First published on June 1, 2015 in observance of the COPH’s 30^th anniversary celebration.

It was the evening of May 2.  There was a slight chill in the air as fans gathered in Traditions Hall anxiously awaiting the event of the century.

No, not the Mayweather vs. Pacquiao fight.  The other event ….

The USF College of Public Health’s Inaugural Alumni Awards Ceremony.

More than 180 supporters of the college traveled from as far as Indonesia to celebrate 28 Bulls with significant impact in public health.  From research to practice to policy to teaching, the awardees have done it all and are doing it exceedingly well.

COPH 2015 alumni awardees

The celebration began with a cocktail reception at 6 p.m., followed by dinner and the ceremony.  The dynamic Dr. Joette Giovinco served as mistress of ceremony for the evening.  She’s the first physician to complete the COPH’s occupational medicine residency program, but is probably best known as Dr. Joe, the medical reporter for Fox News in Tampa.

Dr. Joe shared stories and relics from her days as a graduate student in 1988.  She even dusted off some vintage overhead sheets and her carousel replete with slides!

“We were so fortunate 30 years ago that visionary leaders like Sam Bell and Dr. Robert Hamlin believed that Florida deserved to have a school of public health and created the foundation for the first one in the state at the University of South Florida,” said Dr. Donna J. Petersen, COPH dean and senior associate vice president of USF Health.

“It is only fitting on the occasion of our 30^th anniversary that we recognize some of those alumni who, through their commitment to their profession, improve the health of communities around the world and reflect back so positively on our College of Public Health.”

Nominations were accepted through January.  A selection committee comprised of retired and current faculty, staff, alumni, students and community partners in public health had the arduous task of reviewing dozens of nomination packets.

Each alumni awardee received a stunning silver bull engraved with his or her name.

After dinner, Peggy Defay shared her experiences as a public health graduate student.

“As a first generation immigrant from Haiti,” she said, “higher education in any capacity is a priority for me.”

“I discovered my passion for public health through my experience as a Peace Corps volunteer in Namibia.  Through this experience, I gained a better understanding of health issues at the grassroots level.  Being a volunteer in the Peace Corps helped me understand some of my weaknesses and the need to continue training in this field.”

“The past seven years have taken me to various corners of the world where I have been privileged to meet, live and be empowered by many people.  The last two years at the University of South Florida are no exception to that.  And, I can now say that I have once again lived and worked among amazing people!”

Then, it was time for the main event—presentation of the COPH Class of 2015 alumni awardees.  Each alumni award recipient was recognized during the ceremony, and all are listed here.  A few of their stories are included for those who weren’t present to hear them all on May 2.

Tabia Henry Akintobi, PhD, MPH
Director, Prevention Research Center
Director, Evaluation and Institutional Assessment
Associate Professor, Department of Community Health and Preventive Medicine
Associate Dean, Community Health
Morehouse School of Medicine
Atlanta, Ga.

“As a graduate student, I had the opportunity not just to learn how to conduct research, but how to lead it in partnership with experts who cared,” Dr. Tabia Akintobi said.  “They recognized the importance of students as significant contributors to their research as reflected in the number of co-authored papers and abstracts I had under my belt prior to graduation.”

“Among the wonderful colleagues, mentors and leaders I met during my tenure was the love of my life, professional confidante and partner in good Dr. Adebayo Akindele Akintobi [former student and husband].”

Abdel A. Alli, PhD, MPH
Assistant Professor
Department of Physiology
Emory University School of Medicine
Atlanta, Ga.

Philip T. Amuso, PhD, MS
Consultant
Clinical Laboratory Medicine and Public Health Preparedness

Retired Director
Bureau of Laboratories
Florida Department of Health
Tampa, Fla.

Roy W. Beck, MD, PhD
Executive Director
Jaeb Center for Health Research
Tampa, Fla.

Sherri Berger, MSPH
Chief Operating Officer
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Atlanta, Ga.

