2024 practitioner workshop
Featured speakers
Ali Aslam, ASTHO
Ali Aslam is an Assistant Director of Environmental Health at the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO). In his role, Ali develops materials to support state and territorial health agencies’ Health in All Policies (HiAP) efforts, and he is interested in how HiAP can be leveraged to support improvements in health equity and environmental health outcomes. Ali provides project management support and technical assistance for environmental health topics at ASTHO, such as lead poisoning prevention, environmental justice, and climate resilience. Ali is also a part-time DrPH candidate at the George Washington University and is currently researching the impact of built environment on injuries.
Uni Blake, American Petroleum Institute
Audrey Boerner, Eau Claire City-County Health Department
Audrey is a project manager at the Eau Claire City-County Health Department (Wisconsin) and is part of a diverse team that is working to increase the use of health impact assessment and promote health in all policies in the Eau Claire Community. She previously worked for the Institute for Wisconsin’s Health as an HIA Specialist and led a team on the state’s first regional HIA, which was awarded the Wisconsin Public Health Association Excellence in Public Health Research award. Audrey’s HIA experience has centered on natural resources and built environment issues. Her work also includes developing and supporting community health coalitions, supporting the use of data in decision making, environmental public health initiatives, and grant writing. She has conducted trainings locally on community health data, health impact assessment, and built environment issues.
Samia Byrd, Housing and Development, Arlington County
Samia Byrd is the Director of Community Planning, Housing and Development for Arlington County. She provides vision and leadership for the next generation of land use regulations, plans, development policies and practices, housing, and community and neighborhood planning programs. Previously, Samia served as the first Chief Race and Equity Officer for Arlington County, leading the County’s work to ensure the development and management of strategies to advance racial equity across all areas of the organization and within the community. Her work in government administration, land use planning and development builds upon her career offering state and local practitioners resources and information on housing and community economic development policy, practices and programs. Earlier in her career, she held a research position with the Urban Land Institute where she worked on real estate development markets and trends and Aspen Systems Corporation where she provided resource information to HUD grantees on neighborhood and community economic development programs. Samia holds a Master’s and Bachelor’s Degree in City Planning from Georgia Tech and the University of Virginia respectively. She received a Certification of Public Management (CPM) from The George Washington University-Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments Institute for Regional Excellence in 2012. She serves on the ULI-Washington Urban Plan Steering Committee; Diversity and Inclusion Working Group; and participated in ULI-Washington’s Pathways to Inclusion Program. Samia also serves on the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Planning Committee in Alexandria.
Marcus Chilaka, University of Bradford, UK
Marcus is passionate about public health and contributing to people’s health and wellbeing (in the widest sense) through teaching, research and management techniques. His main research interests are in health impact assessment, health needs assessment, and the wider social and environmental determinants of health. Marcus obtained his first degree in biomedical sciences and practiced within the hospital setting for several years in Nigeria before proceeding to do an MBA and PhD in Health Services Management at Keele University (UK). After his PhD in 2007, Marcus began full-time academic career. He is currently an Assistant Professor of Public Health and Programme Leader for the Masters in Public Health (MPH) course at the University of Bradford, United Kingdom. Marcus has done a number of training and consultancy projects in health impact assessment – covering policies, the built environment, development projects and sustainable waste management. He has also contributed to the human health sections of several environmental impact assessment (EIA) Statements.
Maureen Graney, Esri
Maureen Graney serves as an Account Executive at Esri, a global frontrunner in GIS technology. In this capacity, she collaborates closely with health and human services departments at the state, city, and county levels throughout the eastern United States. Her role allows her to showcase the transformative potential of applying a geospatial perspective. With a unique insight into the significance of geographical context in health, Maureen leverages a diverse range of examples from across the nation and the globe. Her professional journey includes pivotal roles such as supporting senior living and long-term care executives during the rollout of the Affordable Care Act, promoting the importance of spatial data within the financial services sector, and developing tailored leadership programs for hospital executives, with a particular focus on fostering female leadership in healthcare.
Sara Ivey, Community Commons
Sara is a public health and urban planning professional based in the Pacific Northwest who brings her skills as a researcher, writer, designer, facilitator, and analyst to the work of creating technology and knowledge products that transform systems for well-being and equity. Sara has worked with organizations and communities across the U.S. and around the world to improve vital community conditions and expand opportunities for health, sustainability, and equity. She currently leads the Institute for People, Place, and Possibility’s data teams, creates learning and knowledge content, and builds tools for the healthy, equitable, sustainable communities movement.
Charles Lee, EPA
Charles Lee is widely recognized as a true environmental justice pioneer and a founder of the environmental justice movement in the United States. Mr. Lee is currently the Senior Policy Advisor for the Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). He has led efforts to incorporate environmental justice into EPA’s rulemaking process, develop models for collaborative problem-solving, advance approaches to address cumulative risks and impacts, advance environmental justice at the state level, and develop a framework for assessing and addressing cumulative impacts. Mr. Lee is the recipient of many awards for his work, including the American Public Health Association’s first Damu Smith Environmental Achievement Award and the National Association of Asian American Professionals’ prestigious NAAAP100 Award. EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy presented to him the EJ Pioneer Award on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the signing of Executive Order 12898. In February 2017, the 122nd Session of the South Carolina House of Representatives passed Resolution H*3732 to honor his lifetime of accomplishments in environmental justice and contributions to bettering the lives of communities in that state.
Tatiana Lin, Kansas Health Institute
Tatiana Y. Lin, M.A., is the Director of Business Strategy and Innovation at the Kansas Health Initiative. She spearheads business development operations and champions the advancement of KHI’s mission through innovative initiatives and programs. She collaborates with a diverse range of public, private and philanthropic partners. Over the past 15 years, Tatiana has played a pivotal role in strengthening the Kansas public health system at both state and local levels. Her work includes research and analysis on critical issues such as medical marijuana, food insecurity and population health strategies for hospitals. She has provided technical assistance and facilitation services to state-level task forces focusing on behavioral health and crisis standards of care, as well as education on evidence-based practices, assessment of policy impacts on health and equity, data resources, community engagement and artificial intelligence (AI). With over a decade of experience, Tatiana has been at the forefront of initiatives on Health in All Policies and Health Impact Assessments, evaluating the potential health implications of policies in sectors like transportation, agriculture or housing. Most recently, Tatiana has been working closely with six communities as part of the Pathways to a Healthy Kansas initiative, funded by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas (BCBSKS). She has been assisting them in developing a system to track policies, establishing protocols to integrate this tracking process into their operations, and evaluating the health impacts of these policies. Tatiana serves on multiple state and national advisory boards and is past president of SOPHIA.
Anna Ricklin, Fairfax County Health Department
Anna Ricklin is a passionate advocate for healthy communities. She currently serves as the inaugural Health in All Policies Manager for the Fairfax County Health Department (VA), where she acts as a health ambassador across county agencies. In this role, Anna promotes the integration of public health objectives into county plans, policies, and building projects. She also co-leads the Department’s Health Equity Team, charged with centering equity in the transformation of internal processes and external operations. Formerly, Anna managed the American Planning Association's Planning and Community Health Center, where she directed applied research and place-based initiatives to advance healthy planning practice. Anna began her career at the Baltimore City Department of Transportation, which built her experience in health impact assessment, active transportation planning, and cross-sector collaboration. Anna studied anthropology as an undergraduate and holds a Master of Health Sciences from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She lives with her husband and two young daughters in Falls Church, VA.
Delya Sommerville, Johns Hopkins University
Delya Sommerville is originally from Azerbaijan, where she was trained as a pharmacist. After receiving a scholarship from USAID, she completed a master’s degree in public health at Tulane University School of Public health and Tropical Medicine. Her professional roles included managing occupational health and wellbeing programs globally, helping businesses with public health risks’ screening and impact assessment, health communication plans, digital health solutions and data driven response and decision making. She developed business health and wellbeing objectives related to workforce and communities contributing to sustainability. Delya is a doctorate candidate at Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health. Her research focus is health impact assessment practice and processes within the energy industry and private sector. She lives in Washington DC with her family, and is passionate about advocating for women's health issues, including as a WomenHeart champion and the 2024 American Heart Association Woman of Impact for the Greater Washington area.
Emily Suter, University of Illinois Chicago
Emily Suter, MPH, MSP (she/her) is a doctoral candidate at the University of Illinois at Chicago researching Health in All Policies (HiAP) implementation in local governments. Her research interests include advancing policy, environmental, and systems (PSE) change, emphasizing cross-sector collaboration and health equity. Emily is a pracademic with experience leading program, policy, and system change efforts in local and state health departments and non-profits. She has facilitated health impact assessments, community health assessments, community health improvement plans, and strategic planning processes throughout Florida. Her credentials include a Master of Public Health, a Master of Science in Planning, and an undergraduate degree in Environmental Studies with a minor in Psychology from Florida State University.