People

Board & Leadership Team
Note: Where the organization is listed, it is a member of the Healthy Future US network; where only the individual name is listed, the organization itself is not necessarily in the network.

Scott Turner
President & CEO
Scott serves as President & CEO of Healthy Future US (HFUS). Prior to founding Healthy Future US, Scott served as a business executive and consultant for 30 years, including work with AT&T International, Motorola, Bain & Company, and co-founding several start-ups—including one which went public in an IPO with >30x ROI. He has been giving back to the community full-time pro bono for more than 7 years.
Scott serves on the boards of Social Venture Partners Arizona (SVPAZ) & Arizona Business & Education Coalition (ABEC). He was invited by the Arizona Department of Health Services to participate in its Arizona Health Improvement Plan (AzHIP) Obesity & School Health Workgroups, leading to co-founding the Arizona School Health & Wellness Coalition, for which Scott serves as Advocacy Co-Lead. Scott co-chairs the state’s physical & health education A-F Workgroup, to add PE & health ed metrics to the state’s school accountability A-F grading system.
Read More
In 2010, Scott founded the nonprofit organization Edunuity in 2010. Edunuity (pronounced as in edu-cation with inge-nuity) advocates for breakthrough improvements in education, health & social entrepreneurship, with a particular focus on childhood. Scott’s work on Edunuity led to the founding of Healthy Future US, which became a 501c3 nonprofit in 2018. Scott now serves as President & CEO of Healthy Future US.
Scott earned a BA History magna cum laude from Amherst College, a MBA from Stanford Business School, and a MA Human Development & PhD Human & Organizational Systems from Fielding Graduate University. His doctoral work focused on the intersection of education, health & social entrepreneurship. His dissertation was published in 2013: Transformative Learning for Long-term Behavior Change: Preventing Childhood Obesity and Improving Health through In-school Curriculum-based Nutrition and Exercise Programs. It served as a springboard for establishing Healthy Future US.

Terri Wogan Calderon
Co-Founder, Healthy Future US
Terri is a co-founding member of the Healthy Future US Board of Directors. She led Social Venture Partners Arizona for 12 years as Executive Director, after serving in the Governor’s Office of Children, Youth & Families. Terri has served on the board of the Arizona Grantmakers Forum, Arizona Educational Foundation, and ASU Alliance for the American Dream. She is a member of ASU Women in Philanthropy. She has also worked on the Expect More Arizona (now Education Forward Arizona) Public Engagement Task Force and MCESA Opportunities for Youth Board.

Hans van der Mars
Professor, Physical Education
Arizona State University
Hans Van der Mars is a professor at Arizona State University and is actively involved in the undergraduate, master’s and doctoral degree programs in physical education teacher education-sport pedagogy. Dr. van der Mars served as Arizona Health & Physical Education’s Director of Advocacy, when he co-led the State Board of Education rule-making advocacy to add physical and health education to the state A-F school accountability system.
Read More
Following that up, Hans co-chairs the state’s physical & health education A-F Workgroup, to prepare to add PE & health ed metrics to the state’s school accountability A-F grading system. Professor Van der Mars held a faculty appointment at Oregon State University for 15 years after previously holding faculty positions at Arizona State University (Tempe) and the University of Maine-Orono. He has been an active researcher in sports pedagogy/physical education teacher education for more than 30 years.
Professor Van der Mars (co-) authored more than 100 published research papers, professional papers, book chapters, proceedings papers, and three textbooks. He has delivered 215 invited keynote, research and professional presentations at international, national regional and state level conferences. Professor Van der Mars regularly hosts workshops for K-12 teachers in physical education. He served as co-editor of the Journal of Teaching in Physical Education (JTPE) from 1998 to 2002. Professor Van der Mars is a research fellow in the Society of Physical and Health Educators of America (SHAPE America) and served on SHAPE America’s board for a number of years. He was inducted as an active fellow in the American Academy of Kinesiology and Physical Education (AAKPE) in 2006. He served as a member of the President’s Council on Fitness, Sport and Nutrition Science Board for a three-year term.
Professor Van der Mars’ research focuses on determining factors that facilitate physical activity among secondary school students. Schools are viewed as a primary venue for influencing physical activity habits of children and youth, so it is important to determine which variables affect students’ physical activity opportunities. This is especially important for those students who are not part of their school’s interscholastic athletics program. Dr. van der Mars earned his PhD from the Ohio State University.
Advisors: National

