About

Officers

President
Paul Halverson, DrPH, MHSA, FACHE
Director, Division of Health, Arkansas Department of Human Services

Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee named Dr. Paul Halverson Director of the Division of Health in the newly established Arkansas Department of Human Services in 2005. Dr. Halverson was professor and the chairman of the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Dr. Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. Prior to that he served for almost seven years as a member of the senior scientific staff at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. At the CDC, Dr. Halverson was appointed to the Silvio Conte Senior Biomedical Research Service and Director of the Division of Public Health Systems Development and Research. Dr. Halverson was appointed by the World Health Organization as the director of its Collaborating Center in Public Health Practice. Prior to the CDC, Dr. Halverson was a member of the faculty at the University of North Carolina School of Public Health. Dr. Halverson received his doctorate in public health from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and his master's in health services administration from Arizona State University.  


 

President-Elect
John Auerbach, MBA
Commissioner, Massachusetts Department of Public Health

Mr. Auerbach is well known within public health circles with more than two decades of work in both state and local government, as well as in health center and hospital settings. As Executive Director of the Boston Public Health Commission, Mr. Auerbach was noted for groundbreaking work toward the elimination of racial and ethnic disparities, implementing of one of the nation's strongest tobacco control bans, and initiating city-wide asthma, cardiovascular, and cancer programs. He has significant experience in emergency preparedness, having overseen the Boston Emergency Medical Services, the local Centers for Disease Control Division, and the Boston Public Health Emergency Preparedness Program.

Mr. Auerbach was the first Director of the HIV/AIDS Bureau at DPH where he oversaw the establishment of HIV services and programs that were praised as among the most effective in the nation. Mr. Auerbach is the President of the Board of the Massachusetts Public Health Association and is on the Board of Directors of the National Association of County and City Health Officials. He received an MBA from the Boston University School of Management and a BA from Clark University. He is also a graduate of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the University of California's Public Health Leadership Institute.

Secretary-Treasurer
Janet Olszewski, MSW
Director, Michigan Department of Community Health

Janet Olszewski was appointed MDCH Director by Governor Jennifer Granholm effective on January 1, 2003. Prior to joining M-CARE in 2000, Ms. Olszewski spent 23 years with the State of Michigan. She began her state government career with the Office of Services to the Aging in 1977. From 1985 to 1991, she assumed leadership roles in two divisions of the former Department of Public Health. She was acting director of the department's division of services for crippled children during 1991 and 1992. She led the department's managed care quality assessment and improvement division from 1992 to 1997. From 1998 to 2000, she was Director for Medicaid Quality Improvement and Customer Services. Ms. Olszewski is a graduate of Boston University and earned a master's degree in social work from the University of Michigan.

Immediate Past President
Mary C. Selecky
Secretary, Washington State Department of Health

Mary C. Selecky was appointed Secretary of the Washington State Department of Health by Gov. Gary Locke in March 1999. Before her appointment, Secretary Selecky served for 20 years as administrator of the Northeast Tri-County Health District in Colville, Washington. Throughout her career, she has been a leader in developing local, state and national public health policies. Secretary Selecky served an unprecedented two terms as ASTHO President. She served on the Board of Directors of the National Association of City and County Health Officials, the Legislative Committee of the Washington Rural Health Association, and is past president of the Washington State Association of Local Public Health Officials. She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in political science and history and has been a resident of Washington State for 35 years.

Past President
David N. Sundwall, MD
Executive Director, Utah Department of Health

David N. Sundwall, MD, was nominated to serve as the Executive Director of the UDOH by Governor Jon Huntsman Jr. Dr. Sundwall is a primary care physician with more than two decades of experience in public policy and service. He is on the faculty of the University of Utah School of Medicine as Associate Professor in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine. Dr. Sundwall has served as an advisor, task force member and chairman of numerous public health policy and quality committees. His federal experience includes serving as the Assistant Surgeon General in the Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service. During this period, he had adjunct responsibilities at the Department of Health and Human Services including and was the HHS Secretary's Designee to the National Commission to Prevent Infant Mortality. Dr. Sundwall earned his medical degree at the University of Utah College of Medicine and completed further training at the Harvard Family Medicine Residency Program.

