2019 National Workplace Well-Being Summit
SPEAKERS
Keynote
Howard K. Koh, MD, MPH
Dr. Howard K. Koh is the Harvey V. Fineberg Professor of the Practice of Public Health Leadership at the Harvard School of Public Health and the Harvard Kennedy School. He has previously served as the 14th Assistant Secretary for Health for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2009-2014) after being nominated by President Barack Obama, and as Commissioner of Public Health for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (1997-2003) after being appointed by Governor William Weld. A graduate of Yale College and the Yale University School of Medicine, he has trained at Boston City Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital, has earned board certifications in 4 medical fields, held major academic positions at Boston University and Harvard University, published more than 250 articles in the medical and public health literature and has received over 70 awards for accomplishments in public health, as well as six honorary doctorate degrees. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA), the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation, The Network for Public Health Law and New England Donor Services.
Main Program
Chris Calitz, MPP
Chris is an experienced health care professional committed to promoting a culture of health through forging innovative public-private partnerships to scale up science-based chronic disease prevention policies and programs. He currently serves as the Director of Center for Workplace Health Research and Evaluation at the American Heart Association (AHA). His responsibilities include providing health strategy and policy support to the CEO Roundtable, 26 Fortune 500/1000 CEOs committed to creating a culture of health to improve employee health. This initiative is helping AHA achieve its 2020 Impact Goal to improve the heart health of all Americans and reduce deaths from cardiovascular disease and stroke by 20 percent, by 2020. Previously, Chris was a health policy analyst for The Vitality Institute, part of the Vitality Group. Chris conducted original research on federal funding for health promotion and disease prevention for the Vitality Institute Commission to Accelerate Prevention and Control of Chronic Diseases in Working-Age Americans. Chris co-founded and served as North American Partnership Director for MEND Central, one of the largest suppliers of evidence-based child weight management programs to the UK National Health Service and Alberta Health Services in Canada. He led the multidisciplinary team that adapted, piloted and disseminated MEND’s childhood obesity interventions in the US and Canada. In 2011, MEND was a recipient in of the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control’s prestigious Childhood Obesity Demonstration Project. Between 2009 and 2011, Chris served on the Board Member of the National Coalition for Promoting Physical Activity (NCPPA). He is a member of the Alpha Chapter of the Delta Omega public health honors society. Born in South Africa, Chris holds a Masters of Public Policy (with honors) from the Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University and a BA (with honors) from the University of Cape Town.
Jean-François (JF) Poupeau
Mr. Poupeau leads Schlumberger’s Corporate Engagement initiatives including corporate planning, development, engagement, global stewardship and communications functions. Over the last four years he has also led the company’s Global Transformation program. Previously he served as President, Drilling Group (2010-2012); President, Drilling & Measurements (2007-2010); Vice President, Communications & Investor Relations (2006-2007), and Vice President Technologies and Product Marketing (2004-2006).
Mr. Poupeau joined Schlumberger in 1985 as a wireline field engineer in the Gulf of Mexico. He has held operational and management leadership positions in North America, Indonesia, Thailand, Nigeria, France and China.
He holds a B.S. degree in geology and a M.S. degree in petroleum engineering from Tulane University. He serves on the Tulane University School of Science and Engineering Advisory Board, is a member of SPE and SPWLA and serves on the Boards of The Texas French Alliance for the Arts, American Heart Association SouthWest Affiliate, United Way of Greater Houston, Greater Houston Partnership and the Well Control Institute.
Panelists
Omar C. Reid, MBA, IPMA-CP
Omar C. Reid is the Senior Vice President of the Human Resources Department at Harris Health System, also known as Harris County Hospital District. Harris Health System is the 4th largest community based Hospital System in the United States, which houses a Level One and Level Three Trauma Hospital and 43 Ambulatory Care locations. With over 8,000 employees in the organization, Omar is currently responsible for all Human Resources programs, policies and initiatives; including: Talent Acquisition, Organizational Development, Employee & Labor Relations, Compensation, Benefits, and HRIS.
