Appendix B
Biographical Sketches
Mike Barrow is the Assistant City Manager for the City of Henderson Texas. He has worked with the City of Henderson for 8 years, most of that time as the Director of Utilities. He has 13 years of experience in municipal government and 7 years of experience working in an environmental laboratory prior to making the transition to municipal government. He is a member of the Texas City Managers Association, American Society of Civil Engineers, American Water Works Association, Water Environmental Association of Texas, Water Environmental Federation, Henderson Lion’s Club, and Keep Henderson Beautiful. Mr. Barrow is also in the Texas Certified Public Manager Program.
Paul Carrozza is the co-founder, along with his wife Sheila, of RunTex, now the nation’s largest store devoted exclusively to running. In addition to RunTex, Mr. Carrozza founded RunTex University and RunTex Events. He is co-founder and sponsor of the RunTex Marathon Kids Program, which has successfully helped over 100,000 children achieve endurance and learn to enjoy running. Since 1997 Mr. Carrozza has been Runner’s World magazine’s Footwear Editor. Mr. Carrozza is the Co-Chair for the Governor’s Fitness Council and currently serves on the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, the Board for the Texas Department of Aging, and the Greater Austin Sports Association. He also sits on the Board for Shoes for America, the Austin Parks Foundation, and The Star of Texas Rodeo.
Susan Combs is Comptroller of the State of Texas. Prior to assuming this position, she served as Agriculture Commissioner, building a strong record
of fiscal conservatism as an innovator in public policy. She lowered her agency’s budget by 18 percent without reducing essential services and trimmed staff while taking on more responsibility. Ms. Combs is focused on providing better access to government services, minimizing costs, and justly applying tax and fiscal laws as Comptroller of Public Accounts. She has received numerous awards, such as Leader of the Year in Texas Agriculture for 2002, from The Progressive Farmer. The Governor’s Commission for Women inducted her into the Texas Women’s Hall of Fame in 2004, and in March 2006, the American Medical Association presented her with the Dr. Nathan Davis Award for Outstanding Government Service.
Nancy Correa is the Community Engagement Specialist for the Center for Clinical and Translational Sciences (CCTS) at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. She strives to ensure that evidence-based practices and health information are being translated to the Houston community, and that community health needs are being addressed in research at CCTS. Ms. Correa also serves as Director of CAN DO Houston, a community-based initiative to prevent and diminish childhood obesity through the promotion of nutrition, physical activity, and healthy minds in Houston communities. Ms. Correa received a bachelor of arts degree in chemistry and policy studies from Rice University and a master’s degree in public health from Boston University.
David Davenport is President and CEO of the Capital Area Food Bank in Austin, Texas. He joined the Food Bank in March 2008. Mr. Davenport earned his bachelor of science degree from Texas A&M University, where he currently serves as a member of the Former Students Advisory Board for the Department of Political Science. Soon after graduating from college, he began a successful career with the YMCA, serving communities in Texas as well as internationally in Japan, Mexico, and Brazil. In 2004, Mr. Davenport became Executive Director of End Hunger Network—then a small food rescue organization. Since 2004, End Hunger Network has received national acclaim as one of the most effective and innovative organizations of its type in the United States. Growing from 7 employees in 2004 to 36 in 2007, End Hunger Network serves as a national model for food rescue and human services, serving the most vulnerable members of the greater Houston community. Mr. Davenport has been an active Rotarian for more than a decade and is a Paul Harris Fellow. A bilateral lung transplant survivor, he is an advocate for organ donation and for removing barriers to participation in organ donor programs.
Katie Deinhammer serves as Director of Accounts for EnviroMedia Social Marketing. She has 10 years of advertising and marketing experience and
oversees campaign development for all of EnviroMedia’s clients. Prior to working for EnviroMedia, she managed comprehensive marketing campaigns for major university alumni association programs and developed multimedia advertising plans for some of the most prominent brands in the automotive and beverage industries. At EnviroMedia, Ms. Deinhammer led award-winning work for the Texas Department of State Health Services. Her passion for public health began when she was a pre-med student in college. She personally raised more than $20,000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Team-in-Training while completing an Ironman triathlon with the group.
