Daniel Derksen, MD, Director, Arizona Center for Rural Health
University of Arizona Health Sciences Associate Vice President for Rural Health Workforce Development Initiatives. 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.
James G. Hodge, Jr., JD, LLM, Professor, ASU Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law
James G. Hodge, Jr., JD, LLM, is the Peter Kiewit Foundation Professor of Law and Director of the nationally-ranked Center for Public Health Law & Policy at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, Arizona State University. Through scholarship, teaching, and projects, he delves into multiple areas of health law, public health law, global health law, ethics, and human rights. Professor Hodge has published more than 300 articles in journals of law, medicine, public health and bioethics; 2 books in public health law; 25+ book chapters; dozens of reports; and guest edited 4 symposium issues. He is listed among the Top 20 Most-Cited Health Law Scholars in Web of Science (2013-2017) and is ranked above the top 1% of all downloaded authors internationally in the Social Science Research Network (SSRN).
Leila Barraza, JD, MPH, Director, Arizona Area Health Education Centers Program, Professor, Public Health Practice & Translational Research, Interim Department Chair, Public Health Practice & Translational Research, Mel and Enid Zuckerman
Leila Barraza is Professor at Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, University of Arizona. She is the Director of the Arizona Area Health Education Centers program (AzAHEC). She also serves as a Senior Consultant with the Network for Public Health Law – Western Region Office. Her research interests include studying the impact of laws and regulations on population health. Barraza received a Master in Public Health from the Zuckerman College of Public Health at the University of Arizona in 2004. She worked for the Center for Rural Health (formerly Rural Health Office) at the Zuckerman College of Public Health following the completion of her master’s degree. Barraza provided assistance to rural and tribal hospitals and clinics regarding new medical designation opportunities, health practitioner recruitment, emergency medical services, and funding opportunities. She received her J.D. with a Certificate in Law, Science, and Technology from the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, Arizona State University, in 2008. Following her graduation from law school, Barraza served as a law clerk for the Arizona Court of Appeals, Division One from 2009-2012. Prior to joining the Zuckerman College of Public Health as an Assistant Professor in 2014, Barraza served as Deputy Director of the Network for Public Health Law – Western Region Office, and a Fellow and Adjunct Professor in the Public Health Law and Policy Program at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law. Barraza has been published in several scholarly journals, including JAMA, AJPH, Public Health Reports, Jurimetrics Journal, Annals of Health Law, and Journal for Law, Medicine, and Ethics. Barraza has also provided numerous presentations at national and local conferences on a variety of critical public health law issues. She instructs a public health law course for public health and law students and has given special lectures in health law and public health law courses.
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 to 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
Melinda White, MSN, RN, Chief Executive Officer at Sage Memorial Hospital
Melinda White is a community member of Ganado, Arizona. She graduated from Northern Arizona University with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 2004. Melinda continued with her education and graduated from University of Phoenix with a Master of Health Administration in 2010 and Master of Nursing in 2019; and from University of Tulsa with a Master of Jurisprudence in Indian Law in December 2017. She has over 15 years of healthcare leadership experience working in Quality Management as Director of Quality Management/Risk Manager and Chief Quality and Compliance Officer. Melinda is particularly passionate about patient centered care, delivering excellent patient experience, providing optimum quality of care, and ensuring patient safety is a priority. She is known for her ability to problem solve with peer executives and hospital leaders and being innovative and creative when tackling the challenges. Much of Melinda’s healthcare experience is working with tribally operated healthcare facilities that contracted or compacted under P.L. 93-638, the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act.
Melinda is a committee member of the Care Improvement Committee with Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association and served on the APC committee reviewing policies and procedures for Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System – AHCCCS. Melinda also was selected to serve as a member of the Institute Review Board – IRB for the San Carlos Apache Tribe