Erica Browne, DrPH
The Kresge Foundation
Erica L. Browne, DrPH joined The Kresge Foundation’s Health Program as a Program Officer. Ms. Browne comes to the foundation from California, where she most recently served as a faculty affiliate for health policy and management at the California Initiative for Health Equity and Action, a statewide research translation center that connects the University of California and the state’s health policy community. She has worked on bridging clinical and community linkages and has a deep understanding of the impact of racism on population health.
Her previous roles have included positions as a Health Policy Research Scholar at the School of Public Health at the University of California at Berkeley; Community Benefit Manager and Senior Consultant at Kaiser Permanente; Health Program Director for Mills College at UC Berkeley; and Senior Health Educator with University Health Services at UC Berkeley.
Ms. Browne is currently a member of the Interdisciplinary Association for Population Health Science and volunteers with the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights.
Contact: Kate McLaughlin at 248.502.0636 or kmmclaughlin@kresge.org.
Chelsea Hedrick, Jeff Winell, and Jessie Burbank
Mat-Su Health Foundation
The Mat-Su Health Foundation (MSHF) has welcomed two new employees: Chelsea Hedrick as Connect Mat-Su Community Resource Specialist and Jeff Winell as R.O.C.K. Mat-Su Community Engagement Coordinator. MSHF has also promoted Jessie Burbank to Connect Mat-Su community Resource Specialist II.
Ms. Hedrick is the first point of contact for Connect Mat-Su, a social services information and referral resource center operated by MSHF. She provides social service navigation and referrals, as well as works to develop and maintain an extensive database of resources available in the community. Before accepting her current position, Ms. Hedrick held a temporary role coordinating a COVID-19 call line for Connect Mat-Su. She previously worked as a Project Coordinator with Bozeman Green Build and the Madison River Foundation, as well as an Alaskan Conservation Corp member with the Alaska Department of Natural Resources.
Mr. Winell drives strategic work forward by supporting day-to-day communications and administration, community engagement, and data functions. He facilitates and coordinates authentic community engagement, informing the collective goal of creating transformative change in the systems that affect children and families in the Mat-Su. Mr. Winell brings a lot of experience in client-facing communications and community programs. Before joining MSHF, he was a Contact Center Representative at Matanuska Valley Federal Credit Union and Program Director with Take2 Ministries Alaska.
Ms. Burbank will work closely with the Connect Mat-Su team to develop and maintain a database of health and social services resources within Mat-Su and will engage in outreach to develop and strengthen relationships with social service organizations, providers, and programs. She will be responsible for refining, executing, and reporting on the information and referral follow-up process, assuring that consumers receive the services they need and identifying system gaps/areas for improvement. Before joining MSHF in 2020, Ms. Burbank worked at The Children’s Place where she assisted children and families impacted by child abuse.
Contact: Robin Minard at 907.250.6445 or rminard@healthymatsu.org.
Samuela Manages, MD, FAAFP; Abdulkerim Said, BAS, CHW, BHP, MHRTC/B; Ian Yaffe; Nélida Berke, MPH; Donna Brown, MSW; Rebecca Matusovich, MPPM; Benjamin Sprague; Sara Squires, MPPM; and Joby Thoyalil, MPA
Maine Health Access Foundation
Maine Health Access Foundation (MeHAF) announced the election of Samuela Manages, MD, FAAFP; Abdulkerim Said, BAS, CHW, BHP, MHRTC/B; and Ian Yaffe to its statewide board of trustees and Nélida Berke, MPH; Donna Brown, MSW; Rebecca Matusovich, MPPM; Benjamin Sprague; Sara Squires, MPPM; and Joby Thoyalil, MPA, to its statewide Community Advisory Committee. MeHAF’s board oversees the work of the foundation and stewards its resources and the CAC advises on strategy and provides input and valuable perspectives from diverse communities and populations across Maine.
The following people are new trustees:
Samuela Manages, MD, FAAFP is a family medicine physician at Pines Health Services, a Federally Qualified Health Center in Van Buren, where she has practiced since 2008. Ms. Manages sits on the board of the Maine Medical Association, and is a member of the Cary Medical Center Medical Executive Committee as well as the Pines Health Services Quality Improvement Committee. She is active with the Rural Resiliency Community Alliance as well as Medical Director for Van Buren Ambulance Services.
