Executive Committee
Roger Racine – President
Roger has been an active member of MPHA for 17 years. His first active committee work was participating in legislative advocacy. He accepted the Epidemiology Section Chair to orchestrate the 2013 Epidemiology Conference at the University of Michigan. Roger has since filled a continuous role on the MPHA Board of Directors and currently serves as our Membership Chair while also maintaining his active participation within the Epidemiology Section.
Lorena Disha – Immediate Past President
Ms. Disha is currently serving as our Immediate Past-President. She served as MPHA President in 2017-2019. Lorena has served with MPHA for 8 years – previously serving on the Board of Directors for 5 years. Lorena previously accepted Treasurer responsibilities for the Epidemiology section, leading their fundraising efforts, and has also served as a Student Section Ambassador. She also is the founding originator of our annually awarded Emerging Public Health Professionals Scholarship.
Fatema Mamou – Secretary
Fatema is a Regional Epidemiologist with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Fatema has been an MPHA member for 11 years and has previously served as a Section Treasurer, Chair-Elect, and performed as the Chair of the MPHA Epidemiology Section during the 2010-2011 term. In 2012 she became a MPHA Board Member and served for three consecutive terms in that position before being elected as the current MPHA Secretary in 2018.
Brian Hartl – Treasurer
Brian joined the Michigan Public Health Association as a Councilor in the Epidemiology Section shortly after starting his public health career in 2003. After serving as Chair of the Epidemiology Section in 2009, he stayed involved with the board, and took on the role of Secretary in 2012. Brian is currently serving as the Treasurer of MPHA.
Affiliate Representative to the APHA Governing Council
Ella Greene-Moton – ARGC
In her role as Administrator of the Community Based Organization Partners (CBOP) Community Ethics Review Board (CERB), Ella brings an extensive background in public health advocacy, Public Health policy, Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR), and programming, spanning over the past forty plus (40+) years in the City of Flint and surrounding areas. In addition, specific efforts in public health Ethics have focused on providing an awareness at the community level, developing and elevating the community voice and advocating for community inclusiveness at the State and National Levels.
Board of Directors
Heidi Hillard, MPH
Heidi was first elected to the board in 2011, and served in that role until 2014, when she took on the role of Treasurer. After serving for three years as Treasurer, she was re-elected to the board in 2016. Heidi represents MPHA on the Michigan Public Health Week Coalition each year for the Captiol Event where we present Hometown Hero awards, as well as the Jean Chabut Public Health Policy Champion award.
Naomi Ervin, PhD, RN, PHCNS-BC, FNAP, FAAN
Naomi Ervin currently serves as a Director-at-Large of the MPHA Board of Director, having been elected in 2018. She also is a member of the Public Health Nursing Section Program Committee for which she previously served as chairperson. Previously she served as chair-elect and chair of the PHN Section. Other positions previously held throughout the years in MPHA are member of the Rules Committee, member of the Program Planning Committee, and member of the Archives Committee. Dr. Ervin retired after a long career in public health and academia. Her latest textbook, Advanced Public and Community Health Nursing Practice (2nd ed.), was published in 2018.
Apryl Brown
Suzanne Cupal
Alexis Travis
Beth Sieloff
Nicole Parker-Strobe
Section Chairs
Kayleigh Blaney, MPH – Epidemiology Section Chair
As a part of the Epidemiology Section, Kayleigh spearheads the annual MPHA Epidemiology Conference, where public health professionals can present findings, network, and forge new research connections. The Epidemiology Section continues to develop a new mentorship program connecting young epidemiologists with those already established in the field. Kayleigh also ensures that her section works to provide networking and development opportunities for all members.
Lynn McDaniels, MSN, RN, PHCNS-BC – Public Health Nursing Section Chair
Jihan Aiyash – Student Section Advisor
Jihan recently graduated from Wayne State University’s School of Medicine with her MPH. She started her term on the board while she was a full time student. She was first introduced to MPHA after winning the first ever MPHA Emerging Public Health Professional Scholarship. Her goal for the Student Section is to engage student members and give them access and ability to shape their involvement with their chosen career field. Jihan also serves as our Newsletter Committee Chair, as she has a rich background in printed news. During her undergrad time, she served on Wayne State University’s Publication Board and working on her graduate degree, she wrote for her research team’s quarterly news blast. For the MPHA newsletter, she is focused on highlighting more MPH student authors from across the state.
Committee Chairs
Naomi Ervin – Bylaws
Sue Harrington- Elections/Nominations
Roger Racine – Membership
Jihan Aiyash – Newsletter
Apryl Brown- Public Policy/Legislation