Board & Staff

David joined FHLI from the Durham Children’s Initiative where he served as president & CEO for 12 years. He brings more than 20 years of nonprofit leadership experience to the organization. Throughout his career, David’s work has focused on addressing social drivers of health within communities, creating opportunities for marginalized families, and developing opportunities for children to succeed.

David previously served as the COO for food recovery and distribution at the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle. He is the past co-chair of the Partnership for a Healthy Durham, past vice chair of the Northeast Central Durham Leadership Council, and previous board member of Downtown Durham Rotary Club and Leadership Triangle. David currently serves on the United Way of the Greater Triangle Board of Directors and the Truist Bank local Advisory Board. In 2006, he was recognized as one of the Triangle Business Journal’s “Top 40 Under 40” business leaders.

David holds a Master of Business Administration. He hails from the Bronx, NY, and lives in Durham with his wife, Iris, and their three children.

Dr. Cline currently serves as interim vice president for the North Carolina Oral Health Collaborative.
He is the former vice president for strategic partnerships at Community Care of North Carolina (CCNC), where his responsibilities included exploring and developing opportunities with provider networks, dental health providers, and other healthcare organizations. He is also an advisor to the North Carolina Health Information Exchange. Prior to joining CCNC, Dr. Cline was the Assistant Secretary for Health Information Technology at the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). Spending most of his career in public health, his last position in public health was as Deputy State Health Director at DHHS, where his responsibilities included formulating division policies and priorities as well supervising all programmatic areas of the Department, including Epidemiology, Women’s and Children’s Health, Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention, Oral Health, and Public Health Preparedness.

From 1999 to 2006, Dr. Cline served as Chief of the Epidemiology Section at the North Carolina Division of Public Health where he led the state’s public health response to bioterrorism, SARS, Hurricanes Fran and Katrina, and other public health emergencies. Prior to that, Dr. Cline spent 13 years in local public health with the Wake County Health Department where he held the positions of Dental Director, Deputy Health Director, and finally Acting Wake County Health Director. In 1996 he moved to the state health department where he was the State Dental Director for three years before becoming the Chief of Epidemiology.

Dr. Cline received his Bachelor of Science from Davidson College in Davidson, North Carolina, and both his Doctor of Dental Surgery and his Master of Public Health from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is married with four children, living in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Erika Aliff comes to FHLI with 25 years of nonprofit leadership experience. Erika served the YMCA of Greater Charlotte for 22 of those years as a branch operator, executive director, and district executive director. During her time there, Erika led all aspects of board development, finance, fundraising, leadership development, and membership and program growth.

In 2018, Erika transitioned to the YMCA of the Triangle to serve as the VP of Membership and Volunteer Engagement. Her work was specifically focused on developing new and innovative membership growth strategies and engaging members and volunteers in deeper ways to increase retention. During the pandemic Erika served on the leadership team to create meaningful community impact programming such as food distribution, scholastic support for children learning remotely and healthy living programming.

Erika lives with her husband Les in Youngsville.  Together, they have 4 grown children.

Dr. Brandy Harrell previously served as the Behavioral Health Director for Kinston Community Behavioral Health, a Federally Qualified Health Center in Eastern North Carolina. Dr. Harrell has over 12 years of extensive clinical experience combined with administration oversight, staff leadership, and a deep commitment to elevating and advocating for marginalized communities. She is an educator who exemplifies a high degree of enthusiasm and strong dedication to the total development of aspiring behavioral health professionals on a collegiate level.

Dr. Harrell works diligently to decrease the stigma related to mental health and substance use services. Dr. Harrell is a proponent of whole-person care for all citizens. She implemented the Medication Assisted Treatment program as well as an integrated healthcare approach at Kinston Community Behavioral Health. In addition, Dr. Harrell has established Jail-Based Behavioral Health Services in rural Eastern North Carolina. She collaborates with many government officials and the judiciary branch to increase access to mental health and substance use treatment in which she was the 8th District Opioid Response Project Team Lead for Lenoir County sponsored by Blue Cross Blue Shield of NC.

Servant leadership is another a priority for Dr. Harrell, she was selected as a Jim Bernstein Community Health Leadership Fellow, she served as a board member for The Partnerships for Children of Lenoir and Greene counties and currently serves on State Employee Credit Union Advisory Board, The United Way of Lenoir and Greene counties, as well the Behavioral Health expert for the National Rural Justice Collaborative. Dr. Harrell is a member of the North Carolina Institute of Medicine.

Dr. Harrell holds master’s degree in Social Work from East Carolina University, and received her doctorate in Social Work from Capella University.

Nel joined the Foundation for Health Leadership & Innovation as Executive Assistant in June 2019. In this role, she supports the President/CEO in administrative aspects of the position and assists with special projects. Prior to joining the Foundation, Nel worked as an Office Administrator at Junior Achievement of NJ, as well as an instructor at Mercer County Community College teaching workforce development courses. Her most recent assignment was the Excelling at Princeton program, where she taught computer skills to Princeton University employees.

Nel has earned a bachelor’s degree in Spanish at Rutgers University and an MBA degree, with a concentration in Finance, from Rutgers Graduate School of Business.

