2024 DELPH Cohort

Eman Addish is Senior Viral Hepatitis Epidemiologist and Surveillance Supervisor in the Division of Disease Control at the Philadelphia Department of Public Health (PDPH) and Epidemiologist in the Viral Hepatitis Program, serving since 2017. In her current capacity, Eman oversees all aspects of viral hepatitis B and viral hepatitis C, including surveilling, supervising investigations, managing the navigation program, and overseeing special projects.

Eman has been involved in collaborative initiatives, such as establishing data-to-care infrastructure for hepatitis C, collaborating with community organization to provide data support for hepatitis C testing in prison, and utilizing data to support projects related to the integration of substance use disorder treatment and hepatitis C treatment. She has also actively contributed to emergency response efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic, providing epidemiological support; building databases for outbreak management, testing sites, and vaccine requests; and enhancing demographic data completeness.

In May 2020, Eman co-founded Epis for Equity, a workgroup comprising epidemiologists and other data scientists, focused on addressing health outcome disparities among Philadelphia's Black and Brown residents through data analysis. Additionally, Eman actively participates in PDPH’s health equity initiatives at the health commissioner's office and within her division. She earned a Master of Public Health with a focus on Epidemiology from Drexel Dornsife School of Public Health.

Tasha Catron currently serves as the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Specialist for the Stark County Health Department in Canton, OH. In this position, Tasha acts as a change agent, providing organization-wide awareness and successful integration of DEI concepts into decision-making processes and departmental policies. Tasha networks with other local, regional, and state professionals to identify strategies and share resources to enhance DEI philosophy and improve community efforts.

Tasha has spent 15 years working as a public health professional with ample expertise in health education and community health. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Community Health Education from Malone University in Canton, OH and is a Certified Health Education Specialist.

Chelsei Granderson is the Director of Community Impact for the Office of Strategic Initiatives at the Tennessee Department of Health. In this role, Chelsei leads programs that support Tennessee’s County Health Councils in Community Health Improvement Processes. She has a broad range of public health experience including research, academia, hospital/health system, community engagement, and health equity. Chelsei has worked closely with local health departments, health systems, and other stakeholders to provide support and foster community engagement and partnerships.

Prior to her current role, Chelsei served as the Public Health County Director for three local health departments in West Tennessee. As County Director, she oversaw the public health programs and services offered at the health department, including preventive health, primary care, and dental services, as well as managing local response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Before joining the health department, Chelsei was the Manager for Community Health Improvement at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

Chelsei holds a Master of Science in Public Health from Meharry Medical College and a Bachelor of Science from Middle Tennessee State University. Outside of work, she enjoys volunteering, horseback riding, traveling, and spending time with family. She is also a proud dog mom to a sweet goldendoodle and plant mom of an ever-growing plant collection.

With 15 years of public health experience in substance use prevention, fund development, and health policy, Andrea Lee serves as the Legislative and Partnerships Manager at the Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services. This position affords her the opportunity to analyze how policies impact the health department and its constituents, cultivate strategic partnerships, and shape health policies at the regional and state levels.

Andrea’s professional expertise is deeply rooted in community. Prior to working at the health department, she spent eight years developing and managing various public health and education reform programs. Working directly with children, youth, and families is critical to her development as a public health leader as it centers her work and drives her passion to advance health equity.

Andrea holds a Master of Public Health from the University of California, Berkeley and a Bachelor of Science in Health Promotions and Disease Prevention from the University of Southern California. In her free time, Andrea enjoys reading, traveling, hiking, and spending time with family.

Kristian Myers, MPH, CHES, serves as the Program Evaluation Manager at the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control’s Division of Diabetes and Heart Disease Management. Currently, she leads a team of evaluators to use a systems thinking, culturally responsive approach to program evaluation. As a manager, Mrs. Myers enjoys mentoring her staff and helping them achieve greatness.

For the past 15 years, Mrs. Myers has led program evaluation efforts and supported planning and implementation of chronic disease prevention and management programs addressing obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. Her professional evaluation experience includes seven CDC cooperative agreements, and one of her greatest successes was helping a local non-profit organization obtain a three-year $500,000 grant to implement a diabetes intervention program. This grant was one of seven funded in the nation. As a public health practitioner, Mrs. Myers has contributed to practice-based evidence by collaborating on more than six peer-reviewed journal articles and various conference abstracts.