Vince Fonseca is the Texas State Epidemiologist. Before coming to the Department of State Health Services, he spent 9 years at the Headquarters of the Air Force Medical Service and 8 years in the Army. His expertise is in epidemiology, worksite wellness, medical informatics, and clinical quality improvement. He also serves on the Texas Medical Association’s Council on Scientific Affairs and Physician Oncology Education Program steering committee. Dr. Fonseca is board-certified in public health and general preventive medicine. He received his medical degree from Boston University, a master of public health degree in quantitative methods from Harvard University, and a bachelor of arts degree in psychology from Rice University.
Baker Harrell is founder and Executive Director of ACTIVE Life, formerly Youth InterACTIVE. His background and expertise in youth culture and lifestyle marketing drive the initiatives of this nonprofit youth social marketing organization. Prior to founding the organization, Mr. Harrell completed a master’s degree in health education with a specialization in childhood obesity. His philosophy of empowering youth to initiate social change is demonstrated throughout Youth InterACTIVE’s efforts and supported by Mr. Harrell’s interdisciplinary work as a Ph.D. candidate in youth culture, media, and marketing. Since founding Youth InterACTIVE in May 2004, Mr. Harrell has led the organization’s team of youth experts in serving more than 400,000 youth and families with cutting-edge programs, products, media, and events. He is currently transitioning the Youth InterACTIVE organization to its new name—ACTIVE Life. He envisions ACTIVE Life playing a lead role in driving and sustaining a national health movement by becoming a premiere source for healthy, active lifestyles. Using a lifestyle/social marketing approach, Mr. Harrell’s team seeks to generate greater demand for healthy lifestyles and to work with corporations, government, schools, and organizations to make these lifestyles more accessible.
Deanna M. Hoelscher is a Professor at The University of Texas School of Public Health, Austin Regional Campus. She is Director of the Michael &
Susan Dell Center for Advancement of Healthy Living. She is also Principal Investigator of the School Physical Activity and Nutrition (SPAN) study, aimed at determining the prevalence of childhood overweight in Texas, as well as grants to revise the nutrition component of the Coordinated Approach to Child Health (CATCH) and to develop school-based evaluation tools. She has been Principal Investigator of the Texas site CATCH grants, as well as the Incorporation of More Physical Activity and Nutrition (IMPACT) grant, a study supported by the National Institutes of Health to examine the effects of a behaviorally based school health program on osteoporosis risk factors in children, and the School-Based Nutrition Monitoring Project, a study funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to develop surveillance tools for schools and schoolchildren. Ms. Hoelscher is currently working on projects to document the dissemination of the CATCH program across Texas, to evaluate the effects of nutrition and physical activity policies on child health, to demonstrate the interactions between genetic factors and dietary behaviors, and to study the interrelationships among dietary and physical activity behaviors and biological and psychosocial factors in children (Healthy Passages). Ms. Hoelscher is past Chair of the Texas Council on Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke, as well as former Chair of the Research Dietetic Practice Group of the American Dietetic Association. She is currently Secretary of the International Society of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity and Chair of the Program Planning Advisory Committee for the 2007 annual meeting of the American Dietetic Association. Ms. Hoelscher received her bachelor of science degree in food science and technology from Texas A&M University, and her master of arts degree in nutrition and Ph.D. in biological sciences from The University of Texas at Austin. She is also a registered and licensed dietitian and a certified nutrition specialist.
