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MPH Steering Committee
The Master of Public Health Steering Committee was formed as a standing committee in January 2007, derived in part from the former ad hoc MPH Working Group of the Advisory Committee of the School of Allied Health and Life Sciences (formed in 2002). The committee currently meets 1-2 times per year and conducts business as needed by email, conference call, or Web conferencing.
The MPH Steering Committee makes recommendations to the
MPH Director with respect to the following responsibilities:
- Oversee conduct and performance of the MPH program.
- Periodically assess the curriculum for appropriateness and effectiveness relative to the mission and goals
of the MPH program and to serving the needs of the regional health care/public health community, ensuring the offering of the program is justified by answering the following questions:
- Size of the labor pool: local, state, national
- Current vacancy rates
- Anticipated growth
- Job outlook
- Salary ranges
- Funding sources
- Identify clinical (training) sites within the region for internships in public health and identify additional service-based interactions available to students.
- Identify collaborations for community-based research activities.
- Receive and analyze assessment data generated through designated course(s) within the MPH program, make recommendations for improvements on programmatic performance, and set associated priorities for quality enhancement initiatives.
- Review and propose recruiting materials for use with local high schools and community colleges to facilitate articulation and provide current program information and job outlook/career trends to guidance counselors and advisors.
- Identify regional and national professional organizations to assist with identifying venues for workforce development and continuing education outreach in the form of Certificate offerings, short courses, or workshops.
Composition
The MPH Steering Committee is chaired by the MPH Director, and additionally consists of the MPH Academic Advisor/Program Coordinator, a subset of faculty teaching in the program or UWF administrators overseeing teaching faculty, representatives from regional health departments, one or more individuals employed at the federal level in public health positions, one or more individuals employed in the US Armed Forces in positions related to public health, and up to two current MPH students, as follows: (1) the current President of SAPH or his/her appointed representative, and (2) a representative student nominated by SAPH and from within the US Armed Forces.
Current Membership
John P. Albano, MD, MPH
Position: Army Associate Director, USN Aerospace Medicine Residency, Naval Aerospace Medical Institute, Pensacola, FL
SAHLS Membership: Advisory Committee (2005-present)
Contact: john.p.albano@us.army.mil
John P. Albano is a US Army flight surgeon with an MD from the University of South Dakota School of Medicine, an MPH from the University of Texas School of Public Health at San Antonio, and Aerospace Medicine Training at Brooks AFB. LTC Albano has over 19 years of combined clinical, research, and academic experience in US Army aviation medicine. His clinical experience includes general medical practice, air medical evacuation of critical patients, occupational medicine in the aviation environment, aeromedical fitness determinations, and helicopter accident investigations. His research management experience includes aircrew protection, aeromedical device testing, Army systems health hazard analyses, aeromedical policy promulgation, and advanced technology applications in medicine. Following his medical staff duty as the Regional Aviation Medicine Consultant in the Republic of Korea, LTC Albano was the Chief of the Aeromedical Education Branch of the US Army School of Aviation Medicine at Fort Rucker, AL. Currently, he is the Army Associate Director for the Navy Aerospace Medicine Residency at Pensacola, FL.
Linda Gail Allen
Position: Director, Walton County Health Department
SAHLS Membership: MPH Steering Committee (2011-present)
Contact: linda_allen@doh.state.fl.us
Timothy Burkhart, MD
Position: MPH Student Representative
SAHLS Membership: MPH Steering Committee (2011-present)
Contact: tmb38@students.uwf.edu
Karen A. Chapman, MD, MPH
Position: Director, Okaloosa County Health Department
SAHLS Membership: MPH Steering Committee (2007-present)
Contact: Karen_Chapman@doh.state.fl.us
Karen A. Chapman is a public health physician with over 20 years of experience at local and state public health levels. Dr. Chapman received her medical degree from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in 1982 and her Master of Public Health from the University of South Carolina in 1985. She is board-certified in Preventive Medicine and Public Health. Dr. Chapman has served as the Director of the Okaloosa County Health Department, a unit of the Florida Department of Health, for the past 7 years.