Abdulkerim Said, BAS, CHW, BHP, MHRTC/B is the Founder and Executive Director of New Mainers Public Health Initiative, a nonprofit, community-based organization. Mr. Said is extremely passionate about improving the disparities of health care and fighting to reduce the barriers between the providers and the community. He is an active member of the Maine Statewide Public Health Council Community Adviser Group and a board member for one of the largest CAP agencies in Maine.
Ian Yaffe recently joined the DHHS Commissioner’s office as Chief Operating Officer for COVID-19 to build systems and tools to support communities and organizations. Mr. Yaffe is on leave through 2021 from his position as Executive Director of Mano en Mano, where he joined the staff in 2010 after working in several seasonal jobs in Massachusetts and Colorado. He also serves on boards of directors of CEI, the Maine Philanthropy Center, and represents Mano en Mano on Maine’s Permanent Commission on the Status of Racial, Indigenous and Maine Tribal Populations.
The following people are new Community Advisory Committee Members:
Nélida Berke, MPH, joined the Portland Public Health Division’s STD/HIV Prevention in 2003 and then in 2005 she joined the Minority Health Program. As a Community Health Outreach Worker (CHOW), she assisted Latinos, with and without health insurance, to obtain needed health care. Her goal was to eliminate health disparities and to improve health care access. In 2013, she was promoted to Minority Health Program Specialist, where she skillfully coordinated and supervised 39 CHOWs and 17 volunteers from the 13 largest minority communities in Greater Portland, Maine. In 2015, Ms. Berke was promoted to Portland Public Health Division’s Minority Health Program Coordinator. She advocates for immigrant rights and health equity through enhancing communication and community engagement with underserved populations. She served on the board for Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition and currently serves on the Northern Light Mercy Hospital board, Catholic Identity & Ministry Committee, and on several advisory committees.
Donna Brown, MSW, is a citizen of the Penobscot Nation of Indian Island, Maine and the Algonquin First Nation of Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg located in Maniwaki, Quebec. Ms. Brown has extensive experience in the field of training, and has provided her services in the fields of information technology, customer service, corporate training, suicide prevention, Youth Mental Health First Aid, and intimate partner violence. Her desire to advocate for the rights, well-being and safety of others led her to serve in a variety of positions for more than 25 years including adult case manager; research assistant; grant writer; domestic violence shelter aid; and consultant to develop Healing to Wellness Court programs for the Hopi Tribe in Arizona and the Lac Courte Oreilles Tribe in Wisconsin. She is the Outreach Coordinator for the Wabanaki Women’s Coalition, a nonprofit tribal domestic and sexual violence coalition that serves the Wabanaki tribes in Maine.
Becca Matusovich, MPPM, is the founding Executive Director of the Partnership for Children’s Oral Health. Her 25-year career in public service includes work in education, substance abuse prevention, chronic disease, public health infrastructure, refugee & immigrant health, child welfare, and community engagement. Ms. Matusovich brings a deep passion for improving the systems that serve Maine children and families, and she has extensive experience in catalyzing complex system change and forging partnerships with a common vision. Her state government posts include Prevention Team Manager for the Office of Substance Abuse, Chronic Disease Division Director at Maine Center for Disease Control and the Maine CDC’s first Cumberland District Public Health Liaison. She spent several years as a Policy Associate at the Cutler Institute within USM’s Muskie School for Public Service prior to her current position. While crossing sectors and disciplines in many ways over the years, her work has always gravitated around a core interest in health equity and systems thinking.
Ben Sprague is a Vice President/Commercial Lending Officer for First National Bank. He is a former member of the Bangor City Council and served twice as the Council Chair. Mr. Sprague worked for the Boston Red Sox for three years and also taught high school diploma and career development classes. He is also a member of the board of directors for Good Shepherd Food Bank and previously served on the boards of the Bangor YMCA and Northern Light/Eastern Maine Medical Center. He is also the founder and Race Director for the Bangor, Maine area event Erin’s Run.
Sara Squires, MPPM, joined Disability Rights Maine (DRM) as an intake coordinator in September 2002 and was later named Public Policy Director. Ms. Squires continues to provide information and referral services, while also coordinating the agency’s policy work, maintaining DRM’s print/online media presence, and overseeing data management for reporting and quality assurance purposes. Ms. Squires is past Chair of the MaineCare Advisory Committee and served a term on the mPower Loan Board, which oversees Maine’s adaptive equipment loan program. Additionally, she regularly collaborates with the Secretary of State’s Office to provide training at its annual conference for municipal clerks and registrars.