Mrs. Myers received her Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences from Clemson University and her Master of Public Health degree in Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior from the University of South Carolina’s Arnold School of Public Health. She is a certified health education specialist and a graduate of the Department of Health and Environmental Control’s Leadership Excellence and Achievement Program. Mrs. Myers is married and the proud mom of a 7-year-old son and 10-year-old dog. During her free time, she enjoys baking, traveling, walking, and listening to audiobooks.

Emman Parian is the Immunization Program Manager for the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), a U.S. territory in the Western Pacific with a population of 50,000. In this role, he oversees the immunization and vaccination services in the jurisdiction. Emman was born and raised in Saipan, the largest of the three populated islands in the CNMI. He obtained his Bachelor of Health Science in Healthcare Management and Master of Public Health on the U.S. mainland before returning home to serve his community.

Emman’s career in healthcare started in 2017 as a Medical Secretary at an urgent care clinic and an intern of the ASTHO Hypertension Identification and Control Program, supporting the CNMI Public Health division. In 2021, he joined the CNMI Immunization Program as the Vaccine Management Specialist, supporting the program and the COVID-19 pandemic response of the mass vaccine operations and distributions. He then transitioned to COVID-19 Vaccine Program Coordinator and, in June 2022, became Immunization Program Manager. Emman continues to work within the Public Health division, the program, and with external stakeholders and partners to minimize morbidity and mortality and work towards a healthier community.

Equipped with over seven years of experience in public health and advocacy, Eddy Pierre serves as Community Operations Manager at the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Eddie is passionate about advocating for marginalized groups and promoting environmental justice through public health. He is currently delving into the topic of environmental racism and how climate resilience requires active participation from local communities.

Eddy was born in Haiti and raised in South Florida where he spent most of his adolescent and young adult years. In 2012, he received his bachelor’s degree in history from Florida Atlantic University and, in 2014, moved to New York City to pursue his master’s in international affairs at The New School. A year later, Eddy studied abroad in Turkey, which sparked his love for travel. He is always eager to learn about new cultures and customs, especially as someone who was raised in a multicultural household. In his free time, Eddy enjoys watching soccer and training in Muay Thai kickboxing.

Maryssa Sadler, MPA, serves as the Maternal and Women's Health Operations Analyst at the Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS) VA Medicaid, specializing in the Maternal and Child Health unit. As the project lead, she spearheads the development, implementation, and monitoring of maternal and women's healthcare programs, offering both programmatic and clinical expertise. Maryssa has over eight years of experience advancing reproductive, maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health. She formerly worked as a public health specialist, driving evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention programs, identifying educational needs, and recommending intervention strategies.

Maryssa is committed to her work in public health and administration, namely towards alleviating health disparities and enhancing maternal health from preconception to postpartum. She currently serves on the board of directors for VA Medicaid with the Virginia Neonatal Perinatal Collaborative (VNPC) and HealthConnect One, aligning with her passion to improve services for preconception, pregnant, and parenting populations.

Maryssa earned both her Master of Public Administration and Bachelor of Science in Health Education from North Carolina Central University in Durham, NC. She attributes her passion and dedication to public health to the University, which instilled a commitment to truth and service in all aspects of her work.

In her free time, Maryssa loves traveling to new places, running, and managing her handmade earring business, AncHERed Linx LLC. She also contributes to her community by coaching a middle school Girls on the Run team and cherishes time with family and friends.

Ninah Sasy currently serves as the Policy and Planning Director with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Within this role, she is responsible for leading the development and implementation of the Department’s Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) Strategy across state agencies and throughout Michigan. She is also responsible for directing program areas including the Office of Nursing Programs, the Strategic Alignment and Engagement Section, and the Workforce Access and Grants Section.

Ninah has a Master of Science Administration from Central Michigan University and a Bachelor of Science in Clinical Laboratory Science from Michigan State University.  Throughout her career, she has managed several statewide public health, environmental health, and emergency response initiatives. Most recently, Ninah served as the inaugural Chief of the Office of the Clean Water Public Advocate. While in this role, she acted as a conduit to align state, local, and community efforts to support communities impacted by water quality issues. Ninah also led interagency response efforts to ensure that resources were aligned for a greater impact in communities. Before assuming this role, she was the Executive Director of the Michigan Infrastructure Council.

