Daniel Derksen, MD, Walter H. Pearce Endowed Chair & Director, Arizona Center for Rural Health, Professor of Public Health, Medicine & Nursing
University of Arizona Health Sciences Associate Vice President for Health Equity, Outreach & Interprofessional Activities. He is a tenured Professor of Public Health in the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health with joint appointments in the College of Medicine and the College of Nursing. His current service, education and research activities include informing legislative, regulatory and program policy to improve access to health care and health insurance coverage; narrowing health disparities; developing, implementing and evaluating interprofessional service-learning sites; and working to assure a well-trained and distributed health workforce to meet the health needs of all Arizonans.
Holly Figueroa, Tribal Liaison, BCBSAZ Health Choice, is Ohkay Owingeh and Hopi from the village of Sipaulovi and is Sun Clan. Holly serves as the Tribal Liaison for BCBSAZ Health Choice. As the Tribal Liaison, she works to strengthen tribal relations with 17 tribes in BCBSAZ Health Choice service area, focusing on Access to Care, Prevention, Coordination of Care, Nation Building, Training & Education, Reducing Health Disparities, Stigma Reduction, and cross sector tribal collaborative efforts.
With a Cultural Competency background, Holly works to ensure that culturally responsive services are delivered to all including Health Choice members and that providers meet the language and unique cultural needs of those they serve. Holly also develops education and awareness programs for staff and residents of the Health Choice service area to help reduce the stigma aimed at diverse cultures and to raise awareness and decrease health disparities they are often faced with. Holly was born into a military family and is the spouse of an Operation Desert Storm & Operation Vigilant Warrior Veteran. Holly is a certified Adult, Youth, and Veteran Mental Health First Aide Trainer. Holly serves on the Arizona Town Hall Board of Directors; she is a Northern Arizona Healthcare Foundation Certificate Holder; she serves on the President for Arizona Rural Health Association; the MPOWRD Board of Directors. Holly is also a dedicated Ally who works to advocate and ensure Safe Spaces for 2SLGBTQ individuals and community. Additionally, Holly pursues other ways to give back to her community and to be an effective advocate for Native American people everywhere.
Holly is the recipient of the National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health 2023 Community Star Award. She is also the recipient of the 2023 Arizona Department of Health Services Michael T. Alison Award for Excellence in Tribal Health.
Zaida Dedolph Piecoro, Health Policy Advisor, Office of Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs
Zaida (she/her; pronounced "ZAH-duh") has the privilege of serving as health policy advisor to Governor Katie Hobbs. Prior to joining the Hobbs Administration, Zaida was the health policy director at Children’s Action Alliance and has held positions at several Arizona nonprofit policy and advocacy organizations. She has spent her career fighting for equal access to healthcare, an end to poverty, hunger, financial exploitation, and interpersonal violence. Zaida earned her bachelor’s degree in anthropology and bioethics from Loyola University Chicago and her master’s in public health from the University of Arizona.
Carmen Heredia, Director, Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System
serves as the director of Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS), Arizona’s Medicaid and CHIP Program, overseeing the provision of acute, behavioral health, and long-term care services and supports to more than 2.5 million Arizona residents at an annual cost of $22 billion. She was appointed by Governor Katie Hobbs on December 23, 2022.
Throughout her career, Ms. Heredia has passionately advocated for access to quality healthcare and education for underserved populations. Directly prior to joining AHCCCS, Ms. Heredia was the CEO of Valle del Sol, a provider organization delivering integrated behavioral health and primary care health as a federally qualified health center and a federally certified community behavioral health center.
Ms. Heredia has served on a variety of government task forces and boards, including St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center, the Arizona Council of Human Service Providers, the Center for the Future of Arizona, the Arizona Alliance of Community Health Centers, National Council of Behavioral Health, the Phoenix Community Development and Investment Corporation, Contexture Health Information Exchange, and the ASU College of Health Solutions. She is a 2021 Virginia G. Piper Fellow and an alum of the Hispanic Leadership Institute. Ms. Heredia holds a master’s degree in social work from Arizona State University with a concentration in planning and administration.
