• Arthur W. Adams
• Bob Anderson
• Helen H. Baker
• Terri Ann Burton
• Sandra L. Cotton
• James W. Cox
• Patricia A. Crawford
• Debbie Curry
• Alan Ducatman
• Hilda R. Heady
• Jim Kranz
• Vanessa Linger
• Robert W. White

Arthur W. Adams, B.S., R.S.
Arthur W. Adams is the Public Health Services Program Manager for the Monongalia County Health Department (MCHD), located in Morgantown, WV. He is in charge of four programming areas including Disease Surveillance and Disease Control, Environmental Health, Health Promotion and Threat Preparedness. He began his health career as a Registered Sanitarian in Preston County. While there, he enlisted in the Army National Guard and pursued additional training as an environmental health specialist. He served as his unit's non-commissioned officer in charge of nuclear, biological and chemical warfare training. In 1988, he transferred to the MCHD and served as the Environmental Health Director. In 1998, he became the Public Health Services Program Manager and was placed in charge of clinical programs as the result of program consolidation. Recently, he has worked with the threat preparedness effort and serves on the WV Public Health Threat Preparedness Oversight Committee.
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Bob Anderson
Robert H. Anderson is Deputy Director of West Virginia University's Prevention Research Center (PRC). The PRC emphasizes collaboration with local, state, national, and higher education partners to conduct public health research that impacts policy and practice, particularly with rural underserved groups and communities. The Center works very closely with the WV Bureau for Public Health (WVBPH) on a host of issues. As Deputy Director, his responsibilities include administration, liaison with CDC, research, supervision of three Health Promotion Specialists, and training. His research area of interest is tobacco, especially with regard to tobacco prevention, policy, smoking and pregnancy, and secondhand smoke. Earlier in his career he was with the Division of Health Promotion at the WVBPH, where his responsibilities included designing, directing, and evaluating West Virginia's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System during its first six years of operation.
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Helen H. Baker, Ph.D.
Helen H. Baker, Ph.D., MBA, is Associate Dean for Assessment and Educational Development, and Professor (with tenure) of Clinical Sciences at the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine (WVSOM). Her background includes a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1978, with emphasis on Educational Evaluation and Human Learning. She received her M.B.A. from the University of Arizona in 1982, with concentration on Organization Development. Her M.Ed. was received from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1975, and her B.A. from Berea College, Berea, Kentucky, in 1972, with a major in Psychology. Her research interests include a) assessment of student performance, b) orientation towards family medicine, rural primary care, and osteopathic medicine, and c) women in osteopathic medicine. Primarily with William Martin, Ph.D., and members of the WVSOM clinical faculty, since 1990 she has co-authored grants totaling more than $1.5M.

Dr. Baker was promoted from office "Director" to "Associate Dean" on March 1, 2003. Immediately prior to joining WVSOM's faculty in December 1991, Dr. Baker had served as Associate Director of the Department of Education for the American Osteopathic Association, where she assisted with administration and policy development and served as Secretary to the Committee on Postdoctoral Training, Advisory Board for Osteopathic Specialists, and other committees and subcommittees. From July, 1992 to June, 1998, she had been Assistant Dean for Educational Development and Resources at Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine. She had previously worked at the medical schools at the University of Arizona and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
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Terri Ann Berton
Terri Berton has served as the Sr. Staff Development Specialist and Health Promotion
Supervisor within Public Health Services of the Monogalia County Health Department (MCHD) in Morgantown, WV since January of 2001. She oversees staff development activities by conducting meeting and/or training sessions and field training as needed, and developing and updating curriculum and training materials. Terri also coordinates distance learning of satellite broadcasts and web based courses via state of the art presentation equipment in the MCHD Training Center. She participates in the development and implementation of all aspects of Threat Preparedness training. Terri joined MCHD in June 1983 as a Sanitarian trained in all areas of Environmental Health Services, quickly becoming a Registered Sanitarian and was the Environmental Health Supervisor prior to attaining her current position.