Angela Hahn , PhD
Position: Assistant Director Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences program, BSHS Advisor; Lecturer in BSHS, SAHLS (2011-present); Adjunct, SAHLS (2006-2011)
SAHLS Membership: MPH Steering Committee (2006-present)
Contact: ahahn@uwf.edu
Douglas M. Kent, MPH
Position: Director, Bay County Health Department, Panama City, FL
SAHLS Membership: MPH Steering Committee (2012-present)
Contact: fc8b6@doh.state.fl.us
John Lanza, MD, PhD, MPH, FAAP
Position: Director, Escambia County Health Department; SAHLS Adjunct Instructor (2005-present)
SAHLS Membership: Advisory Committee/MPH Working Group (2002-present); MPH Steering Committee (2007-present)
Contact: John_Lanza@doh.state.fl.us
John Lanza is a board-certified pediatrician with a Ph.D. in Nuclear & Radiological Engineering (Medical Radiation Physics) from the University of Florida. He is a graduate of the UTESA School of Medicine, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Dr. Lanza has been the Director of the Florida Department of Health Escambia County Health Department since May 1996 and has been in public health for over 13 years. In 2002, Dr. Lanza completed a Master of Public Health degree from the University of South Florida College of Public Health. In addition to other faculty positions at the University of West Florida, he is a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Clinical Sciences at the Florida State University College of Medicine (FSUCOM). Dr. Lanza directs public health experiences for both pediatric and obstetrics and gynecology residents at the FSUCOM residency programs in Pensacola as well as aerospace medicine residents from the Naval Aerospace Medicine Institute at Naval Air Station Pensacola and family medicine residents from Naval Hospital Pensacola.
Dr. Joseph Lavan
Position: Navy RAM Program
SAHLS Membership: MPH Steering Committee (2011-present)
Contact: joseph.lavan@med.navy.mil
M. Pilar Martin, MD, MPH, MHSA
Position: MPH Advisor; Assistant Professor in Public Health, SAHLS (2012-present)
SAHLS Membership: MPH Steering Committee (2012-present)
Contact: mmartin1@uwf.edu
Justice Mbizo, Dr.PH
Position: MPH Advisor; Assistant Professor in Public Health, SAHLS (2007-present); Adjunct, SAHLS (2005-2007)
SAHLS Membership: Medical Informatics Working Group (2004-present); MPH Steering Committee (2007-present)
Contact: jmbizo@uwf.edu
Justice Mbizo received his Doctor of Public Health degree form Morgan State University, Baltimore, Maryland and a Masters of Science in Administration (Health Services) from Central Michigan University. He has been co-teaching and teaching courses in the School of Allied Health and Life Sciences since 2005, including Epidemiological Design and Statistical Methods, Computer Applications in Public Health, Strategies for the Prevention of Infectious Diseases and Healthcare Quality, Statistics and Database Management.
Joel Montgomery, MSc, PhD
Position: Epidemic Intelligence Officer, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
SAHLS Membership: MPH Steering Committee (2007-present)
Contact: jkvperu@yahoo.com
Joel Montgomery received the MSc and PhD from the University of Texas at Arlington in Parasitology. He worked for the Special Pathogens Branch at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as an Infectious Disease fellow before entering the Epidemic Intelligence Service Fellowship program at CDC. He has investigated outbreaks of Ebola, hanatvirus, and various other organisms.
Sandra Park O'Hara
Position: Administrator, Santa Rosa County Health Department
SAHLS Membership: MPH Steering Committee (2009-present)
Contact: sandra_park@doh.state.fl.us
Pam Perrich, CIH
Position: Head, Industrial Hygiene Department, Naval Hospital Pensacola
SAHLS Membership: MPH Advisory Committee (2005-present); MPH Steering Committee (2007-present)
Contact: pbp2@students.uwf.edu
Pamela Perrich is the Head of Industrial Department at the Pensacola Naval Hospital and former President of the Pensacola Chapter of the American Society of Safety Engineers. In Pam's current position she manages a team of 16 industrial hygienists and technicians to provide comprehensive industrial hygiene services to Navy facilities in Northwest Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Tennessee. She is also a representative for Naval Hospital Pensacola’s 13 Branch Health Clinics to the EOC-QMB to ensure their operations are within JCAHO’s parameters. In addition, she conducts safety and health program audits to determine the effectiveness of such programs such as Bloodborne Pathogens, Hazardous Materials, and Respiratory Protection and serves on Mock JCAHO survey teams to assess these programs. She is presently heavily involved with the rebuilding of Naval Air Station Pensacola after Hurricane Ivan, providing technical guidance to the Naval Air Station, working with Naval Facilities Engineering Command to develop post-disaster mold remediation criteria, conducting worksite inspections, and investigating mold-related health problems.
