May 2017 Town Hall Teleconference

Timothy J. Cunningham, ScD; LCDR, USPHS

Dr. Timothy J. Cunningham is a team lead with CDC’s Division of Population Health.

Dr. Timothy J. Cunningham trained with CDC as an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer and is a Lieutenant Commander in the US Public Health Service. His research has focused on understanding health differences related to race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, gender, and geography. He has deployed for numerous public health emergencies, including Superstorm Sandy and outbreaks of Ebola and Zika. He is an active member of the American Public Health Association and the American College of Epidemiology. Dr. Cunningham received his master and doctor of science degrees from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Jeanne F. Ayers, MPH

Jeanne F. Ayers is the assistant commissioner for the Minnesota Department of Health.

Jeanne F. Ayers was appointed in January 2011 to serve as assistant commissioner for the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH). She is responsible for overseeing the department’s Health Improvement Bureau, which includes the Community and Family Health Division, the Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Division, and the Office of Statewide Health Improvement Initiatives. Ayers is the chief health equity strategist.

MDH is the state’s lead public health agency, responsible for protecting, maintaining, and improving the health of all Minnesotans. The department operates programs in disease prevention and control, health promotion, community public health, environmental health, healthcare policy, and regulation of healthcare providers. The department employs about 1,400 staff members in the Twin Cities and in seven offices in Greater Minnesota.

Tameka Brazile, MBA

Tameka Brazile is the program manager for the Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) program with the Multnomah County Public Health Division in Portland, Oregon.

Tameka Brazile has a deeply rooted passion for connecting communities with decision makers to develop strategies that systematically change social injustices, particularly those occurring among communities of color and ethnic identity. Ms. Brazile has an MBA in healthcare administration and has been working in the healthcare sector for 22 years.

Marguerite Ro, DrPH

Dr. Marguerite Ro is the chief of the Assessment, Policy Development, and Evaluation Unit and director of the Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention section of Public Health—Seattle & King County.

Because Dr. Marguerite Ro understands that building relationships is a foundation for achieving progress in health equity, Dr. Ro has focused her efforts on working with diverse communities to eliminate health inequities among our nation’s most at-risk populations. She is a member of the CDC Advisory Committee to the Director/Health Disparities Subcommittee and a former chair of the HHS Advisory Committee on Minority Health. As deputy director of the Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum, she played a leadership role in the development of Health Through Action, a groundbreaking partnership program to close health gaps for Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. Previously, when she was an assistant professor at Columbia University, Dr. Ro served as senior policy analyst for Community Voices, a national demonstration project to improve access to care for vulnerable populations. She earned her masters and doctorate degrees from the Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health.