“My undergraduate degree was in political science, and I didn’t know exactly what to do with it after graduation,” Sherri Berger said.

Sherri Berger and son Jacob.

“Listening to my mother’s advice to ‘get more education,’ I did what other college kids do, and I followed my boyfriend to Tampa, where he had a job offer.  I was hoping to get a master’s degree in hospital administration.  However, in my first semester at the COPH, I fell in love with epidemiology.”

Arlene Calvo, PhD, MPH
Research Assistant Professor
Depts. of Community and Family Health & Global Health
USF College of Public Health
City of Knowledge, Panama

James R. Chastain, Jr., PhD, PE, MPH
President
Chastain-Skillman, Inc.
Tampa, Fla.

“Having an undergraduate and graduate degrees in engineering, I found public health a perfect complement to that training,” Dr. James Chastain said.  “While engineering is much more design and nuts-and-bolts execution-oriented, public health was more about the personal impacts and generally a systems-oriented and advocacy approach.  There certainly was a great overlap, but even the way that I had to study was different.  Public health provided fresh perspectives to design problems, and I enjoyed expanding my horizons with my studies.  In a word, public health tended to address the “why” questions, and engineering focused on the “how” questions.  I’ve found that very helpful in my practice.”

The Chastain Family celebrated James accomplishments. James is pictured far left.

“The COPH also was quite progressive at the time in terms of scheduling courses that allowed working professionals to take the courses while working at the same time.”

Chastain managed a company and family with three children while earning his degree.

“The time pressures were intense,” he said, “and would not have been possible without a very understanding and supportive wife.”

Stephen R. Cole, PhD, MPH
Professor of Epidemiology
Gillings School of Global Public Health
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, N.C.

Martha L. Daviglus, MD, PhD
Associate Vice Chancellor for Research
Professor of Medicine
Director of the Institute for Minority Health Research
University of Illinois at Chicago
Chicago, Ill.

Hanifa M. Denny, PhD, MPH, BSPH
Dean
College of Public Health
Diponegoro University
Semarang, Indonesia

“One day, we were brought to new [medical] student orientation session.  After touring a hospital ward, I was not able to eat or sleep for some days due to seeing a diabetic patient with a severe wound,” Dr. Hanifa Denny recalled.

“I asked one professor if there is a program within the college of medicine without a requirement to visit patients in a hospital ward.  I also said that I wanted to help people to live in a healthy lifestyle without necessarily suffering from sickness.  I wanted to make people healthy and able to work without a fear of being sick.  The professor explained public health and how the science would meet my expectation.  After my second year of college, I fell in love with occupational and environmental health.”

Scott Dotson, PhD, MSC, CIH
Lead Health Scientist – Senior Team Coordinator
Education and Information Division
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Cincinnati, Ohio

Anthony Escobio, MPH, FHFMA, CHAM
Vice President
Patient Financial Services
Tampa General Hospital
Tampa, Fla.

“I wanted to be an MD.  I took a few of the pre-med “weed out” courses as an undergraduate and did not do very well,” Anthony Escobio recalled. “I had an entry-level job at St. Joseph’s Hospital in 1990, and this is where I learned that there were many more opportunities in health care that did not involve practicing medicine.”

The Escobios couldn’t be more proud of Anthony (back row, second from right).

One of the more “interesting” events from Escobio’s COPH days involves a class with Dr. Alan Sear.

“I left a management position at University Community Hospital to be a senior analyst at Tampa General Hospital,” Escobio said.  “TGH was having a host of financial challenges at the time, and the leadership was being ridiculed in the press on a weekly basis.  One of my professors, Alan Sear, spent an entire lecture discussing the poor decisions that leadership at TGH was making.  I sat slouched in my chair knowing that I had just taken a job to be an analyst for these very leaders.  All I could think to myself was ‘what have I done?’  Little did I know that I would be at the center of one of the biggest hospital turnarounds in the country for this period of time.”