Steve Jeffries
Dr. Jefferies recently served as President of SHAPE America, the national organization of physical & health education professionals. He led SHAPE’s launch of the 50 Million Strong by 2029 initiative, to empower all US school children to become fit and healthy by the end of the next decade. Dr. Jeffries taught in the Department of Physical Education, School, & Public Health at Central Washington University. He taught public school PE before completing his MS & PhD degrees at the University of Oregon. He also served as NASPE President in 2008, and was the initiator of the PE 2020 project. He served for 6 years as a publicly elected school board member.

Lloyd Kolbe
Dr. Kolbe is affectionately referred to as the “Grandfather of School Health”, and is still active in school health nationally and internationally. He served for 18 years as founding Director of CDC’s Division of Adolescent and School Health (DASH). During that time, Dr. Kolbe led development of the first Coordinated School Health (CSH) model, to improve children’s health through schools. More recently, he helped evolve CSH into the Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child (WSCC) model, in partnership with ASCD & the CDC. Also during his time at the CDC, he and his colleagues established several critical health survey systems, including the national & state Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Systems (YRBSS). Dr. Kolbe is currently Emeritus Professor of Applied Health Sciences in the Indiana University School of Public Health.

Sarah Lee
Dr. Lee is the team lead for the Research Application and Evaluation Team and physical activity health scientist in the Division of Population Health, School Health Branch at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). She provides content expertise on programs related to youth physical activity, physical education, nutrition, chronic health conditions, and childhood obesity prevention.

Lenny Mendonca
Lenny Mendonca is the former chief economic and business advisor to California Governor Gavin Newsom. He is also a senior partner emeritus of McKinsey & Company, a lecturer on inequality at the Stanford Business School, and chair and primary owner of the Coastside News Group. He founded McKinsey’s US state and local public sector consulting practice and led the firm’s knowledge development efforts, overseeing the McKinsey Global Institute and the firm’s communications—including the McKinsey Quarterly.
Read More
Over the course of his career, he helped dozens of government, corporate, and nonprofit clients meet their most difficult management challenges. He was formerly the chair of New America and Children Now, co-chair of California Forward, and chair of Fuse Corps. He is chair emeritus of the Bay Area Council and their Economic Institute. He also previously served as the vice chair of Common Cause, the vice chair of the Stanford Graduate School of Business Advisory Council, and a trustee at the Committee for Economic Development. He served on the boards of Fidelity Charitable, Western Governors University, UC Merced, the Educational Results Partnership, the College Futures Foundation, California Competes, the Opportunity Institute, Commonwealth Club, the National Association of Nonpartisan Reformers, and theguardian.org. He received his MBA and certificate in public management from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He holds an AB from Harvard College, where he majored in economics.

Michael O’Donnell MBA, MPH, PhD
Michael O’Donnell is CEO of the Art & Science of Health Promotion Institute. He is also founder of the American Journal of Health Promotion, founder and program chair of the Art and Science of Health Promotion Conference, and founder and chairman emeritus of Health Promotion Advocates. He has worked directly with more than 150 employers, health care organizations, government agencies, foundations, insurance companies and health promotion providers to develop and refine health promotion programs, products and policies, and has served in leadership roles in four major health systems, including the Cleveland Clinic, as well as serving as the Director of the Health Management Research Center at the University of Michigan.
Read More
He has authored more than 200 articles, book chapters and columns, books and workbooks, including Health Promotion in the Workplace, which has been in continuous publication since 1983, updated into 5 editions and translated into four languages. He has presented more than 300 keynote and workshop presentations on six continents, served on boards and committees for 49 non-profit and for-profit organizations and received 15 national awards. He conceived and authored legislation that was incorporated into the Affordable Care Act, including provisions that resulted in production of the annual National Prevention Strategy. He earned a PhD in Health Behavior from University of Michigan, an MBA in General Management and an MPH in Hospital Management, both from University of California, Berkeley, and an AB in psychobiology from Oberlin College. He attended high school and was later a Senior Fulbright Scholar and visiting professor in Seoul Korea.