Philip Huang is Medical Director and Health Authority for the Austin/Travis County Health Department. Prior to this, he served as Medical Director for Chronic Disease Prevention at the Texas Department of State Health Services and Chief of the Bureau of Chronic Disease and Tobacco Prevention at the former Texas Department of Health for more than 15 years, where his responsibilities included oversight of state activities related to cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, asthma, and tobacco use prevention. Dr. Huang received his undergraduate degree in civil engineering from Rice University, his medical degree from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, and his master’s degree in public health from Harvard with a concentration in health policy and management. He completed his residency training in Family Medicine at Brackenridge Hospital in Austin, and he was Chief Resident during his final
year. He served 2 years as an Epidemic Intelligence Service officer with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, assigned to the Illinois Department of Public Health, where he conducted epidemiologic studies in chronic disease and infectious disease outbreak investigations. He is author or co-author of numerous publications related to chronic disease and tobacco use prevention, including publications examining the economic effect of smoking ordinances in West Lake Hills and El Paso, Texas. Dr. Huang is board certified in family medicine.
Jeffrey P. Koplan is the Vice President for Global Health and Director of the Global Health Institute at Emory University in Atlanta. He received a B.A. from Yale College, an M.D. from the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine, and an M.P.H. from the Harvard School of Public Health. He is board certified in internal and preventive medicine. From 1998 to 2002, Dr. Koplan served as Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He worked in the area of enhancing the interactions between clinical medicine and public health by leading the Prudential Center for Health Care Research, a nationally recognized health services research organization. Dr. Koplan has worked on a broad range of major public health issues, including infectious diseases, such as smallpox and HIV/AIDS; environmental issues, such as the chemical disaster in Bhopal, India; and the health toll of tobacco and chronic diseases, both in the United States and globally. He is a Master of the American College of Physicians, an Honorary Fellow of the Society of Public Health Educators, and a Public Health Hero of the American Public Health Association. He was elected to the Institute of Medicine (IOM) in 1999 and serves on the IOM Governing Council. Dr. Koplan has served on many advisory groups and consultancies on public health issues in the United States and overseas and has authored more than 200 scientific papers. He chairs the IOM Committee on Childhood Obesity Prevention.
Toinette Ladage is a Diabetic Educator in the Patient Education Department of Henderson Memorial Hospital in Henderson, Texas. Recently she obtained her Certification in Diabetic Education. In 2007 she was chosen to participate in the American Association of Diabetic Educators’ Delegation to China. Currently, Ms. Ladage is Chairman of the Henderson LEAN (Leadership Encouraging Activity and Nutrition) Committee, and serves on the boards of the Boys and Girls Club of Rusk County and the Good Samaritan Charitable Health Clinic of Rusk County. In Henderson, where she has lived since 1980, Ms. Ladage is a member of the Keep Henderson Beautiful Committee, and she was a member of the Master Parks Planning Committee in 2007. She earned a bachelor of science degree in nursing from the University of Arkansas School of Nursing in 1974.
David Lakey is Commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services. Previously, he served as an Associate Professor of Medicine, Chief of the Division of Clinical Infectious Disease, and Medical Director of the Center for Pulmonary and Infectious Disease Control at the University of Texas Health Center in Tyler, where he had been a faculty member since 1998. At the University of Texas Center for Biosecurity and Public Health Preparedness, Dr. Lakey served as Associate Director for Infectious Disease and Biosecurity. He also chaired a bioterrorism preparedness committee for 34 hospitals in East Texas and led the development of the Public Health Laboratory of East Texas in 2002.
Klaus Kroyer Madsen is Vice President of Programs for the Texas Health Institute. He is also Project Director for the Landscape Project, a web-based community health data system. In addition, he serves as the sustainability consultant to eight projects in East Texas funded by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation under the Southern Rural Access Program, a major effort to improve access to care in medically underserved rural communities. Mr. Madsen serves, by Health Research and Educational Trust appointment, on the National Steering Committee to Understand and Advance the Role of Hospitals in Improving the Public’s Health, sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Enrique Mata is Senior Program Officer for Paso del Norte Health Foundation. A practicing registered nurse, Mr. Mata was directly involved with the development of two major community health promotion initiatives: Qué Sabrosa Vida and Ageless Health. Qué Sabrosa Vida worked to promote healthier eating habits for families, while Ageless Health addressed the changing demands of the aging population in the Paso del Norte region. Mr. Mata is a graduate of the University of Texas at El Paso with a bachelor of science in nursing, and of Walden University with a master’s degree in public health. Prior to his work with the foundation, he was an independent local businessman and consultant. He developed several successful companies, all of which continue to prosper today.