Chris McCarthy joined FHLI in June 2022 to build and lead the organization’s performance, data analytics, evaluation, and research efforts. Prior to joining the organization, he worked for six years in the behavioral health care space supporting operations, finance, and business intelligence teams.

Chris holds a BA in Psychology from North Carolina State University and lives in Raleigh, NC with his fiancé.

Ellysa Smith is an HR leader C.E.L.E.B. who partners with organizations as a Curator Engagement Lightkeeper of Exquisite Beings to develop workforce engagement culture.

Ellysa knows that the core of organizational change requires a Human Resources strategic partner that acts as a change agent. Human Resources leaders are integral engaging with people meaningfully and intentionally to drive success. Ellysa has progressively grown in her Human Resources career landing roles with well-known nonprofits including Phoenix House, QSAC, The New York Academy of Sciences, and Teach for All. She also dabbled in other industries including start up, hospitality, technology, education, and entrepreneurship.

Since moving to North Carolina in 2018 Ellysa worked at Transloc in Durham, Global Skyware in Smithfield, and Carolina Small Business Development Fund (CSBDF). Ellysa is thrilled to serve as the HR Manager for Foundation for Health Leadership and Innovation (FHLI) currently. Ellysa holds a Bachelor of Science in General Science with a Philosophy minor from Fordham University. She also holds a Master of Science in Human Resource Management and Development from NYU SPS.

She completed her SHRM-SCP certification in June 2022. As a passionate Human Resources leader, Ellysa is active with the local Raleigh Chamber including both their Emerging Leaders Cohort 2022 and their Young Professional Network (YPN). She is a member of the DEI Committee for the RMSHRM chapter locally. She serves as a Junior Board Member for the national Lime Connect nonprofit rebranding disability through achievement as well as a Board Member for the Disability Rights of North Carolina nonprofit focusing on advocacy for people with disabilities.

Donald Hughes joined the Foundation for Health Leadership & Innovation in October 2021 as the Director of Community Voice. He has more than a decade of communications and community engagement experience.

From advocating for an increase in minimum wage to helping a launch a new paid family leave program in our nation’s capital, Donald has leveraged his skills to help advance overlooked and underserved communities. His passion for advancing health equity is fueled by his experience growing up in an inner-city neighborhood plagued by health disparities and watching his family in rural North Carolina struggle to access health care while suffering from chronic illnesses.

Prior to joining the FHLI, Donald led communications and mobile vaccination efforts at We Are Ready for Life (W.A.R.4Life), a community-based organization that works to uplift marginalized communities and improve the quality of life for residents by expanding economic and health opportunities.

Donald worked for six years in Washington, DC, where he coordinated special projects for the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Greater Economic Opportunity and managed community engagement and public affairs efforts for the District of Columbia Department of Employment Services.

A native North Carolinian and product of the state’s public schools, Donald earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and a Master of Public Administration from North Carolina Central University.

As a native North Carolinian, Kelsey joins FHLI bringing extensive experience in advocating for equitable health solutions across the state through practice in various sectors of healthcare and nonprofit settings. She is passionate about meeting underserved and marginalized populations where they are at, while maintaining a focus on providing equitable solutions for these communities. Most recently, she focused her research efforts on exploring oral health inequities within Hispanic and Latinx communities in North Carolina.

Prior to graduate school, Kelsey spent 3 years working at Coastal Horizon’s Clínica Latina as a bilingual Behavioral Health Access Specialist serving Spanish-speaking communities in the greater Wilmington area. She also spent time as the Treatment Coordinator at a private dental practice, an English teacher in Madrid, Spain, and a Healthcare Data Specialist.

Kelsey earned her Master of Social Work degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a concentration on community management and policy practice. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in Spanish from the University of North Carolina Wilmington.

Erika Aliff comes to FHLI with 25 years of nonprofit leadership experience. Erika served the YMCA of Greater Charlotte for 22 of those years as a branch operator, executive director, and district executive director. During her time there, Erika led all aspects of board development, finance, fundraising, leadership development, and membership and program growth.

In 2018, Erika transitioned to the YMCA of the Triangle to serve as the VP of Membership and Volunteer Engagement. Her work was specifically focused on developing new and innovative membership growth strategies and engaging members and volunteers in deeper ways to increase retention. During the pandemic Erika served on the leadership team to create meaningful community impact programming such as food distribution, scholastic support for children learning remotely and healthy living programming.

Erika lives with her husband Les in Youngsville.  Together, they have 4 grown children.

Brady Blackburn joined the Foundation in 2019 as Communications Associate and Content Marketing Specialist for the North Carolina Oral Health Collaborative. Brady brings significant experience in nonprofit and caused-based marketing, with an emphasis on content creation, social media management, video development, and marketing.

Prior to joining NCOHC, Brady served as the key communications specialist for Representative Joe Sam Queen, both in his successful campaign for the North Carolina House of Representatives and in his legislative office. He has also managed marketing and communications campaigns for The Nature Conservancy in North Carolina.

Brady holds a Master of Arts in Media and Communications and a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies, both from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Allison joined FHLI as the Assistant Program Coordinator for Marketing & Communications in September 2023. Previously, she worked as a copywriter at an agency and as a freelance writer-editor. She holds a Graduate Certificate in Science and Medical Writing from UNC Wilmington and a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish Literature with a minor in gender studies from Binghamton University in New York. She is passionate about supporting FHLI’s programs and advocating for a healthier North Carolina for all.

