Elizabeth Sobel Blum
Ms. Sobel Blum leads the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas’ work in healthy communities. Sobel Blum’s areas of focus include health, housing, workforce development, small business and entrepreneurship and community development finance. Sobel Blum serves on the board of directors of ChangeLab Solutions and the Community Advisory Board of the University of North Texas Health Science Center’s (UNTHSC) Center for Community Health. In May 2014 she completed the STAR Fellowship Program. She earned a BA from Northwestern University, an MBA from the University of Texas at Dallas and an MA from American University.
Dean Brennan
Mr. Brennan has over 40 years of professional planning experience including 20 years with the City of Phoenix Planning Department. Since retiring in 2008, he has focused on addressing critical issues of healthy eating/active living, social equity, and community sustainability. This includes the preparation of Health Impact Assessments (HIA); conducting HIA training; collaborating with public agencies to incorporate healthy community design into public policies; and working on projects focused on healthy housing, transit-oriented development and the long-term sustainability of neighborhoods.
Dr. John Cook
Dr. Cook is an Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at Boston University School of Medicine and one of Children’s HealthWatch’s Principal Investigators. His research interests include examining the effects of hunger, food security, housing security, and energy security on children’s health and well-being, and ways to increase access to affordable, healthy food. Dr. Cook received his BA from the University of Alabama in Mathematics and Spanish, his MAEd from Arizona State University in Educational Psychology, and his Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in Planning for Developing Areas with concentrations in Demography and Population Studies and Economics.
Colby Dailey
Ms. Dailey is the Managing Director of Build Healthy Places Network working to promote and catalyze collaboration at the intersection of community development and health. Previously she directed the global impact investing policy practice at Pacific Community Ventures and launched and directed a national network at the DC-based CDFI, Capital Impact Partners. She is a national reviewer for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Culture of Health Prize and an officer of the Board of the Northern California Community Loan Fund. She received her Masters in Public Policy at U.C. Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy.
Sara Dechter
Ms. Dechter has 10 years of experience in federal environmental management, and forest recreation and planning. Her primary interest is in developing collaborative efforts that allow for meaningful public involvement in complex social, economic, and environmental issues. She holds a MSP in Urban and Regional Planning from Florida State University and a BA in Sociology with a minor in Public Policy from the University of Notre Dame.
Leslie Ethen
Ms. Ethen is the Sustainability Manager for the City of Tucson’s Office of Integrated Planning and is responsible for overseeing the City’s natural resource planning efforts and the implementation of the City’s Sustainability Plan. Among her responsibilities are managing the City’s climate change mitigation and adaptation planning program, overseeing the City’s open governance initiative including the development and tracking of sustainability metrics, and administering habitat preservation and enhancement programs. Leslie has also been a member of the Urban Sustainability Directors Network since 2009.
Francisco A.R. García, M.D., M.P.H
Dr. García is the Director and Chief Medical Officer of the Pima County Health Department. Dr. García is a member of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force which produces national evidence-based clinical guidelines, as well as the Institute of Medicine Roundtable on Health Equity and the Elimination of Health Disparities. Previously, he was a Distinguished Outreach Professor of Public Health and Obstetrics & Gynecology at the University of Arizona. Dr. García earned his M.D. at the University of Arizona, where he also completed a residency in obstetrics and gynecology. He earned his M.P.H. in health policy and management and completed a fellowship in women’s reproductive health at Johns Hopkins University.
Olivia Guerrero
Ms. Guerrero, MS, BSW, has served as President/CEO for Pinal-Gila Council for Senior Citizens, the local Area Agency on Aging for Pinal and Gila counties since 1990. She received her degrees from Arizona State University. She currently serves as President of the Pinal-Gila Seniors Foundation, Board Treasurer – Arizona Association of Area Agencies on Aging and has served on the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging Board of Directors in Washington D.C., and was an NVL Partner of the American Society on Aging. She is a past recipient of the statewide leadership award – Profiles of Success for Hispanics Leaders, Pinal County’s Outstanding Community Service Award, and Wall of Fame for Central Arizona College.
