Since our last newsletter, CHRT has welcomed four new team members. 

William Bishop

William Bishop is a community initiatives intern at CHRT. Bishop supports the data analytics team at CHRT, including work on the Washtenaw Health Initiative and Healthy Aging at Home Network (HAHN). Bishop is an MSW candidate at the University of Michigan School of Social Work with an emphasis on policy and political social work. Prior to his graduate studies, Bishop obtained a BS in psychology at Eastern Michigan University. Bishop has volunteered with AmeriCorps, and through FEMA and other non-profits, has helped organize relief efforts for disaster survivors across the country. 

Jennifer Black

Jennifer Black is a project coordinator at CHRT. She supports CHRT’s ongoing work to build a community-integrated health network which will provide services addressing health-related social needs to Michigan communities. Black provides project management and business planning support. Prior to joining CHRT, Black spent a decade working for hospitals, academic medical centers, health systems, research institutions, long-term care providers, health care providers, research consortiums, and nonprofit organizations on a wide range of regulatory, strategic, and transactional projects. She has extensive experience working with local, state, and federal agencies in grants and contracting, and in matters of governance and administration.

Dana Elobaid

Dana Elobaid is a communications intern at CHRT. Elobaid is a sophomore at the University of Michigan, studying Philosophy, Politics, and Economics, with a minor in Quantitative Methods. She works with the communications team to assist CHRT’s public sector clients by promoting services and community resources. Elobaid is interested in healthcare policy, expansion of accessible mental health services, prevention-based approaches in schools, as well as housing policy and urban planning. Outside of CHRT, Elobaid is copy chief for the Michigan Daily, as well as an American politics editor for the Michigan Journal of Political Science.

Sheritha Rayford

Sheritha Rayford is a program manager on CHRT’s research and evaluation team. Rayford recently graduated with her master’s degree from the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University. She has worked globally and locally with various non-profit organizations. While at Rollins, Rayford participated in various public health research projects in the areas of global nutritional programs, how the pandemic affected working parents in Georgia, and health communications. She is enthusiastic about raising awareness of how social determinants of health impact marginalized and underserved minority populations.

We want to take this opportunity to extend a warm welcome to our new team members.

In June, CHRT Board of Directors member Renu Tipirneni received the Jerome W. Conn Award for Excellence in Research from the University of Michigan Department of Internal Medicine.

Dr. Tipirneni is an assistant professor at the medical school. Her research focuses on health reform, Medicaid policy, healthy aging, and social determinants of health. 

Her current research includes evaluating Michigan’s Medicaid expansion and work requirements policy, exploring integration techniques for behavioral and physical health care, and screening for social needs in health care settings. 

At CHRT, Dr. Tiprineni is involved with the Promotion of Health Equity project, which aims to significantly reduce health disparities for vulnerable residents in five Michigan counties. She will help develop a system to share data between relevant health and social service providers to facilitate improved care. 

“Using data and building collaborative partnerships will ensure that everyone has the best chance of optimal health outcomes,” says Dr. Tiprineni in a press release. 

In addition to her role and research at the medical school, Dr. Tipirneni is a faculty advisor to IHPI’s Policy Engagement & External Relations team and as co-director of National Clinician Scholars Program.  

Full time staff members

CHRT has welcomed five new full time staff members.

Tiffany R. Brent is CHRT’s business development director. She has extensive experience in the public health sector, working in the nonprofit health care community with and for various organizations, partnerships, and collaborations throughout her career. Prior to joining CHRT, Brent was ​​executive director of the Voices of Detroit Initiative (VODI) and also held positions at Southeast Michigan Beacon Community (SEMBC), Greater Detroit Area Health Council (GDAHC), and Soar Technology, Inc. Brent holds a juris doctorate from the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law and a bachelor’s degree in social relations and policy from Michigan State University’s James Madison College

Jeni Chapman is a project manager on CHRT’s finance team. She supports CHRT’s work partnering with community organizations focused on enhancing quality of life and removing barriers to improve health equity. Before joining CHRT, Chapman was the project and regulatory coordinator for the Physician Organization of Michigan Accountable Care Organization (POM ACO).

