Eighteen individuals representing communities from the Florida Panhandle have been selected to the 2022 cohort of the Florida Health Policy Leadership Academy, a joint professional development initiative of the Bob Graham Center and UF Health.
The members of the Spring 2022 class are:
TAYLOR BROWN
Taylor Brown is the City Manager for Perry, Florida. He has received education in urban planning and has worked hard to guide his community through the immense challenges that come along with a Pandemic. For the last two years, Taylor Brown has been working with the Florida Gas Utility to create new arrangements for the long-term pre-sale of natural gas to large industrial customers at a discounted price. Brown has dedicated his career to improving the everyday lives of people within his community.
CATHY CAMPBELL
Cathy Campbell serves as Intake Coordinator at Safe Families for Children. Through this role, Campbell works with a variety of service providers within the community to advocate for families on the edge of care. Prior to her time with Safe Families for Children, Campbell served as Co-Founder and Board President of The HUBB as well as Patient Advocate for the Epilepsy Agency of the Big Bend.
SUSAN GAGE
Suzan Gage is the executive director for the Early Learning Coalition of Northwest Florida. She has worked with the coalition for over 15 years. Through her work, Gage focuses on helping young children and their parents navigate early development. In addition to her work with the Coalition, Gage serves many counties throughout the Panhandle region as a member of a variety of boards, including the Tri-County Community Council, Inc.
JARED GRIGAS
Jared Grigas is a policy analyst for the Florida Association of Counties. Through this role, Grigas serves all 67 counties within Florida. Grigas lives and works in Leon County and has served in a variety of previous positions within the community, including policy fellow with the James Madison Institute, and member of a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt certification team with the Justice Administration Commission.
HANNAH GUTNER
Hannah Gutner is a policy researcher for Orange County Commissioner Nicole Wilson, District 1. Through this work, Gutner reviews community agendas and developments, manages interns, runs community meetings, and helps mitigate community crises. Her areas of interest include environmental and conservation issues, urban sprawl, and affordable housing.
STACEY HANNIGON
Stacey Hannigon is the executive director of Beyond Before Community Development Corporation based in Gadsden County. As an active leader in her community, Hannigon has developed local after-school programs for education in technology and the arts, led hurricane relief and COVID-19 response efforts through the county’s Long Term Disaster Recovery Group, and continues to volunteer for a variety of causes within local community organizations.
TIFFANY MCCASKILL HENDERSON
Tiffany McCaskill Henderson is the government relations director for the American Heart Association. Through her work, she is able to represent the AHA in the Florida legislature and executive branch. McCaskill is from Leon County and just recently completed the City of Tallahassee’s Neighborhood Leadership Academy.
SARA HENLEY
Sara Henley is Policy Analyst for the Florida Association of Counties. Within the FAC, she supports the community leaders in all 67 counties with the tools, resources, and data that they need to serve their constituency. At the beginning of the COVID-19 Pandemic, Sara Henley worked on the project Florida Alliance for Response to Epidemics to develop a resource map with the locations of health services for testing, treatment, housing assistance, food banks, and other critical resources for Floridians who had trouble navigating the websites.
MONICA JOHNSON
Monica Johnson is the Program Services Director of the Epilepsy Agency of the Big Bend. Through this role, Johnson leads a team of Care Managers which works to support individuals living with epilepsy in the Big Bend region. Johnson has obtained a Doctor of Public Health and worked in the fields of case management, rehabilitation therapy, and substance abuse counseling prior to her current role.
KAMELIA KLEJC
Kamelia Klejc is the program coordinator for Gainesville Fire Rescue’s Community Resource Paramedicine Program. In this role, Klejc oversees individualized care programs and community health initiatives to reduce the frequency of non-emergency 911 calls.
PAULINA LEWIS
Paulina Lewis is the Outreach and Education Coordinator for 2-1-1 Big Bend, Inc. She lives and works in Leon County and serves a wide region within the Panhandle through her work with 2-1-1. Lewis is an active mental health advocate and works to improve access to mental health resources through teaching new classes of 2-1-1 counselors and policy-level engagement.
BOB MCKEE
Bob McKee is the Deputy Director of Public Policy for the Florida Association of Counties. He is from Leon County and has a background in economics, public finance, and tax policy. In his position of Deputy Director, McKee represents all 67 Florida counties before the Florida Legislature and Executive Branch and handles finance, tax, administrative, health, safety, and justice issues. He has also led a coalition of Local Elected Officials to reform how Community Development Agencies were funded through legislation.
LINDSEY MCDANIELS
Lindsey McDaniels is the manager of Nursing Case Management for Humana. She has led teams of RN case managers that serve a special needs population. She is from Escambia county. Through her work, she has been able to lead medical missions in the Army National Guard, benchmarked a juvenile diabetes education program, and created an alert for special needs programs at Humana.
ROB RENZI
Rob Renzi serves as the CEO of Big Ben Cares, a role which he has held for 16 years. Additionally, Renzi is the Vice President of the board of directors of RWC340B and Treasurer of the United Partners for Human Services. He is an active advocate for LGBTQ health and reducing the cost of pharmaceuticals to expand access for all.
LEROY SMITH
Leroy Smith is the Founder and CEO of Diamonds in the Rough Sports, Entertainment, & Education, a nonprofit organization that helps underprivileged children develop healthy work ethics and positive attitudes. Prior to this role, Smith served as a Life Coach with Win-Win Elite, Head Football Coach at Jefferson County K-12, and social studies teacher in Gadsden County.
GRETCHEN THORNTON
Gretchen Thorton is a Family and Consumer Sciences Agent at the Jefferson County 4-H Extension Office. 4-H is the nation’s largest youth development organization, and Thorton is able to extend their reach to educate her local community. She leads the Let’s Walk Florida Program within Jefferson County and has years of valuable experience with 4-H, public and private school systems, FCCLA, and Extension Service.
JOHN TROMBETTA
John Trombetta is the Executive Director of Alzheimer’s Project, Inc., which covers 11 counties in northwest Florida, providing support for caregivers of those with memory disorders. Prior to joining the Alzheimer’s Project, Trombetta served as CEO for the Florida State Alliance of YMCAs and as Regional Director of Development for the University of Georgia.
ANITA WHITBY-DAVIS
Anita Whitby-Davis is the Executive Director of Blautism Inc., a nonprofit organization that serves to address the lack of education amongst Arican-American families and children with Autism. Not only does Anita prioritize the need for resources within these families, but she also tackles the social stigmas that exist in the community through advocacy, education, and making connections with the rest of the community.