Jake Segal
Jake Segal is a Vice President at Social Finance and leads the firm’s California office. In this role, he works with state and local governments, as well as foundations and nonprofit service providers, to create innovative, data-driven partnerships that deliver better results. Jake’s work focuses largely on health and economic mobility. He builds cross-sectoral investments in the social determinants of health, particularly for people experiencing homelessness, users of the public mental health system, and for low-income families, and brings together partners from across the workforce system to create forward-looking, outcomes-based collaborations. Prior to Social Finance, Jake was a Case Team Leader with The Bridgespan Group, a nonprofit consulting firm, where he worked with a variety of nonprofit and philanthropic organizations focusing on health care and impact investing. Earlier in his career, he worked at BCG, where he focused on global health investment and planning. Jake graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College.

Walter Willett
Dr. Willett is Professor of Epidemiology and Nutrition at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, where he has focused on the development and evaluation of methods to study the effects of diet on the occurrence of major diseases. Dr. Willett has published over 1,700 original research papers & reviews, primarily on lifestyle risk factors for heart disease, cancer, and other conditions. Dr. Willett is a living legend in the field of nutrition, and the most cited nutritionist internationally.
Advisors: Arizona

Jacky Alling
Jacky serves as Senior Fellow for Philanthropy at Arizona State University Lodestar Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Innovation. Prior to that, Jacky served for many years as Chief Philanthropy Officer for Arizona Community Foundation (ACF), leading the core of the Foundation’s work in philanthropy and innovation. ACF leads, serves and collaborates to mobilize enduring philanthropy for a better Arizona. ACF catalyzes high-impact philanthropic investment in health innovations, quality education, community improvement & development, & other areas. ACF has >$1.5B in assets, 1,900+ funds, & 6 offices across Arizona, and has made more than $1B in grants since 1978. It is the largest charitable foundation in annual giving for AZ.

Mark Anderson
Mark served in the Arizona House of Representatives & Senate for 14 years (R – Mesa). He sponsored the law banning junk food from elementary & middle schools. Mark also worked as Director of Rules & Procedures for the Arizona Department of Education.

Michael Berens
Dr. Michael Berens is the Deputy Director of Research Resources, a professor and the director of the Cancer and Cell Biology Division and the head of the Glioma Research Lab at TGen – the Translational Genomics Research Institute. Dr. Berens has helped lead TGen for 20 years, and served a key role in the creation of TGen in support of its mission to help patients through cutting edge research to unravel the genetic components of common and complex diseases. Mike has also served as an Adjunct Professor of Neurosurgery with Mayo Clinic School of Medicine since 2007. Previously, he worked as Director, Neurology Research & Senior Investigator at Barrow Neurological Institute. He earned a PhD in Cancer Biology from University of Arizona College of Medicine.

Ernest Calderón
Dr. Ernest Calderón is an educator and has practiced law in Arizona, taught in continuing legal education forums and has served in educational policy roles since 1983. He served as the first Latino to be elected State Bar of Arizona president, and served as president of the Arizona Board of Regents, which governs Arizona’s state universities.
Read More
He is an AV Preeminent rated lawyer by Martindale-Hubbell, listed in Best Lawyers in America and is an elected member of the prestigious American Law Institute. Ernie clerked for U.S. District Judge Walter E. Craig and has practiced law for 38 years. He has served as an adjunct professor at Northern Arizona University. He is a graduate of Northern Arizona University, the University of Arizona College of Law and received his doctorate in organizational change and leadership from the University of Southern California. Dr. Calderón was Arizona’s first Harry S. Truman Scholar, receiving that honor in 1977. Ernie is a native of Morenci, Arizona, and a sixth-generation native of what was New Mexico Territory. Ernie’s parents were a copper miner and a cook. He is a first-generation college graduate.