Before joining MCHD, Terri served as the Science Department Chair and Instructor of Clarksburg Notre Dame High School. She developed and implemented a six year, three-tier curriculum including advanced, intermediate, and basic lab based chemistry, computer science, general science and physics courses. Terri also holds bachelor degrees in Chemistry and Secondary Education.
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Sandra L. Cotton, MS, RN, C-ANP
Sandra Cotton has served as the SN Assistant Professor for the School of Nursing (West Virginia University) since 1993. She is responsible for management of faculty practice, designed to support the School of Nursing's research teaching, and service missions. Ms. Cotton is also a member of the Faculty Practice Plan, providing primary health care at Medical Group Practice and Morgantown Health Right as well as clinical preceptor for nurse practitioner students.

Ms. Cotton received her BSN in nursing from West Virginia University (1984) and went on to receive a MS as adult nurse practitioner from the University of Maryland (1995). She has worked with the 167th Aeromedical Evacuation Flight as an instructor for newly commissioned flight nurses. Ms. Cotton has also served as a program coordinator/research nurse at the John Hopkins University (1990-91), and has authored many publications. Currently, Ms. Cotton serves as the present chair for West Virginia Nurses-Political Action Committee and is the acting President for the West Virginia Nurses Association.
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James W. Cox
James W. Cox has served as the state training officer and exercise training officer for the West Virginia Office of Emergency services since 1990. He is primarily responsible for program management activities of the agency and the fifty-five counties of the state. As a member of the agency, he is required to respond to all disasters that affect the state. He served a twenty (20) active duty career as a civil engineering officer in the United States Air Force. He graduated from West Virginia University with a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture (1966). Cox received his Master's of Science in systems management from the University of Southern California in 1986.
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Patricia A. Crawford, MS, CHES
Patricia A. Crawford has been involved with rural health care in West Virginia for the past 25 years. First as a respiratory therapist, she developed a cardiopulmonary department in a rural hospital in southern West Virginia. After getting a master's degree in community health education, she was hired by the WV School of Osteopathic Medicine (WVSOM) on a contract with the WV Bureau of Public Health as a regional health promotion specialist. Currently she is executive director of the Southeastern Area Health Education Center (AHEC) covering nine counties in southeastern West Virginia as well as the Rural Health Education Partnership (RHEP) program coordinator for WVSOM. The program goal is to provide seamless integration of postgraduate and undergraduate health professions training to recruit providers to rural underserved areas of the state.
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Debbie Curry
Debbie Curry is Executive Director for the Southwestern AHEC, based in Athens, West Virginia. She has held this position for one year. Prior to that, she was Vice President for Student and Staff Affairs and Legal Counsel to the President at Concord College in Athens, WV for several years, overseeing a variety of college functions, including personnel, housing, athletics, multi-cultural affairs, ADA, medical services and others. Ms. Curry continues to teach on a part time basis at the college, and serves as a consultant to the HR function there as well. Prior to her work at the college, Ms. Curry worked for 4 years as an Employment Manager for Princeton Community Hospital, and her duties included recruitment of all health care disciplines. Ms. Curry has been a licensed attorney in the state of West Virginia for 20 years. She is a member of the WV State Bar, and is active in many community organizations in Mercer County. She is currently involved in the candidacy process for ordination as a local pastor in the United Methodist Church.

Ms. Curry is an honor graduate of Washington and Lee University College of Law, in Lexington, Virginia, and was valedictorian of her class at Concord College, receiving dual degrees in Political Science and Sociology. She is married and the mother of one son.
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Alan Ducatman, MD, MSc
Chair, Department of Community Medicine
Dr. Alan Ducatman received the MD degree from Wayne State University and the MSc in Environmental Health from the City University of New York. He completed post-graduate training at Brown University and the Mayo Clinic, and is Board Certified in Internal Medicine and Occupational Medicine. Before coming to WVU, Dr. Ducatman served as the Director of MIT Environmental Medical Service, and Director of the Professional Occupational Health Branch, United States Navy Environmental Health Center.

