnership and Outreach team at Access Community Health Network. She completed her Bachelor's Degree at Concordia University in 2014, and a Master’s in Public Policy and Administration from National Louis University and is currently pursuing her Doctoral Degree in Organizational Management. Tamela is the mother of six and has five grandchildren. Tamela has more than 20 years’ experience in the MCH community working as a peer educator, developmental screener, and motivational speaker, as well as a Healthy Start case manager. She was one of the first consumers nominated for the National Healthy Start Association (NHSA) Board of Directors, where she served for several years. Ms. Milan has grown through many of her Healthy Start friends and has represented Healthy Start nationally and locally at organizations like Today’s Black Child, Bright Futures and the American Academy of Pediatrics.
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Kole Binger, BS
Kole completed her Bachelor’s Degree at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2017. She is working as a research specialist on the Social Media and Adolescent Health Research team (SMAHRT) at UW Hospital and Clinics, while she hopes to begin medical school during fall of 2019. During her junior and senior year of high school, Kole struggled with a recurrent medical issue that inspired her passion to become a physician. As a physician, she plans to continue advocating for patients and improving delivery of patient and family-centered care. Kole has experience offering a patient perspective to inform and improve health care delivery during her work on the Pediatric-Adult Inpatient Transition Steering Committee. She offered her perspective to inform policy surrounding this issue and has continued to be involved in its implementation, ensuring patient and family engagement remains a top priority. Kole has worked as a liaison between patients and providers at myriad events including patient work groups and town-halls, responsible for supporting collaboration with the goal of improving the quality of care in both inpatient and ambulatory settings.
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Michael Hannon, PhD, LAC, NCC
Dr. Michael Hannon is an Associate Professor of Counseling at Montclair State University. His experiences as a counseling professional stretch 20 years and includes current work as a clinical mental health counselor and past experience as a school counselor and student affairs professional. Dr. Hannon’s research and clinical interests primarily focus on Black men’s wellness, with a focus on the value they derive from their roles as fathers, community leaders, clients, and counselor educators. His dissertation was the first study about the lived experiences of Black fathers of individuals with autism. His secondary research interests are about the professional development needs school counselors serving racially and ethnically diverse students and families.
To date, Dr. Hannon has authored 24 publications (17 refereed) and has made over 80 presentations (50 refereed) at professional counseling and allied health conferences. His research has been featured in several counseling and educational journals. He has been a featured contributor to media outlets and organizations such as Autism Speaks, Thrive Global, Fusion, and Huffington Post. His forthcoming book, Black Fathering and Mental Health: Black Fathers Discuss the Needs of Men and Fathers Across the Family Life Cycle, will be published by Peter Lang in early 2021.
Dr. Hannon earned a doctoral degree in Counselor Education & Supervision from The Pennsylvania State University, an Educational Specialist degree in School Counseling Services from Rider University, a master’s degree in Student Affairs Practice and a bachelor’s in Human Development & Family Processes from the University of Delaware. Dr. Hannon and his wife, Dr. LaChan Hannon, are the co-founders of the Greater Expectations Teaching and Advocacy Center for Childhood Disabilities, Inc. (GETAC), a non-profit organization in Burlington County, New Jersey dedicated to supporting families raising and institutions serving children with neuro-diverse and other marginalized children and families.
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Cathy Salazar
Chrissie is a nationally recognized patient and family advisor in healthcare. Parent to a medically fragile child herself, she volunteered as a Patient and Family Advisor for many years on several committees across University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center and UH Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital. She served on the first CMS’ Partnership for Patients Campaign's Patient and Family Engagement Network and co-led their PFE Best Emerging Practices and Success Stories affinity group. She participates on the Solutions for Patient Safety's Family Engagement Task Force, the Children’s Hospital Association’s Speak Now for Kids Advisory Board, the Ohio Patient Safety Institute Board, the Institute of Medicine’s Patient and Family Council Leadership Team (informal), the National Coordinating Council for Medication Error Reporting and Prevention, and participated in the National Patient Safety Foundation’s Certification for Professionals in Patient Safety job analysis board. Ms Blackburn has encouraged dialogue among medical and nursing staff, students, and health care leaders teaching and speaking about patient and family engagement nationally. She holds a Bachelor of Liberal Studies with a focus in Psychology and Sociology from Bowling Green State University and a Masters of Health Care Administration from University of Phoenix. In January 2014 she was appointed to the position of Principal Advisor of Patient and Family Engagement for the University Hospitals Health System. She reports and directly works with UH leadership on implementing Patient and Family Engagement practices and strategies across a large, complex academic medical center and its 11 community hospitals.
Cathy Salazar lives in Albuquerque, NM and works for Parents Reaching Out (PRO) as the Lead Healthcare Family Liaison for the Family to Family Healthcare Information Center (F2FHIC). She is also the Family as Faculty Coordinator for the University of New Mexico (UNM) Medical School Pediatric Clerkship Program.
In her role as Lead Healthcare Liaison for Parents Reaching Out (PRO) Cathy is the NM Family Delegate for the Association of Maternal Child Health Programs (AMCHP). She has been appointed to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Family Partnerships Network Executive Council (FPN EC). Cathy also is a family representative for the Mountain States Regional Genetics Network (MSRGN). She is the PRO representative on the NM Advisory Council on Quality (ACQ). Cathy sits on many other state and federal councils, committees, and workgroups.
