Staff
Michael Fagen, PhD, MPH
Director
312.355.0647
mfagen1@uic.edu
Dr. Michael Fagen has close to 20 years of public health experience that emphasizes assessment, evaluation, and applied research. Currently, Michael directs the multiple case study, competency assessment, and training evaluation components of the Suburban Cook County Communities Putting Prevention to Work obesity prevention initiative. Michael is also a member of the Illinois Community Transformation Grant evaluation team, where he focuses on evaluating chronic disease prevention initiatives. In addition, Michael is Principle Investigator of the HRSA-funded MidAmerica Center for Public Health Training.
Michael is on faculty in the Division of Community Health Sciences at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) School of Public Health (SPH). In this role, he conducts research in school health promotion and prevention; provides planning, training, and evaluation consultation; teaches courses in research methods, translational research, community assessment, and health communication; advises master’s and doctoral students; and engages in service at the division, college, local, and national levels.
Michael has a B.A. in International Relations from Stanford University, an M.P.H. in Applied Health Sciences from the Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, and a Ph.D. in Community Health Sciences from the UIC SPH.
Louis Rowitz, PhD
Director Emeritus
312.996.9659
lrowitz@uic.edu
Professor Louis Rowitz has built a unique career in public health academia via public health practice issues and initiatives. Serving as the School’s Deputy Director of its Center for Public Health Practice since it began, he was also the first director of a regional leadership institute funded by the Centers for Disease Control. Since 1992, that Institute (originally, the Illinois Public Health Leadership Institute) has encompassed as many as seven states and is now called the MidAmerica Regional Public Health Leadership Institute (MARPHLI), with teams from the partnering state of Indiana and the participating state of Wisconsin and Michigan, in addition to Illinois. In 2001, Dr. Rowitz became the Director of the MidAmerica Public Health Training Center with its mission to improve public health infrastructure through training of the public health workforce. Dr. Rowitz has published two texts on leadership in public health based upon his experience in developing the institutes. The first is Public Health Leadership: Putting Principles Into Practice (Aspen, 2008, 2nd edition) which is now the premier text in leadership courses and institutes across the country. In 2005, he published Public Health in the 21st Century: The Prepared Leader. The Center also publishes the Leadership in Public Health journal, and Public Health Practice in Illinois, and the Illinois Board of Health Manual, all of which are edited by Dr. Rowitz.
Bernard Turnock, MD, MPH
312.996.3551
bturnock@uic.edu
Dr. Bernard Turnock is a Professor and Chair of the Division of Community Health Sciences at the UIC School of Public Health. As a former Director of the Illinois State Department of Health, he brings a strong practice orientation to MARPHLI. Dr. Turnock authored the book, “Public Health: What It Is and How It Works,” now in its fifth edition, which defines public health concepts for new students and experienced practitioners. He is also the first Professor at the School to offer his course, CHSC 400, “Public Health Concepts and Practice,” entirely on-line. Dr. Turnock is also the Principle Investigator for the Illinois Preparedness and Emergency Response Learning Center, also at the MidAmerica Center for Public Health Practice.
Patrick Lenihan, PhD, MUPP
Deputy Director
312.996.6342
dlenih1@uic.edu
Patrick Lenihan is Clinical Associate Professor at the University Of Illinois School Of Public Health and former Deputy Health Commissioner for the City of Chicago. He also currently serves as the Executive Director of the Northern Illinois Public Health Consortium. Dr. Lenihan has worked for over 25 years in private and public sector health-related organizations where he has directed planning, emergency preparedness, research, information systems, and analysis of regional and local health issues. He specializes in assisting organizations make and implement sustainable strategic decisions and has been a consultant to a variety of organizations including: health care providers, academic institutions, non-profit and government agencies, and trade and membership associations. Dr. Lenihan holds a Ph.D. in public policy, a master’s in planning and a B.S. in economics, all from the University of Illinois. He has authored numerous studies and reports and is a frequent speaker and lecturer at professional meetings and area universities. Dr. Lenihan has been an active member and officer in several professional associations and is the past-president of the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO). He also has served on civic, social service, academic, and governmental advisory bodies.
Geraldine “Geri” Sanchez Aglipay
Projects Specialist
312.413.3560
aglipay@uic.edu
Geraldine “Geri” Sanchez Aglipay is Public Health Projects Specialist in the MCPHP and works on workforce training and development projects for the MAPHTC and the IPERLC. Prior to joining MCPHP, she served as Senior Manager for Accreditation at American College of Surgeons and as the Program Manager for Education and Public Health Practice at Association of Schools of Public Health (ASPH). She has planned and managed national programs and communications strategies across issues of public health workforce training and development, practice-based research, minority health, accreditation, and injury control and prevention. Geri is also active in issues affecting Asian and Pacific Islander Health and is a member and former board member of the API Caucus of APHA and API Partnerships for Health in Washington, DC. She earned her BS from Bradley University in Communication and Health Sciences.
Wesley Epplin, MPH
Project Coordinator
312.9962543
epplin@uic.edu
Wesley Epplin is a project coordinator focusing on both program evaluation for the Communities Putting Prevention to Work Project and workforce development courses for the MidAmerica Public Health Training Center.