Mr. Reid has an extensive background which includes: 6 years as the HR Director at the City of Houston and 25 plus years with United Parcel Service (UPS) in various capacities. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from University of Houston – Downtown and his MBA from Texas Southern University. Listed among his accomplishments, Mr. Reid is a published author of The Traffic of Life: Characteristics of Effective Leadership. He has a ‘people come first’ personal philosophy. He and his wife Janice have a daughter, Briana, who follows the examples of hard work in education and sports that is exhibited by both her parents.
Jessica Donze Black, RD, MPH
Jessica Donze Black is the National Vice President of Community Health for the American Heart Association where she works with communities across the country collaborating to achieve improved health and wellbeing. Prior to joining the AHA, Jessica directed the Kids Safe and Healthful Foods Project - a joint initiative of The Pew Charitable Trusts and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation where she lead research, communications, and advocacy work focused on child nutrition. Jessica’s other past work includes serving as the National Director of the Healthy Schools Program for the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, the first executive director of the Campaign to End Obesity, the director of obesity initiatives for the American Heart Association, the manager of national nutrition policy for the American Dietetic Association, a health policy fellow for Senator Jeff Bingaman, and a clinical nutrition therapist at DuPont Hospital for Children. Jessica is a Dietitian with a Bachelor of Science from the University of Wisconsin – Madison and a Master’s Degree in Public Health from the University of Maryland – College Park. She lives in Arlington, VA with her husband and four young children.
Kate Brown
Kate Brown is a solution architect within Mercer's Center for Health Innovation (CHI), a group of specialists within Mercer's Health business dedicated to driving innovation that works for our employer clients. Kate is responsible for identifying areas within healthcare that are ripe for innovation, and helping those solutions come to life. Her current focus is on the changing landscape of healthcare networks, and the role that advocacy and navigation vendors play in the future of healthcare.
In addition to her work with CHI, Kate serves as a Total Health Management consultant. In this role, she focuses on developing well-being strategies for large and jumbo employers, and has extensive project management in the Digital Navigator space. Kate has worked on the employer side of corporate well-being, building and administering interest surveys, managing preventive health screenings and coordinating wellness-focused events.
Kate has a master's degree in Kinesiology from The University of Texas, and her CEBS designation.
David Milich
Dave Milich serves as chief executive officer of UnitedHealthcare’s (UHC) Employer & Individual operations in Texas.Based in Houston since 2011 when he became UHC’s SouthTexas health plan CEO, Dave works extensively with customers,consultants, brokers, physicians, hospitals, regulators, legislators and community leaders to address issues related to health care accessibility and affordability.Prior to his most current roles as health plan CEO, Dave provided strategic oversight of business development and customer retention for commercial markets as regional vice president of sales and account management for the 15 states and 16 health plans in UHC’s central region.His more than 20 years of industry experience include various sales and account management leadership roles with UHC and Metropolitan Life Insurance Company in Kansas City and St. Louis.Outside of work, Dave is involved in the Houston community. He currently serves on boards of directors for the Greater Houston Partnership; Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce; American Diabetes Association of Houston; and Spring Spirit, an organization providing safe pathways for youth to realize life opportunities through sports, education and mentoring programs.A St. Louis native, Dave earned his Bachelor of Science in business administration with emphasis in finance and banking from the University of Missouri in Columbia, Mo. He and his wife, Teresa, have two sons.
William C. Parsons, MD, MPH
William (Bill) Parsons is the Chief Medical Officer of Phillips 66. This job involves directing the Company wide medical surveillance programs and internally consulting to management, human resources, benefits, legal, and safety regarding matters that have a medical or health component. He oversees the medical operations of 12 refinery medical clinics, 3 corporate medical clinics, and 1 part time refinery clinic. This involves 20 registered nurses, 7 physician assistant/nurse practitioners, along with 7 part time contracted physicians. In addition, the internal employee assistance professionals and the substance abuse deterrent program coordinator report to Dr. Parsons.
