Staff

Dr. Dorothy Cilenti is on faculty at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health’s Department of Maternal and Child Health and previously served as the NC Local Public Health Agency Accreditation Administrator at the NC Institute for Public Health. She has worked in leadership roles in local and state public health agencies in North Carolina for more than 20 years, including serving as health director for Chatham and Alamance counties and interim health director for Orange County in 2011. She currently directs the National MCH Workforce Development Center under a cooperative agreement with HRSA. She is committed to strengthening health system performance through workforce development, quality improvement, systems integration and implementation of evidence-based practices.

Caroline Stampfel provides leadership at AMCHP’s on programs, communications, and learning events, with a priority on strategic program development with a racial equity lens, evaluation and data-driven decision-making, talent development, and external relationship-building. At the Center, she serves on the Evidence-Based Decision Making Core and is the Practice Lead for the Center.

Amy Mullenix currently serves as the Deputy Director for the Center. In this role, she provides leadership and strategic alignment, and supports innovation and coordination among Center partners to build the capacity of MCH practitioners across the country. She also serves as a primary liaison with states and other jurisdictions as they seek technical assistance opportunities and serves as a team coach for their health transformation work. Mullenix, a Nebraska native, previously worked as the state coordinator of the North Carolina Preconception Health Campaign at the March of Dimes and as a bilingual social worker for pregnant women and families in hospitals, public health departments, and community health centers in North Carolina and Nebraska.

Rebecca Greenleaf currently serves as the Director of Learning for the National MCH Workforce Development Center (MCH WDC) and as an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Maternal and Child Health in the Gillings School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  In her role at the MCH WDC, she collaborates with faculty and staff to build workforce capacity, teach transformational skills, and help teams of MCH professionals take strategic action to make progress on their goals.

Rebecca has been working in various public health roles for more than 20 years.  Prior to joining the MCH WDC, Rebecca worked for the Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs, North Carolina’s Title V Program, the Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities, and the National Training Institute for Child Care Health Consultants. 

Rebecca earned a master’s degree from the Gillings School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a bachelor’s degree from James Madison University.  A native of New England, she is an avid fan of hiking, reading, and puttering around coastal towns.

Dorothea Calhoun-Smith serves as the Business Services Coordinator for the National MCH Workforce Development Center. She has worked for the University of North Carolina system since 2009.

Christine Bozlak is a member of the Pipeline Team and an associate professor in the Department of Health Policy, Management, and Behavior at the University at Albany School of Public Health. She also co-directs the HRSA-funded Maternal and Child Health Program at the School of Public Health.

Becky Burn’s is the Statewide Coordinator for the Wisconsin Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs and a member of the Evidence Based Decision Making Core and the Equity and Engagement with People of Lived Experiences Core.

Her career centers on supporting children and families whose lives have been affected by unanticipated journeys through the world of disability services. She treasures the opportunities to work with these families whose resilience and growth continues to astound her. She has worked in one capacity or another for the state of WI for over 20 years. 

Alexandria Coffey is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Maternal and Child Health at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health and a member of the Center Evaluation Team. Alex holds a BS in Biochemistry and a MPH in Epidemiology from Kent State University.

Amanda Cornett serves as a coach and as a team member on the Evidence-Based Decision Making Core at the National MCH Workforce Development Center. She has over 10 years of experience in program design, implementation, and quality improvement. She has supported partners at the local, state, and national level to design, implement, and improve complex health initiatives. Additionally she has provided coaching and technical assistance to partners within state public health departments, national organizations, community coalitions, and health clinics to identify and implement best practices in relation to various maternal and child health issues including children and youth with special health care needs, maternal health, oral health, adolescent sexual health, and physical activity and nutrition. Most recently she has collaborated on projects with the National Maternal Child Health Workforce Development Center, the National Network for STD Clinical Prevention Training Centers, the National Governor’s Association, and the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Michelle Crawford is the Senior Specialist, Family Leadership Initiatives, at AMCHP. She contributes to the advancement of maternal and child health programs through planning and program implementation, research, advocacy, education and evaluation, and projects related to family engagement and leadership development. Prior to joining AMCHP, her experience includes assisting in the drafting of and passing legislation for fair and equal coverage for individuals with autism, grant development, leadership in developing trainings, public information, policy research, coordinated supports and services for individuals with special health care needs and their families, as well as delivering trainings to diverse audiences. At the Center, Michelle is the co-lead for the Equity and Engagement Core and a member of the Change Management and Adaptive Leadership Core.

William Davis is the Public Communications Specialist and Knowledge Management Coordinator for the National Maternal and Child Health Workforce Development Center at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. He serves as a member of both the Change Management and the Evidence-based Decision Making cores and provides communication and information management support to all Center members.

Julianna Deardorff is a member of the the MCH Pipeline Team, which manages the Title V MCH Internship Program. Julianna serves at the University of California, Berkeley School of Public Health as Associate Professor in the Division of Community Health Sciences, and head of the Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health (MCAH) program.

Leslie deRosset is the Research Investigator in the Department of Maternal and Child. Her role with the National MCH Workforce Development Center is to support the development and implementation of academic practice partnerships. In addition to her work with the National MCH Workforce Development Center, she also supports three additional maternal and child health initiatives: The Maternal Health Learning & Innovation Center, the Strengthening the Evidence for MCH Programs and a national Preconception Health Initiative. In her roles, Leslie provides technical assistance, consultation, coaching, capacity building, and training to state and territorial public health leaders. Leslie is an expert in program development, implementation, evaluation, and dissemination of results. Her work focuses on addressing the root causes and disparities that contribute to the inequities in maternal and child health. Leslie is an Adjunct Instructor in the MCH Department as well as with the MPH@UNC program.

Jimmy Dills is a senior research associate at the Georgia Health Policy Center (GHPC). He works to improve public health by advancing a Health in All Policies perspective of decision-making. His areas of expertise are systems thinking, health impact assessment (HIA), and healthy community design.

At GHPC, Dills leads several maternal and child health (MCH) projects, including management of GHPC contributions to the National MCH Workforce Development Center, the National Maternal Health Learning and Innovation Center, and the Maternal Telehealth Access Project.

Chantelle Dowsett is the Evaluation Manager for the National Maternal and Child Health Workforce Development Center. With a background in lifespan human development and population research, she has more than 20 years of experience evaluating state- and federally-funded projects focused on the effects of early childhood interventions and welfare and employment policies on low-income families. Her research in early child care and education, school readiness, and child development has been published in Developmental Psychology, Psychological Science, and Early Childhood Research Quarterly.

Based at the National Implementation Research Network at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Oscar Fleming leads the Evidence-based Decision Making core for the National MCH Workforce Development Center. Oscar has worked on community, maternal and child health programs in the US and globally over 20 years. His areas of interest include applied implementation science, technical assistance and capacity building, and systems change, all in serve to improved well-being of children, families and communities.

Allison George is a curriculum development specialist at the Center and Maternal Health Learning and Innovation Center. She possesses close to 20 years of domestic and international public health experience. She has created, delivered and evaluated trainings and courses on topics including: HIV prevention, quality improvement, disaster preparedness, family planning, and household survey data collection. Allison holds a Masters of Public Health in Health Education and Health Behavior from the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health and a Bachelors of Arts in Sociology from Macalester College. She is a Masters Certified Health Education Specialist. Having lived in 7 countries, 5 states and the District of Columbia, Allison has a deep appreciation for the rich contributions that diverse backgrounds, faces, and experiences bring to any learning experience.

Arden Handler is the Director of the Center of Excellence in Maternal and Child Health and a Professor in the Community Health Sciences division of the UIC School of Public Health. Dr. Handler’s research career reflects her long-standing commitment to reducing disparities and improving the health of women, children, and families. At the Center, she leads the MCH Pipeline Team, which manages the Title V MCH Internship Program.

Kristen Hassmiller Lich is an Associate Professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She specializes in the application of systems thinking, operations research and simulation modeling methods to inform health policy and management decision-making. Kristen is the Core Lead of the Systems Integration core of the National MCH Workforce Development Center. Her work seeks to advance the way we use system maps, models, and local data to improve

Jeannine Herrick is a leadership coach and consultant with a public health background.  Jeannine is an adjunct instructor with UNC’s Gillings School of Global Public Health- Public Health Leadership Department. Jeannine is the former Director and Coach for the Emerging Leaders in Public Health Initiative which has developed and supported 100 leaders in local public health to transform the role of their agency so that they are better equipped to meet adaptive challenges in their communities. Jeannine is also on staff with the National Maternal Child Health Workforce Development Center and serves on the Adaptive Leadership/Change Management Core supporting Title V MCH teams who are tackling complex challenges related to health transformation She also supports the Leadership Academy for the Maternal Health Learning and Innovation Center. Jeannine has supported MCH efforts for global and national organizations earlier in her career.