Ligia María Cruz Espinoza, MD, PhD, MPH
Associate Research Scientist
International Vaccine Institute
Leon, Nicaragua

Kathryn J. Gillette, MHA, FACHE
Market President and Chief Operating Officer
Bayfront Health-St. Petersburg
St. Petersburg, Fla.

Jan J. Gorrie, JD, MPH
Managing Partner
Ballard Partners
Tampa, Fla.

Richard T. Hartman, PhD, MS, CSP, CIH
Chief Health Strategist
PSI Inc.
Alexandria, Va.

Xiomara Zulay Hewitt, MPH
Director
Infection Prevention and Control
Adventist Health System
Altamonte Springs, Fla.

Winifred M. Holland, MPH, MA, LMHC
Administrator-Health Officer
Florida Department of Health in Clay County
Green Cove Springs, Fla.

Carol Ann Jenkins, MPH, FACHE
Director, Accreditation and Survey Readiness
All Children’s Hospital Inc.
St. Petersburg, Fla.

Claudia X. Aguado Loi, PhD, MPH, CHES
Research Assistant Professor
Department of Community and Family Health
USF College of Public Health
Tampa, Fla.

Christine McGuire-Wolfe, PhD, MPH, CPH
Firefighter/Paramedic and Infection Control Officer
Pasco County Fire Rescue

Adjunct Faculty
Department of Global Health
USF College of Public Health
Tampa, Fla.

Maj. (Dr.) James McKnight
Force Health Protection Officer
U.S. Central Command
Serving in Jordan

Maj. James McKnight’s children accepted his award since he is serving in Jordan.

Rachel Nuzum, MPH
Vice President
Federal and State Health Policy
The Commonwealth Fund
Washington, D.C.

Claudine M. Samanic, PhD, MSPH
Commander
U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps

Environmental Health Scientist
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Research Region 5
Division of Community Health Investigations
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Chicago, Ill.

“Since 1999, when I graduated, I’ve been impressed with the expansion and creation of new institutes and centers, the college’s increasing role in global health, and announcements of various faculty accomplishments and impact,” said Dr. Claudine Samanic.  “It was humbling to be in the room with so many accomplished fellow COPH alumni.”

Angelia Sanders, MPH
Associate Director
Trachoma Control Program
The Carter Center
Atlanta, Ga.

Natalia Vargas, MPH
Public Health Analyst
Health Resources and Services Administration
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Rockville, Md.

Angelica C. Williams, MPH
Disease Intervention Specialist
Florida Department of Health in Broward County
Pembroke Pines, Fla.

Lauren B. Zapata, PhD, MSPH
Commander
U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps

Senior Research Scientist
Division of Reproductive Health
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Atlanta, Ga.

COPH Deans, from left: Drs. Peter Levin, Donna Petersen (current) and Charles Mahan.

Without question, the night was all about the alumni awardees, but there were a few other show-stoppers in the room. Namely, COPH Deans Drs. Peter Levin, Donna Petersen, and Charles Mahan (above) and COPH alumnus and USF Board Trustee Scott Hopes (below left).

USF Trustee Scott Hopes (on left) with Lesley and Rick Bateman.  Lesley was the college’s first public affairs and development officer.

Founded in July 1984, the USF College of Public Health is wrapping up a yearlong celebration of educating and training public health professionals.  Some of the 30^th anniversary year highlights include

• regional events in Orlando, New Orleans, Chicago, and Washington, D.C.
• the Dean’s Lecture Series featuring alumni like Drs. Richard Hartman, Charlan Kroelinger and Hana Osman.
• community building activities like a tailgate and USF football game, fall networking social during homecoming, Super Bowl party and spring BBQ.
• Team #USFCOPHRocks with more than 50 public health Bulls participating in the Gasparilla Distance Classic.
• raising almost $70,000 in new commitments to student scholarships in the college.