Hugh Tilson is the director of FHLI’s Bernstein Fellows Program, director of the North Carolina Area Health Education Centers (NC AHEC) Program, associate dean and assistant professor in family medicine at the UNC School of Medicine. Hugh has extensive experience in health care, including particular experience in hospital and provider issues, health policy development, and North Carolina’s Medicaid transformation.

Over the course of more than 20 years, Hugh has served in roles of increasing responsibility at the North Carolina Hospital Association. He first joined the organization in 1996 as director of legal and regulatory affairs, eventually becoming the group’s executive vice president and chief operating officer and ultimately spending a year as interim president of the organization. Upon his departure, he was awarded the Order of the Long Leaf Pine by Gov. Roy Cooper for his proven record of extraordinary service to the state. Most recently, Tilson operated Tilson Solutions, offering strategic planning, public affairs, and other consulting services to a range of clients.

As director of NC AHEC, Hugh provides overall direction for the statewide program, oversees the organization’s budget and program office, manages health workforce planning and development initiatives across a range of health professions, fosters collaboration among academic programs and organizations across the state, and represents the organization on the state and national level.

Tilson is a graduate of the University of North Carolina and the UNC School of Law. He holds a Master of Public Health from Harvard.

Tom joined the Foundation for Health Leadership & Innovation as the Director of the Bernstein Fellows Program in October 2015. In his role, Tom oversees the strategic direction of the fellowship, sets goals for the Fellows’ educational schedule and programming, and provides one-on-one support for their project development. Prior to joining the Foundation, Tom served as the Executive Associate Dean and NC AHEC Program director at the UNC School of Medicine from 1996 until his retirement in 2013.  His academic and career interests are in health workforce development, and he currently serves as Senior Research Fellow in the Program on Health Workforce Research and Policy at the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research at UNC. Tom is a graduate of Eckerd College, holds a master’s degree in demography from the University of Chicago, and has a doctorate in health policy and management from the UNC School of Public Health.

Dr. Muse became the Director of the Center of Excellence for Integrated Care (COE) in October 2018. In her role, she oversees the day-to-day activities of COE, facilitates internal development and research, and manages overall productivity of staff. She has been with COE since February 2016, as an Integration Consultant and subsequently as the Director of Operations (May 2017-Oct 2018).

Prior to joining COE, Dr. Muse worked as a behavioral health clinician in a variety of medical settings serving underserved populations in eastern North Carolina. Her area of research is focused on the implementation and evaluation of integrated behavioral health care programs.

Dr. Muse received her doctorate degree in Medical Family Therapy and her master’s in Marriage and Family Therapy from East Carolina University. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Sara Herrity joined the Center of Excellence for Integrated Care (COE) as an Integration Specialist in March 2017. In her role, she provides training, on-site support, and resources to medical and behavioral health providers working to integrate their services to provide higher quality care to patients and the community. Prior to joining COE, Sara worked at a community mental health agency called Turning Point Family CARE as an outpatient therapist for clients with Medicaid or no insurance, as well as some private insurance. She has also previously worked with a local church to provide pre-marital and marital counseling as well as with a middle school to provide mental health services. Sara received her master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from East Carolina University in 2013 and her bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Lisa Tyndall, PhD, joined the Center of Excellence for Integrated Care (COE) as an Integration Specialist in June 2016. In her role, Dr. Tyndall provides technical assistance for integrated care program development to a variety of medical practice settings. Her responsibilities include shadowing and one-on-one consultation, offerings of trainings, webinars, regular phone consultation and provision of resources and reference materials.

Prior to joining COE, Dr. Tyndall spent six years working as the Family Therapy Clinic Director for East Carolina University. A licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, she has over ten years of experience serving in various research, instructor, and clinical positions related to both marriage and family therapy and integrated care in North Carolina. Dr. Tyndall holds a master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy and a doctorate in Medical Family Therapy, both from East Carolina University.

Sarah joined the Center of Excellence for Integrated Care (COE) as the Program Coordinator in November 2022. In this role, she supports the COE team with administrative aspects, special projects and media content and design.

Prior to joining COE, Sarah spent over 6 years in a variety of management roles at a national nonprofit working to improve nutrition education, physical activity, and physical education in schools. She has more than 15 years of experience working with nonprofits nationwide focused on providing project management, special event planning and logistics, technology support and Salesforce project management consulting.

Sarah received her master’s degree in Sports Administration and Management and her bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology both from Illinois State University.

Ayana Simon has cultivated an over 15-year career in healthcare with experience in Social Work and Healthcare Administration with a focus on underserved populations. Before joining FHLI she served as the Healthy Opportunities Program Director for Carolina Complete Health and managed an internal team addressing the SDOH needs of members. She is an active member in her community and serves on the Board of Directors for the African American Cultural Festival of Raleigh and Wake County as well as the Ivy Community Service Foundation of Cary, Inc. She is a 20-year active member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.

