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 Judi Vitucci, ARNP, PhD
Executive Director: Healthy Start Coalition of Pinellas, Inc.
The Healthy Start Coalition of Pinellas is one of thirty-one coalitions throughout Florida. It is a community based, private, non-profit organization focused on improving the health and well- being of pregnant women, their children and families. With federal and state and local funding, support services are provided to pregnant women, infants and young children through a community based program called Healthy Start. These services promote healthy pregnancies and healthy babies. Healthy Start services are provided in the comfort of a family's home and at some obstetric offices. These services include: care coordination, home visiting services, breastfeeding education and support, childbirth education, parenting support, smoking cessation, nutritional care and other services.
I facilitate a 210 member coalition of community leaders and consumers who are interested in maternal child health and a 16 member Board of Directors. I interact with a state contract manager and many state level organizations. I serve on approximately 30 community, state and national workgroups and committees each month and have a leadership role in many of those committees. My role as Executive Director includes strategic planning, community assessment, fiscal management, human resources, staff oversight, conference and training planning, research, grant writing and grants management. I chair the Pinellas KidCare Coalition- as we strive to increase the number of insured children in our County, I participate in many community events and health fairs
The MCH Scholar and I will be focusing on leadership and community involvement experiences. My advice for graduate students on becoming a community leader in an MCH agency is to involve consumers in the serices - listen to what they need and how to best serve them. Get involved since collaboration and partnering are keys to improving maternal child services. |
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 Lisa Colen, MHA
Director of Community Outreach and Education: Healthy Start Coalition of Hillsborough County, Inc.
The Healthy Start Coalition of Hillsborough County’s mission is to improve the health and well-being of all pregnant women, children and families in Hillsborough County. Healthy Start Coalitions were created by the Florida legislature in 1991 to improve the lives of pregnant women and their babies by establishing 32 Coalitions state-wide that operate on a local level to address the needs of their communities. Each Coalition provides community oversight and planning to improve maternal and child health outcomes. The Healthy Start Coalition of Hillsborough County is a private, non-profit 501c3 maternal and child health organization dedicated to reducing Hillsborough County’s infant mortality rate and improving the health of pregnant women and their families. The Healthy Start Coalition achieves this through community-based programs including Healthy Start, Healthy Families, MomCare, Children’s Board Family Resource Centers, Zero Exposure Project, Black Infant Health Practice Initiative, Help U Grow, Safe Baby and Beds 4 Babies.
As Director of Community Outreach and Education, I manage the department of employees who are dedicated to all outreach activities including: trainings, advocacy, special events, conferences, special projects, media relations and grant writing. The MCH Scholar will be working on all aspects of outreach and education as it relates to our work in Hillsborough County.
My advice for graduate students on becoming a leader in MCH is to get to know the community and the people who are dedicated to children and families. Programs tend to change over time but the people remain the same. It is always helpful to have those valuable connections as a resource. |
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Leisa Stanley
Associate Executive Director,
Healthy Start Coalition of Hillsborough County, Inc.
Promoted by then-Governor Lawton Chiles, Healthy Start was established by the 1991 Florida Legislature to help reduce Florida's high infant mortality and improve the lives of pregnant women. Since then, nearly three dozen local coalitions statewide have gained support from government leaders and individuals of every political and philosophical opinion.
The MCH Scholar will be attending various meetings, including the Florida Infant Mortality Review Committee meetings and working on fact sheets on substance abuse and exposure in pregnancy for community members. |
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Iris Grimsley
Woman to Woman,
Gulf Coast Jewish Family and Community Services |
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 Candice J.T. Simon
Interconception Coordinator,
REACHUP, Inc.
The Federal Central Hillsborough Healthy Start Project (CHHS) is a program of REACHUP, Inc. The purpose of CHHS is to narrow the gap in the existing racial disparities in perinatal outcomes in Tampa neighborhoods where Black infants die in the first year of life at a rate more than twice that of White infants. CHHS services focus on medical, nutritional, mental health and social support delivered by nurses, mental health counselors, interconception coordinators, and community outreach workers. Education and support services are also provided for dads. The mission of REACHUP, Inc. is to advocate for and mobilize resources to help communities achieve equality in healthcare and positive health for families.
