Health Disparities Prevention Summit

Stephanie is the Advocacy Coordinator at Options for Independent Living, Inc. Options is a nonprofit organization committed to empowering people with disabilities to lead independent and productive lives in their community through advocacy, the provision of information, education, technology and related services. Stephanie’s areas of interest include mental health, peer support, health equity, voting rights, housing and homelessness. She is also Co-Chair of the Brown County Homeless and Housing Coalition’s Advocacy Committee.

Stephanie has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from St. Norbert College and a Master’s Degree in Pastoral Counseling from Loyola University in Chicago. She is a therapist and owns Birmingham Counseling and Consulting, LLC. She serves on many committees, boards and councils including the Respite Care Association of Wisconsin, PATH of Door County, Mental Health Focus Group of Door County, the WI Department of Justice’s Peer Support Advisory Committee and the WI Department of Health’s Long-term Care Advisory Council. She previously served as a board member of HELP of Door County, Chair of the Independent Living Council of Wisconsin and was appointed to serve on the Governor’s Taskforce on Caregiving. For several years Stephanie has served on a panel at the Medical College of WI – Green Bay campus, sharing her experiences of accessing health care as a person with a disability. In her spare time, she enjoys baking, being outdoors, being with family and spending time with her 11-month old niece.

Natalie is responsible for overseeing the execution of Wello's strategic plan by developing partnerships that result in equitable, innovative and sustainable approaches to foster a culture of health and well-being for all in greater Green Bay. She is also focused on implementing effective policies, systems and environments to address health to increase the reach and impact of Wello. Natalie categorizes herself as a lifelong learner driven by curiosity and a passion for action.

In addition to her role as an Organizational Development professional at Rockline Industries, Charm is a diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) strategist and social commentator. She serves as the Diversity and Inclusion Director of Sheboygan area Society for Human Resource Management and Executive Director of Come Together Sheboygan. Charm is passionate about community activism, helping others to bridge the gap between impact and intention in the DE&I space, and building organizational and community cultures where diversity, equity, inclusion, justice and belonging flourish.

As a life-long learner, helping others achieve personal growth is more than a passion – it is what fuels Deb’s heart every day. She is a keen observer of other people’s strengths and able to draw out the best in each person. Deb’s thoughtful and unique approach encourages clients to find existing strengths they didn’t know they had and apply those strengths to create greater engagement in their work.

Deb has spent over 30 years developing and coaching talent. She honed her skills while working with premier leaders in the health care industry including, but not limited to, Ascension Health Care, ProHealth Care, Aurora Health Care and the VA Health Care System. Deb recognized that she could make a difference to other leaders when critical feedback given to her helped her to grow into an effective and seasoned leader.

Deb holds a bachelor’s degree in health science-occupational therapy, a master’s degree in business administration, a master’s degree in health care administration and a PhD in industrial and organizational psychology. She holds a Green Belt in Six Sigma, and Deb is a certified lean practitioner, a certified emotional intelligence practitioner, certified MBTI practitioner, strengths coach, has a certificate in resilience, accomplished with cultural assessments using the competing values framework, a certified medical assistant, a certified recruiter, and a certified nuclear medicine technologist.

Kim is an experienced and dedicated nursing leader with strong values in producing quality outcomes and delivering priority services in Northeast Wisconsin. She serves as the Chief Executive Officer for N.E.W. Community Clinic. The mission of the clinic is to provide access to quality, comprehensive and compassionate health care to the underserved in our community. Kim has a passion for caring for people and her work at N.E.W. Community Clinic focuses on providing equitable care. She is enthusiastic and brings a positive approach to addressing unmet needs. Kim serves as a mentor to nursing leaders and sits on local advisory boards with the goal to continue growing strong community relationships.

The work that Marcos is passionate about is ensuring that the voices and lived experiences of people affected by systems of oppression are centered in all the work ACLU Wisconsin does. "Because of my role, I'm especially focused on the internal workings of our Affiliate: how we make sure that we're a team of people bringing their entire selves to our work in a human and humane way, and how we connect to the community in non-program areas (e.g. vendors, consultants). And because of my lived experience, I am personally interested in the affiliate's advocacy on behalf of immigrant people.”

A dynamic executive coach, professor, three time best-selling author, and radio host, Alonzo Kelly has gained international and global attention as a premier consultant and strategist. Alonzo is recognized as one the nation’s leading experts on leadership development, strategic thinking, planning and acting which results in individual and organizational goal achievement.

He has appeared on America’s Premier Experts which airs on major networks across the country including ABC, NBC, CBS, and FOX. Alonzo has served over 1,000 individuals through personal and professional development, delivered training to Fortune 500 Companies, colleges and universities, foreign countries (Netherlands, Belgium, Canada and Guam), nonprofit organizations, and is consistently retained to be the keynote speaker at large and small events across the country. He currently serves on the State Board of Directors for the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union), National Board of Directors for SENG (Supporting Emotional Needs of the Gifted), the Fire and Police Commission for the City of Howard and Board of Directors for Family Services of Brown County.