Brady Kinnersley is CHRT’s financial specialist. Kinnersley works with CHRT’s business development and programmatic teams on project budgets and spend down reports. Before joining CHRT, Kinnersley was a grants accounting analyst at the University of Toledo in Ohio. He has experience reviewing, analyzing, and evaluating the grant budget process, developing financial reports, and providing oversight on externally funded grants and contracts. Kinnersley is an alumnus of Pi Sigma Epsilon, a professional sales and marketing business fraternity. He is currently pursuing a master’s degree in finance and holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Toledo.

Kimberly Snodgrass is a health communications analyst at CHRT. She supports communications for Washtenaw County’s Public Safety and Mental Health Preservation Millage, Washtenaw County’s Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion and Deflection program, the Washtenaw Health Initiative, and more. She is a recent graduate of the University of Michigan’s School of Public Health, where she concentrated in health behavior and health education. She has a particular interest in primary prevention strategies and using low-cost health communications strategies to connect individuals to care. Prior to joining CHRT as a full time staff member, Snodgrass supported the communications team part-time for nearly two years as a intern. Snodgrass has also worked in suicide prevention for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and at the University of Michigan Prevention Research Center.  

Holly Quivera Teague is a health policy analyst at CHRT, where she began her work as the 2022 Rebecca Copeland Intern. Quivera Teague is managing CHRT’s two fellowship programs and supporting other health policy projects. Quivera Teague graduated from the University of Michigan’s School of Public Heath, concentrating in health behavior and health education, in the spring of 2022. She has interests in health equity and social justice, including improving child health policies, reducing health disparities, improving health care utilization among people of color and undocumented immigrants, researching place-based and occupational health outcomes, and improving health and social service integration in communities of color.

Interns 

CHRT is happy to welcome three interns.

Jadrienne Horton joined CHRT through the American Evaluation Association’s 2022-2023 Graduate Education Diversity Internship program. At CHRT, Horton will be supporting the research and evaluation team with the evaluation of Washtenaw County’s Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion and Deflection (LEADD) program. In 2017, Horton obtained her bachelor’s degree in health and community wellness with a minor in social services from the University of West Georgia. She is now a dual master’s candidate in public health and social work at the University of Michigan. She has interests in working with marginalized racial and ethnic minority groups and underserved populations to raise awareness about environmental and social injustices impacting their communities. She is also passionate about incorporating race equity into evaluation and research practices. 

Abigail Lindsay is an intern working on CHRT’s policy data analytics team to improve community-based long-term care services for vulnerable seniors and individuals with disabilities. Lindsay is a second-year master’s student at the University of Michigan’s School of Public Health concentrating in health management and policy. She is passionate about improving community health by advocating for just policies that address upstream social determinants of health. She has interests in aging, health equity, healthy community design, health care reform, and social welfare programs. She obtained her bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of Michigan in 2017. Before starting her master’s, she practiced as a critical care registered nurse delivering clinical care at teaching hospitals, where she led quality improvement projects to enhance patient safety. Additionally, she worked as a nurse epidemiologist for the Detroit Health Department, where she managed a specialty COVID-19 investigation team that assessed infection control practices to isolate and interrupt outbreaks in nursing homes.

Kyra Martin is a health policy intern at CHRT, working primarily with the MI Community Care team to provide long-term, coordinated, and multidisciplinary care management for people with complex needs. Martin is a second-year master’s student at the University of Michigan’s Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, concentrating on public health and policy analysis. She is passionate about using data to identify, research, and advocate for policy solutions to health crises. She has interests in health equity and women’s public health, including reproductive justice, intimate partner violence, and maternal mortality. Before coming to Michigan, Martin was a legislative intern on the Hill and worked at the American Institutes for Research conducting mixed-methods research and evaluation. Martin graduated from the University of Chicago in 2018 with a BA in economics and political science.