As the Interconception Coordinator, I oversee the Peer Support Group meetings that our program participants attend. The Peer Support Groups are composed of expectant and new mothers and are geared towards ameliorating perinatal depression while promoting healthy pregnancy spacing; preconception health, including prevention and overall health and wellness; maternal/infant attachment; parenting behaviors and family health literacy. I oversee the Worksite Wellness Component here at REACHUP, Inc. Through the Employee Worksite Wellness Program and partnerships with community organizations and health care providers employees are able to access classes, screenings, and follow up assistance to identify and manage health issues and preventable illness. I also identify and assess data information on recent infant mortality trends; develop and apply strategies that decrease the likelihood of unplanned and unwanted pregnancies, and represent the CHHS project on appropriate community boards, community agencies and health-related events at the discretion of the Project Director.
The MCH Scholar will be assisting in the development of health education presentation for the program participants of CHHS, maintaining an ongoing literature review on the latest trends in interconception research, attending and participating in community health fairs, attending community meetings, and developing activities for the peer support groups.
My advice for a graduate student on becoming a community leader in an MCH-related agency is to volunteer or complete Field Experiences with agencies that you share the same mission and values as you do. Spending time with these agencies will allow you to enhance your skills, increase your knowledge, and give you an opportunity to gain hands on experience. This will give you the chance to know what role you would like to play in the world of MCH.
Networking with various organizations is key. Fostering relationships with agencies will open the door to opportunities in the field of MCH. |
Faculty Mentors
 Bill Sappenfield, MD, MPH
Department of Community and Family Health
Lawton and Rhea Chiles Center for Mothers and Babies
Dr. Sappenfield's research areas in Maternal and Child health include applied maternal and child health epidemiology research including maternal and infant health, sudden unexpected infant death, assistive reproductive technology, perinatal quality of care issues, and applied epidemiology practice. He has always been interested in maternal and child health issues from the start becoming a pediatrician and then a maternal and child health epidemiologist. He likes focusing on one of our community's most important assets: it's women and children.
As an applied epidemiologist, the MCH Scholar will learn about applied research projects starting with choosing the right question and project to how to work with others to incorporate the findings into practice.
His advice for graduate students on becoming a leader in public health is that leadership can be learned by gathering the knowledge and skills, but is developed and cultivated by watching and working with leaders who are creating the necessary change. |
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Russell Kirby, PhD, MS
Department of Community and Family Health
Dr Kirby's research areas in Maternal and Child Health include: perinatal and pediatric epidemiology, birth defects, development developments (including autism spectrum disorders), GIS applications in MCH, and population health informatics. He became involved in MCH-related research as a research analyst for the state of Wisconsin, and learned MCH research from the inside out. He is currently working on several state and national birth defects epidemiology studies, epidemiology of cerebral palsy, the association of birth defects and ambient air pollution, spatial statistical methods with latent structure modeling, and many others. The MCH trainee will be working on literature reviews, research article summaries, and advocacy activities through the March of Dimes, Hillsborough Healthy Start, and more.
His advice for graduate students on becoming a leader in public health research is to work on many projects!
 Stephanie Marhefka, PhD
Department of Community and Family Health
Kay Perrin, PhD
Department of Community and Family Health
 Kathleen O'Rourke, PhD
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics
Dr. O'Rourke's research areas include international MCH, childbirth, PTSD, and community-based research. She became involved in the field of MCH as an obstetrics nurse, and then she received an MPH in Community Health Education. She found that interesting and decided to obtain a PHD in epidemiology. Her dissertation was a research project evaluating the impact of training lay childbirth attendants in Guatemala.She has been very involved in educational programs, and she has data on PTSD and maternal outcomes. She had been the PI on the largely defunct National Children's Study in Hillsborough County and Orange Counties, Florida.
The trainee will be working on undergraduate education, as this is an area of great interest. She will also be working with the trainee on increasing understanding of the research process.
Her advice for graduate students on becoming a leader in public health is to first, do what you love. This is a fascinating field and there are many different areas tow ork in. Learn how to apply evidence-based public health and medical practices, and be strong in your understanding of the data.
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