Ninah’s diverse 20-year career working for several state agencies has equipped her with the background knowledge to understand the importance of bridging our regulatory, policy, and funding efforts to support health communities. She has also built a network of stakeholders, in multiple sectors, to help develop comprehensive responses to issues impacting Michigan communities.

Monica Tavares is the Education and Outreach Coordinator for the Drug Overdose Prevention Program and a Co-Chair of the Racial Equity Working Group (REWG) for Governor McKee’s Overdose Prevention and Intervention Task Force. In her role as Education and Outreach Coordinator, she has provided overdose prevention education to high-risk populations, providers, community organizations, faith-based communities, and secondary and proprietary schools. As a co-lead of the REWG, Ms. Tavares ensures that concerns voiced by the community are brought to all of the Governor’s Overdose Task Force workgroups and state leadership. She is committed to identifying data about trends that disproportionately affect the BIPOC community and bringing community stakeholders together to turn those data into preventable actions.

Ms. Tavares leads the implementation of racial equity through state and community partnerships in Rhode Island. She collaborated with consultant Reframe Health and Justice to conduct racial equity strategic planning with REWG and all nine Governor’s Task Force workgroups. Her leadership efforts with REWG have increased structural knowledge, access to data, and state-level interagency collaboration. Ms. Tavares’s intentional leadership and advocacy have led to the necessary changes to the Rhode Island Department of Health’s Small Amount Campaign, which focused on the dangers of fentanyl to specifically call out drug contamination to be inclusive of all people who use other substances. In addition, the Rhode Island Opioid Settlement Advisory Committee made changes to its Guiding Principles to include racial equity language to ensure all work funded by the Opioid Settlement incorporates racial equity principles into the work plan and set aside specific funding to expand overdose prevention education and outreach in communities of color, including to undocumented people.

Ms. Tavares led the effort for the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) to become the first state agency to be certified as a Recovery Friendly Workplace, committed to reducing stigma in the workplace and providing a supportive environment for those in recovery. She attends all of Governor McKee’s Overdose Prevention and Intervention Task Force meetings including the following workgroups: Prevention, Rescue, Harm Reduction, Treatment, Recovery, First Responder, Substance-Exposed Newborns, and Family Task Force.

Zachary Thornhill currently serves as Senior Policy Analyst with the Office of Behavioral Health at the Oregon Health Authority (OHA). In this role, he collaborates with agencies, communities, and individuals to improve efficiencies of systems and programs that sit at the nexus of the behavioral health and justice systems. Zach leads projects on revising administrative rules, distributing funds to increase treatment bed capacity, and responding to legislative requests and directives. He is most interested in leveraging current infrastructure to collaborate and innovate so that, over time, the system is transformed.

Zach, who is also a clinical social worker and educator in Portland, OR, has worked across government and hospital systems in sexual health education, aging services, and behavioral health. Working in both Oregon’s and Washington’s systems, he has developed a keen interest and expertise in civil commitment. The work is truly dynamic as it attempts to hold issues of behavioral health treatment and access, civil rights, community well-being, the justice system, and self-determination.

In addition to his work with OHA, Zach is an adjunct instructor with Portland State’s School of Social Work, teaching in both the graduate and undergraduate programs as well as serving as a field instructor. Zach received his Bachelor of Arts from Seattle University and, following a Fulbright Fellowship to Belgium, earned his Master of Social Work from Washington University in St. Louis. When not working, he’s usually baking, attempting to restore his 1919 bungalow, or keeping track of his pup, Daisy.

Deloris Walker is a Regional Health Officer for the Cook County Department of Public Health in Illinois, in which she is responsible for leading the county’s community health assessment and improvement plan process. Deloris also serves on the Board of Directors for EverThrive Illinois, a nonprofit organization committed to supporting access to quality healthcare and providing resources to achieve health equity. She previously served as the inaugural Director of Health Equity and Impact for Planned Parenthood of Illinois, and as a Health Educator for the University of Illinois Extension. In her 15 years of public health experience, Deloris has made significant contributions to policy, systems, and environmental change strategies, focusing on food access, school wellness, and community health planning.

