Meet the Speakers
2010 ASTPHND Annual Meeting
Portal to Healthy Communities: Collaboration on the Chesapeake
Lewis H. Clarke, III has a long history with public health programs in the Department of Health. Lewis is currently the Associate Director of the Bureau of Nutrition Risk Reduction (BNRR) and the Director of the NYS Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP). He also continues to direct the Hunger Prevention and Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as HPNAP, and has had that assignment for over 20 years. He has experience with other programs within the Department of Health as well, including functioning as Director of the Asbestos Control Program and the Toxic Substance Assessment Programs with the Division of Environmental Health. In addition, Lewis has had a lot of experience with research science, working for such companies as Wadsworth Laboratories and Johnson & Johnson.
Kevin Concannon was nominated by President Obama and Secretary Vilsack and confirmed by the U.S. Senate in July 2009 to serve as Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services in the United States Department of Agriculture. In this capacity, he has principal responsibility and funding authority for the Food and Nutrition Service which feeds an estimated 20 percent of the U.S. population, as well as lead responsibility for promoting healthy eating through the Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion. Working in partnership with state and local organizations, Under Secretary Concannon’s department oversees the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as the Food Stamp Program, which serves over 35 million Americans each month; the National School Lunch, School Breakfast, and Summer Food Service Programs; the Child and Adult Care Food Program; and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). Under Secretary Concannon has had a lengthy and distinguished career in public service, having served as Director of State Health and Human Services departments in Maine, Oregon, and Iowa. He has championed expanded services, improved access, alternatives to institutions, consumer choices, affordable health care, diversity in workplace and programs, and modernization of public information technology systems. He has served in a number of national organizations, including as President of the American Public Welfare Association and President of the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors. He has received a number of awards, including the Lifetime Human Services Award from the American Public Human Services Association in 2007. A native of Portland, Maine, Under Secretary Concannon holds a master’s degree in social work from Saint Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia. He has taught graduate courses at the University Connecticut, Portland State University in Oregon, and the University of Iowa.
William H. Dietz, MD, PhD – Dr. Dietz is the Director of the Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity in the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Prior to his appointment to the CDC, he was a Professor of Pediatrics at the Tuft's University School of Medicine, and Director of Clinical Nutrition at the Floating Hospital of New England Medical Center Hospitals. He received his BA from Wesleyan University in 1966 and his MD from the University of Pennsylvania in 1970. Following an internship at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, he spent 3 years in the Middle America Research Unit of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease in Panama, studying insect borne viruses. After the completion of his residency at Upstate Medical Center, he received a Ph.D. in Nutritional Biochemistry from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
In addition to his academic responsibilities in Boston, Dr. Dietz was a principal research scientist at the MIT/Harvard Division of Health Science and Technology, Associate Director of the Clinical Research Center at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Director of the Boston Obesity/Nutrition Research Center funded by NIDDK. He has been a councilor and past president of the American Society for Clinical Nutrition, and past president of the North American Association for the Study of Obesity. In 1995, he received the John Stalker award from the American School Food Service Association for his efforts to improve the school lunch. Dr. Dietz served on the 1995 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee. He was a member of the NIDDK Task Force on Obesity. In 1997, Dr. Dietz received the Brock Medal of Excellence in Pediatrics from the New York Academy of Medicine. In 1998, Dr. Dietz was elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. In 2000, he received the William G. Anderson Award from the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, and was recognized for excellence in his work and advocacy by the Association of State and Territorial Public Health Nutrition Directors. In 2002, Dr. Dietz received the Holroyd Sherry Award from the American Academy of Pediatrics for his research and advocacy on the effects of television on children. Also in 2002, he was elected as an honorary member of the American Dietetic Association. He is the author of over 150 publications in the scientific literature, and the editor of two books, including A Guide to Your Child's Nutrition.
Beth Dixon is an Associate Professor of Public Health Nutrition in the Department of Nutrition, Food Studies and Public Health at New York University. As a nutritional epidemiologist, Dr. Dixon studies the dietary patterns and health of different populations, including children and immigrants. She also evaluates health and nutrition policies, especially to improve maternal and child nutrition. She has received two Robert Wood Johnson Foundation grants to evaluate the nutrition and physical activity policies of NYC daycare centers in an effort to reduce obesity and improve the lifestyles of young children. She is also working with colleagues to evaluate the NYC calorie labeling policy in restaurants. At NYU, Dr. Dixon directs the MPH-public health nutrition concentration. At the national level, Dr. Dixon is past Chair of the Food and Nutrition Section of the American Public Health Association, and is current President of the Association of Graduate Programs in Public Health Nutrition.
Karen Donato, as the Coordinator of Overweight and Obesity Research Applications for the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, develops education and outreach strategies and materials for health professionals, community organizations, and high-risk individuals about prevention and treatment of obesity. She serves as the Team Leader for the We Can! ® national education program from NIH to help prevent overweight and obesity in children and youth. And, she currently is serving as the Program Manager for the update to the Clinical Guidelines on the Identification, Evaluation, and Treatment of Overweight and Obesity in Adults, previously released by NHLBI and NIDDK in 1998. For the past year, she has served as Acting Chief of the Enhanced Dissemination and Utilization Branch in NHLBI’s Division for the Application of Research Discoveries where she has worked on a number of projects to enhance outreach to community organizations reaching underserved populations. She has spent her career in a number of positions at the National Institutes of Health, serving as the Coordinator of Nutrition Education and Special Initiatives, Coordinator for Patient and Professional Nutrition Education, and the Acting Chief of the Health Education Branch. She holds a master’s in nutrition from the Harvard School of Public Health.