Andrea Kressin serves as the Community Engagement Manager for Brown County Public Health and has dedicated nearly 20 years of her professional life to improving population health in Brown County. In her work, she has led efforts to integrate the social determinants of health and an equity focus into community health initiatives in Brown County, including the Community Health Assessment and Improvement Plan which steers health priorities at the county level. She is a passionate, bilingual leader who excels in program management and evaluation, and major event coordination with a social justice focus.
 
During the COVID-19 pandemic she has been overseeing operations for Brown County Public Health’s response, engaging in meaningful ways with various community stakeholders, guiding the development of equitable testing, vaccination strategies, contact tracing and more.
 
Andrea attained a Master of Public Health degree and Global Health Certificate from Johns Hopkins University, in addition to obtaining undergraduate degrees in Latin American Studies and Psychology. 

Mai’s role as the Diversity Director is to be a liaison for multi-ethnic college students between faculty, staff and senior administration on retention efforts, academic support services and leadership opportunities. Mai is an actively-engaged community member, serving on community boards and volunteering within the Northeast and Fox Cities regions. She received a master’s degree in education from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and a bachelor’s degree in mass communication and English from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.

LeKecia is currently the Home Visitation Program Manager for MHA’s Strong Families Healthy Homes Program (SFFH). The SFHH program is designed to nurture and support families, parents and caregivers of people living with mental illness. These programs are strength-based, family-driven and follow a recovery model of service and a belief that healthy family bonds create natural supports for sustaining wellness. She also continues to serve as CEO of Encompass Solutions, LLC, a community-based organization that is a sound resource and safe place for expecting mothers (and their families) who are at higher risk for poor pregnancy and childbirth outcomes. It also provides individualized support to disadvantaged families.

Her work is devoted to identifying and eradicating maternal and child health disparities. Her professional training and certifications include: Early Childhood I&II, Infant & Toddler Education, Postpartum Support International’s – Perinatal Mood Disorder, Wisconsin Primary Health Care Association – SBIRT Training, National Alliance Children’s Trust & Prevention: Social Connections, Concrete Support in Times of Need, Parental Resilience, Parenting & Child Development, Social & Emotional Competence of Children, Maternal & Infant Mental Health, Motivational Interviewing and Doula In-Training.

Jeneile is a post-doctoral nurse research associate with the School of Nursing, STREAM program, at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She in an enrolled member of Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians. She received her early nursing degrees (LPN and ADN) in Bemidji, Minnesota, and her Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Nursing from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and her PhD at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Her doctoral dissertation, completed in spring 2020, centers American Indian women’s voices by better understanding the individual lived experiences with intimate partner violence in urban areas of Wisconsin through in-depth qualitative interviews. Her dissertation data reveals barriers faced when seeking help after experiences of violence, before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. This data highlights the need for survivor-led and culturally safe interventions to provide survivors with the care and resources they need and deserve. Her area of research and expertise include gender-based violence, community health nursing and the utilization and application of postcolonial and indigenous feminist methodologies. Her current work focuses on the impacts of intimate partner violence, sexual assault and trafficking on the health and wellbeing of American Indian women and girls. She is a survivor of intimate partner violence and is passionate about sharing her knowledge and personal experiences to help to support and empower other women to transition to survivorship.

A native of Green Bay, Dr. Sarah Lulloff first envisioned herself as an infectious disease detective as an undergraduate on the west coast during the early days of the HIV epidemic. She obtained a master's degree in epidemiology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and completed her medical studies at the Medical College of Wisconsin. Following residency at the University of Utah and her infectious disease fellowship at the Medical College of Wisconsin, she has practiced in the specialty of infectious diseases in Green Bay since 2002. She cares for patients at HSHS St. Vincent Hospital and St. Mary's Hospital Medical Center, has a weekly HIV clinic through Vivent Health, and serves as the medical director of Infection Prevention for HSHS Eastern Wisconsin. While the COVID-19 pandemic has not played out according to her ideal script, she continues to love the challenges of diagnosing and treating patients with infections and keeping our hospitals, patients and health care workers safe. Most of all, she relishes the opportunity to meet and care for patients from diverse backgrounds that make our community a vibrant place to live and raise a family.

Colleen was born and raised in Green Bay, WI and has been a Registered Nurse for 30 years with a background in neurology, home health and public health. She has knowledge of community resources and understands the health care system. She has been with Casa ALBA Melanie since June 2021 as the program coordinator for the Spanish Health Navigation Program. She brings medical experience and compassion towards the Latino population to be able to advocate for health equity and inclusion while also working to ensure local health care systems are aware of barriers to health care access faced by this population.

Dr. Rai’s passion to redesign health care in the U.S. embraces the movement from fee-for-service methods of payment to value-based care, which rewards health care organizations for their work in preventive health care and encouraging patients to live healthy lifestyles and not for the amount of procedures they perform.

This has significantly influenced Prevea Health’s strategy to improve the total wellness of all communities it serves. Dr. Rai has also taken proactive steps to enhance diversity and inclusion efforts within the Prevea Health system, and equitable access to health care for all in our communities. In addition, and since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in Wisconsin in March 2020, Dr. Rai has helped Prevea Health lead the way and set standards for high-quality, accessible and innovative COVID-19 education, prevention, testing, treatment and vaccination efforts across Wisconsin – all of which have garnered attention from local, state and national health care leaders and journalists.