She earned a bachelor’s in public health from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, a Master of Social Work from The University of North Carolina at Charlotte as well as a Master of Healthcare Administration from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Nicole joined Foundation for Health Leadership & Innovation in July 2021. She manages strategies, workflow, and efforts of the NCCARE360 program as well as collaboration with cross-sector partners, tracking deadlines and deliverables, and delivering NCCARE360 information to external audiences.

Nicole has more than a decade of experience in nonprofit operations and has a passion for advancing health equity. Her career has focused on providing project management, communications, and client support to various health-related organizations in North Carolina and abroad. Prior to joining FHLI, Nicole served as the Program Coordinator for the Social & Behavioral Sciences (SBS) Core at Duke’s Center for AIDS Research (CFAR).

Nicole earned her Master of Public Health degree with a concentration in health behavior and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and Spanish from East Carolina University.

Ada joined the Foundation for Health Leadership & Innovation in May 2022 as NCCARE360’s Program Coordinator. As a key member of the NCCARE360 team, she ensures grant coordination, implementation, and reporting.

Ada has over ten years of nonprofit experience and a passion for equitable healthcare. In 2018, she became a board-certified patient advocate (BCPA) through the Patient Advocate Certification Board (PACB). She served as an oncology patient advocate, helping adult and pediatric patients across North Carolina overcome barriers to treatment. Prior to joining FHLI, Ada worked in health education as national Program Coordinator at American Bone Health.

Ada earned her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Elizabeth City State University.

Dr. Cline currently serves as interim vice president for the North Carolina Oral Health Collaborative.
He is the former vice president for strategic partnerships at Community Care of North Carolina (CCNC), where his responsibilities included exploring and developing opportunities with provider networks, dental health providers, and other healthcare organizations. He is also an advisor to the North Carolina Health Information Exchange. Prior to joining CCNC, Dr. Cline was the Assistant Secretary for Health Information Technology at the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). Spending most of his career in public health, his last position in public health was as Deputy State Health Director at DHHS, where his responsibilities included formulating division policies and priorities as well supervising all programmatic areas of the Department, including Epidemiology, Women’s and Children’s Health, Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention, Oral Health, and Public Health Preparedness.

From 1999 to 2006, Dr. Cline served as Chief of the Epidemiology Section at the North Carolina Division of Public Health where he led the state’s public health response to bioterrorism, SARS, Hurricanes Fran and Katrina, and other public health emergencies. Prior to that, Dr. Cline spent 13 years in local public health with the Wake County Health Department where he held the positions of Dental Director, Deputy Health Director, and finally Acting Wake County Health Director. In 1996 he moved to the state health department where he was the State Dental Director for three years before becoming the Chief of Epidemiology.

Dr. Cline received his Bachelor of Science from Davidson College in Davidson, North Carolina, and both his Doctor of Dental Surgery and his Master of Public Health from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is married with four children, living in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Crystal joined the Foundation for Health Leadership & Innovation in September of 2021 after a long career at Catawba Valley Community College (CVCC). Crystal is a career educator, and at CVCC she launched a dental assisting program, North Carolina’s first accredited Community Dental Health Coordinator program, and a school-based program allowing dental hygiene students to care for middle school-aged children in Alexander County. At CVCC, Crystal worked daily to cultivate the next generation of dental hygienists in North Carolina.

Crystal is also the former president of the North Carolina Dental Hygienists’ Association (NCDHA) and has impacted oral health policy as an active member of numerous state-level committees and task forces.

Sarah joined the Foundation for Health Leadership & Innovation as a Program Coordinator for the NC Oral Health Collaborative in April 2021. Prior to joining the NCOHC team, Sarah served as Conference and Outreach Manager at North Carolina State University. Her experience includes more than 13 years in working in higher education with varying constituent groups while serving the mission of the university.

Sarah holds a Master of Arts in Higher Education from Appalachian State University and a Bachelor of Arts in History from Peace College.

Donald Hughes joined the Foundation for Health Leadership & Innovation in October 2021 as the Director of Community Voice. He has more than a decade of communications and community engagement experience.

From advocating for an increase in minimum wage to helping a launch a new paid family leave program in our nation’s capital, Donald has leveraged his skills to help advance overlooked and underserved communities. His passion for advancing health equity is fueled by his experience growing up in an inner-city neighborhood plagued by health disparities and watching his family in rural North Carolina struggle to access health care while suffering from chronic illnesses.

Prior to joining the FHLI, Donald led communications and mobile vaccination efforts at We Are Ready for Life (W.A.R.4Life), a community-based organization that works to uplift marginalized communities and improve the quality of life for residents by expanding economic and health opportunities.

Donald worked for six years in Washington, DC, where he coordinated special projects for the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Greater Economic Opportunity and managed community engagement and public affairs efforts for the District of Columbia Department of Employment Services.

A native North Carolinian and product of the state’s public schools, Donald earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and a Master of Public Administration from North Carolina Central University.

Lloyd Michener, MD, is a family physician focused on linking health care, public health, and community health. At Duke, he founded the division of Community Health and the Center for Community Research, and served as Chair of the Department of Community and Family Medicine for more than 20 years. He now serves as emeritus Professor of Family Medicine and Community Health, Duke School of Medicine and Adjunct Professor, Public Health Leadership, UNC School of Public Health.