“We are proud of the work we have done building on a solid foundation and creating an outstanding school of public health—one that just recently jumped in national rankings from 21 to 16,” Petersen said.  “In addition to our great champions and the consistent high performance of our faculty and staff, the reputation we have earned is due in no small measure to the incredible contributions of our alumni.”

The alumni awards ceremony was made possible with support from the COPH, as well as corporate sponsors USF Health and Bayfront Health-St. Petersburg, and individual sponsors Drs. Jay Wolfson and Phillip and Jean Amuso.

It takes a village to raise a family AND host an amazing alumni awards ceremony.  Salute!

Alumni awardee Dr. Abdel A. Alli (second from right) enjoyed the festivities with his family, as well as nominator and faculty mentor Dr. Donna Haiduven (center) and her husband, Michael Gronquist (far right).

Alumni awardee Dr. Arlene Calvo shares a special moment with fellow alumnus Dr. Clement Gwede.

Go, Bulls!

“I applaud the College of Public Health for recognizing alumni who not only have tremendous accomplishments, but who have made a difference in the lives of so many,” said Bill McCausland, executive director of the USF Alumni Association.

Story by Natalie D. Preston, College of Public Health.  Photos by Ashley Grant and Humberto Lopez Castillo.

Related media:
Alumni Awards photo gallery on Facebook

The post Our past is our future: College recognizes distinguished alumni appeared first on College of Public Health News.

In the time since he’s left USF, College of Public Health alumnus Dr. Richard Hartman has been on the move.

From left, Betty Otter-Nickerson, Hartman, and USF Systems President Judy Genshaft at the Fast 56 Awards Ceremony on April 29. At the time of the presentation, Otter-Nickerson was chair of the Alumni Association. (Photo courtesy of USF Alumni Association)

As one of his most recent accomplishments, Hartman received USF’s Fast 56 Award in April for his role as a member on the board of directors for the company Synoptos.

Each year, the USF Alumni Association honors the fastest growing USF Bull-led or Bull-owned businesses with the Fast 56 Award. Hartman received both his undergraduate and doctoral degrees from USF and has received this award three times since 2013.

While Hartman was awarded this year’s Fast 56 Award for his role with Synoptos, that’s just a small piece of the work he’s been doing.

Since leaving USF, Hartman has had a long and diverse career. Not one to stay idle, Hartman has thrown himself into a variety of big projects over the years, from developing applications for the military to co-developing his own company.

After earning his master’s degree at the U.S. Air Force Institute of Technology, Hartman left to pursue his doctorate from the COPH’s Department of Environmental and Occupational Health.

Throughout his career, he’s worked in varying capacities with the government at the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs, and from there he went out on a limb and co-created his own company. After seeing his company through a successful merger and acquisition and serving on multiple executive boards, Hartman is now an experienced consultant for all things policy.

In the last 20 years, Hartman has focused mainly on helping innovate health care. He’s found his entrepreneurial work to be one of the most engaging aspects of his career, and his public health background has helped make him an authority.

“My public health experience basically built a foundation, amongst other things that I’ve done, to help develop my credibility within the health care arena and to create insights into my business acumen from an entrepreneurial perspective,” he said.

Hartman said that USF was right for him because it was the most convenient way to get the degree he wanted.

“It gave me the opportunity to pursue a hybrid degree that other universities might not have offered at the time,” he said.

As a part of his dissertation, Hartman created one of his most notable products in 2001: the first application to collect medical information at the point of contact for the military’s special operations forces.

After seeing how business opportunities could potentially play out outside of the Department of Defense, he took a risk and cofounded the company OhMyGov, Inc., which has since become Synoptos, Inc.

Currently, Hartman spends most of his time working as a senior-level executive consultant to the Department of Defense developing a new delivery method of health care called Total Exposure Healthcare (TEH), which he says revolutionizes the way we think of health care and places an emphasis on primary prevention.

TEH will provide benefits not just for military members, but for their beneficiaries and their family members, as well.

