Natasha Ray, President
Natasha Ray, MS, is a healthcare and family advocate who has been working in the New Haven community for the past 23 years. For the same length of time, she has worked for the New Haven Healthy Start Initiative at The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, as the Consortium Development Coordinator, Core Services Manager, and Director. In these roles, Natasha was responsible for developing relationships between New Haven’s community residents, medical providers, and other community-based organizations to establish a Maternal and Child Health Consortium with the goal of creating a community-driven approach to reducing the infant mortality rates in New Haven’s communities. As the Core Services Manager, Natasha was responsible for examining and assessing how families are navigated through medical and social service systems. The purpose is to identify gaps, barriers, accessibility to care; to implement evidence-based practices across systems and create policy change.
For the past 20 years, she has worked closely with the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program at Yale School of Medicine on multiple community-based participatory research projects. She has served as a connector to the community, as a co-researcher, in an advisory capacity, and is the Chair of the Center for Research Engagement Steering Committee. Natasha possesses a vast amount of experience and knowledge in community organizing, creating partnerships, relationship development, and research. In 2014, she was a recipient of the Yale Elm-Ivy Award for her Community/Academic work in New Haven. In 2019, Natasha became the Director of the New Haven Healthy Start Program. As Director of the program, Natasha brings a unique perspective to this role given her history with the program.
New Haven, CT
Henry Thompson, DSc, FACHE, CPPO, CPPB, C.P.M., Vice President
Dr. Henry Thompson currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for the Community Health Center of Richmond, Inc. (CHCR), located in Staten Island, New York. CHCR is a non-profit community health center with a $19 million operating budget, four locations, 112 staff members, and over 45,000+ annual patient visits. He was appointed as the CEO at CHCR in November 2009. Dr. Thompson is a visionary healthcare leader with over twenty (20) years of expertise in Strategic Planning, Profit and Loss, Revenue Growth, Turnaround Management, Supply Chain Leadership, Organizational Development, Process Improvement, Project Management, Community Partnerships, Regulatory Compliance, and Board Relations.
Dr. Thompson received his Doctor of Science degree in Healthcare Leadership from the University of Alabama in Birmingham, AL. He has achieved double master’s degrees in Liberal Studies and Public Administration from the University of Miami located in Coral Gables, FL; and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Connecticut located in Storrs, CT. He is board certified in healthcare management and a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE). Dr. Thompson holds nationally and internationally recognized credentials in supply chain and public procurement. Dr. Thompson is a Life Member of the Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.
Dr. Thompson has received numerous awards and recognition for his leadership and service, including being named in 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021 to the Staten Island Power 100 (City & State NY), 2021 Community Developer Award (Central Family Life Center), 2017 Primary Care Transformation Award (Staten Island Performing Provider System), 2016 Business of the Year (Historic Tappen Park Community Partnership), 2013 Up & Comers Award (Modern Healthcare), and numerous other awards throughout his professional career.
Staten Island, NY
Ronald Sharpe, Parliamentarian
Mr. Sharpe is a partner in the Investigations and White-Collar Defense group at Jones Day in Washington, D.C. His practice focuses on internal investigations, regulatory compliance and due diligence counseling, defending white-collar cases, and advising corporate clients on a variety of issues stemming from government enforcement actions. Mr. Sharpe is an Adjunct Professor at the Georgetown University Law Center and serves on the board of directors for Bread for the City’s Bread, Inc. Mr. Sharpe is a native Washingtonian and a graduate of Tulane University and Stanford Law School. Professor Sharpe began his legal career as an associate in the firm’s Washington office before leaving the firm for public service.