Lloyd founded and leads the “Practical Playbook,” with the support of the deBeaumont Foundation, CDC and HRSA, linking disparate communities with health care and public health. He also serves as Chair of the Board of the Foundation for Health Leadership & Innovation, and is a member of the National Academies of Medicine Workgroup on Assessing Meaningful Community Engagement.

Nationally, he has served as the founding Co-Chair of the Community Engagement Steering Committee for the Clinical and Translational Science Awards of the NIH; a member of the (then) Institute of Medicine Committee on Integrating Primary Care and Public Health; the Board of Directors of the Association of Academic Medical Colleges; the NIH Council for Complementary and Alternative Medicine; and as President of the Association for Prevention, Teaching and Research. His awards include the Mead Johnson Award from the AAFP and the Duncan Clark Award from APTR.

Lloyd is a graduate of Oberlin College, Harvard Medical School, and family medicine residency and Kellog fellowship at Duke.

Kim Schwartz currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Roanoke Chowan Community Health Center (RCCHC), a Federally Qualified Community Health Center in Eastern North Carolina. In this role, she champions the unique health care challenges of rural communities in underserved areas, and has generated key collaborations and innovations to advance RCCHC’s mission of enhancing the lives of Eastern North Carolinians. Kim leads RCCHC’s team as a member of the Institute of Health Improvement (IHI) Leadership Alliance, represents U.S. Congressional District 1 on the North Carolina Medical Care Advisory Committee, co-chair of the MCAC Quality Committee, serves on the Board of OCHIN, chairing the CEO Steering Committee and past Chair of the North Carolina Institute of Medicine Board, and immediate past Chair of the North Carolina Community Health Center Association. Kim is a subject matter expert in telehealth remote patient monitoring, having established the first and continuous RPM Chronic Disease Program for FQHCs in the U.S.

Kim has many professional affiliations and frequently presents at national and regional conferences, including as an expert panelist at the World Congress Global Health Medicaid Summit in Washington, DC in 2015. Kim was a recipient of the Robert J. Greczn, Jr. Community Health Center Leadership Award, the National Association of Community Health Centers – Cooke Advocacy Award, and the BD Building Health Communities Award.

She received her BA in Psychology and MA in Counseling Education from the University of New Mexico.

Tina Markanda previously served as the Executive Director of The Cannon Foundation, which was created to continue the philanthropic legacy of Charles A. Cannon and his daughter Mariam C. Hayes by funding primarily capital and infrastructure projects for organizations across the state of North Carolina.

Prior to that, Tina served as the inaugural Executive Director of the Foundation for a Healthy High Point since 2014, an organization that encourages, supports, influences, and invests in efforts that improve health and wellness throughout Greater High Point.

Prior to this role, Tina served as a Program Officer with the Health Care Division at The Duke Endowment, in private industry, at an academic medical center, and with a private not-for-profit community hospital.

Tina is a Fellow of the American College of Health Care Executives and is a Hull Fellow with the Southeastern Council of Foundations. She holds an MBA from Wake Forest University and MSPH from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Charles Ayscue’s administrative/financial healthcare career experience has extended for more than five decades. Mr. Ayscue was appointed in the Spring of 2020 to serve as the Interim Chief Financial Officer for Dogwood Health Trust (DHT).

Prior to joining DHT, Mr. Ayscue served 31 years as the Chief Financial Officer for two large healthcare systems: Mission Health System, Inc, (MHS, the Parent Corporation) located in Asheville, North Carolina (NC) as its Chief Financial Officer from 2007 until 2019; and the University of North Carolina Healthcare System (UNC-HCS) and the University of North Carolina Hospitals located in Chapel Hill, NC from 1987 until 2007. MHS owned, operated, and managed healthcare facilities providing a broad spectrum of inpatient, outpatient and long-term acute care services to a large, 18-county service area in western North Carolina. UNC-HCS functioned as the state’s largest owned safety-net healthcare provider and teaching facility for primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary inpatient care and outpatient care to patients from all 100 counties within the state. Mr. Ayscue also served for more than four years as the Comptroller and Associate Director of Financial Services for the Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital located in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Professional affiliations for Mr. Ayscue include prior and continuous service on numerous boards and foundations; he currently serves as the Chair of the Finance and Investment Committee and as a member of the Executive Committee of the Board for the Foundation for Health Leadership & Innovation (FHLI) based in the Research Triangle Park. He also served as a member of the statewide Technical Advisory Committee for NCCARE360 due to his role at FHLI.

In September of 2013, Mr. Ayscue was the recipient of The Order of the Long Leaf Pine as conferred by the Governor of the State of North Carolina. Mr. Ayscue has also been previously recognized on numerous occasions as one of the nation’s “150 Hospital and Health System CFO’s to know” in annual publications by Becker’s Hospital Review. In October of 2014, Mr. Ayscue was recognized as a Distinguished Alumnus by his alma mater, Campbell University. Mr. Ayscue holds a Masters in Business Administration degree from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and a Business Administration degree from Campbell College, now Campbell University, located in Buies Creek, North Carolina.

Pam Highsmith has worked in health-related organizations for over 20 years and has spent most of that time working with physicians and physician assistants to improve health in North Carolina.