Citing Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg as examples, Hartman’s career is an example of how calculated risks can have big rewards.

“If you’re young and you have ideas, take those risks,” he said. “But if you’re older, maybe just take a step back and see what would happen if you don’t make it. No matter what your age is, though, if you believe in something, and you’re passionate about it, and it’s yours, you should pursue it.”

He said that most people, rightfully so, choose the safe route, but that the timing is important and that he’s fortunate it worked out for him.

“I gave up a career path for a dream, and I was fortunate enough that things worked out well,” said Hartman. “All in all, I have to say it enriched me professionally, enriched me emotionally. It enriched me in many ways, and it enriched me financially.”

USF Distinguished Service Professor for Public Health Dr. Jay Wolfson, Hartman’s doctoral advisor, and Hartman. (Photo courtesy of Hartman)

Hartman’s career hasn’t followed any set path, and he said he’s still trying to figure out how it compares to his expectations.

So, what happens next then?

“I don’t know,” he said. “My brain tells me that I’m not going to be able to settle down and that I’m going to need to be busy.”

Hartman said that he’s the type of person who gets passionate about whatever project they throw themselves into and that his career choices have rarely been financially driven, so it’s really just a matter of whether or not he wants to keep inserting himself into new projects.

As someone who’s taken his fair share of risks, Hartman advises anyone interested in pursuing entrepreneurial dreams to keep at it.

“It’s not an easy task, but if you believe in it, and you’re persistent, and your idea that you’re presenting has value, you should be fairly successful,” he said.

USF COPH Alumni Fun Facts:

Where would we find you on the weekend?

Home or exploring the D.C. metro area

What was the last book you read?

“Genetics for Dummies”

What’s your all-time favorite movie?

“Dune”

Story by AnnaMarie Koehler-Shepley, USF College of Public Health  

The post Alumnus Richard Hartman receives third Fast 56 Award appeared first on College of Public Health News.

When Richard Hartman’s doctoral dissertation committee at the USF College of Public Health turned down his research proposal, he knew he had a choice to make, and he made it. Staring down the biggest hurdle of his academic life while already in a full-time career wasn’t easy, he said, but it was productive.

“It forced me to rethink and create a solution vs. giving up,” he said, “a lesson we all need to face. That is, challenges and obstacles can be overcome, but you need to dig deep down inside and find the courage and fortitude to prevail. Things that come too easy are not appreciated, and this bump, even though it was devastating at the time, made me appreciate my PhD program over others. I earned my PhD!”

That cranking of crisis into catalyst cleared new paths for Dr. Richard Hartman, entrepreneur, board-certified safety professional, certified industrial hygienist, and USF Alumni Association board member.

Richard Hartman, PhD, MS, CSP, CIH

Hartman’s higher education journey began at USF, where he earned a bachelor of science in physics in 1988. He went on to the Air Force Institute of Technology for a master of science in environmental policy and management, but realized he wanted more. By then an officer in the U.S. Air Force stationed at MacDill AFB, he found the proximity to his undergraduate alma mater irresistible.

“It was convenient, and the timing was right,” he said, “and USF COPH had a program that matched closely with my military career path.”

That, he said, led to the opening of more paths.

“It was not until I was accepted into the PhD program,” he said, “that I truly understood the value of my education by expanding my depth and breadth of knowledge outside my career path to have the confidence to create other paths. My experience at COPH renewed my pursuit of academic excellence, broadening my education well beyond my environment, safety and occupational health career path, opening doors and, more important, opening my imagination and entrepreneurial spirit.”

Following completion of his public health PhD, those other paths and that entrepreneurial spirit have landed him adjunct professor positions at George Washington and Georgetown universities, numerous board memberships in both the public and private sectors, a pair of USF Fast 56 awards, and several National Science Foundation Small Business Innovation Research grants.