Cathy volunteers her time on the Board of Directors for LifeRoots, a local nonprofit that provides services for adults with disabilities and children with special needs. She is on the Medically Fragile Family Advisory Board, and the Mi Via Waiver Advisory Council as a parent representative. She is a 2015 graduate of The Partners in Policymaking Leadership Training Program and a 2017 graduate of the Pediatric Pulmonary Center Training Program.
Her most important role is that of a mother of 9 children and the grandmother of 1 grandson. Cathy has 3 birth children who are all young adults and 6 adopted children from the NM Foster Care system. One of her daughters died in 2013 at the age of 13 from a traumatic brain injury. Her 2 sons' in their 20's live with mental health disorders and the youngest 3 children all have medical complexities. She has been married for 35 years and has a very full and busy life.
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Jodi Smith, Esq.
Jodi Smith is currently the National Program Director for the Mended Hearts, Inc. (MHI), the nation’s largest cardiovascular disease peer-to-peer support program for heart patients of all ages and their families. In this position, Jodi develops and implements programs and services MHI’s 39,000 members, 753 volunteer leaders and 251 chapters throughout the nation. Programs include online and print educational resources, hospital programs, training programs, educational conferences, awareness campaigns and advocacy programs designed to empower patients, caregivers and families with information and resources that improve their quality of life.
Jodi has a background in corporate leadership training, teaching and law. Before joining the Mended Hearts team, she worked as a leadership training consultant creating and conducting leadership training programs for a variety of companies, including Fortune 500 companies. Subsequently, she worked at a mid-sized law firm as a litigation attorney. Jodi was also an adjunct professor teaching leadership and law classes for University of Richmond’s School of Professional and Continuing Studies and the School of Law. She is currently Vice-Chair of the Advocacy Committee for American Heart Association’s Mid-Atlantic Affiliate and a Steering Committee Members of the Congenital Heart Public Health Consortium and American Academy of Pediatrics’ Family Partnership Network.
Jodi received her Bachelor of Arts from Randolph Macon College in Ashland, Virginia and her Juris Doctorate from T. C. Williams School of Law. She practiced law until finding out that her youngest of three sons had severe heart defects and would need multiple open-heart surgeries. After that experience, Jodi knew she needed to use her experience to help others and thus became a non-profit leader.
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Siddhant Srivastava
Siddhant is a fourth year undergraduate student at Ohio State University. He will be graduating in May 2017 with Bachelors in Neuroscience and a minor in Business. After graduating, Siddhant is planning on pursuing a Master’s in Public Health or Health Administration. The graduate degree will assist Siddhant in achieving his career goal of becoming a physician.
Throughout his four years in college Siddhant has been exposed to various experiences that have shaped his desire to not only become a physician but an advocate for healthcare. He is a Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) liaison and member of the Youth Council for the International Children’s Advisory Network (iCAN). As a liaison, Siddhant is responsible for finding avenues for combining the scientific expertise and connections of the SAB with the goals of iCAN in order to have an impact on pediatric healthcare and provide youth and their families with a voice in pediatric research, medicine, innovation, and health. In his local chapter of iCAN, KIDS Ohio, Siddhant is working with the other members to observe the implications on youths’ health and nutrition as they transition from high school-to-college transition.
In his spare time Siddhant enjoys playing soccer and basketball, volunteering at the local Physicians’ Free Clinic, and exploring new restaurants in Columbus – especially the ice cream spots.
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| Greg Schell, MEd, Immediate Past Chair Greg is the former Director of Washington State Fathers Network (WSFN). He is the father of a wonderful adult daughter with special needs. He has also been a teacher, principal, researcher, author, and family educator, working with families and young people. Over thirty-five years ago he helped found the Fathers Program, aka WSFN, at the University of Washington. He spent several years with this original and unique project assisting with research on dads and families having children with special needs and facilitating the original support groups. Mr. Schell has presented extensively at national and state conferences regarding fathers & families having children with special needs, led workshops and seminars regarding fathers, siblings, and grandparents, conducted innumerable support groups for dads, and taught courses on parenting to dads, moms, and professionals. The opportunity to work with dads and their families is one of the highlights of both his professional and personal life.
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Betsy Anderson (Emeritus, ex-officio)
Betsy is the parent of 3 now adult children, one of whom has substantial special health care needs. She has worked in health care advocacy for children with special needs for many years and was formerly an employee of Family Voices, directing the Family Voices IMPACT project, funded by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau, with special focus on Bright Futures and Title V initiatives. She has had a long term interest in family-professional collaboration and has served on numerous national, state, and local committees and task forces. Ms Anderson has an appointment in Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School.
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Julie Beckett (Emeritus, ex-officio)
Julie is the mother of Katie Beckett who was the first Medicaid home and community based waiver child. Julie is co-founder of AAP FamilY Partnerships Network and Family Voices, a national grassroots organization of family and friends speaking on behalf of children and youth with special health care needs. She served as the social marketer for a “systems of care” grant in northeast Iowa funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. She spearheaded the effort to pass the Family Opportunity Act which expanded Medicaid buy-in programs for families of children and youth with special health care needs and disabilities. She has developed a family leadership curriculum and has authored several books and articles.
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