Members

 

Jon Atkeson, BSPH ’95 (environmental sciences and engineering), JD
Managing Director
Fortress Investment Group
New York, NY

Select to see more.

Mr. Atkeson is a Managing Director in the Fortress Credit Funds since 2016 focusing on investments in the transportation and infrastructure sectors.  Mr. Atkeson joined Fortress in 2003 and prior to joining the credit team, Mr. Atkeson spent 13 years in the private equity business most recently as the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer of Fortress Transportation and Infrastructure Investors LLC (“FTAI”), a permanently capitalized vehicle managed by Fortress that owns and acquires high quality infrastructure and transportation equipment.  Prior to his role at FTAI, Mr. Atkeson focused on investments in the transportation and infrastructure sectors including investments in aircraft, shipping containers, intermodal chassis, and energy distribution.  Prior to joining Fortress in 2003, Mr. Atkeson worked as a vice president in the private equity group at Whitney and Co., LLC and prior to that was a member of the mergers and acquisitions group at Credit Suisse First Boston.

Mr. Atkeson has served in many volunteer capacities including as the President of the Board of Education for the Bronxville Union Free School District as well as an original founder of Amistad Academy, a member of the Achievement First charter school network and a long-time board member of Achievement First Brooklyn.

Mr. Atkeson holds a BSPH in Environmental Science and Engineering from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a JD from Yale Law School.


Melissa Butler

Melissa Butler, PhD, PharmD, MPH, MBA
Director of Strategic Commissioning
Bermuda Hospitals Board
Hamilton, Bermuda


Mary Margaret Carroll

Mary Margaret Carroll
Associate Dean for Advancement
UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health

Select to see more.

Mary Margaret Carroll is the Associate Dean for Advancement at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health. She leads the School’s fundraising efforts, manages the advancement team and serves as Executive Director of the Public Health Foundation. Previously, she held leadership roles at UNC-Kenan Flagler Business School and UNC Health, bringing extensive experience in development and philanthropy.


Joanna J. Conley

Joanna J. Conley

Joanna J. Conley, BSPH ’03 (health policy and management)
Former chair of the Alumni Association Advisory Board
Chief Executive Officer
Doctors Hospital of Augusta
Augusta, Ga.

Select to see more.

Why I serve on the Gillings School Alumni Association Board:
I enjoy giving back to the Gillings School of Global Public Health and meeting wonderful alumni and students.

How I support or give back to the Gillings School:
I have helped connect students with opportunities at HCA Healthcare, served as a mock interviewer, and also hired students who became residents. I also give financially to the Gillings School because the it has been such an important part of my professional development.

My favorite thing about the Gillings School:
I love the variety of specialties that are all interconnected at the Gillings School. It helps me learn about new trends and challenges in areas outside of my daily work in hospital administration.

How my UNC public health education and degree impacted my life and career:
My degree from the Gillings School was the catalyst for my career as a hospital administrator. My time at the Gillings School helped initiate my career by helping me connect to my internship experience and hospital residency after graduation. From there, I have benefited from the rich alumni network to help advance my career.

I’m originally from:
I grew up in Fresno, California. I’ve lived in North Carolina, Florida, and now Tennessee.

An accomplishment I’m proud of:
I built a new hospital and was able to bring healthcare services to a community that previously had to travel more than 30 minutes for care.

The best advice I’ve ever received:
The best advice I’ve ever received is to “Hire people for their enthusiasm and commitment rather than their skill set. You can teach new skills, but you can’t change an individual’s inherent motivation.”

To start a conversation with me:
Tell me something you are passionate about and why.

Something most people may not know about me:
I love hiking and being outdoors.


Dana Davis

Dana Davis

Dana Davis, MSPH ’98 (epidemiology)
Health Care Director
Genentech
Cary, N.C.

Select to view profile.

Dana Davis, MSPH, is a health care market director at Genentech, a large biotech company that focuses on applying innovation to areas of need like multiple sclerosis, oncology and ophthalmology. In her current role, she is responsible for leading the commercial field team across North Carolina and South Carolina and is accountable for delivering growth across a diverse portfolio of products.

Genentech’s unique approach to customer engagement aims to improve patient experience and support population health. She partners with local stakeholders (hospitals, payers, providers and advocacy groups) to affect the way health care is delivered in the Carolinas.

Before joining Genentech, Dana held a breadth of roles across the pharmaceutical industry, spending more than 10 years focused on managed care and public policy.

In the community, Dana is an inaugural board member for Research Triangle Tech Noir, an organization focused on accelerating the growth and success of Black students, professionals and businesses in the tech industry. She also sits on the board of Cary Academy.