Kay Morris is founder and Executive Director of Marathon Kids, a nonprofit, grassroots initiative that encourages basic athletics among schoolchildren. Marathon Kids began in Austin, Texas, and is now in place nationwide, with programs in Baltimore, Los Angeles, Chicago, Austin, Dallas, Houston, and the Texas Rio Grande Valley. Ms. Morris has appeared on CNN and the CBS Evening News, and has been a “Fit Nation” summit panelist with President Bill Clinton and Dr. Sanjay Gupta of CNN. She actively advocates for increased physical activity time for elementary children and improved nutritional choices for children. With support from physical educators, class-
room teachers, principals, community runners, and health organizations, Marathon Kids helps elevate a child’s athletic self-perception, as well as sense of himself or herself as a person who can complete a difficult and long-term project. There are currently almost 150,000 registered Marathon Kids in the program’s seven “marqueecities.” The average completion rate for the elegantly simple, free 6-monthrunning/walking, nutrition, and schoolyard gardening program is 83 percent. Ms. Morris has received awards from local community health organizations and was honored with Runner’s World magazine’s “Hero of the Year” Award. She earned a bachelor of arts degree in government and journalism from The University of Texas at Austin.
Nancy G. Murray is Assistant Professor of Behavioral Sciences and Health Promotion with the Michael & Susan Dell Center for Advancement of Health Living at the University of Texas School of Public Health. She currently serves as Director of Community Engagement for the Center for Clinical and Translational Sciences at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, and was formerly Deputy Director of the University of Texas Prevention Research Center program. She received her Dr.P.H. in health promotion/health education at the University of Texas, Houston School of Public Health; earned her master’s degree in developmental psychology from the University of Southern California; and completed a post-doctoral fellowship at the Center for Health Promotion Research and Development. She has published on coordinated school health, physical activity, parent interventions for adolescent health promotion, violence prevention, and tobacco prevention and cessation. She is currently involved in a project funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention titled Investigation of the Role of School-Based Physical Activity on Indicators of Academic Performance among Elementary School Children, and a Science Education Partnership Award, Health, Education, and Discovering Science and Careers, funded by the National Institutes of Health. Additional projects on school health for which she serves as co-investigator include the CATCH dissemination project, a project designed to reduce television viewing, and a school–community partnership project based in the Rio Grande Valley. Dr. Murray was lead author for the “Education and Health” chapter of Code Red: The Critical Condition of Health Care in Texas, produced by the Task Force on Access to Health Care in Texas.
Jane Nelson is State Senator representing Texas Senate District 12, which comprises Tarrant and Denton Counties. Sen. Nelson serves as Chairman of the Health and Human Services Committee and as a member of the Senate Committees on Finance, Government Organization, and Nominations and the Texas Legislative Council. In 2001, Sen. Nelson authored SB 19, legislation that requires every school district to implement a coordinated school
health program that addresses childhood obesity. In 2003, Sen. Nelson authored SB 1357, which relates to local school health advisory councils, health education instruction, and coordinated health programs for elementary school students. In 2005, SB 42 extended the physical activity requirement to middle schools and junior high schools and expanded the focus on health curriculum in public schools. Last session, Sen. Nelson authored SB 530, which expanded physical activity even further in schools.
Donna C. Nichols is Health Policy and Partnership Manager for the Directors of Health Promotion and Education, a Washington, DC–based nonprofit organization aimed at providing proven policies and programs to state health agency leaders. She also serves as a Faculty Associate with the University of Texas School of Public Health, Austin Regional Campus, and the Michael & Susan Dell Center for Advancement of Healthy Living. She retired from the Texas Department of State Health Services in 2007, serving most recently as Senior Prevention Policy Analyst under former Commissioner of Health Eduardo J. Sanchez. While at the Texas Department of State Health Services, Ms. Nichols was responsible for the Texas Strategic Health Partnership, which represented more than 200 state agencies and organizations, and co-authored the Texas Obesity Policy Portfolio, which serves to inform advocates and direct options for evidence-based policy approaches to obesity prevention and control. Ms. Nichols has worked for more than 30 years in public health in various health promotion and education capacities within three states.
Marcia G. Ory is Regent Professor, Department of Social and Behavioral Health, School of Rural Public Health at The Texas A&M Health Science Center in College Station, Texas. In her role as Director of The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF)–sponsored Active for Life® National Program Office, she is examining how evidence-based programs can be translated to community settings, expanding program research and sustainability. Under this RWJF initiative, she has also been working with a panel of national experts to develop Exercise Assessment and Screening for You, a new screening tool for helping to identify a safe and effective physical activity program. With colleagues, she has established a Learning Network to serve as the communications hub for a Building Healthy Communities Initiative. Finally, she is exploring intergenerational approaches to obesity prevention through co-leadership of the RWJF Texas Childhood Obesity Prevention Policy Evaluation. Locally, Ms. Ory is involved in the Brazos Valley Obesity Prevention Network. Additionally, she is Principal Investigator for a 5-year Health Maintenance Resource Center, sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, charged with serving as the coordinating hub for a 21-grant consor-
tium designed to improve research on long-term behavioral change associated with healthy living.
Ronda Rutledge is Executive Director of the Sustainable Food Center (SFC) in Austin, Texas. She currently co-chairs the Basic Needs Coalition food security committee and was appointed by the city council to the Sustainable Food Policy Board of Austin/Travis County. She was introduced to SFC as an affiliate consultant with Greenlights for NonProfit Success. Prior to joining SFC, Ms. Rutledge served as Executive Director of the American Indian Child Resource Center in Oakland, California, for nearly 10 years. She was a LeaderSpring fellow in the Bay Area, participating in a leadership program for executive directors of nonprofit organizations. Ms. Rutledge holds a master’s degree in counseling psychology. Over the course of her professional career, she has served as a licensed professional counselor and marriage and family therapist in addition to her many years of clinical work and nonprofit administration.
Kenneth I. Shine is Executive Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs for The University of Texas System. Previously, he served as President of the IOM, from 1992 to 2002. Under his leadership, the IOM played an important and visible role in addressing key issues in medicine and health care. Dr. Shine also focused attention on meeting the health care needs of all Americans: he organized symposia to underscore the importance of culturalsensitivity in health care and supported programs to increase immunization rates, decrease use of tobacco among adolescents, and improve care of the dying. He also emphasized communication of scientific findings and recommendations. Dr. Shine was founding Director of the RAND Center for Domestic and International Health Security. He led the Center’s efforts to make health a central component of U.S. foreign policy and guided the Center’s evolving research agenda. Dr. Shine brought to this new role decades-long experience in working with international health experts on global issues such as emerging infectious illnesses, bioethics, and access to care.
Michelle Smith is a marketing and research consultant who became active in social marketing for school health when she became a parent. She coordinated a national-level community awareness project promoting coordinated school health for the American Cancer Society. She was also project coordinator and helped design and implement www.schoolhealth.info, a comprehensive website for individuals, schools, and communities interested in developing coordinated school health programs. She is past Chair of the Texas State School Health Advisory Committee, served on a work group for the Texas State Strategic Health Partnership, and served on Texas Agri-
culture Commissioner Comb’s Obesity Task Force and other youth-related committees with the Parent-Teacher Association and the St. David’s Foundation. In 2007, Ms. Smith received the John P. McGovern Award from the Texas School Health Association and the Distinguished Service Award from the Texas Association of Health, PE, Recreation, and Dance. She was named a Healthy School Hero by Action for Healthy Kids in 2004 and 2006.
Todd Staples is Commisioner of Agriculture for the State of Texas. While serving first in the Texas House of Representatives and later as a state senator, he was a recognized leader on such critical issues as workers’ compensation reform, private property owners’ rights, natural resources, school finance, and education. As Agriculture Commissioner, Mr. Staples continues to pursue policies that enable economic strength, youth development, healthy lifestyles, and consumer protection. He is charting a course to bring job creation to rural Texas, further the promotion of Texas products around the world, and help farmers and ranchers face tomorrow’s challenges and increase profit margins through the use of new technologies and value-added processing.