F. Edward Ranelli, PhD, MBA
Position: Dean, College of Business and Professor of Economics, UWF
SAHLS Membership: Advisory Committee (2002-present); MPH Steering Committee (2007-present)
Contact: eranelli@uwf.edu
Edward Ranelli received his B.A., MBA and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Alabama in 1965, 1966, and 1971, respectively. His research record includes peer reviewed publications, funded research grants, and other academic proceedings and publications on a variety of economic, marketing and strategic planning issues. In addition to serving as economic professor and academic administrator, Dr. Ranelli has over twenty years experience as a senior health care executive and has served as an economic, planning and management consultant to various financial and health care organizations, Federal and Department of Defense agencies, state and municipal governments, and other businesses. Dr. Ranelli serves on the board of directors of Baptist Health Ventures, Bank of Pensacola, Consumer Credit Counseling of West Florida, Florida’s Great Northwest, Pensacola Development Commission, and Advantage Credit.
CDR George M. Rice
Position: Navy RAM Program
SAHLS Membership: MPH Steering Committee (2009-present)
Contact: george.rice@med.navy.mil
Dr. Sam Sauer
Position: U.S. Army RAM Program
SAHLS Membership: MPH Steering Committee (2009-present)
Contact: samuel.sauer@med.navy.mil
Enid Sisskin, PhD
Position: WUWF; SAHLS Adjunct Instructor (2005-present)
SAHLS Membership: Advisory Committee/MPH Working Group (2002-present); MPH Steering Committee (2007-present)
Contact: esisskin@uwf.edu
Enid Sisskin received a BA from Queens College of the City University of NY and an MS from Southern Illinois University. Her PhD in Pathobiology was awarded under the direction of Dr I. Bernard Weinstein, Professor of Environmental Health Sciences, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University. Upon graduation she completed a postdoc at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences of the National Institutes of Health, and continued with research at Everglades National Park’s South Florida Research Center. She also worked in the park in the Resource Management division. Enid sits on the board of directors of several local and regional environmental organizations, including the Gulf Coast Environmental Defense, the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, and the Florida Conservation Alliance.
Crystal Steele, PG, REHP
Position: Interim Administrator, Walton County Health Department
SAHLS Membership: MPH Steering Committee (2008-present)
Contact: Crystal_Steele@doh.state.fl.us
Crystal Steele is the Interim Administrator of the Walton County Health Department.
George L. Stewart, PhD
Position: Chair of Biology and Director of the School of Allied Health and Life Sciences
SAHLS Membership: Head, Division of Life and Health Sciences (2002-2006), Director, SAHLS (2006-present)
Contact: gstewart@uwf.edu
George Stewart's area of expertise is in infectious and parasitic diseases. He studied parasitology under Dr. Clark Read at Rice University and has collaborated on a variety of studies with USAMRIID, CDC and WHO. Dr. Stewart has consulted with a long list of drug and diagnostic companies on problems in the treatment and diagnosis of infectious diseases. His areas of research include pathophysiology and pathobiochemistry of infectious diseases and modulation of mammlian immune response by disease agents. Dr. Stewart has taught Epidemiology of Infectious Disease, Parasitology, Immunology, Medical Microbiology, Bioterrorism and Human Sexuality. He is currently Chair of Biology and Director of the School of Allied health and Life Sciences under which is included Clinical Laboratory Sciences, Biology, Nursing, Medical Informatics, Health Care Ethics, the Master of Public Health and the Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences degree programs.