2023 Annual Spring Conference
Breakfast: 8:30 a.m.
Sessions:
9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
The Ohio State University
2400 Olentangy River Rd
Columbus, OH 43210
Session Details
Printable PDF
Conference Program
Cari Stork
OHHN Program Committee Chair
Recognition of Sponsors
Fred Strahorn
OHHN Executive Director
Welcome and announcements
Phillip Bouton
OHHN Board President
Introduction of Keynote Speaker
Pam Blais has been employed with the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) for 27 years in the lead poisoning prevention field. She has served as a Program Manager for the ODH Lead Licensure Program and now oversees the Public Health Lead Investigation Program within the Bureau of Environmental Health and Radiation Protection. She is Project Director for the agency’s HUD Lead Hazard Control Grant Program, manages the SCHIP Lead Hazard Abatement Project, and assists in overseeing the ODH’s Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) grant. She has also taken on several smaller lead related projects including expanding the lead abatement industry workforce and managing the lead in demolition and Middle-Income lead hazard control projects. Ms. Blais received a BS in Environmental Health from Purdue University and is a registered sanitarian.
Luke Stedke is the Assistant Chief of the Community Services Division of the Ohio Department of Development. Luke formerly worked at Drive Ohio to develop and implement public policy that fosters the safe deployment of smart mobility technology, on the ground and in the air. Luke also served at the Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board as the Deputy Director for Communications. In this role, he oversaw all agency communications and worked closely with the Ohio General Assembly on a wide range of policy issues. Luke holds a BA in History from The Ohio State University, and a master’s degree in public administration from the Voinovich School of Public Policy at Ohio University.
Roopa Thakur, M.D., F.A.A.P., is a practicing pediatrician at Cleveland Clinic Independence Family Health Center. She is board certified in general pediatrics. She earned her medical degree from The Ohio State University College of Medicine in Columbus, Ohio and completed her post-graduate training at Cleveland Clinic Children’s in Cleveland, Ohio. Dr. Thakur’s interests include resident education and healthcare advocacy. She currently serves as Associate Program Director of Cleveland Clinic Children’s Pediatric Residency Program, overseeing the primary care experiences of our trainees. She also serves as Medical Director of School-Based Health Clinics and Medical Director of Youth Strategies for Cleveland Clinic Community Health and Partnerships. A lifelong resident of Ohio, she serves as the Medical Director of the Lead Safe Ohio program, operated by the Ohio chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Community Service Award – Historic South Initiative
Lifetime Achievement Award – Patricia Barnes
In addition to being a member of the OHHN Board of Trustees, Aaron Grant is a senior project manager at People Working Cooperatively (PWC) in Cincinnati where he works on health-focused housing initiatives including lead poisoning prevention, asthma trigger reduction and fall prevention. Grant holds an M.A. in Public Service and is also a licensed Risk Assessor. He has worked in the nonprofit housing sector for 14 years in the areas of home repair, accessibility and lead abatement, and provides direct services to low-income residents while working to strengthen partnerships between the housing and health sectors. Grant is a member and past-chair of the Hamilton County Lead and Healthy Homes Collaborative and serves on the Steering Committee of the Ohio Lead Free Kids Coalition.
Stephanie Beebe has been working in housing and public safety since 2006. She is currently the manager for the City of Toledo’s Demolition Program, and she previously served as the Lead Safe Coordinator in Toledo, where she pioneered an astounding example of what coordinated citywide efforts toward lead prevention can achieve. She also served as a project manager for the Lucas County Land Bank. While in that position, Stephanie facilitated the largest demolition and vacant lot repurposing program in the City of Toledo. In addition, Stephanie currently serves on the Board of Trustees for OHHN and NeighborWorks Toledo Region. Stephanie has a BS in Criminal Justice from the University of Toledo.
Wyonette Cheairs is a Program Director at Enterprise Community Partners, a national affordable housing and community development nonprofit. Located in Enterprise’s Ohio Market office, she leads the team charged to convene and manage the Lead Safe Cleveland Coalition, a 500 + member, public private partnership formed in 2019 to prevent lead poisoning in Cleveland, Ohio. Wyonette is a conduit between the community and coalition partners and funders, she convenes and lead Coalition committees and manages the Coalition’s multimillion dollar Lead Safe Home Fund and contracts with the Lead Safe Home Fund Administrators. The Lead Safe Home Fund is a first-of-its-kind fund, a replicable model to support property owners and families to achieve lead safety.
Prior to joining Enterprise, Wyonette worked at a local community development corporation developing and managing programs that stabilized the housing stock, repopulated neighborhoods, and increased homeownership for families with lower incomes. Her portfolio includes the national model, Greater Circle Living, a joint employer assisted housing program designed to encourage nonprofit and anchor institution employees in Greater University Circle, to live near work. Wyonette holds a bachelor’s degree in Urban Affairs from Cleveland State University and master’s degree in Social Administration from the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences at Case Western Reserve University.
Adam Nation currently serves as a program officer for Mt. Sinai Health Foundation in Cleveland. In this role he manages a portfolio of approximately 30 grants that pilot and expand effective public health interventions. Adam holds a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree from the University of Michigan School of Public Health, a Master of Public Policy (MPP) degree from the Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from The Ohio State University. He has over a decade of experience in coalition building, communications, government affairs and public policy.