Will Wynn served as Mayor of the City of Austin, Texas, from 2003 to 2009. He established the Mayor’s Fitness Council in October 2004 to raise awareness of the cost of health care; to foster prevention of chronic diseases and better health in Austin; and to promote the city of Austin as a healthy place to live and work, with the primary goal of becoming “The Fittest City in the U.S.” The Mayor’s Fitness Council works toward increasing physical activity and improving nutrition throughout the Austin community with the involvement of citizen advocates, businesses, community organizations, churches, schools, and health leaders.
STUDY STAFF
Annina Catherine Burns is a Program Officer and Study Director with the Food and Nutrition Board. She serves as Study Director for Community Perspectives on Childhood Obesity Prevention and Perspectives from United Kingdom and United States Policymakers on Obesity Prevention. She is also a Program Officer for Childhood Obesity Prevention: Austin, Texas. Ms. Burns previously worked for the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva, Switzerland, on the Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity, and Health. At WHO, she led the development of a report titled Interventions on Diet and Physical Activity: What Works. Ms. Burns was a Marshall Scholar at Oxford University, United Kingdom, where she pursued her master of science in economic and social history;
her thesis was on The Emergence of Obesity in Scotland: Historical and Contemporary Dietary Intakes. She is currently completing a Ph.D. from Oxford University, with a focus on nutrition policy, obesity, and economics. Ms. Burns holds a B.S. in nutritional sciences and a B.A. in media studies from Penn State University.
Nicole Ferring is a Research Associate with the Food and Nutrition Board. She works with the Standing Committee on Childhood Obesity Prevention and the Committee on Childhood Obesity Prevention Actions for Local Governments. Ms. Ferring previously worked for the Center for Science in the Public Interest on the Nutrition Action Healthletter. She recently finished a year-long dietetic internship through Virginia Tech to obtain the registered dietitian credential. The internship allowed her to rotate through different types of nutrition settings in the Washington, DC, area, including hospitals, community nonprofits, policy organizations, and even a farm. She holds a B.S. in magazine journalism with a minor in nutrition from Syracuse University and an M.S. in nutrition communication from Tufts University.
Lynn Parker is a Scholar and Study Director for the IOM’s Standing Committee on Childhood Obesity Prevention, Committee on Childhood Obesity Prevention Actions for Local Governments, and Committee on an Evidence Framework for Obesity Prevention Decision Making. She received a B.A. in anthropology from the University of Michigan and an M.S. in human nutrition from Cornell University. Before joining the IOM, she was a nutritionist at the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC), a national organization working to end hunger and undernutrition in the United States, serving most recently as Director of Child Nutrition Programs and Nutrition Policy, directing FRAC’s work on child nutrition programs, research, and nutrition policy. She also led FRAC’s initiative on understanding and responding to the paradox of hunger, poverty, and obesity. Ms. Parker served on the Technical Advisory Group to America’s Second Harvest 2001 and 2005 National Hunger Surveys, on the National Nutrition Monitoring Advisory Council (appointed by then Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell), and as President of the Society for Nutrition Education. She also served two terms as a member of the Food and Nutrition Board and was a member of its Committee on Nutrition Standards for Foods in Schools. Before joining FRAC, Ms. Parker worked with New York State’s Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program at Cornell University.
Matthew Spear is a Senior Program Assistant with the Food and Nutrition Board. He works with the Standing Committee on Childhood Obesity Prevention, the Committee on Childhood Obesity Prevention Actions for
Local Governments, and the Committee on an Evidence Framework for Obesity Prevention Decision Making. Mr. Spear holds a B.A. in economics from Boston College. He recently completed a year-long course and internship studying culinary arts in Florence, Italy, and working as a private chef. International travel and interest in languages drew him out of the kitchen and formed his interest in public policy, leading him to the IOM.