Prior to this appointment, Dr. Parsons was the North American Medical Director for Downstream operations of ConocoPhillips. Dr. Parsons has been a physician for 35 years and is a Fellow in Occupational Medicine and is also board certified in Family Medicine. He has an extensive medical background in the petrochemical industry having also held medical positions in CITGO Petroleum, Phillips Petroleum Company, and Sunoco. In addition, he was an associate professor for 5 years with the University of Oklahoma Department of Family Medicine in Tulsa and worked 3 years as a private occupational physician in Springfield, MO.
Academically, he holds a Doctor of Medicine from the University of Oklahoma, a Masters of Public Health from the Medical College of Wisconsin, a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture from the University of Missouri.
Breakout Facilitators
Sherri D. Onyiego, MD, PhD, FAAFP, AAHIVS
Dr. Sherri Onyiego currently serves as Chronic Disease Prevention Physician in the Nutrition and Chronic Disease Division (NCDP) of Harris County Public Health (HCPH) Department. Her role of HCPH involves clinical operational oversight and programmatic expansion of the Chronic Disease and Mental/Behavioral Health Units of the Nutrition and Chronic Disease Division. She facilitates chronic disease prevention efforts by coordinating intra-agency and inter-agency collaborations.
Dr. Onyiego is committed to promote awareness and education to the general population about chronic disease prevention & management, as well as advocate for health equity to address health care disparities that impact minority and vulnerable patient populations. Dr. Onyiego also supports the utilization of a well-informed cohesive team-oriented approach and believes in fostering inter-professional collaborations which focus on improving health literacy and outcomes among patients and the residents of Harris County Texas. Dr. Onyiego believes in evidence-based interventions that focus on treatment and prevention efforts related chronic diseases such as hypertension, hyperlipidemia, cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, tobacco/substance use disorders, mental illness as well as HIV/AIDS - all of which disproportionately affect minority populations.
Dr. Onyiego earned a doctorate in pharmacology from Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tenn. with a research focus on novel compounds targeting HIV-1. She attended medical school at Ross University School of Medicine. She completed her residency training in family medicine at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center and later went on to conduct a fellowship in HIV medicine at the University of Texas at Houston.
Dr. Onyiego is a member of several professional, social, and community organizations particularly, the American Academy of Family Physicians; Texas Academy of Family Physicians; Harris County Academy of Family Physicians, American Academy of HIV Medicine, and a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. She serves on the Board of Directors for Harris County Academy of Family Physicians.
Cameron Betts, MHSA
Cameron Betts is a Director in Willis Towers Watson’s Health Management practice. He has more than 15 years of health management experience. Cameron focuses on the strategic assessment, design and implementation of health management programs. Cameron also has broad experience in next-generation population health strategies, fertility and family solutions, behavioral health and mental wellbeing, vendor evaluation, compliance, medical and pharmacy analytics, and onsite or near-site health clinics. Prior to joining Willis Towers Watson, Cameron headed product development for a national human performance vendor and was the director of health management for a national brokerage firm.
Cameron holds a B.S. in organizational communications from University of Tulsa and a master’s degree in health systems administration from the University of Kansas School of Medicine.
Karen Hume, MPA
Karen Hume is a mental health consultant serving on the International Initiative for Mental Health Leadership (IIMHL), engaging on multilateral workforce mental health initiatives. Karen is also serving on working groups and expert panels including with the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute, Houston Business Coalition on Health, American Heart Association, Mental Health Commission of Canada, and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). Before joining the International Leadership Exchange, Karen served as a workplace program advisor for Mental Health America of Greater Houston, co-developing the Workplace Toolkit, an evidence-based workplace mental health intervention, in partnership with the University of Glasgow, UK.
Karen brings a strong collaborative and strategic approach to mental health gained through her 25 years of experience in strategic services, psychosocial programming and disaster recovery advisory roles. She continues to focus on best practice research and evaluation, program development, and implementation. She is a certified advisor of the first Psychological Health and Safety Standard in the Workplace and has contributed to published whitepapers, commentaries and statement articles on health and wellness promotion.
Karen also proudly serves as a non-profit mental health consultant providing practical guidance, tools and resources to help with the early intervention and management of workforce mental health.