Deloris earned a Master of Public Health at Northern Illinois University, a Bachelor of Arts in Speech Communication with a minor in Spanish at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and a graduate certificate in Public Health Management-Health Policy and Administration. She is a first-generation college student, born and raised on the South Side of Chicago. These lived experiences have helped shape Deloris’s passion for racial and health equity and its impact on public health outcomes, as well as her compassion for vulnerable populations. She looks forward to expanding her knowledge, impact, and leadership skills through the prestigious DELPH Program, and utilizing those skills to improve her communities.

Outside of public health, Deloris enjoys traveling, dancing, and spending time with her family and friends. She is also an active member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, the oldest Greek-letter organization established by Black college-educated women, dedicated to scholarship, sisterhood, and service.

Samantha Wells serves as Public Health Section Chief II with the Arkansas Department of Health’s Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Program. Within this position, she oversees the state program’s smoking cessation efforts through Be Well Arkansas and provides leadership to the Be Well Baby program dedicated to pregnant smokers. Samantha has become certified as a TTS (Tobacco Treatment Specialist) through this work. Concurrently, she is a Doctor of Public Health student in Public Health Leadership at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. Within these capacities, she strives to help improve health disparities, enhance health equity through advocacy, and promote overall access to care.

Samantha is a native of the Mississippi Gulf Coast where she became active in various public health endeavors, prior to advancing her educational and professional journeys in Little Rock, AR. She first fell in love with the field while obtaining her Bachelor of Science in Public Health (Health Policy/Administration) and her Master of Public Health (Health Policy/Administration) from the University of Southern Mississippi.

Samantha has been inducted into several honor societies and received statewide and national accolades, including the 2022 American Public Health Association’s Student Assembly scholarship and Minority Supplement reward. She was honored to be selected to attend the 2021 Arkansas Rural Health Leadership Summer Academy and previously served in the roles of Program Manager with the Mississippi Health Advocacy Program, Graduate Research Assistant with UAMS, and various leadership capacities within the Mississippi Public Health Association.

Christopher Whiteside currently serves as the Community and Health Systems Epidemiology Bureau Chief. The bureau includes the health equity epidemiology program, the community health assessment program, the health systems epidemiology program, and the GIS program at the New Mexico Department of Health. He works to achieve equity by monitoring population health and identifying root causes and health hazards.

Christopher has worked in public health for the past 12 years and is very passionate about finding ways to ensure optimal health for everyone. He has worked toward equity as a maternal and child epidemiologist and a survey epidemiologist focusing on risk behaviors and social determinants of health.

Christopher grew up in California and attended Loma Linda University where he received a Master of Public Health in Research Epidemiology. He also received a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry from Oakwood University in Huntsville, AL.

Outside of his public health work, Christopher serves his local church, works with community groups, and enjoys time with his wife, four children, and two grandchildren.

Monique Wilson is the Director at the Maryland Department of Health, Vital Statistics Administration (VSA). Prior to her promotion in August 2023, she held the position of Assistant Director after getting her start in VSA as Research Statistician.

Monique began her career in public health in 1994 as an intern at Friends Research Institute (FRI). In her 18+ years there, she held many positions including Mentoring Supervisor, Data Manager, Director of Data Management, Project Manager, and Site Principal Investigator. While at FRI, Monique’s research work included the use of medication-assisted treatment among individuals with opioid use disorders in criminal justice settings, as a reentry strategy for pre-release prisoners and among individuals on probation or parole. She also conducted HIV testing, counseling, and linkage to care among individuals on probation or parole with substance use disorders and at high risk for HIV infection and transmission. In 2015, Monique made a career change and took a position as Project Manager for an HIV retention in care study at the University of Maryland, Baltimore before joining VSA in 2016.

Monique received her Bachelor of Science and Doctorate in Public Health from Morgan State University. She is a member of several committees including Maryland Violent Death Reporting System Advisory Committee, State Child Fatality Review Committee, PHAB Accreditation Team, QI Council Steering Committee, Cancer Registry Advisory Committee. She is also a member of the National Association for Public Health Statistics and Information Systems (NAPHSIS). Monique is dedicated to continuing to lead VSA and advance their work to serve Marylanders as well as external collaborators.