USF President Judy Genshaft congratulates Dr. Richard Hartman at the 2013 USF Fast 56 Award Program

“My research and business interests,” he said, “are in understanding how policy, operations and behavior can be measured, predicted and modified using traditional and new media and bringing those technologies to market. I’m also interested in ensuring that public and private organizations can make more informed decisions by monitoring the dialog on the Web with an emphasis on health care, environment and energy.”

Hartman said the burgeoning realm of public health issues is highlighting the field’s relevance like never before. He cited the passage of the Affordable Care Act, growing attention to mental illness and bullying, increased incidence of MRSA and other infectious diseases, balancing risks with economic benefits in environmental, safety and health policy, and the coming big data revolution in health care as prime examples.

“However,” he added, “all colleges of public health should introduce or emphasize courses in leadership, management, negotiation and entrepreneurialism. Without these skill sets, it will be difficult for public health leaders to take advantage of this moment in time to ensure that public health competes well with the conventional medical system.”

*****

Note: Dr. Jay Wolfson, Distinguished Service Professor of Public Health and Medicine, will interview Hartman for a COPH Dean’s Lecture Series presentation, “An Afternoon with Dr. Richard Hartman, COPH Alumnus and Entrepreneur” on Friday, Oct. 17, at 12 p.m. in COPH 2016 & 2018.

Story by David Brothers, USF College of Public Health. Photos courtesy of Dr. Richard Hartman and Matt May, USF.

The post Cranking crisis into catalyst cleared new paths for Dr. Richard Hartman appeared first on College of Public Health News.

Sometimes it’s ok to go fast.

This is the case for USF College of Public Health alumni Catherine Burney, MPH, Richard Hartman, PhD, MPH, and Magda Saleh, MPH. Their companies are members of USF’s Fast 56 for 2014.  Sponsored by the USF Alumni Association, the program recognizes the 56 fastest growing alumni owned and/or operated businesses.

Ms. Catherine Burney is president of Scar Heal, Inc., an advanced skin therapy company based in Largo. (l,r) Dr. Judy Genshaft, USF system president, Catherine Burney, and Monty Weigel, chair of the USF Alumni Board of Directors.

Dr. Richard Hartman is co-founder and COO of Oh My Gov, Inc., a platform to track issues, politicians, and governmental agencies. The company recently merged with Infoition News Services, Inc. and is currently doing business as SYNOPTOS. A finalist in 2014, Hartman earned third place honors on 2013 list. He is pictured with Dr. Judy Genshaft.

Ms. Magda Saleh is head of school for the American Youth Academy. In five years, the Islamic school grew from 224 to 470 students in grades pre-k through 12. (l,r) Dr. Judy Genshaft, Magda Saleh, and Monty Weigel.

Alumni of the college, Ms. Burney earned a master’s degree in health education, Dr. Hartman holds a doctorate in environmental and occupational health, and Ms. Saleh graduated with a master’s degree in community and family health.

“All of the USF Fast 56 businesses are a testament to what a quality education at a great university can help an ambitious and industrious person achieve,” said Bill McCausland, executive director of the USF Alumni Association. “They serve as an excellent example of the significant impact of USF alumni, locally, nationally and globally.”

The 56 finalists were selected from a field of more than 600 companies. The official ranking was announced at a dinner and reception on Friday, April 11.

Click here to view the full list of USF Fast 56 companies for 2014 or nominate a company for next year.

Excerpts from The 2014 USF Fast 56 No. 1 Business

-General Statement-

Established in 1984 as the first school of public health in the State of Florida, the USF College of Public Health is a recognized leader in community health, online education, maternal and child health, social marketing, and global infectious disease research. Fully accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health, the college offers 25 concentrations that lead to MHA, MPH, MSPH, DrPH, and PhD degrees, as well as a BSPH, several dual degrees, graduate certificates, and online programs. To learn more about the college committed to passionately solve problems and create conditions that allow every person the universal right to health and well-being, visit www.publichealth.usf.edu.

The post Three public health alumni named Fast 56 finalists appeared first on College of Public Health News.