Dana earned a bachelor’s degree from Duke University and a Master of Science in Public Health degree in epidemiology from the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health in 1998.


Dr. Todd Durham

Todd Durham

Todd A. Durham, PhD ’16 (health policy and management), MS ’95 (biostatistics)
Senior Vice President, Clinical & Outcomes Research
Foundation Fighting Blindness
Raleigh, N.C.

Select to view profile.

Todd Durham is the Vice President, Clinical & Outcomes Research at the Foundation Fighting Blindness, a national non-profit that funds research to treat and cure inherited retinal diseases. In his current role, Durham is responsible for directing the Foundation’s Clinical Consortium of retinal experts, developing strategies to enhance product development, liaising with industry, and providing technical input on partnered programs and investment decisions. Durham has over 20 years of drug development experience. Prior to his current position, Durham contributed to research on numerous marketed products as Director of Biostatistics with IQVIA’s Real World Evidence Solutions, was a doctoral fellow with Bristol Myers Squibb, and worked in various statistical and leadership roles for Novan, Inspire Pharmaceuticals, Quintiles, and as a self-employed consultant. Durham has received professional awards for leadership and team work, scientific contributions on multidisciplinary teams, and teaching. He has professional interests in the use of clinical trial simulation and decision analytic approaches in portfolio planning.

As a volunteer, Durham is the current Board President of the Affordable Community Residence Association (ACRA), a non-profit founded in 1987 whose mission is to provide affordable housing and supportive services to individuals with HIV and disabilities. In his spare time, Todd enjoys reading, traveling, and spending time with his wife and son.

Durham earned a BSPH and MS in biostatistics and a PhD in health policy and management (Decision Science and Outcomes Research) from the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health.


Erik Eaker

Erik Eaker

Erik Eaker, MHA ’97 (health policy and management)
Chief Operations Officer
Glytec, LLC
Louisville, Ky.

Select to view profile.

Erik Eaker leads client implementation and operations for Let’s Get Checked, a virtual care company that offers at-home testing, telehealth services and pharmacy capabilities. Let’s Get Checked acquired BioIQ in 2022, where Erik was SVP of business operations and responsible for account and client success management, supply chain management and customer service functions. Erik has worked in health care for 25 years as an innovation and operational strategist, business developer and customer experience expert with U.S. and international population health solutions experience.

Prior to BioIQ, Eaker served in a variety of leadership roles at Humana, a U.S. health and well-being company. At Humana, he directed multiple enterprise-wide initiatives to successfully promote cross-business innovation, enrich consumer and provider experiences, and in his last role, established the enterprise interoperability strategy. Erik led operations and innovative programming with national foundations, nonprofits, and academic institutions to support Humana’s Bold Goal population health initiative. He led consumer experience and business planning for its incentivized wellness platform and employer group segment and developed groundbreaking digital and communication capabilities. He also established and managed operations for Humana’s London-based start-up, Humana Europe, an NHS commissioning services provider that commercialized new payer capabilities with over 50 NHS organization customers. Prior to Humana, Eaker worked at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina for three years and was also a graduate research assistant at the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research while completing his MHA.

Eaker attained a Master of Healthcare Administration and a Bachelor of Science in Public Health from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Gillings School of Global Public Health and was a Peace Corps Volunteer in the Philippines. Erik lives in Louisville, Kentucky and enjoys running marathons, serving on nonprofit boards and traveling with his husband John, an artist.


Brenda Edwards

Dr. Brenda Edwards

Brenda Edwards, PhD ‘75 (biostatistics)
Senior Advisor for Global Health
National Cancer Institute
Bethesda, MD


Tiffany Farina, EdD, CRA, CFRA
Associate Dean for Finance and Business
UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health

Select to see more.

Tiffany Farina is the associate dean for finance and business with more than 10 years of experience in higher education administration and leadership. She has a passion for creating inclusive, affordable, and accessible educational experiences. Tiffany has a successful track record in both education and industry where she has extensive experience collaborating across functional areas to address emerging challenges and dynamic needs. At the University of New Hampshire, Tiffany developed a campus-wide reporting strategy that helped principal investigators manage their research portfolios in a timely, compliant manner. And at Liberty Mutual, Tiffany supported the nationwide rollout of a workforce management solution to improve productivity and efficiency for over 4,000 claims adjusters. Tiffany received a doctorate in education at North Carolina State University. Her dissertation focused on improving equitable transfer rates between 2-year and 4-year institutions. In her free time, Tiffany enjoys spending time with her husband and two sons, exploring our beautiful state.


