Faculty
Faculty, instructors, and curriculum developers
Susan Allan, MD, JD, MPH, is the Director of the Northwest Center for Public Health Practice at the University of Washington School of Public Health, and is an Associate Professor in the Department of Health Services. She is Principal Investigator for the Public Health Training Center, supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration, as well as Principal Investigator of the Northwest Preparedness and Emergency Response Learning Center and the Northwest Public Health Leadership Institute, supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dr. Allan has been on faculty in the School of Public Health since July 2008. She has extensive experience in public health practice, including positions as State Public Health Director in Oregon (2005–2008) and Health Director for Arlington County, Virginia (1987–2005).
Janet Baseman, PhD, MPH, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the University of Washington. She serves as Principal Investigator of the NWPERRC REACH Trial and Co-Principal Investigator of the Disease Reporting, Investigation, and Response project. Additionally, as a member of the NWCPHP epidemiology team, she develops online trainings to improve the epidemiological knowledge and skills of front line public health workers.
Randal Beaton, PhD, EMT, is a Research Professor and Clinical Psychologist in the Psychosocial and Community Health Department in the School of Nursing; and a Research Adjunct Professor in the Department of Health Services in the School of Public Health. Dr. Beaton is also a volunteer EMT and has 25 years of experience as a clinical psychologist. He has headed NIOSH- and FEMA-funded programs to examine the causes and effects of stress in firefighters and other emergency responders. In the past several years his research has focused on psychosocial aspects of terrorism; especially in first responders. Dr. Beaton has been an instructor at the Summer Institute for Public Health Practice in Seattle and currently serves as a co-leader of the ASPH/CDC Disaster Mental Health Collaborative Group.
Betty Bekemeier, PhD, MPH, MSN, RN, is an Assistant Professor in the School of Nursing, and has been a member of the Department of Health Services faculty since March 2002. Her specialty area is in public health practice system development. She served as the Deputy Director of the Turning Point National Program Office. Dr. Bekemeier is also a public health systems researcher, examining effective strategies for local and state public health systems to most effectively improve population health and eliminate disparities. Before coming to the UW, Dr. Bekemeier's career was in public health practice at the local level. Her local public health experiences include public health nursing, clinical and field management, epidemiology, community assessment, maternal child health, and administration.
Sharon Bogan, MPH, is an Affiliate Instructor in the Department of Health Services, and is a Project Manager in the Health Communications Team at Public Health - Seattle & King County. Ms. Bogan specializes in utilizing new technology to reach communities with health messages as well as evaluation of health programs. She is Project Manager of a NWPERRC study of text messaging, and teaches in the Summer Institute for Public Health Practice.
Andy Dannenberg, MD, MPH, is a Clinical Professor in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences and Affiliate Professor in the Department of Urban Design and Planning. Dr. Dannenberg is Team Lead of the Healthy Community Design Initiative in CDC's National Center for Environmental Health, where he oversees activities related to examining the health aspects of community design including land use, transportation, urban planning, and other issues related to the built environment. His current research includes a focus on the use of health impact assessments, and he leads the Healthy Places Research Group forum.
Jeffrey S. Duchin, MD, is Chief, Communicable Disease Control, Epidemiology and Immunization Section, Public Health - Seattle & King County. He also holds appointments at the University of Washington in the School of Medicine and in the School of Public Health. He has worked with NWCPHP on preparedness resources for clinicians and has delivered plenary sessions at several of our Summer Institutes.
Richard Fenske, PhD, MPH, is Associate Chair and Professor in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences. Dr. Fenske's work has focused on the evaluation of environmental health risks in special populations, such as children, farm workers, and farm producers. Dr. Fenske is Principal Investigator of the CDC-funded Climate Change and Human Health grant.
James L. Gale, MD, MS, is a Professor Emeritus of Epidemiology, a former Health Officer for Kittitas County, and former Director of the Northwest Center for Public Health Practice. Dr. Gale is interested in closer ties between academic public health and public health practice. He served as the principal investigator of the CDC Center for Public Health Preparedness at the NWCPHP.
Victoria Holt, RN, MPH, PhD, is a Professor in the Department of Epidemiology. She is also affiliated with the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, where she conducts research on women's reproductive health topics, and the Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center, where she researches intimate partner violence prevention. Dr. Holt led NWCPHP's Public Health Epidemiology Project and has taught in Institutes in Alaska, Oregon, and Montana.
Hilary Karasz, PhD, MA, is an Affiliate Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Services, and Educator-Consultant/Public Information Officer, Public Health - Seattle & King County. Dr. Karasz is Co-Investigator on the NWPERRC study of text messaging.
John M. Kobayashi, MD, is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Epidemiology. Dr. Kobayashi previously served as the State Epidemiologist for the Washington State Department of Health. He is presently a foreign advisor with the Field Epidemiology Training Program in Japan.
Patricia Kuszler, MD, JD, is Associate Dean for Faculty Research and Development in the UW School of Law. Dr. Kuszler holds Adjunct Professor appointments in both the School of Medicine and the School of Public Health. She has developed and taught the public health law modules currently being offered through the NWCPHP's Summer Institute Programs in Montana, Seattle, and Alaska. The role of public health law in addressing the public health threats of terrorism and infectious disease outbreaks is central to much of Dr. Kuszler's public health law courses.