Robert Underbrink
Robert J. Underbrink is President/CEO of King Ranch, Inc. headquartered in Houston, Texas. He graduated in 1983 from Texas A&M University-Kingsville where he received a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture (Cum Laude). He was hired by King Ranch, Inc. in 1984 as a management trainee and traveled to various operations in the United States and throughout South America and Australia. In 1987, he assumed the responsibility as General Manager of Florida operations. As part of an expansion of the Florida operations, King Ranch, Inc. acquired citrus groves in 1994. The Board of Directors of King Ranch, Inc. appointed him as Vice President of Farming Operations in June 1998. He was then appointed as Senior Vice President in March 2008 and in June 2010, was appointed as President/CEO, as well as a Director. He also currently serves as a Director of Consolidated Citrus Limited Partnership, the nation’s largest citrus grower, where he previously served as President and CEO from 1999 to 2005. Consolidated Citrus Limited Partnership is owned and managed by King Ranch, Inc. His business and civic affiliations include: Director since 1994 of Sugar Cane Growers Cooperative of Florida; Life Trustee since 2010 for South Florida Fair; Member of Florida Citrus Mutual through managed operations; Director since 2015 and Member since 2007 of Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association; Director since October 2012 of American Sugar Refining, Inc.; Member of the Board of Trustees of Baylor College of Medicine since June 2013; Advisory Board Member of Rio Grande Valley Sugar Growers, Inc. since November 2015; Board Member since November 2017 of Tellus Products, LLC; Member from 2012 to 2017 of the USDA/USTR Agricultural Policy Advisory Committee (APAC); Past Chairman of Florida Land Council; Former Director of Florida Fruit and Vegetable Association; and Past Member of American Society of Sugar Cane Technologist.
King Ranch, Inc. is a highly diversified agribusiness operation, which includes cattle ranching, a feedlot, quarter horses, farming (cotton, milo, sugarcane and turfgrass), citrus groves, pecan processing, commodity marketing, recreational hunting and retail operations. The retail operations include the King Ranch Saddle Shop, licensing agreements, a John Deere dealership, a local newspaper and ecotourism.
Sandy Clark
Sandy Clark has been a part of the King Ranch family since 1998 and has been presented an opportunity to work in many roles of the citrus division of King Ranch in South Florida. Beginning her career in the Accounting department reporting directly to the CFO to eventually realizing her longing to help others and requesting a transfer to the Human Resource department where she reported directly to the Director of Human Resources. In 2012, Ms. Clark relocated to the Houston Corporate office where she began a journey to promote the health and well-being of the employees with a passion. Ms. Clark is currently the Director of Human Resources for King Ranch, Inc. with direct responsibility for leadership and management of all Human Capital.
Ms. Clark has a personal investment in the Wellness program for King Ranch as she lost her husband to cancer which was discovered during a routine biometric screening provided by his company. Sandy believes prevention and awareness are the key elements to helping individuals.
Melissa Rodriguez
Melissa Rodriguez is a native Houstonian. She graduated from The University of Texas at Austin with a double major in Advertising and Corporate Communication Studies. Throughout her career, she has worked with a diverse workforce and developed a passion to help others. After seeing family members pass away from preventable diseases, she decided to take on the role with King Ranch to manage the wellness program and inspire people to change their lifestyle.
Her passion is to inform and empower all generations to make health a priority in an ever-changing world. She is bilingual in Spanish and enjoys communicating in a language that employees resonate with. In her downtime, Melissa enjoys traveling, hiking and spending time with her family members and friends.
C. Grace Whiting, J.D.
C. Grace Whiting, J.D., is the President and Chief Executive Officer at the National Alliance for Caregiving (NAC), where she continues her tenure from previous roles including Chief Operating Officer and the Director of Strategic Partnerships. Grace led the launch of the Caregiving in the U.S. 2015 report with AARP and directed the first national study of rare disease caregiving with Global Genes. She has contributed to several national reports on caregiving, including Cancer Caregiving in the U.S. with the National Cancer Institute and Cancer Support Community, and Dementia Caregiving in the U.S. with the Alzheimer’s Association. She has spoken on caregiving at national and international conferences, including the 7th International Carers Conference in Adelaide, Australia and at multiple national summits at the National Institutes of Health. Grace has also served as a resource to major media on the topic of caregiving and aging, including C-SPAN, The Wall Street Journal, Time Magazine, Oprah Magazine, Women’s Health Magazine, and Kiplinger’s Retirement Report. In addition to her leadership role at NAC, Grace represents the United States on the Governing Board of the International Alliance for Carer Organizations and offers ex officio support for NAC’s role as Secretariat.
