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Dr. Alex Anderson earned his Ph.D. in Nutritional Sciences and Masters in Public Health (MPH) at the University of Connecticut in 2005, and M.Phil. in Human Nutrition from the University of Ghana. He is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Foods and Nutrition at the University of Georgia, where he teaches public health nutrition, nutrition through the life-cycle and does research in Maternal and Child Nutrition/Health. The major emphasis of his research is in the area of breastfeeding and human lactation as it relates to long-term health. He has experience with breastfeeding and infant feeding research in Ghana and the United States, and body composition research at Tufts University, Boston, MA. In Ghana, Dr. Anderson was part of the research team which conducted a Rapid Survey to qualify Ghana as one of the six participating countries in the just ended World Health Organization’s Multi-Growth Reference Study to develop a new growth chart for the world using breastfed children as the standard. Dr. Anderson is currently conducting a study looking at the impact of the type of infant feeding on body composition.
Dr. Lynn Beckman is the Infectious Disease Program Coordinator for the Northeast Health District, where she works with numerous foreign-borne individuals from a variety of cultural backgrounds. Her career in medicine began nearly 40 years ago when she entered nurses training. While working in various areas of human medicine (community, hospital, home health), she pursued additional undergraduate and graduate courses with the goal of getting into veterinary medicine. In 1985, she graduated from the University of Missouri, Columbia as a D.V.M. She worked in private veterinary practice and returned to complete a Ph.D. in Animal Science. In the years since has continued to keep her hands in both human and other animal medicine, with a particular focus on infectious diseases. This broad interest has led her to opportunities to see first hand the complexity of health care and access to health care in countries such as Haiti, South Africa and Mexico
Dr. Claude A. Burnett is the District Health Director for the Northeast Health District (Athens) that comprises the following Georgia counties: Barrow, Athens-Clarke, Elbert, Greene, Jackson, Madison, Morgan, Oconee, Oglethorpe, and Walton. Dr. Burnett has held this position since 1978. Burnett earned his medical degree at Dartmouth School of Medicine and Mont Sinai School of Medicine and completed his internship at Bellevue Hospital. Dr. Burnett earned his Masters of Public Health from the University of North Carolina School of Public Health, and earned a Master of Arts from Duke University’s Institute for Policy Sciences and Public Affairs. Dr. Burnett is Board-Certified in General Preventative Medicine. Prior to his work with the Northeast Georgia Health District, Dr. Burnett also served with the Centers of Disease Control’s Epidemic Intelligence Service from 1971-1978. Dr. Burnett is engaged in a wide range of public health matters that shape health status in the North East Health District.
Melanie Cassity became a Registered Nurse in 1974. In 1992 she became a Certified Diabetes Educator in 1992 and moved to Athens, Georgia. She has been providing diabetes education directly to consumers through classes, community programs, and hospital visits for seventeen years. Ms. Cassity is also involved in educating other health care providers about diabetes management standards. Her goal is to help people with diabetes become educated and empowered to take charge of their health!
Connie Crawley has been a registered dietitian for over 30 years. She has been providing nutrition and health education for the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension in the prevention and control of chronic diseases for nearly 22 years with a special interest in diabetes. She worked for three years on a series of special projects for the National Diabetes Education Program, a joint project of the CDC and the National Institutes of Health. She created the award winning Right Bite Diabetes Cooking School which has been presented throughout the United States. She is co-author of the American Diabetes Association cookbook entitled, “Quick and Easy Diabetic Recipes for One” and writes and edits the Diabetes Life Lines and serves on the editorial board of the Better Homes and Garden’s magazine, Diabetic Living. Connie has been on the board of the Diabetes Care and Education Practice Group of the American Dietetic Association, is on the Executive Board of the Georgia Diabetes Coalition and is the Professional Development Committee Chair of the American Association of Diabetes Educators.
Dr. Katheryn Davis is an Emeritus Professor / Administrator, for the School of Social Work at the University of Georgia. She earned an undergraduate degree in social studies from Livingstone College and a graduate degree in social work at the University of Georgia, and a doctorate in Social Work from Sacramento International University. Davis is a trained Palliative Care Specialist, an Advanced Bereavement Facilitator and a Spiritual Counseling Facilitator. She is a Board Certified Diplomate in Clinical Social Work Practice. Davis is currently a practicing licensed clinical social worker who owns CMC Services, a private business specializing in social services consultation, mediation and bereavement counseling. Additionally, she is an active Adjunct Professor for the University of Georgia, School of Social Work, teaching in the areas of Cultural Diversity, Direct Practice Methods and Grief and Loss.