Tim Carter
Tim has served since 2005 as Yavapai County School Superintendent, providing educational services to the 26 school districts, 24 charters schools and 102 campuses throughout the county. Tim has worked as a high school teacher & coach in northern & southern Arizona, as well as a principal. He served until recently on the Arizona State Board of Education, including chairing the A-F School Accountability Ad Hoc Advisory Committee and as Board President. Tim has been honored as Education Leader of the Year for Public Policy, and received a number of other awards. He graduated from Tombstone High School, and earned a BS from Grand Canyon College and MA from NAU.

Jacqui Clay
Jacqui currently serves as Superintendent of Schools for Cochise County. She is a retired Army Command Sergeant Major (1978-2004). Jacqui started her teaching career in March 2004 as Director of Independent Studies at the Center of Academic Success (2004 – 2008) in Sierra Vista, AZ. In 2008 she moved to Buena High School, also located in Sierra Vista, Arizona, and taught Marketing/Entrepreneurship from 2008-2011. She was selected as a teacher on special assignment (Capacity Building Coach) in 2010, and in 2011 hired as Assistant Principal and Director of the Career and Technical Education program. Jacqui holds a Master’s Degree in Educational Technology, an ED.S in Educational Leadership, and is currently pursuing a doctorate degree in Organizational Leadership with an Emphasis on Education.

Chuck Corbin
Dr. Charles B. “Chuck” Corbin has been a professor at Arizona State University since 1982. He is currently Professor Emeritus in the Department of Exercise and Wellness at Arizona State University-East. He is the senior author, sole author, or editor of more than 70 books and has written chapters in more than 15 others. Fitness for Life (5th ed.) winner of the Texty Award of the Text and Academic Authors Association (TAA), Concepts of Physical Fitness(12th ed.) winner of the McGuffey Award (TAA), and Concepts of Fitness and Wellness (6th ed.) are the most widely adopted high school and college texts in the area of fitness and wellness. Dr. Corbin is internationally recognized as an expert in physical activity, health and wellness promotion, and youth physical fitness. He has keynoted more than 35 state SHAPE America/AHPERD Conventions, and has made major addresses in Brazil, Ireland, England, Australia and in various European countries.

Christine Davis
Arizonans for Recess & School Wellness
Christine founded and heads Arizonans for Recess & School Wellness. AR&SW advocates for more recess time & better recess & wellness policies & practices in AZ schools. Membership has quadrupled in recent years, reaching 1600 parents, teachers & other members. Christine successfully co-led the fight at the legislature for the Arizona recess law in 2017-2018. Christine currently serves as Ethics Counsel for the State Bar of Arizona. Previously, she served for many years as a public prosecutor, most recently as Deputy County Attorney for Maricopa County. She is also the parent of two public school students.

Dirk DeHeer
Dr. DeHeer is Associate Professor & researcher with NAU Dept. of Health Sciences. He has served as Evaluator: Fit Kids of Northern Arizona. Dr. DeHeer specializes in research & evaluation focused on community-based physical activity & health promotion programs for high-risk populations, e.g., Fit Kids, & integrating them into health care systems. He has been evaluating Northern Arizona Healthcare (NAH)-funded Fit Kids of Northern Arizona physical activity & healthy habits education programs for ~9,000 students in more than 20 schools in northern AZ.

Anne Dennis
Anne Dennis serves as Area Executive Director, Arizona/New Mexico, for ADA. The American Diabetes Association’s Arizona & New Mexico office is committed to educating area communities about how to Stop Diabetes and supporting those living with the disease. Nationally, ADA is a network of more than 1 million volunteers; a membership of more than 500,000 people with diabetes, their families & caregivers; a professional society of nearly 14,000 health care professionals; as well as more than 800 staff members.