Regional Representatives

Representative, Region I [Map]
David R. Gifford, MD, MPH
Director, Rhode Island State Department of Health

In May 2005, the Rhode Island Senate voted unanimously to confirm David Gifford as the Director of the State Department of Health. Governor Don Carcieri appointed him to the post. Dr. Gifford, a geriatrician, has served as an assistant professor of medicine and community health at Brown University, directed the Rhode Island Peer Review Organization's hospital and nursing home-based quality improvement projects, and was the medical director at two nursing homes. Dr. Gifford was awarded the Pfizer/American Geriatric Society Post-doctoral Fellowship in Outcomes and the SURDNA Fellowship to assess outcomes of pharmacologic treatments for dementia in residents of nursing homes using MDS data. Dr. Gifford has served on national panels for nursing home quality and has led multiple projects to improve the quality of nursing home care. Dr. Gifford completed his primary care residency and geriatric fellowship at UCLA after graduating from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. While a Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar, Dr. Gifford received his Master's in Public Health from the University of California at Los Angeles.

Representative Region II [Map]
Richard F. Daines, MD
Commissioner of Health, New York State Department of Health  

Governor Spitzer appointed Richard F. Daines, MD, as Commissioner of the New York State Department of Health in January 2007.  Prior to his appointment, Dr. Daines served as President and CEO of St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center. Dr. Daines was appointed to this position on January 1, 2002. Prior to joining the Hospital Center as Medical Director in 2000, he served as Senior Vice President for Professional Affairs of St. Barnabas Hospital in the Bronx, New York since 1994 and the Medical Director from 1987 to 1999. Dr. Daines received a Bachelor of History degree from Utah State University in 1974 and served as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Bolivia, 1970-1972. He received his medical degree from Cornell University Medical College in 1978. He served a residency in internal medicine at New York Hospital and is Board Certified in Internal Medicine and Critical Care Medicine (1987-1997).

Representative Region IIIKaryl Thomas Rattay, MD, MS
Director, Delaware Division of Public Health 

Rita M. Landgraf, Secretary of the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services, appointed Dr. Rattay on May 2, 2009. Dr. Rattay is board-certified in Pediatrics and Preventive Medicine. Prior to her appointment, she worked at Nemours Health & Prevention Services, where since 2004 she led their childhood obesity initiative and efforts to prevent overweight in primary care settings. Dr. Rattay also provided weight management clinical care at the Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, Delaware. Between September 2001 and June 2004, Dr. Rattay served as a Senior Public Health Advisor to the Surgeon General and Assistant Secretary of Health in the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, HHS in Washington, D.C. She provided briefings, speeches, and presentations and supported congressional testimony related to overweight and obesity, physical activity and nutrition, specifically in children. Dr. Rattay staffed the U.S. Department of Agriculture/HHS Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee to revise the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. She had a leadership role on the President’s Healthier U.S. Initiative. As a board-certified pediatrician, Dr. Rattay has practiced pediatrics for nearly 14 years. She has published multiple articles in the field of childhood obesity and is an associate professor in the Department of Population, Family, and Reproductive Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Dr. Rattay served as Initiative Chair of the Delaware Primary Care Initiative on Childhood Overweight, a Nemours quality improvement initiative.  Dr. Rattay earned her MD  from the Medical University of Ohio, completed her pediatric residency at Georgetown University and a preventive medicine residency at the University of Maryland. Dr. Rattay earned a Master’s of Science in Epidemiology from the University of Maryland in 2001. She holds Bachelor of Arts degrees in Zoology and Pre-Medicine, which she received in 1987 from Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, Ohio.   

Representative, Regions IV [Map]
Susan R. Cooper, MSN
Commissioner, Tennessee Department of Health

Susan Cooper, M.S.N.,was named Commissioner of Health for the state of Tennessee by Gov. Phil Bredesen. She is the first nurse to ever hold this position. Before joining state government, Cooper was a faculty member and assistant dean at Vanderbilt’s School of Nursing, where she also earned her Master of Science in Nursing degree. Cooper began her career as a nurse specializing in emergency and intensive care.

The Department of Health has a range of responsibilities, including administering several community health programs, licensing health care professionals and maintaining vital health records and statistics. The department works closely with local governments and nonprofit agencies to monitor and improve community health – including a campaign created by Bredesen to improve infant mortality and birth outcomes in Tennessee.

Susan Cooper is the first nurse to be named Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Health. Before joining state government, Cooper was a faculty member and assistant dean at Vanderbilt's School of Nursing, where she also earned her Master of Science in Nursing degree. Cooper began her career as a nurse specializing in emergency and intensive care.

Representative, Region V [Map]
Alvin Jackson, MD
Director, Ohio Department of Health

Dr. Jackson served as the medical director of the Community Health Services in Fremont, Ohio, but he began his career at the center during his four-year family practice residency. During his tenure the center expanded access to services with a fully equipped mobile unit. The mobile unit extended healthcare services to 12 counties and has served as an immunization center at local schools. Jackson also served as Chief of Staff at Memorial Hospital in Fremont and staff physician at the Sandusky County Department of Health. He served as President of the Midwest Clinicians Network in 2000 and was the Clinician's State Representative to the Ohio Association of Community Health Centers in 2001.

In addition to Jackson's work at the Community Health Center and international and national medical humanitarian efforts in Honduras, Liberia, and the Mississippi Coast after Hurricane Katrina, he is active in his community. In 1995 Jackson and his wife, Gayle, founded the African-American College Club, an organization that tutors students and encourages them to go to college. That same year Jackson helped found Brother-to-Brother, a mentoring group to steer young African-American males away from violence, drugs and alcohol.

Jackson was a recipient of Pfizer's Ohio Quality Care Award and the Department of Health and Human Services' Clinician Award. In 2001 he won a Robert Wood Johnson Community Health Leadership Award.

Jackson graduated from Andrew University in Michigan with a BS in biology. He received his medical degree from The Ohio State University. In 2004, Jackson received the honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from Heidelberg College.

Representative, Region VI [Map]
David Lakey, MD
Commissioner, Texas Department of State Health Services

Since January 2, 2007, David L. Lakey, MD, has led one of the nation’s largest state agencies with a staff of 11,500 and an annual budget of $2.5 billion. He oversees programs such as disease prevention and bioterrorism preparedness, family and community health services, environmental and consumer safety, regulatory programs and mental health and substance abuse prevention and treatment programs.

At the time of her appointment in 2005, Dr. Schaefer was Deputy Chief Medical Officer of the Nebraska Health and Human Services System. She has also been involved in the state's pandemic flu planning effort. Dr. Schaefer helped develop Nebraska's nationally recognized smallpox vaccination plan as well as an accountability plan for the state's Child Protective Services.

Dr. Schaefer practiced family medicine in Omaha since her graduation from Creighton University Medical School in 1995 and was an associate professor there. Board-certified in family practice, she has been honored by the American Medical Women's Association as a Local Legend for her contributions to medicine and has served as an advocate on domestic violence prevention issues. She was honored by the Nebraska Medical Association as Physician of the Year in 2004.

Representative, Region VIII [Map]
Brent Sherard, MD, MPH
Director and State Health Officer, Wyoming Department of Health 

Wyoming Governor Dave Freudenthal named Dr. Brent Sherard the director of the Wyoming Department of Health on June 8, 2005. Sherard, served twice as interim director; once in 2002, and again beginning in March 2005. A Wyoming native, Brent Sherard was born and raised in Wheatland. He graduated from the University of Wyoming with a B.S. degree in Zoology in 1973. Dr. Sherard received his MD degree from Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1979 and an MPH degree from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia in 2003. Dr. Sherard completed his residence and board certification in Internal Medicine in 1982 at St. Joseph's Hospital in Denver, Colorado, Following his residency he practiced general internal medicine for 19 years in Wheatland, Wyoming, where he also served as Platte County Health Officer. Sherard is an adjunct clinical faculty member of WWAMI, College of Health Sciences at the University of Wyoming. He volunteers as a physician at the Cheyenne Community Clinic and sits on the Board of Directors of First State Bank in Wheatland, of which he is a former chairman. 
 

Representative, Region IX [Map]
Mark Horton, MD, MSPH
Director, California Department of Public Health

Dr. Horton is a pediatrician and public health official with more than 30 years of experience. He previously served as the deputy agency director and health officer for the County of Orange Health Care Agency from 1999 to 2005. Prior to that, he was vice president for community programs, director of the Center for Child Protection and director of the Center for Healthier Communities for Children at San Diego Children's Hospital and Health Center. Dr. Horton also served as director of public health for the State of Nebraska. From 1990 to 1991, he was director of general and ambulatory pediatrics for Creighton University Medical Center and from 1981 to 1989, Horton was a pediatrician at Boystown National Research Hospital. His experience also includes three years as a pediatrician with the Craven County Health Department under the National Health Service Corps and two years as director of general ambulatory pediatrics at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Horton has also served in several academic positions and is an active member of the medical and public health communities, serving as a member of many boards, committees.

Dr. Horton earned his medical degree and a Bachelor of Science degree from St. Louis University and holds a master's in public health from the University of North Carolina, School of Public Health. He was an ambulatory pediatrics fellow at the Duke University Medical Center and pediatric resident at Northwestern University's Children's Memorial Hospital.
 

Representative, Region X [Map] 

Mary C. SeleckySecretary, Washington State Department of Health 

Mary C. Selecky was appointed Secretary of the Washington State Department of Health by Gov. Gary Locke in March 1999. Before her appointment, Secretary Selecky served for 20 years as administrator of the Northeast Tri-County Health District in Colville, Washington. Throughout her career, she has been a leader in developing local, state and national public health policies. Secretary Selecky served an unprecedented two terms as ASTHO President. She served on the Board of Directors of the National Association of City and County Health Officials, the Legislative Committee of the Washington Rural Health Association, and is past president of the Washington State Association of Local Public Health Officials. She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in political science and history and has been a resident of Washington State for 35 years.

Ex Officio Members

Executive Director, ASTHO
Paul Jarris, MD, MBA 

Paul E. Jarris, MD, MBA was appointed Executive Director of ASTHO effective June 19, 2006. Prior to his appointment, Dr. Jarris served as State Health Official of the Vermont Department of Health from 2003 to 2006.

Dr. Jarris served as Medical Director for Vermont's largest nonprofit HMO, Community Health Plan, from 1992-1996. He was President and CEO of Vermont Permanente Medical Group from 1998-2000 as well as CEO of Primary Care Health Partners, Vermont's largest statewide primary care medical group, from 1999-2000. Throughout his career, Dr. Jarris has maintained an active clinical family practice, including work in federally qualified health centers and a shelter for homeless adolescent youth. He is certified by the American Board of Family Medicine and the American Board of Medical Management.

Dr. Jarris graduated from the University of Vermont and received his MD from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in 1984. He interned at Duke-Watts Family Medicine Residency Program in Durham, N.C. and completed his residency at the Swedish Family Practice Residency Program in Seattle, Washington. Following residency training, he received a Master's in Business Administration from the University of Washington.

Chair, Senior Deputies Committee
Lisa F. Waddell, MD, MPH
Deputy Commissioner for Health Services
South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control

Dr. Lisa F. Waddell is deputy commissioner for Health Services, a position she has held since 1999. Board certified in preventive medicine and public health, Dr. Waddell is a graduate of the University of Virginia, the Medical College of Virginia, and the Eastern Virginia Graduate School of Medicine. In addition, she holds a master's degree in public health policy and administration from the University of North Carolina School of Public Health. She also graduated from the CDC’s National Public Health Leadership Institute.

Prior to 1999, Dr. Waddell worked in several other leadership positions at DHEC. She served as DHEC’s assistant commissioner, as director of DHEC’s Wateree Public Health District, and as deputy health director for the Richmond City Health Department in Richmond, Virginia.

Under Dr. Waddell’s guidance, DHEC’s Health Services has garnered statewide, regional and national recognition for its work to combat chronic diseases and health disparities. She is a member of numerous professional organizations and boards and has received many honors and awards, including the 2009 Noble J. Swearingen Award from the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials. Dr. Waddell also received the 2009 J. Marion Sims Award for Meritorious Achievement in Public Health from the S.C. Public Health Association; the American Heart Association’s 2007 Power to End Stroke Ambassador Award; and a Woman of Achievement Award from the Office of the Governor in 2000.

Chair, Affiliate Council
Scott Becker, MS
Executive Director, Association of Public Health Laboratories

Scott J. Becker, MS, serves as the executive director for the Association of Public Health Laboratories, a position he has held since 1997. As the association's chief staff executive, Mr. Becker is responsible for the programmatic and fiscal operations of APHL, as well as for policy development and strategy. Under his leadership, APHL has doubled its staff, tripled its programs for members, and quadrupled its budget. In 1999 he was recognized as one of the nation's top association executives under 40.

Prior to joining APHL, Mr. Becker served as the deputy executive director of the Association of Schools of Public Health (ASPH). Earlier in his career, while on sabbatical from ASPH, he spent one year directing a World Health Organization (WHO) initiative to integrate information on HIV/AIDS into health professions curricula.

Mr. Becker holds a Bachelor of Science degree in business from the University of Maryland's College of Business, and a Master's of Science in management, with a concentration in nonprofit management, also from Maryland.