Coti Pérez-Espinoza was born in Lima, Peru and immigrated to the United States in 1986. She graduated from the University of Alabama at Birmingham with a Bachelor Degree in International Studies and Spanish. She specializes in planning and implementing prevention and education programs about HIV/AIDS in the Latino and African-American communities. Currently, she is a Prevention Specialist for the non-profit organization Positive Impact. She has held similar positions with the State of Georgia and the Fulton County Department of Health and Wellness and worked as a Medical Interpreter for the University of Alabama at Birmingham Medical Center. Ms. Pérez-Espinoza is board member of the Hispanic Health Coalition of Georgia.
Dr. Maria Faase is the Medical Director of Neonatology at Athens Regional Medical Center. After obtaining her medical degree in Munich, Germany, Dr. Faase trained as a pediatrician in Tours, France. She completed her neonatology studies at Emory University and is a member of the Athens Regional Medical Center Breastfeeding Task Force.
Sharon Speights Gibson is a Multicultural Specialist with the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension, College of Family and Consumer Sciences. She earned her degrees in Cultural and Applied Anthropology at the University of Nebraska. Gibson’s work focuses on new immigrant populations, cultural competency and persistent poverty. She is Project Leader and Director of the Children, Youth, and Families at Risk (CYFAR) State Projects. She provides cultural competency and cross cultural understanding programming through Cooperative Extension and support for outreach to underserved audiences. Gibson’s mission is threefold: promoting cross discipline cooperation, increasing understanding of Georgia’s changing cultural environment, and providing quality research-based educational programming allowing county faculty to meet the needs of their clients. She is a trained mediator and facilitator and works closely with both governmental and non-governmental organizations on a county, state, and national level.
Dr. Nik Heynen is an associate professor of geography at the University of Georgia. His research interests include urban political economy/ecology, social theory, inequality and social movements. He has co-edited three books: Neoliberal Environments: False Promises and Unnatural Consequences; Globalization’s Contradictions: Geographies of Discipline, Destruction & Transformation; and In the Nature of Cities: Urban Political Ecology and the Politics of Urban Metabolism. Heynen's current book project is a study of the politicization of anti-hunger programs, with a particular focus on the Black Panthers.
Dr. Carol Hogue is a Professor of Epidemiology and Maternal and Child Health at the Rollins School of Public Health of Emory University since 1992. Prior to this position, she was at the CDC’s Division of Reproductive Health, where she led the Pregnancy Epidemiology Branch. There she initiated many of the CDC’s current reproductive health programs including the initial innovative research that found that college-educated African American women have a three-fold risk of very preterm delivery, when compared to college-educated White women. This discovery has triggered further research into the causes of this as-yet unexplained excess risk. She is also leading intervention research into reducing obesity among African American women healthcare workers, funded by CDC and USDA.
Peter Hossler is a PhD Candidate in the Department of Geography at the University of Georgia. His research is broadly focused on the socio-spatial dynamics of urban health care delivery systems. More specifically, his research addresses the growth of free health clinics in the US, political mobilizations focused on expanding access to health care, and how neoliberal capitalism intersects with the US health care delivery system. He currently teaches Introduction to Human Geography and Introduction to Urban Geography and volunteers locally at Athens Nurses Clinic.
Dr. Fleda Jackson is a scholar, educator, and activist, who is president and CEO of MAJAICA, LLC, a professor of applied public health at Emory University's Rollins School of Health, and senior scientist at the Atlanta Regional Health Forum. Her work is aimed at advancing the well being of African-American children, families, and communities that is informed by community-based, culturally sensitive research that can be translated into practice and policy.