Pam is currently Vice President of Advancement & Donor Relations at the North Carolina Medical Society and NCMS Foundation. She is responsible for fund development programs of the NCMS and NCMSF, excluding membership dues. The NCMSF’s focus, and a passion for Pam, is improved access to health care for all North Carolinians, particularly those living in rural areas. Pam is particularly interested in helping donors fund solutions to the multi-dimensional causes of health access inequity and poor health.

Working with board leadership and other volunteers, Pam has developed programs such as the NCMS Leadership College, a leadership development program for physicians and PAs that thrives today as one of several programs of the NCMSF’s Kanof Institute for Physician Leadership. She has also lead capital campaigns, including raising over $15 million for the NCMSF’s Community Practitioner Program.

Pam was also the CEO for the Alice Aycock Poe Center for Health Education and served as Administrator for United Hospice. Pam began her career as a middle school English teacher in public schools in North and South Carolina. She earned a BA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Master of Education from The Citadel. Pam is also a Certified Fund-Raising Executive.

Cherry Maynor Beasley is a nationally and internationally recognized expert in public health, culture of health and education. She has devoted most of her 45-year career to rural, underserved populations. She is the first member of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina to receive a BSN, MS and PhD in Nursing. Dr. Beasley is a nurse educator of the McKenzie-Elliott School of Nursing at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, located in a rural, minority-majority community experiencing entrenched poverty. She is currently the chief nursing officer at the McKenzie-Elliott School of Nursing and the inaugural Anna Belk Endowed Professor for Rural and Minority Health. Dr. Beasley is a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing.

The synergy of Dr. Beasley’s research and service interests evolves from a focus on health care decision-making and behaviors of rural, minority populations. This approach informs her extensive work with populations utilizing participatory community outreach and research to address health disparities, well-being, and environmental and healthcare policy. She is a sought-after collaborator and mentor on research and service projects. Beasley currently serves in several nursing and public health leadership roles across North Carolina. She is a member of the Native Research Network and author/coauthor of several books and manuscripts on American Indian and rural health.

Dr. Beasley is the mother of two and grandmother of 5, two roles that she considers the most meaningful in her life.

Dr. Ronny Bell is a professor of Social Sciences and Health Policy in the Division of Public Health Sciences at Wake Forest School of Medicine. Dr. Bell is also the Associate Director of Community Outreach and Engagement, and Director of the Office of Cancer Health Equity, at Wake Forest Baptist Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Prior to his November 2020 appointments at Wake Forest SOM and Wake Forest Baptist Cancer Center, Dr. Bell was a professor and chairman of the Department of Public Health at East Carolina University, as well as a professor of Public Health Sciences and Director of the Maya Angelou Center for Health Equity at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.

Dr. Bell is a native of Pembroke, North Carolina and is an enrolled member of the Lumbee tribe.  He received his undergraduate degree in Public Health Nutrition from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and his masters and doctorate degrees in Food and Nutrition at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.  He completed a post-doctoral fellowship in Gerontology and a Master’s in Epidemiology from Wake Forest School of Medicine.

Dr. Bell’s research focuses on chronic disease epidemiology and prevention in racial and ethnic minority populations, with a focus on American Indian populations. He currently chairs the North Carolina American Indian Health Board, co-chairs the Healthy North Carolina 2030 Task Force, and is the former chair of the North Carolina Diabetes Advisory Council. He also serves on the Board of Directors for Access East and the North Carolina Chapter of Nurse Family Partnership.  Nationally, he currently serves on the American Diabetes Association Health Disparities Committee.

Vivian Bolaños serves as VP and Business Development Officer for First Bank where she develops business relationships in the Henderson, Transylvania and Buncombe County banking centers.

Along the way, Vivian has become a committed community advocate and volunteer. She served as a board member for the United Way of Henderson County, Safelight, and is currently serving as a Board Member for Pardee UNC Health Care, Blue Ridge Community College, Dogwood Health Trust, NC Bankers Association DEI Council and Western Women’s Business Center Advisory Board.

Dr. Cykert is a Professor of Medicine at UNC-Chapel Hill in the Division of General Internal Medicine and Clinical Epidemiology after starting his career as a solo practitioner in Alamance County.

Combining his research training and interest in health policy, he has been heavily involved in projects that address health disparities in both cancer treatment and chronic care management. As part of this effort, he currently serves as principal investigator (PI) or co-PI on several large, multi-site grants, including the NCI-funded ACCURE study, and co-PI of CHANGE, Community Health Worker Project.

Dr. Cykert was also the PI for the NC Cooperative in AHRQ’s Evidence Now project, for which seven cooperatives around the U.S. were working with small primary care practices to reduce cardiovascular risk. The North Carolina Cooperative includes 220 practices caring for 625,000 adult patients in this effort.

Kevin FitzGerald, who has served in several senior leadership roles at UNC Health Care and the University of North Carolina, is the Interim Program Director of the North Carolina Area Health Education Centers (NC AHEC). In this role he oversees the organization’s budget and program office, manages health workforce planning and development initiatives across a range of health professions, fosters collaboration among academic programs and organizations across the state, and represents the organization on the state and national level.