A fellow of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine and the American College of Physicians, Dr. Ducatman has received numerous awards including the Robert J. Hilker Lectureship Award in 1993, and the Harriet Hardy Highest Ideals Award of the New England College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine in 1997. He has led a successful effort to include Environmental Medicine as a central function of his professional society.
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Hilda R. Heady
Hilda R. Heady is the Associate Vice President for Rural Health at West Virginia University, Executive Director of the West Virginia Rural Health Education Partnerships and Program Director of the West Virginia AHEC. She is the current president-elect and immediate past Secretary of NRHA, and former chair of the Statewide Health Resources Constituency Group of NRHA. She is also a former Board member of the Community Campus Partnerships for Health and recently received the national Leadership Award of this organization. She was CEO of a 58-bed small, rural hospital for five years. She was the founder/director of the birth center in this hospital. Ms. Heady holds a Master's degree in Social Work, the Achievement Award, West Virginia Hospital Association in 1991; the American College of Healthcare Executives Regents Award in 1991; the Exemplar Award of the West Virginia Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers in 1992; and the Governor's Award for Outstanding Achievement in Rural Health in 1996.
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Jim Kranz
Jim Kranz has over 25 years experience in a variety of health care settings including clinical and administrative areas plus experience as a health care consultant. He is currently the Vice President for Professional Activities at the West Virginia Hospital Association. In this capacity, he oversees the issues and developments involving hospital licensure, licensing boards, the JCAHO and a number of quality initiatives including a quality measurement system with the Maryland Quality Indicator Project and a physician practice variation study. Jim is also responsible for the planning and implementation of the Association's technology development including the WVHA web page and database. He has played a key role in the development and deployment of an e-learning product called careLearning.com, which involves 40 other state associations and the American Hospital Association, and for which he currently serves as Vice Chairman. Mr. Kranz holds a Masters of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Charleston College of Business.
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Vanessa Linger
Vanessa Linger received her bachelors of science in business administration from West Virginia University in May of 1988. Currently she is serving the university as Associate Director to the Eastern Area Health Education Center. Before accepting this position, Linger held the position of Chief Business Officer for the University Libraries. Her major responsibilities included planning, preparing, administering, and monitoring the University Libraries' (Downtown Library Complex and its branch libraries including Evansdale and Health Sciences Libraries) budget for all state allocated, state special revenue and grant funds totaling in excess of $9.5 million and West Virginia University Foundation accounts in excess of $2.5 million. Linger has also served as member of Academic Affairs Expert Business Officers Forum, member of College and Division Business Officers Forum, member of Business Services and Procurement User Group Forum, and on the 11i Oracle Upgrade Subcommittee.
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Robert W. White II, RS, MPH
Mr. White has twenty-eight years of public health experience and currently serves as the Regional Epidemiologist for a six county region in north-central West Virginia. He has held this position since the inception of the program in 1996. This position requires communicable disease surveillance strategies as well as organizational skills to facilitate rapid response to disease outbreaks and problems including threat preparedness issues and bio-terrorism events.

Mr. White received his undergraduate degree in health education from Fairmont State University and his Master of Public Health Degree from West Virginia University. He is also a graduate of the South-East Public Health Leadership Institute and serves on the WVU MPH Advisory Committee. He is an Adjunct Professor at Fairmont State University teaching Public Health Seminar and Field Practice in Public Health. He began his career as a Sanitarian and progressed to Sanitarian Supervisor before accepting his current employment.
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Kari L. Long, MBA
Ms. Long is a graduate from West Virginia University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism and a Masters degree in Business Administration. She is currently employed with University Health Associates as Director for the WVU Health Sciences Office of Continuing Education for Medicine, Nursing, and Dentistry. Ms. Long has served in this capacity for three years. Prior to assuming the responsibilities of Nursing and Dentistry, Ms. Long served as the Director of the WVU Office of Continuing Medical Education for ten years. During that time, she also served as Interim Program Director for MDTV from October 1993 – January 1994, January – April 1997, and March 1998 – present.

As Director for CE, Ms. Long directs the planning, coordination, and promotion of course offerings, programs, and conferences in response to needs assessments and the findings of the strategic plan. She must be responsive to the criteria and standards by which eligible sponsors of CE are evaluated by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the WV Board of Examiners for Registered Professional Nurses, and the American Dental Association, the Academy of General Dentistry and the Association for Continuing Dental Education. The Office of CE designates credit for approximately 100 annual activities and 60 ongoing (grand rounds) activities.