Jeannine has a Bachelor of Arts from William Smith College in psychology and a MPH degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in Maternal and Child Health.

Jasmine Hodges is a MPH Candidate at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health and serves on the Center Evaluation Team.

Dr. Hogan is a perinatal epidemiologist. She is currently Adjunct Professor at the Gillings School of Global Public Health at UNC-Chapel Hill and principal consultant in an independent consulting firm. She is a member of the US-DHHS Secretary’s Advisory Committee on Infant Mortality (SACIM). She previously served as MCH Program Officer at the WK Kellogg Foundation, Clinical Professor in the Dept of Maternal and Child Health at UNC-CH, the lead epidemiologist on the Preterm Delivery Research Group in the Pregnancy and Infant Health Branch, Division of Reproductive Health at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. At the CDC, she directed research and programmatic activities relating to understanding the etiologic contributors to health disparities in perinatal outcomes. She served as a member of the March of Dimes Scientific Advisory Committee for the Prematurity Campaign, the CDC Preconception Care Workgroup, and was a technical advisor for the National Healthy Start evaluation project.

Ki’Yonna Jones is a senior training associate at the North Carolina Institute for Public Health (NCIPH) who specializes in workforce and leadership development training, program design with a racial equity lens and coaching local and state public health leaders. She serves on the National MCH Workforce Development Center’s Change Management/Adaptive Leadership Core and is the Co-lead for the Equity and Engagement with People with Lived Experiences Core. She has experience in convening and working with MCH public health professionals on the local, state, and national level. Her areas of interest include implementing and strengthening programs that serve women, children, families and communities.

Ben Kaufman is a member of the Change Management and Adaptive Leadership Core and the Pipeline Team at the Center. At AMCHP, Ben leads a dynamic staff team that is accountable for the development, implementation, and evaluation of program activities aligned with the “Maternal and Child Health Talent” core area of AMCHP’s strategic plan. This includes intensive, individualized leadership development for current and aspiring professionals, focused capacity building with Title V programs and their agency/community partners, and the creation/dissemination of products to meet real-time workforce needs.

Lynda Krisowaty is the Associate Director, Evidence & Implementation at AMCHP and leads AMCHP’s Evidence & Implementation Team where she manages activities which enhance the MCH workforce’s capacity to identify/develop, implement, improve, and sustain evidence-based/-informed practices as well as apply evidence-based decision making tools and processes. At the Center, she is a member of the Evidence-Based Decision Making Core and also supports state teams as a coach.

Nora Lee is a co-investigator on multiple studies, including EARLI (Early Autism Risk Longitudinal Investigation), a multi-site study following pregnant women who already have an older child with autism and assessing the newborn’s development up to three years of age. She is also the principal investigator on a project to reduce youth access to tobacco in the State of Louisiana, and is engaged in the evaluation of a recent policy implemented to eliminate smoking in Philadelphia’s public housing communities.

She was a contributing author of the 2006 Surgeon General’s Report on The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke, and is co-author of numerous peer-reviewed publications.

Margaret Major is a research associate II at the Georgia Health Policy Center (GHPC). She provides provides research, technical assistance and project support on projects within GHPCs maternal health and health in all policies portfolios. She supports GHPC’s contributions to both the National MCH Workforce Development Center, as well as the Maternal Health Learning and Innovation Center. Margaret’s professional experience in maternal and child health includes working as a youth educator domestically and abroad, coordinating programs within city governments and a non-profit, and providing evaluation and technical assistance support to state-funded substance use prevention programs serving youth and adults. She also served as a Title V MCH Intern with the Tennessee Department of Health during the summer of 2020.

Gabriella Masini currently serves as the Assistant Director for the Center of Excellence in Maternal and Child Health and with the Title V MCH Pipeline Team at the Center. Her past work experience includes non-profit data analysis at the YMCA of the USA and student affairs assessment at University of Wisconsin – Platteville. She has also previously worked as an Area Hall Director at North Central College. Gabriella completed her MSW at the University of Michigan School of Social Work in social policy and evaluation with a focus on communities and social systems.