Debra Duvall
Deb served for 6 years as Executive Director, Arizona School Administrators (ASA), after serving for 10 years as Superintendent, Mesa Unified School District (largest school district in Arizona). She was named Arizona Superintendent of the Year, 2007. Deb also served as Special Advisor to Gov. Jan Brewer. She has been an administrator & teacher in AZ, CA, VA, & NC. Deb has also been active in ABEC, Mesa United Way, GPEC, & Mesa Family YMCA.

Dick Foreman
Dick Foreman has served for over 7 years as CEO of Arizona Business & Education Coalition (ABEC). Dick has a 37-year career in public affairs and in developing public policy. After 27 years, Dick left a very successful career with Southwest Gas Corporation where he was the Director of Corporate Public Affairs, responsible for state and federal legislative affairs, special corporate and regulatory initiatives, franchise negotiations, state and municipal relations, and consumer and community affairs. Prior to Southwest Gas, he led state legislative affairs for Salt River Project, and also served as a research analyst for the Arizona House of Representatives, where he began his career in public policy.
Read More
Dick served ten years as a governing board member for the Tempe Union High School District and also served on the school boards of two charter schools – Tempe Preparatory Academy and Great Hearts Academies. He understands that Arizona public schools need resources, and as such, has chaired/co-chaired eleven public school finance campaign initiatives (i.e. school bonds, M&O overrides) over the span of 25 years. He is also an active leader in the business community, having served on the boards of the Arizona Tax Research Association and its Foundation, the Arizona Chamber of Commerce & Industry and its Foundation, and the Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce. Dick graduated twice magna cum laude from Arizona State University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and a Master of Public Administration degree.

Anne Gabriellini
Arizona PTA
Anne serves as President of the Arizona PTA, and is a parent living in Surprise, AZ. Anne has held many offices in the PTA, including in her native New York state. AzPTA’s mission is to make every child’s potential a reality by engaging and empowering families and communities to advocate for children. The Board advocates at the legislature in the areas of children’s health & safety, public education, and family engagement.

Harry Garewal Jr
As CEO of Trin and Associates Harry owned and operated one of the first integrated family health clinic(s) within the City of Phoenix. Currently, he provides private consulting services to executives in the health, education, sustainable industries, and provides economic development support as a licensed vendor to the Salt River Pima-Maricopa, Tohono O’odham and previously to the Navajo Indian Communities regarding the Arizona Department of Gaming. Previously, Harry has served as President/CEO Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. He is currently on the governing board of Isaac School District, and previously served on the Phoenix Union High School District, charter and other school boards. He has also served on three White House Initiatives related to Hispanic student issues, including drop-out prevention, HIV/AIDS and teen pregnancy.

Marisue Garganta
Marisue Garganta served as Director of Community Health Integration and Community Benefit at Dignity Health St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center. In that role, she acted as an organizer of Arizona Communities of Care, a network of local nonprofit organizations that partner with Dignity Health to meet social determinants of health for the working poor and people experiencing homelessness. Marisue also serves on the board of directors for the Maricopa Association of Governments Continuum of Care Committee and she serves on the Advisory Council for the American Hospital Association. She is also a founding member of the board of directors for Brighter Way, a nonprofit dedicated to providing affordable oral care.

Jason Gillette
Jason founded and serves as Executive Director of Guild Health Consulting, which helps improve the health of communities through health coaching, health assessment and consulting. Jason also serves on the advisory boards of Mayo Clinic Health Equity Research, ASU Southwest Interdisciplinary Center and University of Phoenix Public Health Department, and on the board of the Arizona Public Health Association. He is Former Chief, Office of Tobacco Prevention, Cessation & Secondhand Smoke, ADHS; former School Health Director, ADE; and former Health Educator with CIGNA; as well as former Co-Chair, Arizona Cancer Coalition.

John Graham
Sunbelt Holdings
John is President & CEO of Sunbelt Holdings. He has been an active leader with many community groups, including Vice-Chair of the Board Greater Phoenix Leadership (GPL), Vice Chair of ASU Foundation, Banner Health Foundation Executive Committee, Brophy Prep Board, and Chairman of Valley of the Sun YMCA.