FitzGerald retired in 2016 from the University of North Carolina System after serving as Senior Vice President and Chief of Staff to Presidents Tom Ross and Margaret Spellings. Prior to serving at the University System Office, FitzGerald worked at UNC-Chapel Hill, where he was the founding Director of the Center for Public Technology at the School of Government, Special Assistant to the Chancellor for Government Affairs, and Vice Dean for Finance and Administration and Chief of Staff at the UNC School of Medicine and UNC Health Care.

Matt Leatherman is a public financing and budgeting expert, who worked closely with NC State Treasurer Janet Cowell to find innovative solutions for expanding health care access in rural areas, and initiate conversations about municipal resilience.  He also worked with a non-profit organization committed to retirement security. Pension investors who manage billions of dollars have relied on Matt’s writings on risk management and investment contracting.

Matt joined FCLT Global from the North Carolina Department of State Treasurer, where he served as Policy Director. Matthew contributed to the Department adopting a policy on long-term stewardship for approximately $100 billion of assets under its management and to updating practices for how staff incorporate longer-term factors into the evaluation of debt issued by local governments. He also was staff director of the Department’s Corporate Governance Committee, a body responsible for conducting the Department’s engagement with regulators, dialogue with corporate issuers, and voting of proxy ballots.

Matthew’s earlier career focused on U.S. fiscal research, most recently at the Stimson Center in Washington D.C. His commentary in outlets like Bloomberg Government was influential for understanding government shutdown and budget sequestration the terms of fiscal impact, management process, and the governance relationship between executive and legislative branches. Matthew advised the Rivlin-Domenici Debt Reduction Commission on military budgeting and management, including the structure of retirement and health care benefits for U.S. service-members. His fiscal research has been published by Foreign Affairs, International Herald Tribune, Washington Post, McClatchy-Tribune News Service, and other outlets.

Matthew is a Board member of the John Rex Endowment, a $75 million fund with a focus on improving mental health, preventing injury, and expanding access to healthy lifestyles for children in Wake County (NC). He is a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations and holds degrees from the University of North Carolina and Columbia University.

Viviana Martinez-Bianchi is a Family Physician. She is the Director for Health Equity in the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health and former Director of the Duke Family Medicine Residency Program. She joined the faculty of the Duke Department of Family Medicine and Community Health in 2006. Prior to joining Duke University, she was a fellow in Faculty Development with Emphasis in Caring for Minorities and Underserved Populations at the University of Cincinnati in Ohio.

Martinez-Bianchi graduated from the National University of Rosario, Argentina in 1990 and from the University of Iowa Family Practice Residency in 1996. She practiced in a rural/ industrial town in Iowa for 5 years before joining the faculty at the Genesis Family Medicine Residency in Davenport, Iowa.

She is passionate about population health, health disparities, improving health care and health, caring for underserved populations, health and educational equity, social determinants of health, global health, cultural competence through humility, Latin America, and caring for migrant and transnational communities.

Within Family Medicine, she practices the full spectrum of ambulatory family medicine and has special interests in women’s health, dermatology, urology and mental health.
She enjoys sailing, traveling, swimming, and gardening with her husband and her son. She enjoys Zumba at the YMCA, Opera, dancing Salsa, listening to Tango and Latin American music, the North Carolina Symphony and the Carolina Ballet. She loves cooking and she makes a wicked chimichurri sauce for her Argentinean style carne asada. She has been working on a North Carolina accent with little success.

Dr. Julian Montoro-Rodriguez is Professor of Sociology and Gerontology at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He is a sociologist with a teaching and research background in the area of aging, health, human development and family studies. A majority of Dr. Montoro-Rodriquez’s research in the past 20 years has examined the interrelations between formal and informal support systems and optimal adaptation and adjustment to developmental changes for older adults.

 Most of my career has been with UNC Health Care ( UNCHC). I just retired in December 2022 after working 38 years; the majority of that time I served as the Vice President of Reimbursement.  I have been a part of the growth from being the one state academic hospital,  NC Memorial Hospital, to now 17 hospitals and a home office. UNCHC has a wide spectrum of provider types including FQHC’s, teaching hospitals, sole community hospitals, critical access hospitals, home health, and hospice, to name a few.  In my role, I have worked closely with other hospitals, NC Hospital Association and NC DHHS to develop reimbursement programs to bring additional funds to benefit the Medicaid  and uninsured patients.

Before becoming VP, I was the Director of Internal Audit, developing the Internal Audit program and  the Compliance program.

Before joining UNCHC, I was the  Audit Supervisor of the Special Region for the CMS Medicare/ Medicaid Intermediary – NC Blue Cross Blue Shield for 8 years.  I worked in a small CPA firm for 3 years gaining my CPA certificate.

I am a graduate of NC State University in Applied Mathematics and earned an MBA from Meredith College.

I have served on the boards of the Transunion Advisory Board, Vestry at Saint Michael’s Episcopal Church  and Carol Woods Retirement Community.  Personally, I am very active in the Children’s Ministry at our church, teaching 3 year olds for over 50 years.

Dr. North is a nationally recognized leader in school-based telemedicine and rural telehealth. He founded the Health-e-Schools school-based telemedicine program that currently provides access to primary care, preventive care and adolescent medicine to over 55,000 students at 105 schools in 9 rural NC counties. He is also the State Medical Director for Eleanor Health.