Alexsandra Monge works for both the Evidence Center and the National MCH Workforce Development Center where she works on training development and delivery in program evaluation and use of evidence-based practices. Alexsandra earned her MPH from Rutgers University School of Public Health with a concentration in Epidemiology.

Steve Orton is Senior Fellow for Public Health Leadership at the North Carolina Institute for Public Health. He works extensively on workforce and organizational development with Local and State health agencies.

Laura Powis serves as the Program Manager for Evidence-Based Policy & Practice on the Evidence and Implementation Team at the Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs (AMCHP). In this role, Laura provides technical assistance, support, and instruction to MCH professionals and advocates on topics related to equitable evidence utilization and generation, implementation science, and programmatic best practices. She co-leads AMCHP’s Evidence-Informed Policy Initiative, leads the Innovation Hub Learning Community, serves as a coach for Replication Project grantees, and supports Innovation Hub, an online platform that provides professionals with evidence-related resources including the MCH Innovations Database, a searchable repository of “what’s working” in the field of MCH that includes practices and policies grounded in evidence. Laura also serves as the Core Manager for the Evidence-Based Decision Making Core and a Coach for the National MCH Workforce Development Center and supports the Policy Core of the Maternal Health Learning and Innovation Center. She has a Bachelor of Science in Human Development from Cornell University and a Master of Public Health in Maternal and Child Health from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she was a Health Resources and Services Administration trainee in the Maternal and Child Health Center of Excellence. 

Greg Randolph is a leader and subject matter expert with over 20 years of experience in quality improvement (QI) leadership, implementation, education, and research focused on improving population health. He has published extensively on the application of QI in healthcare and public health. Dr. Randolph is currently an Adjunct Professor of Pediatrics and Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, as well as a consultant and founder of Greg Randolph Consulting, LLC. In the recent past he served as the founding Executive Director of Population Health Improvement Partners, a nonprofit organization focused on improving population health in the U.S.

John Richards serves the Center as the representatives for the MCH Navigator. At Georgetown University Medical Center, he is the Executive Director for the National Center for Education in Maternal and Child Health (NCEMCH), a national resource and training center within the Department of Pediatrics and as Lead for the Health Information Group that develops data-driven public health training sites and coordinates technology among the university’s main, law, and medical campuses. He currently serves as Principal Investigator (PI) for Strengthen the Evidence for MCH Programs, the MCH Navigator, the HealthCheck Training and Resource Center, and the Health Center Resource Clearinghouse.

Nakenge Robertson is an implementation associate at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill School of Social Work Collaborative for Implementation Practice. She provides implementation support including developing infrastructure and building the capacity of new or existing programs or initiatives being implemented within state agencies, Office of Head Start National Centers, and state Medicaid projects. Nakenge also serves as the project director for the UNC Frank Porter Graham partner with the Office of Head Start National Center for Parent Family Community Engagement, where the team focuses on evaluation of practice change and equity. She leads the execution of the evaluation plan, monitors the budget, and works to incorporate equity throughout the national center. Nakenge also contributes to the advancement of research by the UNC FPG Equity Research Action Coalition that promotes and supports the healthy development of Black children across the African diaspora and other children of color. Prior to joining UNC-Chapel Hill, Nakenge worked in the financial services industry as a product manager, operations manager, and professional development trainer. While her professional roles have been fulfilling, some of her most memorable times have been previously serving her campus community in leadership roles with the UNC Carolina Black Caucus and UNC Employee Forum. Nakenge has a Bachelor of Science in Business Management from North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Amberton University.

Implementation Associate – University of North Carolina Chapel Hill School of Social Work Collaborative for Implementation Practice

LaToshia Rouse is member of the Equity and Engagement with People with Lived Experiences Core Member. She is also a consultant with the Institute of Patient and Family Centered Care (IPFCC) and Family Voices.

LaToshia is a certified birth and postpartum doula/ owner of Birth Sisters Doula Services as well as a Patient and Family Engagement Consultant. She contracts with several organizations to offer her expertise in patient engagement and equity. Her journey began as a patient partner 9 years ago, after having triplets at 26 weeks gestation via an emergency vaginal delivery. Early on LaToshia’s work was focused on bringing the parent perspective to the newborn intensive care unit (NICU) and antepartum improvement committees at WakeMed Health and Hospitals, including serving as a member of the NICU’s Vermont Oxford Network (VON) team.