In 2012, the Center for Health and Research Transformation (CHRT) launched its first-ever health policy fellowship. Since then, CHRT has welcomed ten fellowship classes of 10-15 fellows per year for a four-month program designed to teach them about health research, policy, and practice.

Fellows bring expertise from their careers in policy, research, and nonprofit management. In the program, policymakers gain a deeper understanding of pressing health issues of the day. Researchers learn effective ways to share their work in the policy space. And nonprofit fellows learn about policy and research, while bringing their own real-world perspectives to the table. 

The fellows travel to Detroit, Lansing, and Washington, DC to meet local, state and national elected officials and to better understand the intricate workings of health policy. In addition, research fellows develop op-eds, one-pagers, and other deliverables, getting real-time feedback from health policy experts and nonprofit leaders. 

Fellows also attend small group discussions and seminar-style presentations covering:

• the history of health insurance and reforms, including the Affordable Care Act, including what they’ve made possible and the challenges that remain,
• lessons in effective policy advocacy for researchers who hope to inform policymakers and practitioners for real-world impact,
• health spending trends and implications, including prescription drug and insurance pricing,
• provider and health plan efforts to maximize quality, eliminate inequities, and minimize costs, some of the biggest challenges of our time,
• key policy issue updates with some of the top health legislators and influencers in Detroit, Lansing, and DC,
• media engagement strategies, including meetings with some of the top media experts and training on how to write op-eds and one-pagers from experts in the field,
• health policy perspectives of small and large businesses—key purchasers of health care insurance, and
• introductions to cutting-edge clinical research and timely health policy issues in Michigan and across the nation.

In addition, fellows meet with a growing network of over one hundred fellowship alumni including:

• Policymakers like Elizabeth Hertel, director of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (2012), Shaquila Myers, chief of staff for Lieutenant Governor Garlin Gilchrist and senior advisor to Governor Gretchen Whitmer (2017), and Renée Smiddy, director of policy at the Michigan Health and Hospital Association (2016).
• Researchers like Dr. Michelle Moniz, obstetrician-gynecologist at the University of Michigan Medical School (2018); Dr. Mark Peterson, physical medicine and rehabilitation specialist at the University of Michigan Medical School (2019), and Dr. Renu Tipirneni, internal medicine practitioner and Healthy Michigan Plan evaluator at the University of Michigan Medical School (2018).
• Nonprofit leaders like Kristie King, association executive at the Southeast Michigan Senior Regional Collaborative (2022), Elise Bur, director of the Northern Michigan Center for Rural Health (2022), and Kimberly Motter, director of quality and training at Reliance Community Care Partners (2022).

Over the last ten years, CHRT fellows have met dozens of state senate and house majority and minority leaders like Abdullah Hammoud (D) and Mike Shirkey (R), and health policy committee leaders, including Jim Ananich (D) and Mary White (R).

“The CHRT Fellowship enhanced my ability to think about policy—from the formulation of the research questions to the translation of the research findings to inform policy in real-time,” says Renu Tipirneni, who graduated from the program in 2018.

Nancy Baum, director of health policy at CHRT, says “there are policymakers in the room with a wealth of knowledge who really know the ins and outs of the policy system. And if you’re a policymaker in Lansing, and you’ve got a piece of legislation you’re analyzing, it’s really great to be able to say ‘I know an expert in this field.’”

CHRT helps facilitate relationships well beyond the four-month program. A couple of times each year, fellowship alumni from all cohorts are invited to attend sessions covering hot policy topics–our most recent session was attended by more than two-dozen alumni. And over ten years, the program’s connective tissue has been extended, allowing participants to build relationships with professionals from outside their areas of expertise.

Thank you to our most recent fellowship sponsors: Michigan Medicine, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, Michigan State Medical Society, and the Michigan Health Endowment Fund. And thank you to our partners, Kim Ross, Chief Government Relations Officer, Michigan Medicine; Kris Kangas-Kraft, Director of State Relations, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan; and Eileen Kostanecki, Director of Policy Engagement and External Relations, University of Michigan Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation.