Trust for America’s Health Welcomes Five New Board Members

Washington, D.C., May 9, 2017 – Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) has announced that five have newly joined the Board of Directors, including:

Dr. Stephanie Mayfield Gibson is the Senior Vice President for Population Health at KentuckyOne Health and the Chief Medical Officer for KentuckyOne Health Partners. Previously, she was the Commissioner of Health and Director of the Division of Laboratory Services at the Kentucky Department of Public Health.

Dr. David Lakey is the Chief Medical Officer and Associate Vice Chancellor for Population Health at The University of Texas System. Previously, he served as the Commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services.

Dr. Karen Remley, MBA, MPH, FAAP is CEO of the American Academy of Pediatrics and previously was the Commissioner of Health of the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Dr. Umair A. Shah, MPH is the Executive Director, Harris County Public Health, President-elect, National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) and President, Texas Association of City and County Health Officials (TACCHO).

Mr. Vince Ventimiglia, JD is Vice Chair for Leavitt Partners, and, previously, was Assistant Secretary for Legislation, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

“It is great to combine the expertise of our existing board with the diverse talents and backgrounds of those joining today,” said Gail C. Christopher, chair of the board of TFAH. “Speaking for the board, we look forward to working with our new members to create a culture of health and ensure health promotion and disease prevention are national priorities.”

They will join the eight existing members of the board:

• Gail C. Christopher, DN, Chair of the Board and Vice President for Policy and Senior Advisor at the WK Kellogg Foundation;
• Dr. David Fleming, Vice President for PATH;
• Cynthia M. Harris, PhD, DABT, Vice Chair of the Board and Director of the Institute of Public Health and Professor at Florida A&M University;
• Dr. Robert T. Harris, Treasurer of the Board and Medical Director at the North Carolina Medicaid Support Services, CSC, Inc.;
• Dr. Octavio N. Martinez, Jr., MPH, MBA, FAPA, Executive Director of the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health at the University of Texas at Austin;
• C. Kent McGuire, PhD, President and CEO of the Southern Education Foundation;
• Dr. Eduardo J. Sanchez, MPH, Chief Medical Officer for Prevention for the American Heart Association; and
• Theo Spencer, Secretary of the Board and Senior Advocate, Climate Center, Natural Resources Defense Council.

“It is my pleasure to welcome these exceptional individuals to TFAH’s board,” said John Auerbach, President and CEO, of TFAH. “Their wealth of knowledge and resourcefulness will be integral as TFAH moves forward in our efforts to help advance and improve the nation’s health and the public health system. Staff and TFAH’s board are thrilled to work with them.”

Trust for America’s Health is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to saving lives by protecting the health of every community and working to make disease prevention a national priority.