Joby Thoyalil, MPA, has over a decade of experience working in both Maine and New York advocating for economic and racial justice through policy change. He works as a Senior Policy Advocate at Maine Equal Justice where he analyzes and develops legislative and administrative policy proposals and coordinates policy advocacy on a range of issues related to the economic stability of low-income individuals and families in Maine. Mr. Thoyalil currently serves as a Commissioner on the newly established Permanent Commission on the Status of Racial, Indigenous and Maine Tribal Populations. Prior to moving to Maine, Mr. Thoyalil worked as a campaign organizer at the New Economy Project in New York, where he coordinated multiple campaigns and coalitions.
Contact: Jeb Murphy at 207.240.4897 or jmurphy@mehaf.org.
Ivy Suriyopas
Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees
Ivy Suriyopas has been appointed as the new Vice President of Programs at Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees (GCIR), effective May 12, 2021.
Ms. Suriyopas is a strategic and collaborative leader with more than 15 years of experience working to advance immigrant justice. She comes to GCIR from the Open Society Foundations (OSF), where she currently serves as a program officer focused on immigrant and refugee rights and manages a multimillion-dollar portfolio. At OSF, Ms. Suriyopas developed a grantmaking strategy focused on challenging the systems rooted in the racialized treatment of immigrants throughout United States history. Along with her colleagues, she convened leaders from across the racial justice, immigrant rights, and Muslim Arab South Asian movements to cultivate solidarity in a transformative and co-liberating way.
Before joining OSF in 2015, Ms. Suriyopas was an attorney and the director of the Anti-Trafficking Initiative at the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, working at the intersection of migrants’, workers’, and women’s rights, providing legal representation, and advocating for policy changes informed by the lived experiences of her clients. Previously, she was co-chair of the Freedom Network, a national alliance of almost 40 NGOs and individuals that serve and advocate for the rights of trafficking survivors.
As GCIR’s Vice President of Programs, Ms. Suriyopas will play a critical strategic leadership role in three areas: program and policy strategy and development, funder education and engagement, and funder mobilizing and organizing. She will introduce leading-edge practices from the immigrant justice field and play a key role in shaping GCIR’s long-term strategy.
Contact: press@gcir.org.
Sarah Dorsett Walsh
Cannon Foundation
The Cannon Foundation announced that Sarah Dorsett Walsh joined the staff. Ms. Walsh serves as a Program Officer and will work with grantee organizations focusing on health care, higher education, human services, and other areas throughout the state.
Ms. Walsh brings to the foundation professional experiences from the nonprofit sector including the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, where she served as Director of Strategic Partnerships for the West Coast Division, and the American Red Cross, where she most recently served as the Manager of Corporate and Foundation Relations and from the for-profit sector.
Contact: 704.786.8216
Ruth Wernig and David Greenberg
The California Endowment
The California Endowment (TCE) announced the planned retirement of Chief Investment Officer Ruth Wernig, who served in this leadership position for 11 years. Under Ms. Wernig’s stewardship, the asset management performance of the foundation improved considerably, and she also contributed to the foundation’s growing emphasis on mission-related and impact investing. Additionally, she strengthened the racial, ethnic, and gender diversity of investment managers in the foundation’s portfolio. Ms. Wernig will end her time at TCE on May 31, 2021.
At the same time, TCE announced that David Greenberg, will take over as its new Chief Investment Officer on June 1, 2021. Mr. Greenberg has served on TCE’s Investment team since 2010 when he joined TCE as Director of Public Markets. For the past three years he held the position of Deputy Chief Investment Officer helping to invest the Endowment’s $3.9 billion.
Prior to joining TCE, Mr. Greenberg worked at the University of Southern California as a senior leader overseeing the university’s endowment hedge fund investments. His experience also includes serving as a Vice President at JP Morgan, where he was responsible for hedge fund investment manager research and portfolio management, and as a Financial Services Strategy Consultant at PricewaterhouseCoopers.
In his new role as Chief Investment Officer, Mr. Greenberg will be responsible for managing TCE’s multi-billion-dollar endowment and manage an investment team of six. He will also focus on increasing the diversity of the organizations TCE engages with in support of the foundation’s racial equity pledge. This will include expanding relationships with investment organizations led by people of color, as well as those that are women-led. This aligns with TCE’s recent issuance of a Social Justice Bond where The California Endowment worked with both minority- and women-led firms.
Contact: Sarah Reyes at 559.443.5306 or sreyes@calendow.org.