Dr. Diego Garza

Diego Garza

Diego Garza, MD, MPH ’17 (public health leadership)
Vice President, Innovation and Telehealth
Mindpath Health
Durham, N.C.

Select to view profile.

Dr. Diego Garza, an expert in the intersection of applied technology and health care delivery, is an innovative leader in expanding access to mental health services through telemedicine.

He joined Mindpath Health, a fast-growing independent provider of outpatient mental health services in several states, in 2017, with a mission to develop and launch the company’s telepsychiatry service. His innovation, Mindpath’s teletherapy program, now employs almost 1,000 providers and serves 30,000 patients in North Carolina alone. It is one of the few in the country that has earned the URAC Telemedicine Accreditation.

In 2019, as Senior Vice President of Innovation and Telehealth, Garza designed a pilot program that reflected his vision of telepsychiatry as a transformational tool to increase access to care. The groundbreaking program offered telehealth services on demand, creating the equivalent of a walk-in behavioral clinic but in the telemedicine space. The pilot program showed evidence that on-demand services reduce the burden on higher levels of care and connects patients to longitudinal behavioral health services. As a result of the pilot’s success, Dr. Garza officially launched Mindpath On Demand in 2021 in North Carolina, California and Texas.

Dr. Garza was selected for the 40 Under 40 Award in 2020 and the Health Care Hero Award in 2018 by the North Carolina-based Triangle Business Journal. In 2022, he was awarded the 2022 UNC Gillings School of Public Health Alumni Award for his contributions in expanding access to care for disadvantaged populations through the Telemedicine program he launched. Dr. Garza was born and raised in Monterrey, Mexico, where he obtained a medical degree. He has a master’s degree in public health from the Gilling’s School of Global Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.


Amit Gupta

Amit Gupta

Amit Gupta, MD, BSPH ’08 (biostatistics)
Associate Clinical Professor of Anesthesia; Pediatric/Cardiac Anesthesiologist
University of California San Francisco
Castro Valley, Calif.

Select to view profile.

Amit Gupta, MD is a practicing pediatric/cardiac anesthesiologist at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals. In addition to being clinically active, he serves as Director of Pediatric Cardiac Anesthesia, and participates in teaching residents and fellows the practice of anesthesia. Global health is an area of special interest for Dr. Gupta. He has participated in many medical trips abroad to under-resourced countries delivering care to pediatric patients in South America, India, Nigeria, and the Philippines. Dr. Gupta has also volunteered in his community co-chairing the scholarship program at the Castro Valley Education Foundation and serving on the board of Children’s First Medical Group, Inc.

Dr. Gupta received a Bachelor of Science in Public Health degree in Biostatistics and a Medical Doctorate from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His medical residency was at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and his pediatric anesthesia/cardiac fellowship at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. After his training, he joined Kaiser Permanente in Oakland, CA before moving to UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals.

Dr. Gupta lives in Northern California with his spouse, Seema Gupta, and their two boys. The family enjoys outdoor activities and traveling and tries to visit Wilmington, NC whenever they are on the east coast.


Fred Hargett

Fred Hargett

Fred Hargett, MAC, BSPH ’96 (health policy and management)
Chief Financial Officer
Novant Health
Charlotte, N.C.

Select to view profile.

Fred Hargett is Novant Health’s chief financial officer. He joined the health system in 2003 and most recently served as executive vice president of finance for Novant. Prior to that, Hargett held the position of senior vice president of financial planning for Novant.

Before joining Novant Health, Hargett served as manager of healthcare consulting at Ernst & Young in Charlotte, NC. At Ernst & Young, he led engagements in strategic planning, business development and financial forecasting.

Hargett is a certified public accountant licensed in North Carolina. In addition, he is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the North Carolina Association of Certified Public Accountants and the Healthcare Financial Management Association. He is the recipient of the 2013 CFO of the Year award given by the Triad Business Journal.

Hargett graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in public health, a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration and a Master of Accounting degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.


Katie Kaney

Katie Kaney

Katie Kaney, DrPH ’13 (public health leadership), MBA, FACHE, Chair
Owner, Katie Kaney LLC
Charlotte, N.C.

Select to view profile.

A seasoned, well-rounded C suite executive leader with more than 25 years’ experience developing and implementing novel programs to enhance care, promote health and expand business models for success. Her approach is founded upon the integration of the practices of medicine and public health to realize sustainable health improvement and achievement of equity. Her leadership demonstrates measurable success in complex environments working across integrated delivery networks, government agencies, community organizations and physician groups.