Dr. North is also a practicing Family Physician and Adolescent Medicine specialist in rural Mitchell County, NC. He currently serves on the boards of the Foundation for Health Leadership & Innovation, the Mid-Atlantic Telehealth Resource Center, and Advocates for Youth. He lives in Spruce Pine, NC with his sons Eli and Oscar.

I have over 25 years of experience in advanced manufacturing and rural community development initiatives. Most recently, I have worked to advocate for more just and equitable health outcomes in historically excluded communities across McDowell County, NC. I am proud of my work to leverage over $2 million dollars to support grassroots community development strategies and address the social determinants of health. I value principles related to equity, diversity, and inclusion. I strongly support the rights of everyone, regardless of their race, ethnicity, age, gender, class, sexual orientation, religion, or disability.

As the Executive Director of the West Marion Community Forum, I am responsible for managing a new nonprofit whose mission is to enhance the quality of life of our residents and overcome racial barriers by building bridges in McDowell County. We do this by showing compassion, advocating for political change, promoting economic development, sharing resources, empowering youth, and creating equitable outcomes for all. I manage staff and guide the strategic direction of our board, working groups, and monthly forum.

Education

McDowell Technical Community College, Associates Degree in Accounting, 1984

Advanced Manufacturing Certifications:

• Sigmanest and MasterCam Certified, Certification Barefoot CNC Morganton, NC
  • February 2015
• Lean Manufacturing Certified, Certification Heritage Home LLC Lenoir, NC
  • January  2013

Professional Development

NC Rural Center’s Rural Economic Development Institute Program (REDI), 2017

Racial Equity Institute Phase 1 Training, 2017

Center for Creative Leadership Program, 2016

Leadership Awards

NC Rural Center Innovative Leadership Profile, 2019 (click here to view article)

Recipient of the Martin Luther King Jr. Spirit Award, 2018

Recipient of the Co-Thinkk Leadership Award, 2017

Core Skills & Knowledge

Fundraising | Grant-writing | Project Management |Program Design | Microsoft Office Word, Excel, PowerPoint Social Media |Meeting Facilitation | Deadline Driven | Research and Evaluation |Detail Oriented | Collaborative Team Partner |Meeting Facilitation and Coordination | Research and Evaluation | Blueprint Drawing and Reading Sigmanest and Nesterwood Expert | CNC Code Reading | Implementation and Execution of Daily Operation Processes to Complete Product Delivery |Proficient In AutoCAD

Monica M. Taylor, PhD, MPH, received a PhD from The Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University, with a specialization in health policy and a minor in Sociology; a Masters in Community Health Education from Hunter College; and a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Biology from Syracuse University. She is an online faculty member at Colorado State University – Global Campus (Healthcare Administration/Business) and Adjunct Full professor at the University of Maryland Global Campus (Global Health Services and Administration, the School of Business).

Dr. Taylor provides instruction to undergraduate, masters and doctoral-level students in the areas of social policy, healthcare policy, policy analysis and public health. Dr. Taylor’s additional work experiences include: Co-Principal Investigator, (in partnership with Word Tabernacle Church and faculty at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health) on a COVID-19 research study examining social connectivity and remote risk communication among rural Blacks in a faith-based setting; Public Health Advisor/Evaluator on a risk communication/prevention program to minimize the rate of COVID-19 transmission and hospitalizations in Black and Brown populations in Connecticut; Policy Analyst for Representative James Gailliard in his campaign for North Carolina House of Representatives, his legislative office and for non-profit organizations.

Nationally, she served as Health Scientist/Evaluator at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, for the CDC REACH initiative. Dr. Taylor’s research focuses on social justice, health equity and the role of the polity in the distribution of income and the allocation of critical social determinants of health. Her research includes authorship of four books: COVID-19 and the Political Economy of Racism: Why a Social Justice Perspective Matters; Rural Health Disparities: Public Health, Policy and Planning Approaches; The Obesity Epidemic: Why a Social Justice Perspective Matters; and Application of the Political Economy to Rural Health Disparities.

Adam J. Zolotor, MD, DrPH, is the Associate Director of/for Medical Education at NC AHEC and a Professor in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. Previously, he was the President and CEO of the North Carolina Institute of Medicine for eight years. Dr. Zolotor has practiced family medicine in a small-town practice, rural emergency department, county health department, and academic medical center.

Dr. Zolotor started his academic career in child injury research and is well known nationally for his work on the prevention of physical abuse, shaken baby syndrome, and child discipline as well as the policy issues around prevention. Dr. Zolotor joined the NCIOM in 2012 as the Vice President and served as the President and CEO until August of 2020.

Dr. Zolotor led many new initiatives at the NCIOM, including the rural health plan, the child maltreatment prevention plan, the plan for Alzheimer’s and related dementia, the Task Force on Accountable Care Communities and the Legislative Health Policy Fellowship Program. He also led the NCMJ through a transformative change to a mostly online distribution with dramatic increase in the statewide footprint.

Dr. Zolotor still practices family medicine at the University of North Carolina. He earned both his master’s degree and doctorate in public health as well as his medical degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His undergraduate degree and residency training were at the University of Michigan.