Meredith Li-Vollmer, PhD, MA, is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Services and Risk Communication Specialist, Public Health - Seattle & King County. Her areas of focus include audience research, outreach to vulnerable populations, and public engagement on public health policies. Dr. Li-Vollmer is Co-Investigator on the NWPERRC study of text messaging.
Patrick Libbey, Clinical Instructor in Health Services, co-moderates NWCPHP's Hot Topics in Preparedness forum. Mr. Libbey served as the Executive Director of the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) from September 2002 through 2008. Prior to his work with NACCHO, Mr. Libbey served as the Director of the Thurston County Public Health and Social Services Department in Olympia, WA. Mr. Libbey has served as a founder and incorporating board member of the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB).
Hendrika Meischke, PhD, MPH, is a Professor in the Department of Health Services, where her research interest is in health promotion, health communication and theory development. Dr. Meischke is Principal Investigator of the NWPERRC Bystander CPR project.
Ray M. (Bud) Nicola, MD, MHSA, FACPM, is a senior consultant and CDC assignee to the Northwest Center for Public Health Practice and an Affiliate Professor in the Department of Health Services, and former Director of the Community-Oriented Public Health Practice MPH Program. Dr. Nicola is a former director of Public Health - Seattle & King County and the Tacoma Pierce County Health Department.
Mark W. Oberle, MD, MPH, is the Associate Dean for Public Health Practice at the School of Public Health. Dr. Oberle concluded a 21-year career with the Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention before coming to the University of Washington. He is the Principal Investigator of the CDC Northwest Preparedness and Emergency Response Center (NWPERRC) at NWCPHP.
Patrick O'Carroll, MD, MPH, FACPM, FACMI, is the Regional Health Administrator at US DHHS Region X in Seattle. Prior to this appointment, Dr. O'Carroll served as an EIS-trained medical epidemiologist with the Public Health Practice Program Office (PHPPO), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and was assigned to the UW as an Executive Fellow in Public Health Informatics. He has also served as the Associate Director for Health Informatics at PHPPO and directed CDC's Health Alert Network program. Dr. O'Carroll is former Director of the Northwest Center for Public Health Practice.
Carl Osaki, RS, MSPH, is a Clinical Associate Professor Emeritus of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, SPH, where he teaches Environmental Health Practice. He is a former member of the Washington State Board of Health and former Chief of Environmental Health at Public Health - Seattle & King County. Mr. Osaki was Principal Investigator for the CDC-funded Regional Academic Environmental Public Health Center.
Ian Painter, PhD, MSc, is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Services. Dr. Painter is Co-Investigator for the NWPERRC Bystander CPR project and biostatistician on other NWPERRC projects.
Jeremy Sappington, MSPH, is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Health Services. Mr. Sappington teaches organizational management in the Master of Health Administration Program. He is a graduate of the University of North Carolina School of Public Health and has 40 years of experience in public health education and organizational development.
Andy Stergachis, PhD, RPh, Professor of Epidemiology and Global Health and Adjunct Professor of Pharmacy and Health Services, is active in emergency distribution of pharmaceuticals and public health emergency preparedness. Dr. Stergachis is Co-Director of the University of Washington's Graduate Certificate Program in Emergency Preparedness and Response. He served as a Strategic National Stockpile Coordinator for King County, WA, and is pharmacy advisor to Public Health - Seattle & King County Preparedness Section. He serves as a member of the Public Health Reserve Corps, in King County, WA, and a member of the Virtual Advisory Group to Global Alert and Response for the World Health Organization.
John R. (Jack) Thompson, MSW, is a former Director of the Northwest Center for Public Health Practice at the University of Washington and is Principal Lecturer with the Department of Health Services. Mr. Thompson has been on faculty in the School of Public Health since November of 1994. Prior to that time, Mr. Thompson was employed by the Seattle-King County Department of Public Health for ten years and was the Director of the Seattle Health Services Division from 1986-1994. Prior to this appointment he was Executive Director of Neighborhood Health Centers of Seattle, a consortium of community health centers, for six years.
Charles D. (Chuck) Treser, MPH, DAAS, is a Senior Lecturer and academic advisor in the Undergraduate Program in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences. Mr. Treser teaches in both the undergraduate Environmental Health program and the school-wide extended MPH degree program. Mr. Treser is the Principal Investigator on a cooperative agreement between CDC and the Association of Environmental Health Academic Programs to strengthen environmental public health education and training throughout the United States.
Anne M. Turner, MD, MLIS, MPH, is Assistant Professor in the Schools of Public Health and Medicine at the University of Washington. Dr. Turner is the Principle Investigator for the NIH Machine Translation for Health project investigating health department translation processes and the potential of machine translation to improve the costs and efficiency of creating translated materials for limited English proficiency groups. She teaches Public Health and Informatics at and has served as the lead for the health communications and informatics tracks for the Northwest Summer Institute for Public Health Practice.
Paul Wiesner, MD, is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Health Services. Dr. Wiesner has had a diverse career at all levels of governmental public health (local, state and national), including the CDC and the DeKalb County (Georgia) Health Department. He served as the Hot Topics in Preparedness Forum Leader from 2004–2010.