Dr. Rai is actively involved in his community and committed to making a difference on local, state and national levels. He is a Regent for the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents, appointed by Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers in April 2021. Dr. Rai also joined the American Medical Group Association (AMGA) Board of Directors in 2012 and served as Chairman of AMGA in 2018. Other roles held by Dr. Rai include Chairman of the Board of Weidner Center Presents in Green Bay; Chairman of the Cellcom Green Bay Marathon; member of the Board of Directors for the Automobile Gallery in Green Bay and Progress Lakeshore; member of the Board of Downtown Green Bay, Inc.; and a member of the Chancellor's Council of Trustees at the University of Wisconsin – Green Bay.

Renita has leveraged the transformational work displayed in her former role as Chief Executive Officer of the YWCA Greater Green Bay to set the stage for impact on social determinants of health, and a needed redress of health equity in Wisconsin. As a visionary and change agent, she spent over 30 years serving women and children.

Formerly licensed as a graduate social worker (LGSW), and 6th to 12th grade English and social studies teacher, Renita has developed curriculums, effective programs and influenced policy related to services for youth and their families. She has been an advocate, ally and friend to victims of trauma, the homeless and low-resourced individuals across the life span. For over 30 years, Renita has designed conferences, conducted workshops and addressed a wide range of audiences as the owner of Teach ‘Em To Fish, LLC, a nonprofit consulting business dedicated to education and training on a variety of social justice issues.

Kathleen graduated from Seattle Pacific University in Seattle, WA in 2003 with a master's degree in marriage and family therapy. She has worked in a variety of settings including outpatient therapy, crisis response, juvenile probation, EAP, college and university counseling centers, private practice and behavioral health care. As an LGBTQ identified individual, she is dedicated to her advocacy and service work. Her continuing education has focused on LGBTQ-specific training and education for individuals, couples and families. This includes participating in many anti-racism trainings and paying close attention to how identities within us intersect and inform our views, values, choices and relationships. She has conducted trainings on serving the LGBTQ community, participated in the transgender consult team at Oregon State University, and run support groups for LGBTQIAP+ individuals at Oregon State University and Lawrence University. As a Prevea provider, Kathleen supports the LGBTQ Affirming Care model of practice which affirms LGBTQ identities and approaches LGBTQ populations with acceptance and validation to lessen the potential and impact of discrimination in their health care. She leads a consultation group for Prevea Behavioral Care providers who see LGBTQ patients.

Erika Villafuerte is the Founder and Director of Salud First, where she helps people feel empowered to prioritize living their best by bringing more awareness to how our emotional wellness affects our physical wellbeing. She believes the mind/body connection impacts many areas of our lives. That is why Erika not only speaks on this subject, but also assists people in becoming aware of health care resources and understanding Medicare throughout Wisconsin, Illinois and other states as needed. She is passionate about offering personal and culturally-sensitive assistance to disadvantaged populations accessing wellness services.

Erika is a member of the board of directors of several organizations. She's enthusiastic about building partnerships to reduce the barriers in health care access and the teamwork that is addressing social disparities in generationally-sensitive ways for our many diverse communities.

Mary Williams has been a Certified Nurse-Midwife for more than 10 years. She works with patients in all phases of their lives, from puberty through menopause and beyond. She also cares for families throughout pregnancy and has attended the births of hundreds of babies over the years. In addition to working at Prevea Women’s Care, Mary works as a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner at HSHS St. Vincent Hospital in the emergency department. She has a passion for working with those in the LGBTQIA+ community and considers herself an ally – recognizing the need for this community to easily access health care and working to improve understanding and education for those who care for them.

Mang Xiong was born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and is the third oldest of 11 siblings. She grew up in the nonprofit world and has over 20 years of experience in different capacities with health advocacy as one of her biggest passions. She is the lead Hmong coordinator for the H2N project located in Central Wisconsin where she now resides with her husband and two young children. Mang is also the Interim Executive Director (first female ever in this role) for a Hmong statewide coalition, called WUCMAA, leading important mental health initiatives with her nonprofit members. She looks forward to continuing her journey in advocacy for health equity for underserved communities in Wisconsin.

Dr. Jasmine Zapata is a double board-certified physician specializing in the fields of pediatrics and preventive medicine. She currently serves as the Chief Medical Officer and State Epidemiologist for Community Health within the Bureau of Community Health Promotion at the Wisconsin Department of Health where she provides expert guidance for a variety of public health promotion, planning and policy efforts. In this role she also serves as co-chair of the Governor’s Health Equity Council Subcommittee on power, acces, and representation as well as co-chair of the Wisconsin Maternal Mortality Review Team. She is also an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health where she practices clinically in the newborn nursery and is involved in a variety of scholarly activities aimed at increasing diversity in medicine and promoting health equity. She has many lived experiences that help her uniquely connect with the communities she serves and is well known for her infectious energy, passionate advocacy and heart for service. Her ultimate mission in life is to “heal, uplift and inspire.”