Prior to serving in her current position, Ms. Long was responsible for coordinating the Rural Health Conference for WVU. The conference eventually teamed with the West Virginia Office of Rural Health to become the statewide West Virginia Rural Health Conference. She also was the Associate Producer of the documentary Rural Health: Meeting the Challenge, a showcase of successful rural health programs in West Virginia.
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Daniel Nibouar
Daniel Nibouar is an Associate with Community Research Associates, Inc. (CRA). Currently serving as a Team Leader to one of CRA's State and Local Exercise Support Teams, Mr Nibouar is primarily working on a project with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Office for Domestic Preparedness. His experience includes the design, development, conduct, and evaluation of emergency preparedness tabletop, functional and full-scale exercises, with expertise in weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and terrorism response issues. He has served as lead facilitator or senior controller in several exercises, as well as facilitating emergency management, senior/elected officials and medical community table discussions. His current projects include supporting the States of West Virginia and North Carolina, and leading a team piloting an exercise program in Baltimore and Pittsburgh with Major League Baseball focusing on evacuation of and emergency response to their ballparks.

In addition, Mr. Nibouar supports CRA's other State and Local Exercise Support Teams, as well as CRA's Marine Corps Exercise Team, as a simulation cell leader, field controller and as a functional area facilitator. Before serving in his current role with CRA, Mr. Nibouar the Deputy Venue Team Leader for the Washington State venue of the Top Officials 2 (TOPOFF2) national exercise and was instrumental in the design, development conduct and evaluation of exercise activities.

Before joining CRA, Mr. Nibouar worked with another consulting firm researching and identifying emerging technologies in risk management for NASA. Mr. Nibouar earned his graduate degree, focusing on Emergency Management (M.E.M.) from The George Washington University. He has a bachelor's degree in biology from Ursinus College.
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Sandra Y. Pope
Sandra Pope has over fifteen years of experience working within the West Virginia Bureau for Public Health. She has served as director for the Office of Rural Health Policy, Black Lung Clinics Program, and an EEO/AA counselor. She received her Master's of Social Work from the Ohio State University in 1980. Ms. Pope also is a presenter and reviewer of grants for the State Office of Rural Health, Critical Access Hospitals, and the Rural Outreach and Network Development. Her community-based partnership development experience is extensive. She serves as President of the West Virginia Rural Health Association, National Rural Health Association Board of Trustees Member and Chair of the Statewide Health Resources Constituency Group and representative for the State Association Council, and the Kanawha Valley Senior Services Board. Ms. Pope is currently the associate director for the West Virginia AHEC Program.
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Jan Ramsey
Jan Ramsey has twenty-five years of experience in the health care field, including Perioperative services, critical care, case management, risk management, safety, bioterrorism and disaster preparedness. Jan is a registered nurse with a BSN from Alderson-Broaddus College.

Currently Jan is the Director of Risk Management and Safety at West Virginia University Hospitals, where she oversees initiatives to improve environmental and patient safety. She is a member of the West Virginia Hospital Association's Disaster Preparedness Task Force, the Quality Healthcare Association of West Virginia where she has served as President from 1999-2000, and currently on the Board of Directors. She is also a past Board member of the Rosenbaum Family House, which serves family members of adult patients in WVU Hospital. She has been certified in health care quality since 1995 by NAHQ.
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Lori Risk
Lori Risk has fourteen years of experience in healthcare, rehabilitation and disability services. Lori is a licensed occupational therapist with a Master of Occupational Therapy degree from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Currently, Lori is the Program Manager for Traumatic Brain Injury/Spinal Cord Injury and Rural Health Programs at the Center for Excellence in Disabilities, West Virginia University, Robert C. Byrd Health Sciences Center. She has worked collaboratively with state agencies and organizations to improve services and supports for individuals with disabilities, including traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injury through training, technical assistance, resource coordination, curriculum development and interdisciplinary training for masters level college students going into allied health fields.
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Jeffery Allen Simpkins
Jeffery Simpkins received his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Regis University (2001), Associates Degree in Fire Science from Air University (Air Force), and Master's in Strategic Leadership and Organizational Management in 2003. He served in the United States Air Force and received many honors including: Honor graduate (basic training), fire technical school (top of the class), and expert marksman. He has been trained by the Department of Defense Terrorism Level I training and achieved fire officer IV (National Professional Quad Pro Board) in 2003.

