Opening Plenary Panel
Opening Plenary Panel: “Better Health, Better Value: Primary Care and Prevention in Alaska"
Presenter(s): Elizabeth Ripley, Executive Director, Mat-Su Health Foundation; Marilyn Kasmar, MBA, CEO, Alaska Primary Care Association; Pat Luby, MS, Advocacy Director, Alaska State Office, AARP; Bill Hogan, MSW, Interim Dean, College of Health, University of Alaska Anchorage; Nancy Merriman, Health Facilities Senior Program Manager, Denali Commission. / Moderator Karen Perdue, CEO and President, Alaska State Hospital and Nursing Home Association
Read more about the Opening Plenary Session (Session 101 - Ballroom)
Kaye Bender, PhD, RN, FAAN
The Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) has appointed Kaye Bender, Ph.D., R.N., FAAN, as president and chief executive officer. Bender brings a wealth of public health leadership to PHAB, the organization spearheading the effort to establish a voluntary, national accreditation program for public health departments. Bender was appointed president and CEO on January 1; she will assume the position full-time on June 1, 2009. Bender also currently serves as dean of the School of Nursing at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. Prior to her work with the School, Bender spent more than twenty years with the Mississippi State Department of Health, including five years as the Deputy State Health Officer.
Bender’s additional appointments included serving as chair of the Exploring Accreditation Steering Committee, which was the impetus for PHAB, and serving on the Committee on Assuring the Health of the Public in the 21st Century and the Quad Council to develop and review standards for public health nursing practice. She is licensed as a registered nurse and holds a master's degree in community health nursing as well as a doctoral degree in clinical sciences from the University of Mississippi Medical Center.
Stephen Bezruchka, MD, AM, MPH
Stephen Bezruchka, MD, AM, MPH, Department of Health Sciences, University of Washington, works with the Department of Global Health MPH program. He has spent more than 10 years in Nepal working in various health programs and teaching in remote regions. He tries to draw attention to socioeconomic determinants of the health of populations and was well received at Alaska’s 2007 Health Summit.
Andrea Fenaughty, PhD
Andrea Fenaughty has a Ph.D. in Social Psychology from Arizona State University, and did her post-doctoral training in Alcohol and Addiction Studies at University of Alaska Anchorage. Dr. Fenaughty has been working for the Alaska Division of Public Health since 2002, and currently serves dual roles as both the Chronic Disease Epidemiologist and the Deputy Section Chief for the Section of Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. She has co-authored numerous technical reports and presented to policy makers, health professionals and the public on the burden of obesity, tobacco use, and their related chronic conditions in Alaska. Andrea sees surveillance and evaluation as powerful tools that can be used to improve public health programs and, ultimately, the quality of life of Alaskans.
Dennis McMillian
Dennis McMillian is the President of The Foraker Group. He is a nationally known consultant for nonprofits and has worked with clients including Tribes, as well as arts, environmental, human services, business association, and community engagement organizations. He began working in the United Way system in 1980 and moved around the country as a Campaign Director, then as an Executive Director in Lafayette Louisiana before moving to United Way of Anchorage, Alaska in 1992. Prior to United Way he worked in children's mental health and managed two separate programs for emotionally disturbed children and adolescents, as well as running a private practice.
Catherine Karr, PhD, MD, MS
Associate Professor, Pediatrics
Adjunct Assistant Professor, Env. and Occ. Health Sciences
Catherine Karr is a board certified pediatrician with a doctorate degree in Epidemiology and Masters in Environmental Health/Toxicology. Her research areas include environmental contaminants and pediatric respiratory health including asthma, public health impacts of climate change, and global children's environmental health. She is a co-investigator with the Pacific Northwest Center of the National Children's Study and the UW based Center for Children's Environmental Health Research. She has a general pediatric practice at the UW Pediatric Clinic at Roosevelt and also provides specialty pediatric environmental medicine consultation at this site and the Harborview Medical Center. As PEHSU Director, she sets the direction of the Unit for outreach and education as well as responding to queries from health care providers, government officials and families regarding health risks associated with environmental exposures. She is involved in policy and education through her appointment on the American Academy of Pediatrics National Council on Environmental Health.