Deb Gullet
Deb serves as Executive Director of AzAHP. AzAHP’s members serve the nearly 2 million Arizonans enrolled in the state’s Medicaid program, AHCCCS. Deb is a former member, AZ House of Representatives, including Chair of the Health Committee. She is also a former Chief of Staff for Sen. John McCain, and was a Special Assistant to President George HW Bush & Director of the White House Office of Media Relations.

Deborah Heath
Dr. Deborah Heath serves as Associate Dean for Curriculum Integration and Professor at A.T. Still School of Osteopathic Medicine in Arizona. Dr. Heath has been actively involved in the Arizona Osteopathic Medical Association, receiving the President’s award in 2003, and served as president for the ’04-’05 term. She has also served on committees for the American Osteopathic Association and is a 2000 graduate of the Osteopathic Heritage Foundation’s Health Policy Fellowship. Along with teaching Osteopathic Principles and Practices at ATSU-SOMA, Dr. Heath is also a contributing author for the publication, Foundations of Osteopathic Medicine. She graduated from the Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine in 1986 and received her certification in Osteopathic Medicine and Manipulation in 1994. She has served as a preceptor for several osteopathic schools throughout her career and has additionally served as visiting faculty for Western University and the Osteopathic Center for Children.

Will Humble
Arizona Public Health Association
Will Humble, MPH, leads AzPHA as Executive Director. He served formerly as Director, Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS). As an affiliate of the American Association of Public Health (APHA), AzPHA is a membership organization that works to improve the level of health and well-being for all Arizonans through advocacy, professional development and networking.

Marcus Johnson
As Vitalyst Health Foundation’s Director of State Health Policy and Advocacy, Marcus oversees Vitalyst’s public policy agenda, and is responsible for initiatives related to access to care and coverage, workforce development and health advocacy. Marcus comes to the world of philanthropy by way of public health and health care, having worked for the Maricopa County Department of Public Health and the Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association. He has contributed to numerous policy and systems changes in health care, behavioral health and public health, and is committed to bridging preventive health strategies with an evolving health care system to ensure that all communities have what they need to be healthy. Marcus earned his Master’s degree in Public Health and a B.S. in Physiology from The University of Arizona.

Eileen Klein
Eileen is a senior consultant in health care, public affairs, and other areas. Eileen served as interim Arizona State Treasurer 2018-2019, following her time as President of the Arizona Board of Regents from 2013 to 2018. Klein previously served as director of the Arizona Governor’s Office of Strategic Planning and Budgeting and as Chief of Staff to Governor Jan Brewer. She also served as Chief Operating Officer and Vice President of Government Relations for UnitedHealthcare Arizona Physicians IPA from 2005 to 2009. She earned a MPA from Arizona State University, and a BA from Florida State University.

Beth Kohler
Beth served as Deputy Director of AHCCCS, Arizona’s Medicaid program agency, from 2011-2017. Prior to that, Beth served in the Arizona Governor’s Office and on the State Senate staff. She now consults on healthcare strategies for the health sector.

Marissa Leinart
Marissa Leinart is the Founder/Executive Director of Parent-Led Academy. Parent-Led Academy equips parents and their kids with a unique Strengths-Based SEL (social-emotional learning) approach using virtual group huddles and 1:1 Soul Care Coaching. “Ideally, kids should learn these social-emotional life skills at home where most learning begins. But many parents lack these skills such as identifying and managing their behavior, showing empathy and having healthy relationships, since they too never learned it from their parents. That was the case for both of us. And that’s why our nonprofit Parent Led Academy exists…to strengthen and equip parents with social-emotional life skills so they can model healthy behaviors for their kids.” Marissa is a former two-time Emmy Award Winning TV news anchor/reporter, and worked as an adjunct professor at Arizona State University for 5 years, before homeschooling her two children.