Mr. Simpkins is Member of the International Association of Fire Service Instructors, National Fire Protection Association -Fire Service Board, Indonesian Fire and Rescue Board-Board of Director, National Training Directors Association TRADE, National Training Directors Association TRADE (Service Nomination Committee), and
Aircraft Rescue Firefighting Working Group. He is involved in many community contributions including: Director of West Virginia Elks Crippled Children's Camp
Board of Directors, Coach at the Princeton Independent Football League Board of Directors, Instructor of many CPR, ACLS, BTLS, and instructor of numerous rescue schools.

Currently he serves as the Fire Service Extension Program Leader with responsibilities for lead and development of the State Fire Academy located in Morgantown and the newly proposed facility at Jackson's Mill West Virginia. Provides leadership to the faculty and staff of the Fire Service Extension while, coordinating activities with agencies and organizations around the State of West Virginia in regards to fire prevention, and protection. Builds on and enhances current and proposed curricula and deliver processes for such.
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Catherine C. Slemp
Dr. Cathy Slemp serves as both the Director, Public Health Threat Preparedness and the Acting State Health Officer for the Bureau for Public Health, WV Department of Health and Human Resources. In partnership with many other agencies and partners, she facilitates and advances public health and the broader health care system's ability to detect and respond to urgent and emergent health threats, be they natural or man-made (from a community-wide foodborne disease outbreak to smallpox). Dr. Slemp's background is in infectious disease epidemiology — developing surveillance and communicable disease control policy for WV, advising communities and providers on management of communicable disease cases, leading outbreak investigations, teaching students, public health professionals, and health care providers, etc. Other responsibilities have included supporting strategic planning efforts for the Bureau for Public Health and serving as adjunct faculty with the Department of Community Medicine, West Virginia University.

Dr. Slemp came to West Virginia from her home state of Virginia (via New Jersey, India, North Carolina, and Maryland). She completed her Public Health and Preventive Medicine Residency at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, her residency in Family Practice at St. Margaret Memorial Hospital, Pittsburgh, and her medical degree from Duke University.
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Cathy Taylor
Cathy Taylor has thirty-five years of experience, education, and training in public health and community health services, including bioterrorism preparedness, maternal and child health administration, long-term care, hospice, health planning, medical social work, substance abuse counseling and organ donor education. Cathy is a licensed social worker with a Master of Social Work degree from West Virginia University School of Social Work.

Currently, Cathy is the Workforce Development Coordinator for the WV Bureau for Public Health, assisting the Commissioner with public health academic liaisons, leadership development, overseeing on-going education and training activities and coordinating medicine and public health initiatives. Specific activities include Coordinator, Focus Area G Education and Training for bioterrorism preparedness; WV-CDC/PHTN distance learning coordinator, organizing distance learning and other educational programs; structuring field-based experiences in state and local public health settings for MPH Practicum students and others; adjunct faculty member of the WVU Department of Community Medicine; state coordinator for the Southeast Public Health Leadership Institute of North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia and staff representative to the Southeast Public Health Training Center. Cathy also served as program coordinator of the West Virginia Healthy Initiatives Project, a joint project of the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources, Bureau for Medical Services, Bureau for Public Health and the National Pharmaceutical Council, Inc., a disease management initiative to improve the quality of life for many of West Virginia's Medicaid patients with diabetes.
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Henry G. Taylor, MD, MPH
Henry G. Taylor became Director of Public Health Education Programs for the Higher Education Policy Commission in July 2002, in order to blend health sciences education with public health through community service. Prior to that, Dr. Taylor served for more than six years as Commissioner of the Bureau for Public Health and State Health Officer under three governors. He was recruited to Pendleton County to form an innovative clinic, Pendleton Community Care, and then spent the next thirteen years in Pendleton County as a “modern country doctor.” Dr. Taylor earned his M.D. degree from Harvard Medical School with a double concentration in internal medicine and social and preventative medicine. He completed a residency in Primary Care Internal Medicine at the Baltimore City Hospitals of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. In addition to being board certified in internal medicine, he has a Masters of Public Health from the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health, and served a term on the original University System of West Virginia Board of Trustees.
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