CJ Eisenbarth Hager
Ms. Eisenbarth Hager is Director, Healthy Community Policies, for St. Luke’s Health Initiatives (SLHI). Her current work includes developing health recommendations for Reinvent PHX, attracting new healthy food retailers to neighborhoods with few options, supporting the establishment of a food policy council in Maricopa County and supporting the recentlypassed complete streets ordinance within the City of Phoenix. She also works with partners to bring health into the public policy decision-making process through tools like health impact assessments and health in all policies. C.J. received her bachelor’s degree in economics from Marquette University and a master’s degree in Regional and Community Planning from Kansas State University.
Martin Ince
Mr. Ince is responsible for planning Flagstaff’s trails, bicycle and pedestrian facilities. He is also a planner for the Flagstaff Urban Trails System, a city-wide network of more than 50 miles of shared use pathways that are used extensively for commuting and recreation. Mr. Ince has been a city planner for 27 years, including 17 years in Flagstaff and 10 years for various communities in the Chicago area. He has a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Carleton College and a master’s degree in urban planning from the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Fred Karnas
Dr. Karnas serves as an adviser to the Kresge Foundation’s Human Services and Health teams and supports the executive team in special initiatives and cross-program collaborations. Fred also was senior adviser to U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan, serving as HUD’s liaison to the Department of Health and Human Services on issues affecting homeless persons, older Americans and persons with disabilities. Fred’s nonprofit work has included service as executive director of several housing and human service organizations. He holds a bachelor of city planning degree from the University of Virginia School of Architecture, an MSW from Virginia Commonwealth University, and a Ph.D. from the College of Architecture and Urban Studies at Virginia Tech.
Kathleen Pechman
Ms. Pechman is Senior Vice President/CRA Officer for National Bank of Arizona, responsible for the Bank’s compliance with the Community Reinvestment Act. Prior to joining National Bank of Arizona, Kathy was with Bank of America for 29 years where she held positions in Loan Operations, Community Development Banking, Regulatory Risk, and Vendor Management for Mortgage Lending. Kathy currently serves on the board of the AZ YWCA Maricopa County, the Arizona Housing Alliance and Habitat for Humanity Central Arizona. She is a member of the Arizona Partnership for Healthy Communities and the Arizona Community Reinvestment Collaborative.
Alisha Sanders
Ms. Sanders is a senior policy research associate at the Center for Applied Research and the managing director of the Center for Housing Plus Services, both within LeadingAge. Her work with both groups focuses on identifying, evaluating and advancing models and strategies to link low-income senior housing with health and supportive services to help residents meet their care needs, maintain their quality of life and successfully age in place. Prior to joining LeadingAge, she was the Associate Director of Public Policy for Aging Services of California where she advocated for improved affordable housing opportunities for California’s lower-income seniors. Alisha holds a Master in Public Affairs from the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas.
Christine E. Shipley
Ms. Shipley, CPM® is Vice President of Dunlap and Magee Property Management Inc. and has been with the firm since November 1990. Twenty-six years of hands on experience have provided Christine with a strong background and the ability to ensure the achievement of budgets, goals, policy requirements and owner objectives. Christine has held her Arizona Real Estate license since 1994 and is a CPM ® (Certified Property Manager) designated by the Institute of Real Estate Management. Her participations include Chair-Arizona Multihousing Association, Member-Chamber of Commerce Crime Council, Secretary-Constable Ethics Standard and Training Board and Designated Executive CPM of Accredited Management Organization-IREM.
Serena Unrein
Ms. Unrein is the Director of the Arizona Partnership for Healthy Communities, a statewide collaboration of non-profits, businesses, government agencies, and foundations working to make Arizona’s communities healthier by design. Serena has played a leadership role in several Arizona-based non-profit organizations for the past decade. She has run numerous advocacy campaigns to make measurable improvements in the health and livelihoods of Arizonans, built coalitions with diverse groups, and conducted research about some of the state’s most pressing policy issues. Serena has a degree in Marketing from Arizona State University.