As former chief administrative officer for a large integrated delivery network, Katie was focused on operational excellence, population health and overall integration of services across the continuum to serve the patient and community. Managing a portfolio of $3.5B including Heart and Vascular, Children’s, Neuroscience, Surgical Services and Mobile Medicine. Highlights are creation, thought leadership and implementation of signature programs including virtual health, community health, service line governance, community paramedicine, emergency management, and global health — shifting the care model to start with the person and build back to the healthcare system.

Katie shares her knowledge and passion as a strategic advisor for notable companies including GE Healthcare, Pfizer, PeraHealth/ Rothman Index, Guideway Care and UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health.

Committed to diversity and inclusion in leadership, Katie served as the executive sponsor of leadership development programs focused on promoting racial, ethnic, age and gender diversity teammates, including aligning key sponsorship and allies.

Katie is a lifelong volunteer and advocate for individuals and the community — serving on and chairing several nonprofit boards including Loaves & Fishes, Healthy Charlotte, Medic Mecklenburg County EMS Agency, and Leadership Charlotte. She currently is a member of the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health Foundation and Loaves & Fishes/Friendship Trays. Katie remains an active hospice volunteer celebrating 25 years of service. Katie loves being with her husband Rich, son Gavin and their 4-legged son, 200-pound English Mastiff, Rufus.

She is a fellow through the American College of HealthCare Executives, named 2019 Top 25 Women in Business in Charlotte, 2015 Most Influential Women in Charlotte, 2010 ACHE Regents Award Winner for NC, 2005 Modern Healthcare Up and Comer, and 2004 40 under 40 by the Charlotte Business Journal.

Katie earned her DrPH in Public Health and Health Leadership from the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, and her MBA and BA from University of Buffalo.


Dr. Amy Lansky

Amy Lansky

Amy Lansky, PhD ’96 (health behavior)
Senior Advisor for Strategy
Office of Science
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention*
Decatur, Ga.
*Dr. Lansky is serving in her personal capacity

Select to view profile.

Amy Lansky serves as director of the Community Guide Office at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Office of Science. She oversees the science and communication for evidence-based systematic reviews on the effectiveness and economics of public health interventions, which serve as the basis for recommendations from the Community Preventive Services Task Force.

Since joining CDC in 1991, Lansky’s achievements have included evaluating behavioral interventions for HIV prevention, epidemiologic research to inform HIV prevention and designing and implementing surveillance systems. She was deputy director for surveillance, epidemiology, and laboratory science in the Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention 2008–2014. She served as director of the White House Office of National AIDS Policy and as senior policy advisor in the Office of National Drug Control Policy from 2015–2017. Other temporary duty assignments for CDC include 2022 monkeypox outbreak response; COVID-19 response; and global HIV prevention consultations. Lansky has published more than 90 papers in peer-reviewed journals and CDC’s MMWR.

In 2017, she was a recipient of the UNC Distinguished Alumni Award. Lansky served as president of the Gillings School of Global Public Health Alumni Association Advisory Board from 2014–2016.

She created the Lansky Family Endowed Scholarship in Health Behavior in 2010.

Lansky earned a doctoral and a master’s degree in health behavior from the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Public Health.


R. Mark Lee

R. Mark Lee

R. Mark Lee, MS ’97 (environmental sciences and engineering)
Former Alumni Association Advisory Board Member
Chief Executive Officer
ERT Inc.
Falls Church, Va.

Select to view profile.

Mark Lee was the Chief Technology Executive for ICF, a global consulting and technology services company with approximately 9,000 employees, headquartered in the Washington, DC area. In this role, Mark drove the company’s overall technology strategy and implementation through his leadership of ICF’s client-facing technology business and the company’s Chief Technology Officer function.

Mark previously served as the executive vice president of ICF’s public sector business. He has held many leadership roles across the public sector business, including previously serving as the head of business development and the disaster management division. Prior to this, he led the climate, sustainability, environmental health, and surface transportation businesses and has extensive experience supporting a wide range of clients in addressing public health, environmental, technology, regulatory, and policy challenges.

An industry leader, Mark was recognized by WashingtonExec as a Top Public Sector Leader to Watch in 2020 and 2021, and he received a 2022 Longevity Award for his career trajectory at ICF. Mark is also an executive committee member for the Professional Services Council.

Mark holds a Master of Science and a Bachelor of Science in Public Health from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is a third generation Tar Heel and passionate fan of all things UNC-related. Mark and his wife (Neha Mehta, also a Gillings alum) have two sons and live in Falls Church, VA. Outside of work, he enjoys cycling, scuba diving, and music.


