Staff
Susan G. Bornstein, MD, MPH is an OBGYN by training. She became so frustrated with the issues that her patients were having with cost and access to care that she returned to the University of Michigan for a Master’s in Public Health.
Susan has a comprehensive understanding of the healthcare delivery system, having cared for patients across a variety of practice settings, including running her own office for nearly 20 years.…
Laci is a communications professional with decades of experience in journalism and nonprofit communications. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Human Services Management and a Master of Arts in Communications.
Laci spent 16 years as a television news producer for stations in her hometown of Amarillo, Texas and Louisville, including more than10 years at WHAS11, before trading the newsroom for the nonprofit sector.…
Rebekah Scroggy, BSN, RN, IBCLC, is a compassionate healthcare professional dedicated to empowering families and communities through education, advocacy, and evidence-based care. With a nursing background in high-acuity pediatric and maternal health, she brings clinical expertise and a deep commitment to supporting parents through every stage of their journey.
Rebekah is passionate about developing engaging educational programs, creating accessible health content, and collaborating with community partners to improve health outcomes.…
Board Members
Steve Barger has over 45 years of experience in providing health care benefits for working families. He has held numerous leadership positions including President and Chair of the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans, Chair of the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education and director of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Steve is licensed in Health, Life, Property and Casualty.
Dr. Craig Blakely, Dean of the School of Public Health and Information Sciences at the University of Louisville, has a long history of federal and state funded research, a great deal of which has been data driven efforts to influence policy. His early exposure began at Michigan State University in the late 1970’s, where he earned a doctoral degree in Ecological Psychology, based social change.…
Tina has brought the full depth of her education and life experience to her job as State Representative. With Tina’s PhD in Education and Social Change; a Master of Arts in Teaching; a Master of Business Administration; and a Bachelor of Science in Management.
Tina, a proud Mom of three children, including Brandon, who was diagnosed with autism at age two, has a chance to work for all of our children.…
John B. Chessare, MD, MPH, is the President and CEO of GBMC HealthCare, in Baltimore, Maryland. Dr. Chessare has been actively involved in designing and managing systems of care in academic medical centers and in community hospitals. A pediatrician, he is a graduate of Boston College, the University of Rome School of Medicine, and the University of Michigan School of Public Health.…
Lindsay Della, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor at the University of Louisville in the Department of Communication where she provides expertise in strategic communication to positively affect health and wellbeing. She teaches courses in research methods, health communication, and integrated communication campaign development. As a health communication and social marketing specialist, her research focuses on analyzing and understanding the nuances of campaign design for well-defined audiences with the goal of benefiting communities and society.…
Shireen Deobhakta serves as a Senior Social Science Researcher for REACH Evaluation. She provides expertise in Behavioral Science approaches, which use a mixture of Psychology and Economics to nudge behaviors and solve problems in order to improve service delivery.
Shireen received her doctorate in Urban and Public Affairs from the University of Louisville, her Masters of Business Administration from Ohio State University, and her Bachelor of Arts from Ohio Wesleyan University.…
With more than 20 years of experience in the diversity field, Mr. Lee Gill is a nationally recognized leader with both university and private practice experience and currently serves as the University of Louisville’s Vice President for Diversity, Equity, and inclusion.
Prior to joining the UofL team he served as Clemson University’s Chief Diversity Officer and Special Assistant to the President.…
Michael Gruenthal, MD, PhD is a neuroscientist, epileptologist and academic medicine administrator. He served as the Mason C and Mary D Rudd Chair of Neurology at the University of Louisville from 2001 to 2006, as the Bender Family Chair of Neurology and Director of the Neurosciences Institute at Albany Medical College from 2006 to 2018, and as Senior Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs at Albany Medical College from 2015 to 2018.…
Joni Jenkins was elected Kentucky State Representative, District 44, in 1994 and served through 2022. She served as the Minority Floor Leader from 2019-2022, the first woman in Kentucky to lead a caucus.
During her tenure in the House, she served over 20 years on the Health and Welfare committee. Jenkins chaired the Budget Subcommittee on Health and Family Services from 2015-16.…
Meredith Lambe has over 20 years experience working in the non-profit industry. She has worked in various fundraising and leadership positions for non-profit organizations in Louisville, KY and New Albany, IN along with serving on various boards. She currently serves as the President for Being for Others Health and Wellness Foundation, a startup private grantmaking foundation serving eight counties in southwest Indiana.…
Bill Londrigan is the president of the KY State AFL-CIO
Kevin A. Pearce, MD, MPH is a tenured professor in the UK College of Medicine, Department of Family and Community Medicine, where he served as Department Chair and Associate Dean for Rural and Community Health from 2011 to 2017. He has been a board-certified Family Medicine physician since 1986, and a full-time academic physician since 1990, when he earned his MPH in Epidemiology from the University of Minnesota.…
Jeff Zakem, MHSA, brings more than 20 years of experience: designing education to help individuals develop and improve through behavior change; developing people through education, engagement, and motivation; and delivering communication that builds buy-in, encourages stories, and inspires action. Recently, Jeff has shifted career focus and is now collaborating to define the vision and structure of a new office of community health equity and engagement at a 9-hospital system in the Chicago and Chicago metropolitan area.