Mr. Sharpe formerly served as the presidentially appointed U.S. Attorney for the District of the Virgin Islands. As the district’s chief federal law enforcement officer, Mr. Sharpe supervised all federal criminal and civil litigation matters, coordinated law enforcement efforts across various agencies, and determined the district’s strategic priorities. While U.S. Attorney, he served on the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee, led a 28-agency task force responsible for dismantling international drug trafficking and money laundering organizations operating in the Caribbean and the United States, and was selected to a federal magistrate judge merit selection panel. Prior to becoming U.S. Attorney, Mr. Sharpe served for over a decade as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. In that role, he was a senior assistant in the Fraud and Public Corruption Section and acted as lead counsel in dozens of jury trials and hundreds of criminal investigations and prosecutions including matters involving financial fraud, organized crime, and homicides. He has also argued cases before the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and the District of Columbia Court of Appeals.
Washington, DC
Thurma McCann Goldman, Secretary
Dr. Thurma McCann Goldman decided early in her career to focus on public health in order to serve communities in need. After completing her undergraduate and medical education at Howard University in Washington, DC, she pursued a residency in pediatrics at the Martin Luther King, Jr. General Hospital in Watts, Los Angeles, CA, followed by fellowships in Ambulatory Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine. She obtained her Master’s in Public Health from the University of California at Los Angeles, School of Public Health in the area of Population, Family, and International Health. Dr. Goldman’s work history spans all levels of community medicine and public health. She started a private practice in the rural high desert of southern California and traveled to remote locations to provide immunizations to disadvantaged children. She then joined the staff at D.C. General Hospital in Washington, DC, where she piloted HIV counseling and testing programs for youth at high risk for sexually transmitted diseases and HIV infection.
Dr. Goldman’s work in public health then took her to the federal government, where she served as Medical Officer in the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). She directed the development and implementation of the Presidential Initiative to Reduce Infant Mortality in the United States –The National Healthy Start Program. When Dr. Goldman joined the HIV/AIDS Bureau’s (HAB) Division of Community-based Programs, she shared the U.S. domestic experiences with HIV prevention and treatment with the world. She became lead of the HAB International Program where Dr. Goldman represented HRSA as a Deputy Principal to the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. Dr. Goldman joined The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and became Chief of Party of the CDC South Africa Program. Now in retirement, Dr. Goldman seeks to utilize all of these experiences and further her commitment to expand services to underserved populations through consultation.
Washington, DC
Cynthia Dean, Treasurer
Cynthia Dean is the Chief Executive Officer of Missouri Bootheel Regional Consortium, Inc., Principal Investigator /Director of Programs. Ms. Dean’s background contains more than 25 years’ experience working with community-based and grant-funded programs. Before serving as Project Director of the Missouri Bootheel Healthy Start program, Ms. Dean served as Regional Director of Cardiovascular Health Programs at the State of Missouri Department of Health, S.E. District office in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, for 10 years. She has worked with the Center for Disease Control as a liaison with community-based programs and has facilitated trainings and workshops at numerous academic institutions. Cynthia received a National Leadership award in 2013 recognizing her ability to improve opportunities for rural underserved families. She was appointed by Governor Nixon to the Delta Leadership Institute 2014-2015 Graduate Class and was selected in 2016-2017 as a Missouri Foundation Health Fellow Leadership fellow among 25 State-wide Missouri Candidates. She served as a member of the Board of Directors and member of the Executive Committee for the Missouri Foundation for Health and is the Past President of NHSA. Ms. Dean has received national, state, and regional honors, including State of Missouri Employee of the Month and Year. She was appointed as a CDC Task Force Member for Health Disparities and served on numerous boards, including Chair of the State Minority Health Alliance. Selected among 12 women from the State of Missouri to participate in a Women Executive’s Leadership Development Program funded by the Missouri Foundation of Health, The UPS Foundation, and the Walter & Elise Haas Fund, Cynthia has co-authored seven published journal articles on the topics of Community-Based Risk Reduction Prevention Strategies in Underserved Populations and has presented at National, State, Local and International conferences. She attended Alabama State University.
Sikeston, MO
Meloney Baty
Phoenix, AZ
Felice Simien-Hill
Felice Simien-Hill is a seasoned healthcare executive, social worker, and Healthcare Hero honoree with more than 30 years of experience advancing health access and improving health outcomes across the nonprofit and corporate healthcare sectors. A recognized expert in reducing gaps in health outcomes and population health strategy, she has built her career around designing and implementing initiatives that close gaps in care, dismantle systemic obstacles and imbalances, and deliver measurable, sustainable change for underserved communities. Throughout her career, Felice has set the vision and strategy for health access across the enterprises she has served, building programs, driving performance, and holding cross-functional teams accountable to ambitious outcome goals. She partners with senior leaders to foster organizational cultures that reflect the broad range of members and communities served, and she is a trusted voice influencing both internal and external audiences on the most critical health access issues of our time.
A skilled collaborator and strategic thinker, Felice specializes in building community-centered partnerships that translate vision into lasting impact. Her expertise in community engagement, collective impact, and coalition building has expanded access to quality healthcare, strengthened provider and community relationships, and advance solutions that promote fairness and access for communities throughout Louisiana, including widely recognized work in homelessness, maternal and child health, and social drivers of health. Drawing on senior leadership experience that includes serving as a Development Director and Medicaid Growth Lead alongside CEO, COO, and CFO counterparts, Felice brings a rare blend of business acumen, community insight, and access-driven leadership to every stage, boardroom, and initiative she engages, consistently creating the conditions for sustainable, systemic change.
New Orleans, LA
Karen Howard, J.D.
Karen Howard is a Senior Policy Director at the Alliance for Early Success where she leads a portfolio of state and national Alliance partnerships and investments focused on home visiting, child welfare, family economic stability, and access policies for young children and their families. Prior to joining the Alliance for Early Success, Ms. Howard worked as the Vice President of Early Childhood Policy at First Focus on Children, where she led the organization’s work in cross-cutting policy initiatives that impact the early health, development, and well-being of children, with specific emphasis on children at risk. With more than 20 years of experience in the legal, policy and advocacy arenas, Ms. Howard has served as the Director of Policy for the Nurse-Family Partnership, a leading evidence-based home visiting program, and as legislative counsel in the office of Senator Ken Salazar (D-CO), where she focused on health and education policy. Earlier in her career, Ms. Howard served as Deputy Attorney General in the Colorado Office of Attorney General. Ms. Howard is the Chair of the NHSA Board’s Government Relations Committee.
Washington, DC
Celeste Llyod
Grand Rapids, MI
Alma Roberts, MPH, LFACHE
Alma Roberts is a retired health care executive with 49 years of experience in
the areas of health systems design, process improvement, program
management, fund development, and new business development. She is a recognized national leader in maternal and child health with successes implementing population health management strategies for vulnerable women, children, families, and communities. She is currently pursuing her role as a community activist and visual artist. She serves on the Board of the National Healthy Start Association and currently serves on Arctaris Impact Investors’ national Community Development Entity Board (CDE) that oversees the dispersement of the firm’s New Market Tax Credit allocations.
Valerie Wheatley
As a skilled civic and community leader with over 25 years of executive management experience, Valerie Wheatley has been providing leadership and direction as the Chief Operating Officer for Clover NOLA since 2013. She is responsible for all daily business operations including programmatic, administrative, and financial. In 2020, New Orleans City Business recognized Ms. Wheatley as one of the Women of the Year. Recently, Ms. Wheatley secured over $1.7 million from the W.K. Kellogg and Humana Foundations to support Clover’s Whole Family Approach that primarily focuses on economic security through education, career pathways, and family supports. She currently serves on the National Educare Learning Network (ELN) Steering Committee and the NHSA Board of Directors. In 2016, Ms. Wheatley oversaw the development and construction of Clover’s Patrick F. Taylor Campus, a 24,000 sq. ft. facility that houses both an early childhood learning center and adult day health care center.
For over 10 years, Valerie was on the board of Healthy Start Pittsburgh where she served from 2011- until her relocation to New Orleans; she was also Board President. Among Valerie’s many accolades and accomplishments, she considers receiving the 2006 Wilford A. Payne Award for outstanding contributions in the advancing and promoting the mission of Healthy Start, Inc. as among her most cherished.
New Orleans, LA