Jessica Melton

Jessica Melton

Jessica Melton, MHA ’07 (health policy and management)
VP of Strategic Initiatives
Johns Hopkins Health System
Bethesda, MD

Select to view profile.

Jessica T. Melton is the President and Chief Operating Officer of Suburban Hospital in Bethesda Maryland. Suburban Hospital, a member of Johns Hopkins Medicine, is a non-profit, 222 bed acute care community-based hospital. Suburban Hospital offers a full complement of inpatient and outpatient services and is distinguished by a cutting-edge stroke program; level II trauma center; centers of excellence in cardiac care, orthopedics and joint replacement surgery, neurosciences and oncology; state-of-the-art diagnostic and treatment tools; and affiliations with world-class institutions, including the neighboring National Institutes of Health. Prior to joining Suburban, Jessica served as the Chief Operating Officer for Sentara Norfolk General Hospital. Jessica has additionally held progressive leadership roles at Duke University Hospital in Durham, North Carolina including Vice President of Medical, Surgical, and Critical Care Services, Vice President of Emergency Services and Patient Flow, Administrative Director of Emergency Preparedness and Trauma, and the Director of the Duke Preparedness and Response Center.

Jessica received both her Bachelor of Science degree in Biology and her Master of Healthcare Administration with concentrations in Finance and Community Preparedness and Disaster Management from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She completed her Administrative Fellowship at Duke University Hospital. In 2019, Jessica earned her certification as an International Coaching Federation (ICF) executive coach from North Carolina State University.


Dean Nancy Messonnier

Dean Nancy Messonnier

Nancy Messonnier, MD, Executive Vice Chair Ex-Officio
Dean and Bryson Distinguished Professor
UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health


Mona Moon

Mona Moon

Mona M. Moon, MSPH ’93 (health policy and management)
Chief Operating Officer
Medicaid
NC Department of Health and Human Services
Raleigh, N.C.

Select to view profile.

Mona M. Moon is retired from state service and most recently served as the Chief Operating Officer of North Carolina’s Medicaid program in the Department of Health and Human Services. She is the former Executive Administrator of the State Health Plan for Teachers and State Employees, a division of the NC Department of State Treasurer and previously served as the State Health Plan’s Chief Financial Officer. Before joining the State Health Plan, Moon served as Chief Business Operations Officer for the Division of Medical Assistance, NC Department of Health and Human Services. She also served as a Principal Fiscal Analyst with the Fiscal Research Division of the NC General Assembly.

Moon serves on the Boards of Directors of the State Employees’ Credit Union (SECU) and the SECU Foundation. She is a member of Delta Sigma Pi, international business fraternity and the North Carolina chapter of the International Women’s Forum. She is the recipient of the 2009 Alumni Leadership Award, Department of Health Policy and Management, UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health and an alumni member of Delta Omega, Public Health Honorary Society.

Moon received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and a Master of Science in Public Health degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.


Dr. Jean Orelien

Jean G. Orelien

Jean G. Orelien, DrPH ’07 (biostatistics)
Chief Executive Officer
ScitoVation, LLC
Research Triangle Park, N.C.

Select to view profile.

Jean Orelien, DrPH, is the CEO and President of ScitoVation, LLC, a company that helps clients assess the safety of chemical products using in vitro and in silico methods (non-animal approaches). ScitoVation is the recognized leader in the use of innovative science and next-generation technology for assessing chemical safety. Clients of ScitoVation include the American Chemistry Council, the American Beverage Association and fortune 500 companies.  Prior to ScitoVation, Orelien served as CEO of SciMetrika, LLC, a company he co-founded in 2001. SciMetrika was sold in September 2018 to Inoventures, a federal contractor based in northern Virginia. During Orelien’s tenure, SciMetrika achieved more than $100M in billings and performed on more than 150 federal contracts or task order awards. SciMetrika has received numerous awards for growth, including in 2010 the North Carolina Council for Entrepreneurial Development’s Companies to Watch, as well as Inc. magazine’s Top 500 Fastest Growing Companies in both 2010 and 2011.

Orelien has been honored as one of Inc. magazine’s Top 10 Black Entrepreneurs (2010 and 2011), top 50 African-American in science and technology by Black Money, and in 2011 received the James E. Grizzle Distinguished Alumni Award from the Gillings School’s Department of Biostatistics.

Orelien earned a DrPH in Biostatistics from the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health.