Wesley is a food justice advocate who studies the interaction of food policies and systems with health behaviors and food cultures, informing policy and practice to develop community, mediate ecological challenges, and reduce hunger, poverty, and diet-related diseases. Wesley earned his MPH in Community Health Sciences from the University of Illinois School of Public Health in 2011 with a concentration in global health. He also holds a BA in political science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Devangna “Guddi” Kapadia, MS, MPH
Program Manager
312.355.1144
guddi@uic.edu
Guddi Kapadia is the Manager of the Communities Putting Prevention to Work Project through Cook County Department of Public Health at the MidAmerica Center for Public Health Practice. Her responsibilities include oversight of the CPPW project including day-to-day activities of all components of the project, coordination of staff, meetings, and other details. Guddi also worked with the Illinois Public Health Preparedness Center (IPHPC) Preparedness where she was responsible for the development and delivery of online and face-to-face trainings related to emergency response and preparedness. She received her Master of Public Health from the University of Illinois at Chicago, School of Public Health. She also has a Master of Science from Roosevelt University in Biotechnology and received her undergraduate degree from Washington University, St. Louis, MO in Biology and Religious Studies.
Sophie Naji
Program Manager
312.355.3825
smaali@uic.edu
Sophie Naji has been working in Public Health Workforce development since 2001. She is the main point of contact for training opportunities as the manager of the HRSA funded MidAmerica Public Health Training Center at the UIC School of Public Health. Sophie works as the liaison to public health professionals in Illinois and Indiana to assist in determining their training priorities. On the national level, she assists key administration partners at the Health Resources and Services Administration and Association of Schools of Public Health to maintain and hopefully increase the level of funding dedicated to training the public health workforce.
Jason Rothstein, MPH
Program Manager
312.996.1367
jasonro@uic.edu
Jason Rothstein has more than ten years of experience in training and technology projects, and has worked in the public health community since 2005. In his capacity as project manager at the Illinois Public Health Preparedness Center, he has developed and delivered in-person training and e-learning courses on topics ranging from general preparedness, influenza response, setting up points of dispensing, and Web 2.0 for public health. He also manages projects to help health departments incorporate online social networking and other Web 2.0 technology into their operations. As a special project, he is currently working with the School of Public Health to help the DrPH program launch its distance learning option in Fall 2010. Jason holds a BA in Psychology from Antioch College, and an MPH in health policy from the University of Illinois at Chicago. His first book, Carless in Chicago, a guide to living car-free in the Windy City, was published by Lake Claremont Press in 2010.
Manjusha “Rani” Saxena, MPH
Program Manager
312.336.7919
rmishra@uic.edu
Rani Saxena has been a member of the professional staff at the MidAmerica Center for Public Health Practice (MACPHP) since August 2001. She started her career at MACPHP as a Research Assistant in August 2001 working on projects associated with the Illinois Institute of Maternal and Child Health Leadership and Maternal and Child Health Data Use Academy. In June 2003, she became a Project Manager for the Illinois Advanced Executive Public Health Leadership Institute, Maternal and Child Health Emerging Leaders Institute and Maternal and Child Health Management Academy. Currently she manages various projects for the MidAmerica Public Health Training Center (MAPHTC) and Communities Putting to Prevention to Work (CPPW) initiative. She also handles all aspects of conference planning and coordination for trainings sponsored by the center. Ms. Saxena holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Purdue University; A Master’s in Public Health from University of Illinois at Chicago.
Victoria Wiebel, MPH
Assistant Director
312.996.6531
vikki@uic.edu
Victoria Wiebel, MPH, is the Assistant Director of the Illinois Preparedness and Emergency Response Learning Center at the MidAmerica Center for Public Health Practice. Previously she was with Illinois Public Health Preparedness Center since its inception in 2000. Victoria has also assisted the Public Health Practitioner Certification Board, Inc., to coordinate and manage their innovative competency-based certification program for public health administrators and emergency response coordinators. She has 30 years of experience in health-related program development, marketing, and management, in both the public and private sectors.
Michael Yen, MS
IT Manager
312.996.2743
myen@uic.edu
Michael Yen has been involved in the information technology field for over ten years and he has been engineering IT solutions within the School of Public Health at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) since 2004. As the IT manager for the MidAmerica Center for Public Health Practice, Michael has been developing the learning management system and overseeing technical and multimedia projects for the Center. He holds a BS in Computer Engineering and an MS in Management Information Systems from UIC and is also a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer.
Kelsey Gilmet, MN, RN
Research Assistant
312.996.2543
kgilme2@uic.edu
Kelsey Gilmet is a third year PhD student in the Community Health Sciences Department at the UIC School of Public Health. She graduated from Kalamazoo College with a BA in Human Development and Social Relations. Upon graduating, she worked at The Mary Jane Underwood Stryker Institute for Service-Learning in Kalamazoo, MI before returning to school to pursue a nursing degree. She completed her Master’s in Nursing at the University of Minnesota and moved to New Orleans, LA where she worked as a telemetry nurse for 2 years. She is currently working with the MidAmerica Center for Public Health Practice as part of the evaluation team on the Communities Putting Prevention to Work (CPPW) grant.