LaToshia has served as a subject matter expert and expert team member for the National Network of Perinatal Quality Collaboratives (NNPQC), American Board of Pediatrics (ABP), American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), and Cynosure Hospital Quality Improvement Collaborative (HQIC) and many other organizations.

Cindy San Miguel a member of the Pipeline Team, which manages the Title V MCH Internship Program.

Candice Simon is the Core Manager for the Change Management and Adaptive Leadership Core and a member of the Pipeline Team, which manages the Title V MCH Internship Program. Candice is a program manager on the Workforce Development and Capacity Building Team at AMCHP, where she manages a portfolio of projects aimed at supporting individualized leadership development for MCH and CYSHCN professionals across roles and settings, including those new to (and aspiring to) formal leadership positions in state/territory Title V programs.

She also supports jurisdictional capacity building in priority areas such as equitable and anti-racist practice, youth and family partnership, and emergency preparedness and response. She plays a key role in AMCHP’s efforts to collect, analyze, and share MCH workforce data, leveraging her extensive mentorship experience to support advancement initiatives for students and early career professionals.

Jessica Simon is a senior program manager on the Health Systems Transformation team at AMCHP in Washington, DC. In her role, she specializes in the application of systems thinking as a tool for the maternal and child health workforce. She also provides technical assistance to strengthen maternal and child health behavioral health systems and supports the use and dissemination of evidence-based policy. In addition to her work at AMCHP, Simon serves as the systems integration core manager for the Maternal and Child Health Workforce Development Center. Simon holds a Master of Social Work (Social and Economic Development) and a certificate in System Dynamics from Washington University in St. Louis. She also serves as an adjunct professor at the Gillings School of Global Public Health at UNC-Chapel Hill where she teaches Systems and Design Thinking for Public Health Leaders.

Colleen Smith is a research associate II at the Georgia Health Policy Center. At the Center, she serves on the Evidence-Based Decision Making Core. Smith’s areas of expertise are in monitoring and evaluation design and implementation; qualitative and quantitative data collection, analysis, and dissemination; program design and quality improvement; and research design and implementation. Her portfolio of work focuses on maternal and child health, substance use, mental health, and co-occurring disorders. She has professional experience throughout the Americas and Africa.

Stacey Tuck is the Director of Programs at AMCHP where she serves as part of the executive leadership team and oversees the five branches of the organization’s programmatic portofolio. At the Center, Ms. Tuck happily serves on the Equity and Engagement Core team. This role fits her passion to advance racial and health equity within the MCH ecosystem. Prior to coming to AMCHP and the WDC, she worked in various capacities within the Maternal and Child Health Bureau at the Baltimore City Health Department for over 20 years engaging in program development, capacity building, fundraising, leadership, etc. A lifelong learner, Ms. Tuck is now enrolled in the DrPH program at Morgan State University.

Rebecca Wells is currently a professor of Management, Policy, and Community Health at The University of Texas School of Public Health and works on the Change Management/Adaptive Leadership and Systems Integration Cores at the National MCH Workforce Development Center. Rebecca’s research addresses complex process implementation,  contraceptive access, and supporting community coalitions.

Rebecca is a coauthor of a leading text on public health program evaluation. Previously, she served on the Health Policy and Management faculty full time for seven years at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, during which time she taught strategy classes in the DrPH program. While in North Carolina, Rebecca co-chaired the North Carolina Collaborative for Children, Youth, and Families, a statewide group promoting implementation of system of care practices.

In addition to being a CoE postdoctoral trainee, Dr. Yates has also been recognized as an AcademyHealth Diversity Scholar and awarded funding through the Society of Family Planning Research Fund. Dr. Yates received her PhD from the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Gillings School of Global Public Health, at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Lindsey Yates is a reproductive health services researcher focused on examining domestic racial differences in contraception services and birth outcomes. Her work uses both quantitative and qualitative methods to better understand the impact of racism as a root cause of disparities, with a specific interest in racial inequities experienced by Black women and birthing people living in North Carolina. Dr. Yates also helps communities implement MCH focused programs and policies. She works with teams to use tools that raise awareness about equity and center reproductive justice as the leading framework for delivering health-related services.