Adam Parker

Adam S. Parker

Adam S. Parker, PhD, MS ’93 (biostatistics), Immediate Past Chair
CEO/CIO/Founder
Trivariate Research, LP
New York, N.Y.

Select to view profile.

Adam S. Parker, PhD, is CEO/CIO/Founder of Trivariate Research, LP. He is the Former Director of Quantitative Strategy at Eminence Capital, a NY-based money management firm, which he joined in 2017. He formerly was the Chief U.S. Equity Strategist, Global Director of Quantitative Research and a Managing Director at Morgan Stanley from 2010-2017. He also served as a member of Morgan Stanley’s Global Investment Committee. Parker has been named to Institutional Investor’s All-America Team in both equity portfolio strategy and quantitative research. Previously, he was the Chief Equity Strategist and Director of Quantitative Research at Sanford C. Bernstein, where he spent more than 11 years. Parker’s other key roles at SCB included Global Director of Research and prior to that, the Senior Semiconductor Analyst, where he was II’s #1 ranked analyst every year he covered the industry. Earlier, he was a financial and statistical analyst at American Express and a management consultant focused on the financial sector. He lives in New York City and is married with 3 children.

Parker earned a PhD in Statistics from Boston University, an MS in Biostatistics from the University of North Carolina and a BS in Statistics from the University of Michigan.


Lou Patalano

Lou Patalano

Lou Patalano
Chief Legal Officer, Senior Vice President and Corporate Secretary
Blue Crosss and Blue Shield of Louisiana
Baton Rouge, La.

Select to view profile.

Lou Patalano is chief legal officer, senior vice president and corporate secretary with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana.

Prior to joining Blue Cross Louisiana, Lou was of counsel and a member of the Health Care and FDA practice group with K&L Gates, a global law firm, in its Research Triangle Park, N.C., office. Before K&L Gates, Patalano served as chief legal officer, senior corporate vice president, and corporate secretary for Sentara Healthcare and Optima Health, a large integrated delivery network, in Virginia. Previously, he was employed with Cape Fear Valley Health System, the ninth largest health system in North Carolina, where he served as its first ever general counsel and senior vice president of legal services.

Formerly, Patalano was deputy general counsel and vice president with Blue Cross North Carolina, where he served as the organization’s leader of the day-to-day legal function. Earlier in his career, he also served as an assistant attorney general with the North Carolina Attorney General’s Office in Raleigh and as a special assistant United States attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Offices in Raleigh and Charlotte, prosecuting health care fraud and abuse cases in state and federal courts.

Patalano currently serves as chair of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH) Alumni Committee on Racial and Ethnic Diversity (ACRED) and as a member of the ACRED Asian-American subcommittee. Patalano currently sits on the UNC-CH General Alumni Association Board of Directors and has served on the UNC-CH Board of Visitors. Also, he was on the Campaign for Carolina diversity strategy committee. Patalano actively supports the Asian American Center at UNC-CH and is a founding supporter of the Miranda Family Fellowships at Woolly Mammoth Theatre in Washington, D.C. (a workforce development program designed to provide talented candidates from historically excluded communities with the opportunity to build their careers in the arts). Patalano has also served on the Board of Directors for Communities in Schools of North Carolina and Communities in Schools of Cumberland County. Additionally, he was on the Board of Directors and in leadership roles with the North Carolina Society of Health Care Attorneys and the North Carolina Bar Association Health Law Section Council.

In 2021, Patalano was recognized by Virginia Business as one of the commonwealth’s Legal Elite (Corporate Counsel). In 2011, Patalano was recognized by The Fayetteville Observer as one of its Top 40 Under Forty – an honor awarded to the region’s rising leaders based on both their business success and community impact.

Patalano received a Bachelor of Arts in English and Political Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Juris Doctor from the University of Maryland School of Law.

 


Dr. Patsy Polston

Patsy M. Polston

Patsy M. Polston, PhD ’15 (environmental sciences and engineering)
Faculty
Department of Health Behavior
Gillings School of Global Public Health
Waldorf, Md.

Select to view profile.

 

Patsy Polston is a public health environmental microbiologist with a focus in water research and a passion for creating healthy environments for underserved populations. Her trajectory began at Tuskegee University where she completed her BS in electrical engineering and physics. Upon graduation, she worked as an engineer for Ford Motor Company. During such time, Polston realized she was passionate about preventive health and she entered a MSPH program in the Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Gillings School of Global Public Health. During her tenure at the Gillings School, she was actively involved in local community environmental justice issues and worked with a Non-Government Organization (NGO) in India on water, sanitation and hygiene.