Jennie Cunico, Cabinet Executive Officer, Director, Arizona Department of Health Services
Jennie Cunico is the Cabinet Executive Officer/Director of the Arizona Department of Health Services. Jennie has nearly a decade of public health experience at ADHS serving in multiple leadership roles, including Deputy Director for Public Health Operations. Prior to joining ADHS in 2014, Jennie worked in the private sector overseeing office operations for a successful small business for 15 years. In addition Jennie worked in Arizona’s behavioral health system at a local non-profit for 10 years. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Arizona State University and a Master of Counseling with an emphasis in Marriage and Family Therapy from University of Phoenix.
Auditorium: The Good, the Bad, and the ugly: 2024 Threats and Opportunities for Arizona Hospitals
Meghan McCabe, Vice President, Policy and Advocacy, Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association
A native Arizonan, McCabe graduated from Barrett Honors College at Arizona State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology and Society. She earned her Juris Doctor degree at the University of Washington. After law school, McCabe spent several years in Washington, DC, lobbying at a boutique government relations firm on behalf of universities and scientific societies. Following her time in the nation’s capital, McCabe returned to her home state and joined Arizona’s largest government affairs firm. Prior to AzHHA, she served as the Deputy Director of Government Relations for the Arizona Medical Association. Meghan has been with the Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association since 2021.
Room 2206: Policy Approaches to Addressing Lack of Access to Specialty Care
Julie Armin, Assistant Professor, Department of Family & Community Medicine, The University of Arizona
Julie Armin PhD, a medical anthropologist, is a community-based researcher and educator. Her research program centers on connecting historically marginalized populations to clinical care--cancer care, in particular. Her long-term research goal is innovation in health services delivery, using community-informed approaches to increasing accessibility and availability of evidence-based cancer care. She also directs the health equity curriculum in the College of Medicine, Tucson.
Nancy Johnson RN, PhD, Senior Director Strategy, Global MD, The University of Arizona Health Sciences
Nancy Johnson is the former CEO for El Rio Community Health Center, one of the largest federally qualified health centers in the country. She is a registered nurse graduating with a BSN from Illinois Wesleyan University. Dr Johnson also holds masters degrees in both nursing from the University of Illinois and a masters in marketing and business from the University of Arizona Eller College. Her doctoral research was on provider perspectives in caring for the uninsured population, leading to her completion of her PhD in Health Care Administration. Nancy has held positions as a clinician, a faculty member in nursing, business, and medicine, as well as an administrator. She spent over 15 years with Tucson Medical Center, building community health and wellness programs, acquiring and managing medical practices for the TMC system, and expanding community networks. Today, after 14 years of service to El Rio Health, she continues to serve as an adjunct clinical professor for the University of Arizona College of Medicine as well as the College of Nursing. She has authored a textbook with her husband, entitled “The Care of the Uninsured in America” and most recently, an article in Nursing Administration Quarterly on Healthcare for the Homeless. Dr Johnson is a recent recipient of the University of Arizona’s Cecil B. Hart Humanitarian Award as well as the 2016 Distinguished Alumni Award from Illinois Wesleyan University. Dr Johnson was named Greater Tucson Leadership’s Woman of the Year in 2021. Since her Fall 2022 retirement as El Rio’s CEO, she serves as Sr Director Strategy for the Global MD program under development addressing primary care workforce shortages.
Room 2208: Addressing Arizona’s Health Workforce Needs - Issues and Solutions
Bryna Koch, DrPH has 18 years of public health policy and evaluation experience in university and non-profit settings. She has supported program, policy, and evaluation efforts for community-based organizations and governmental agencies. Ms. Koch began her work at the Arizona Center for Rural Health (AzCRH) in 2016. At the AzCRH her focus is health workforce data collection, synthesis, and reporting. Her research interests include the impacts and outcomes of the major policies like Affordable Care Act (ACA) on health insurance coverage, utilization, and outcomes for underserved and vulnerable populations.
