The Gillings School’s Practice Advisory Committee consists of experienced leaders from public health as well as those in public and private enterprises with relevance to public health. The committee convenes three times a year and focuses on strengthening our connections to practice in order to better address the challenges faced in improving the health of North Carolinians. Among others, these steps include creating an intentional dialogue between Gillings School leaders and North Carolina practice and policy leaders, identifying research and service contributions to strengthen public health practice, and creating pathways for improvements in North Carolina public health policy and practice. Want find out more about the Practice Advisory Committee? Contact Elizabeth French at eafrench@unc.edu.

Bill Pully, JD, Chair
Senior Counsel
Nexsen Pruet

Leah Devlin, DDS, Co-Chair
Professor of the Practice
Health Policy and Management, UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health

Ronny Bell, PhD
Professor and Chair
Department of Public Health, Brody School of Medicine
East Carolina University

Colleen Bridger, PhD, MPH 
Director
San Antonio Metropolitan Health District

Ellen Essick, PhD
Section Chief
NC Healthy Schools, North Carolina Department of Public Instruction

Elizabeth French, MA
Assistant Dean for Strategic Initiatives
Gillings School of Global Public Health

Heather Gates, MPH
Owner and Consultant
Hkg Public Health Projects, LLC

Laura Gerald, MD, MPH
President
Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust

Gayle Harris, MPH
Director
Durham County Health Department

Kathy Higgins, MS
President and CEO
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation

Lin Hollowell, MBA
Director, Health Care
The Duke Endowment

Sue Lynn Ledford, RN, BSN, MPA
Division Director
Wake County Public Health

Laura Linnan, ScD
Senior Associate Dean for Academic and Student Affairs
Professor, Health Behavior
UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health

J. Lloyd Michener, MD
Professor and Chair
Community and Family Medicine, Duke University School of Medicine

Ben Money, MPH
President and CEO
NC Community Health Center Association

Maggie Sauer, MHA, MS
Director, Office of Rural Health
NC Department of Health and Human Services

Anna Schenck, PhD
Associate Dean for Practice
Director and Professor of the Practice
Public Health Leadership Program, UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health

Danny Staley, MPH
Division Director
NC Division of Public Health

Jacqueline Wynn, MPH
Associate Director
North Carolina Area Health Education Centers Program