These experiences solidified her passion for community and environmental health; enabled her to realize the importance of collaborating with impacted communities; and confirmed her interest in conducting interdisciplinary research. Polston pursued a doctorate and merged two sciences by minoring in Health Behavior. At Gillings, she was actively involved in the School community, holding numerous leadership positions, including: serving two terms as co-president of the Minority Student Caucus, three terms as the Dean’s Council Student Representative, and co-president of the Student Government. Polston successfully completed her PhD in 2015 where she investigated the controversial subject pertaining to waste management practices of land applying biosolids by analyzing its potential microbial impact on nearby water bodies.

Upon graduation, she was chosen as the 2015 inaugural Dennis and Mireille Gillings Pasteur Foundation Fellowship where she spent three years working in the Department of Enteric Viruses at Paris-based Insitut Pasteur, conducting environmental and human surveillance for polioviruses and other enteroviruses. Her research brought her to Madagascar, among other International Network sites within Pasteur. Polston is currently teaching at the Gillings School in the Department of Health Behavior. One of her goals is to educate and empower people, giving them the tools they need to improve their health and quality of life. Outside of her professional life, she enjoys traveling, spending time with her husband, family and friends.

Polston earned a BS in Electrical Engineering and Physics from Tuskegee University, an MSPH and a PhD in Environmental Sciences and Engineering (minor in Health Behavior) from the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health.


Azhar Richmond

Azhar Richmond

Azhar Richmond, MBA
Executive Director of Institutional Equities Sales
Morgan Stanley
New York, N.Y.

Select to view profile.

 

Azhar Richmond is an Executive Director within Morgan Stanley’s Institutional Equities division. She began her career on Wall Street in 2005 after graduating from Harvard with a degree in Psychology. She worked at JP Morgan’s Investment Bank from 2005-08 and at Chanel as a Fragrance & Beauty Analyst from 2008-09. In 2009, she went back to Harvard for her MBA and joined the US Sales team at Morgan Stanley in the fall on 2011.

Azhar is Co-Captain of the Harvard Recruiting team at Morgan Stanley and serves on the Summer Analyst Internship Program’s Diversity Council. She was born and raised in Oakland, CA and is the youngest of five children.


George Thomas

George Thomas

George Thomas, MBA
Chief Operating Officer
XB Market Ventures
Bermuda

Select to view profile.

George Thomas has over 30 years of financial services experience spanning asset management, investment banking, electronic trading, institutional capital market structure, technology, commercial banking, and internal audit at a broad range of the firms in New York, Boston, Bermuda, London and Tokyo, Japan. Mr. Thomas’ unique background has encompassed working on both the buy side and sell side of Wall Street as derivatives sales trader, active quantitative portfolio manager, software developer and manager of global sales teams.

Currently, George is the Chief Operating Officer of XB Market Ventures, a global fintech firm, headquartered in Bermuda, that develops digital asset market infrastructure and provides strategic advisory services. Prior to joining XB, Mr. Thomas served as Senior Advisor in the consulting and advisory practice of PwC Bermuda. He led numerous consulting and advisory engagements encompassing strategy, cybersecurity, data privacy, mergers and acquisitions and risk assessment, including a multi-year initiative to deliver a comprehensive Reform Plan to the Government of Bermuda. Mr. Thomas has over 20 years of corporate governance experience, serving on the Board of Directors of regulated and non-regulated entities in North America, Asia and Europe. He currently serves, or has served, as an independent director and committee member on the boards of companies (public and private) as well as investment funds. He is a Registered Director with Cayman Islands Monetary Authority under the Directors Registration and Licensing Law of 2014 and has been registered since inception. In 2013, he earned a Certificate in International Trust Management from Society of Trust & Estate Practitioners (STEP) in advance of serving as protector for a Bermuda trust. Since 2017, Mr. Thomas has been a guest lecturer at Harvard Law School on cybersecurity disclosure considerations for public companies to a second & third year Securities Law class.

Mr. Thomas earned an B.A. in Economics from Duke University and an M.B.A. in Finance and Quantitative Methods from the UNC at Chapel Hill.


LeVelton Thomas

LeVelton Thomas

LeVelton R. Thomas, BSPH 2008; MHA 2013 (HPM)
Alumni Association Advisory Board Chair Ex-Officio
Account Executive
Healthcare and Life Sciences, Microsoft
Durham, N.C.

Select to view profile.

I am excited for the opportunity to give back to the Gillings School and stay connected with current students and alumni.

How I support or give back to the Gillings School:
I give back to the Gillings School through mentorship, professional development, and financial contributions. I also enjoy serving as a resource for prospective students, who are interested in pursuing their graduate studies at Gillings.

How my UNC public health education and degree impacted my life and career:
The Gillings School provided a strong educational foundation, preparing me to be successful in internship and post-graduate fellowship opportunities. Since entering the workforce, I have been very impressed with the power of the alumni network in helping me advance in my career.

My favorite thing about the Gillings School:
My favorite thing about the Gillings School are the people – collaborative classmates, knowledgeable instructors, and supportive staff all working together to advance the field of public health.

I’m originally from:
Raleigh, N.C. and have lived in North Carolina my entire life. My immediate and extended family are all close by in central and eastern North Carolina.

An accomplishment I’m proud of:
Winning the Everett V. Fox CASE competition at the National Association Of Health Service Executives with my fellow Gillings School classmates.

The best advice I’ve ever received:
“Learn from every single being, experience, and moment. What joy it is to search for lessons and goodness and enthusiasm in others.” – Eve Marie Carson

To start a conversation with me:
Ask me about my favorite restaurant!

Something most people may not know about me:
I’m a fraternal twin.


Walker Wilson

Walker Wilson

Walker Wilson, MPH
Assistant Secretary for Policy
NC Department of Health and Human Services
Raleigh, N.C.

Select to view profile.

Walker Wilson is the Assistant Secretary for Policy at the NC Department of Health and Human Services. In her role, she leads policy development and analysis for key priority areas of the Department, including responding to the Opioid Crisis, strengthening the state’s focus on early childhood, addressing the non-medial drivers of health, and transforming the state’s Medicaid program to managed care. Most recently, Wilson was the Director of the Health Policy Office at Blue Cross Blue Shield North Carolina where she led the team analyzing and influencing federal regulations under the Affordable Care Act. Wilson previously served as a Senior Advisor at DHHS and with the Division of Public Health. She was also a Health Policy Advisor to Governor Mike Easley. Prior to that, she worked as a Senior Manager for the Boston Public Health Commission

Wilson holds a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a master’s in public health from Boston University.


Members Emeriti

Fred T. Brown, Jr., MPH, FACHE
Retired Group Senior Vice President
Eastern Division
Carolinas HealthCare System
Charlotte, NC

Kelly B. Browning, MA
Executive Vice President
American Institute for Cancer Research
Washington, DC

Paul Casey
UNC Gillings Advisory Council Member
Former Vice President and
Global Head, Cardiac Safety Services
Quintiles
Chapel Hill, NC

Leah Devlin, DDS, MPH ’84 (health policy and management)
Gillings Professor of the Practice
UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health
Research and Innovation Solutions
Chapel Hill, NC

C. David Hardison, PhD ’81 (biostatistics)
Vice President, Health Sciences, Retired
ConvergeHEALTH by Deloitte
Irvine, CA

Lisa M. LaVange, PhD ’83 (biostatistics)
Professor and Associate Chair
Department of Biostatistics
Director, Collaborative Studies Coordinating Center
UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health
Chapel Hill, NC

Susanne Glen Moulton, JD, MPH ’78 (health policy and management)
Principal
The Xenia Group Inc.
Durham, NC

James H. Rosen, MBA, MSPH ’07 (health policy and management)
President and Chief Executive Officer
Artizan Biosciences
Chapel Hill, NC

Ilene C. Siegler, PhD, MPH ’88 (epidemiology)
Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
Duke University School of Medicine
Durham, NC

Celette Sugg Skinner, PhD ’91 (health behavior)
Professor and Chair
Department of Clinical Sciences
Associate Director for Cancer Control and Population Sciences
Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Dallas, TX

Paula Brown Stafford, MPH ’92 (biostatistics)
President, Clinical Development, Retired
Quintiles
Chapel Hill, NC

Russell B. Toal, MPH ’76 (health policy and management)
Deputy Division Director for Operations and Systems at New Mexico
Human Services Department, Medical Assistance Division
Santa Fe, NM

Jack E. Wilson, PE, MSENV ’70 (environmental sciences and engineering)
Board of Directors
TEC, Incorporated
Keswick, VA

Thomas K. Wong, PhD ’76 (nutrition), MPH ’79 (health policy and management)
Vice President
Meganium Corporation
Durham, NC

RELATED PAGES
CONTACT INFORMATION
Our Team

SPH Advancement
135 Dauer Drive
107 Rosenau Hall, CB #7400
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7400
(919) 966-0198

Alumni and Donor Events

November 11
All Day
Biostatistics 75th Anniversary Conference and Celebration