Dr. Camara Jones is Research Director on Social Determinants of Health and Equity in the Division of Adult and Community Health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Trained as a family physician and epidemiologist, her body of work focuses on the impact of racism on the health and well-being of the nation. Dr. Jones was Assistant Professor at the Harvard School of Public Health in the Department of Health and Social Behavior, the Department of Epidemiology, and the Division of Public Health Practice from 1994 to 2000. She currently serves on the National Board of Public Health Examiners, and formerly served on the Executive Board of the American Public Health Association, the Board of Directors of the American College of Epidemiology, and the Board of Directors of the National Black Women's Health Project.
Chrissy Marlow works for the Georgia Department of Community Affairs in the Office of Planning and Quality Growth, managing the Research and Resources Section. She provides local governments with training and educational materials on preparation, implementation, and management of local comprehensive plans as well as quality growth best practices. She coordinated the Regional Growth Management Initiative in 50 counties in north Georgia and before working for the Office of Planning and Quality Growth, she managed DCA’s regional state delivery service office in Americus. She worked as a regional preservation planner for two regional development centers in southwest Georgia and as a consultant with an art conservation firm in Atlanta. Chrissy received her Bachelor of Arts in Art History from University of Georgia and her Masters of Fine Arts in Historic Preservation from Savannah College of Art and Design. She lives in Athens.
Sister Margarita Martin, ACJ is a member of the Handmaids of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, who has served in Ireland, England, Italy and USA teaching in elementary and high schools as well as serving as a certified hospital crisis intervention Chaplain, and a parish Pastoral Associate. Currently, she is the Director of the “Oasis Católico Santa Rafaela”, an outreach program to Spanish speaking immigrants in the Athens area. Sister Margarita has also been a member of various community boards and committees.
Dr. Larry Nackerud is a professor in the School of Social Work at the University of Georgia. He teaches and writes primarily about social welfare policy and services. He has recently taught elective courses on poverty, immigration, torture as policy, and utopia. His main area of research interest is immigration and political refugee policy. Larry earned his MSW in 1977 from Tulane University and his PhD in Human Service Studies from Cornell University in 1990. He also worked for a dozen years as a social worker in the fields of child welfare and mental health prior to entering academia.
Dr. Robert Nielsen is an Assistant Professor of Consumer Economics at the University of Georgia where his research currently focuses on three primary areas of inquiry: 1) the relationship between health insurance and physical and economic well-being, 2) the link between relationship satisfaction and economic well-being, and 3) the quantitative methods researchers use to estimate these constructs. Dr. Nielsen’s research on poverty, transportation hardship, and health insurance appears in such outlets as the Journal of Family Issues, Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Journal of Consumer Policy, Journal of Personal Finance, Journal of Consumer Affairs, and the Handbook of Consumer Finance Research. Prior to joining the faculty at the University of Georgia in 2006, Dr. Nielsen was an Economic Statistician in the Poverty and Health Statistics Branch of the U.S. Census Bureau where he was responsible for the health insurance components of the Survey of Income and Program Participation. Dr. Nielsen earned a Ph.D. in Family Policy with a minor in Economics at Iowa State University, an M.S. in Family Ecology from the University of Utah, and bachelor’s degrees in Political Science and Consumer Studies and Family Economics from the University of Utah.
Dr. John Vena is Head of the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics and University of Georgia Foundation Endowed Professor of Epidemiology in the College of Public Health. Since 1981, Dr. Vena has taught courses in epidemiologic methods and applications in occupational health and in environmental health and has mentored graduate students, post-doctoral fellows and junior faculty. Dr. Vena has published extensively in the field of environmental and occupational epidemiology and his studies have included descriptive and analytic studies of air and water pollution, bladder cancer and drinking water contaminants, occupational exposures, health of municipal workers including firefighters and police officers, diet, electromagnetic fields and persistent environmental toxicants. He has also published extensively in cancer epidemiology especially on breast, lung and bladder cancer including case-control studies of occupational and environmental risk factors. Vena earned his Ph.D. in Epidemiology from the State University of New York at Buffalo
Dr. Chris Whalen is a professor in the Department of Infectious Diseases in the College of Public Health at the University of Georgia. Prior to coming to the University of Georgia, he served as the Division Head of Epidemiology of the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Case Western Reserve University Medical School. Dr.Whalen’s accomplishments range from publications in the New England Journal of Medicine and the Journal of the American Medical Association to Science and The Lancet. His research interests include tuberculosis, HIV infection, vaccines to prevent infectious diseases and drug resistant microorganisms.
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