In previous roles, Grace has served as the Advocacy and Communications Director at Leaders Engaged on Alzheimer’s Disease (LEAD Coalition) and as the Director of Strategic Initiatives & Communications and as the Special Assistant to the Executive Director at the Alliance for Home Health Quality and Innovation in Washington, D.C.
She is currently a licensed attorney with the District of Columbia Bar and a member of the American Society on Aging, the American Society of Association Executives, and the Gerontological Society of America. Named an “Outstanding Law Student” by the National Association of Women Lawyers, Grace earned her law degree from the University of Memphis School of Law and her undergraduate degree with honors in Communication Studies from Louisiana State University. She lives in Silver Spring, Maryland with writer and darling husband Geoffrey Whiting and their rambunctious pug, Chief Justice.
Marc Hamilton, PhD
A multi-disciplinary research scientist and frequent lecturer around the world, Dr. Marc Hamilton’s groundbreaking work led to the emergence of the new and rapidly growing research discipline known as inactivity physiology. A collective summary of his work is that “too much sitting is not the same as too little exercise.” Since Dr. Hamilton’s seminal work introducing this hypothesis over a decade ago, there have now been more than 1,000 research papers published by his medical peers investigating this concept due to its profound public health implications. Dr. Hamilton has published his research in leading international journals, including highly thought-provoking articles on the role of low energy expenditure and sitting in obesity, type II diabetes and cardiovascular disease. One of these papers is the highest-cited article in the field pertaining to sedentary lifestyles. This was the original publication that began the public awareness of the multitude of health and mental problems caused by sitting too much. The workplace is where many people spend at least half of their waking day, and Dr. Hamilton’s cutting-edge research stands to provide realistic solutions to the ill effects of sedentary lifestyles on the health of workers today. Dr. Hamilton and his group consult with numerous groups, including forward thinking businesses about how to create a healthy workforce and other special groups that must sit most of the time (which is everybody!)
Dr. Hamilton’s research that has provided valuable insights into the potential biological consequences of too much sitting and its implications on modern society has made him a heavily sought-after presenter at national and international conferences, including recent presentations in Ireland, Australia, France, South Korea, England, the Netherlands, Mexico and Brazil. He is also frequently called upon as an expert source for preventive health stories with major national media outlets, including the New York Times, ABC and Fox TV News, the Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post. His work has been previously funded by American Heart Association, as well as National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, American Diabetes Association, and others.
Dr. Hamilton received his undergraduate and masters degrees at the University of Texas; his doctoral training in Exercise Science at the University of South Carolina, and his postdoctoral training in Molecular Biology and Integrative Physiology at the University of Texas Medical School -Texas Medical Center. Past experience includes ten years on the faculty of the University of Missouri - Columbia in the Biomedical Sciences department, where he was named a John Dalton Cardiovascular Research Investigator, and six years as a professor and researcher at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, La. Most recently, he was the director and professor at the Texas Obesity Research Center of the University of Houston. Currently, he is the director and professor at Metabolic Innovations, a new initiative of the University of Houston and the Texas Medical Center in Houston.
Event Planning Committee
Robert Morrow, MD, MBA
President, Houston and Southeast Texas
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas
Planning Committee Chair
Ashley A. Dedmon, MPH, CHES
Healthy Living Matters Project Coordinator
Harris County Public Health
Chris Calitz, MPP
Director, Center for Workplace Health
American Heart Association
Courtney Karam, MPH, CHES
Community Impact Director, Corporate Wellness
American Heart Association
Molly Mihovil, M.S.
Human Performance & Care Specialist – Regional Management
Shell Oil Company