Michael Fraser is currently the Chief Executive Officer of the Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs in Washington, DC, the premiere professional association for state MCH leaders and partners nationwide. Dr. Fraser has been CEO of AMCHP since August, 2007 where he has worked with the AMCHP Board and membership to energize and invigorate AMCHP’s support of state maternal and child health programs and provide leadership on issues impacting women, children and families. If you ask him, he’ll say he has never had a better job. And he means it. And funnily enough he just received the 2009 “Young and Aspiring CEO” award from Association Trends magazine. Not that he is that young anymore – he just made the cut off by 17 days. He also received his Certified Association Executive credential in 2010, meaning he truly is certifiable.
While Dr. Fraser desperately wanted to be an opera singer when he grew up, that didn’t pan out so he chose to study sociology instead of music. After far too many years in school, Dr. Fraser finally received his doctorate in sociology from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in May, 1997 (where he also received his M.A. in sociology in 1994.) Dr. Fraser received his B.A. in sociology from Oberlin College in 1991 where he did a lot of singing, but was never asked to sing in an opera. Prior to joining AMCHP, Dr. Fraser was the Deputy Executive Director of the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) from 2002 to 2007. Prior to that, he was a Regional Program Manager with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) from 2001 to 2002, and a Senior Staff Fellow at the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) from 2000 to 2001. Prior to HRSA, he was a Senior Research Analyst and Program Manager with NACCHO from 1998 to 2000. Prior to that is a long time ago, but interesting, so you can ask him about it if you want.
Among several awards and honors, Dr. Fraser received a Distinguished Service Award from the Secretary of Health and Human Services for exemplary teamwork, productivity, organization, and scientific excellence demonstrated during the public health emergency response to the World Trade Center and Pentagon terrorist attacks and the anthrax investigation. In 2002, he also received a Certificate of Appreciation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Office of the Director for participation in the response to the anthrax events of 2001. In 2001, Dr. Fraser received a Certificate of Appreciation from the Health Resources and Services Administration, Bureau of Primary Health Care. Because the walls in his office are full of pictures or book shelves none of these awards is hanging on a wall.
Dr. Fraser has published several research articles and professional publications and on the adjunct faculty at the University of Maryland’s University College. He is an avid student of leadership, and believes a good leader is always trying to catch up with his followers. Put him in front of an audience and he’ll talk for hours but get him in a quiet corner away from it all and he’ll actually listen to you too. When he is not AMCHP, he is usually cooking, singing, doing yard work or reading something about leadership, management, or organizational development.
Anthony (Tony) Geraci is the Director of Food and Nutrition for Baltimore City Public Schools. He relocated to Baltimore from New Hampshire where he was the developer and Executive Director of First Course; a culinary training and job placement program for people who are developmentally disabled or recovering from substance abuse or mental illness. Tony is also a chef, a food service consultant, and the former food Service Director for the Con-Val School District in southwestern NH. He has been an enthusiastic supporter, practitioner and architect of the National Farm-to-School movement.
Tony is a native of New Orleans and a third generation restaurateur who did a traditional apprenticeship with four-star hotels and restaurants throughout the U.S. More recently, he has worked with food service directors throughout the country; streamlining their operations for purchasing, introducing local products to their menus, and incorporating vocational training. He was also featured in the film “Angry Moms,” a documentary about the national school lunch program. His New Hampshire program was cited as a “Best Practices” example of one of the most innovative approaches to school nutrition in the nation. Tony’s work has been featured in Gourmet Magazine, The Atlantic, Urbanite, The Diane Rehm Show, the Food Network, The Washington Post and a host of other radio, print and television appearances.
Since his arrival in Baltimore this summer Tony has increased the breakfast participation in the schools from 8500 meals per day to more than 35,000 breakfasts served each day. His department has taken over a city-owned (but abandoned) 33 acre farm which is now being used for vocational training and organic food production for Baltimore City’s schools. Tony’s focus is on nutrition and vocational training in the hospitality industry for the kids of Baltimore. Baltimore City Public Schools is the first School system in the nation to offer a “Meatless Monday” menu served in all of its 200 plus schools and all of its fresh fruits and vegetables are now being purchased from Maryland farms.
Suzanne Haydu, MPH, RD is the Nutrition and Physical Activity Coordinator for the Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health Program of the California Department of Public Health (CDPH). Areas that she is passionate about are collaboration, breastfeeding promotion, obesity reduction, folic acid, iron deficiency anemia, preconception and adolescent nutrition. She is the first chair of the Maternal Child Health Nutrition Council. She has represented ASTPHND as a member of the National Folic Acid Council. Suzanne is the alternate liaison for ASTPHND on the United States Breastfeeding Committee. She enjoys her free time as an abstract water color painter.
Geraldine Henchy is the Director of Nutrition Policy at the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC). FRAC is a research, policy, public education, and advocacy center working for more effective public and private policies to eradicate domestic hunger, and improve the health and nutrition of low-income individuals and families. Ms. Henchy’s work includes a focus on maximizing the value of the federal food programs in obesity prevention efforts.