Please visit with our Exhibitors:
Affirm Sexual and Reproductive Health for All
Arizona Telemedicine Program, College of Medicine Tucson, University of Arizona
Auditorium: Arizona Alliance for Community Health Centers (AACHC)
Jessica Yanow, President and CEO, Arizona Alliance for Community Health Centers (AACHC)
Jessica Yanow has served as President & CEO for the Arizona Alliance for Community Health Centers since November 2021. Previously, Jessica provided leadership as Senior Manager of Community & Health Advancement at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona, developing and executing statewide strategies/initiatives to improve Arizonans’ health. Before this, Jessica spent 11 years at AACHC, including 5 years as COO. Jessica graduated summa cum laude with a BA in anthropology and minors in near eastern & Judaic studies and women’s studies from Brandeis University. She holds an MPH in community health practice from the University of Arizona.
Closing Care Gaps Through Telehealth Policy and Broadband Access
Tara Sklar, Faculty Director, Health Law & Policy Program, Arizona Law; Associated Director, Telehealth Law & Policy, Arizona Telemedicine Program, The University of Arizona
Professor Tara Sklar is the Faculty Director of the Health Law & Policy Program and a Distinguished Public Service Scholar at Arizona Law. She also holds appointments as Associate Director of Telehealth Law & Policy at the Arizona Telemedicine Program and Senior Advisor with Innovations in Healthy Aging at the University of Arizona Health Sciences. She serves as a telehealth policy subject matter expert with the National Consortium of Telehealth Resource Centers and with the Health Resources & Services Administration. Sklar’s teaching and research examine legal, regulatory, and ethical issues that arise in adapting health policy to a diverse aging population, with a focus on digital health equity. She teaches courses on Telehealth Law & Policy and Aging and the Law at the University of Arizona.
Bridging the Gap: Enhancing Oral Health Services and Policies in Arizona
Scott Howell, Director of Public Health Dentistry & Teledentistry, A.T. Still University, Arizona School of Dentistry & Oral Health
Dr. Howell is a board certified public health dentist. His work in public health has allowed him to explore various systemic barriers to oral healthcare, including barriers related to policy and legislation. He has served on the Arizona Dental Association Council on Government Affairs, advocated for oral health benefits for veterans in Washington, DC, and teaches skills for advocacy at A.T. Still University. Dr. Howell has worked with different state organizations to expand dental benefits in AHCCCS/Medicaid for adults with disabilities and has advocated for all adults with AHCCCS to have dental coverage beyond an emergency benefit.
Will Humble, Executive Director, Arizona Public Health Association
Will Humble is a long-time public health enthusiast and is currently the Executive Director for the Arizona Public Health Association (AzPHA). His 40 years in public health include more than 2 decades at the Arizona Department of Health Services, where he served in various roles including as the Director from 2009 to 2015. He continues it be involved in health policy in his role as the Executive Director for the AZPHA. Will is a believer in using evidence-based health policy to improve health outcomes and in leading and managing with emotional intelligence. Follow him on Twitter @willhumble_az
Kevin Lohenry, PhD, PA-C, Clinical Professor of Medicine and Vice-President, Interprofessional Education; Founding Program Director, PA Program University of Arizona
Clinical Professor of Medicine and Vice-President, Interprofessional Education; Founding Program Director, PA Program University of Arizona Dr. Lohenry joined the University of Arizona in 2022 after serving as the associate dean for graduate student affairs at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California. He also served as program director for the Primary Care Physician Assistant Program at USC from 2011-2022. He is the co-founder of the Keck Street Medicine program at USC, which provides care for unsheltered individuals living on the streets of Los Angeles. He is a veteran of the United States Navy and has served as a Physician Assistant since 1996. Lohenry is a past-president of the Physician Assistant Education Association and former director-at-large for the board of directors for the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA). In 2012, Lohenry served the as a member of the Joining Forces Initiative with the First Lady’s Office. He practiced family and internal medicine.
An Update on the UArizona College of Health Sciences Health Professional Programs
Daniel Derksen, MD, Walter H. Pearce Endowed Chair & Director, Arizona Center for Rural Health, Professor of Public Health, Medicine & Nursing
University of Arizona Health Sciences Associate Vice President for Health Equity, Outreach & Interprofessional Activities. He is a tenured Professor of Public Health in the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health with joint appointments in the College of Medicine and the College of Nursing. His current service, education and research activities include informing legislative, regulatory and program policy to improve access to health care and health insurance coverage; narrowing health disparities; developing, implementing and evaluating interprofessional service-learning sites; and working to assure a well-trained and distributed health workforce to meet the health needs of all Arizonans.