Laurie Liles
Laurie has led Arizona Grantmakers Forum (AGF) since 2015 as President & CEO. Prior to AGF, Laurie served as President & CEO and Senior Vice President of Public Affairs for the Arizona Hospital & Healthcare Association (AzHHA). Laurie has a bachelor’s degree in political science and a master’s degree from ASU’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

Chris Lineberry
Chris is Principal of Apache Junction High School. He previously served as Principal of Stanfield Elementary School, a very-low-income rural K-8 school with no M&O override–yet a national leader in increasing physical activity & healthy nutrition & integrating health in standards-based curriculum. Stanfield was the first AZ school to earn USDA Healthier US Schools Challenge Gold with Distinction Award. Chris is also co-author of Recess Was My Favorite Subject: Where Did It Go?
Read a media report on Chris’s leadership in recess and school health.

Stephanie Lucas
Stephanie serves as Manager, Compliance & Food Safety at Amazon and as Executive Director of Give Garden. She worked for more than 5 years as Senior Director of Operations for Southwest Foodservice Excellence, managing food services for schools throughout Arizona. Prior to that, Stephanie worked as Chief of Hospitality and Food Service for the US Department of Veterans Affairs for 9 years. Stephanie is a registered dietitian, with a Master’s degree in Human Nutrition from ASU. She founded the nonprofit Give Garden, which is an innovative fundraising program for children that encourages creativity and healthy habits for families.

Bryan Madden
Valley of the Sun YMCA
Brian is President & CEO of VSYMCA, which has 14 locations in metro Phoenix, as well as one in Yuma & one in Flagstaff. VSYMCA serves nearly 150,000 families a year & has about 1,500 employees. It operates fitness programs, after-school activities & youth sports. Previously, Bryan served as CEO of YMCAs in Columbia, SC & greater Burbank, CA. The Y is a leading nonprofit organization for youth development, healthy living & social responsibility. Nationwide, there are 2,700 YMCAs with approximately 20,000 fulltime staff and 600,000 volunteers in 10,000 communities. Financial assistance is offered to individuals & families who cannot afford membership. The Y engages 9 million youth & 13 million adults each year in the U.S.

Paul McDonald
Paul serves as Executive Vice President for Futures, a national consulting firm in special education. He has worked extensively in Arizona, Louisiana and other states. Paul has served as senior school district administrator, primarily in southern Arizona, including as Superintendent of Bisbee USD, & Vice-Superintendent of Pendergast ESD & Tombstone USD, as well as working as a special education teacher in Sierra Vista Public Schools

Josh Meibos
Josh is a physical education teacher with Esperanza Community School, which serves the needs of students that are not otherwise being met in traditional educational settings. Teaching was Josh Meibos’ second career, but his first passion. Josh taught for 7 years as a physical-education teacher at Crockett Elementary School, a Title 1 school in the Balsz Elementary School District in southeast Phoenix with a highly diverse low-income student body. He entered the profession in his early 30s after a career in business. Seven years later, Meibos stood in front of more than 500 educators, elected officials and business leaders to accept the state’s top distinction for educators: Arizona Teacher of the Year.

Matt Mixer
Arizona Health & Physical Education
Matt has served for many years as Executive Director of Arizona Health & Physical Education, which played a key role in advocating for both the state’s school recess law and the reform of the state A-F school accountability system to add physical & health education. AzHPE is the state’s association of physical & health educators, with approximately 1000 members, and representing the state’s ~2400 PE & health ed certified teachers and related professionals. Matt works as a health & physical education teacher at Horizon Community Learning Center, a K-12 charter school.

Marilee dal Pra
Marilee Dal Pra has served for over four years as Chief Executive Officer for First Things First, Arizona’s early childhood agency. First Things First is committed to the healthy development and learning of young children from birth to age 5. Prior to joining FTF, Marilee was Vice President for Programs at Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust, where she led the foundation’s community initiatives and strategic program development.
Read More
She was a driving force behind efforts such as Read On Arizona, the state’s third grade reading initiative; BUILD, a multi-state partnership that supports early childhood systems building (now the work of the Arizona Early Childhood Alliance); The Kindergarten Experience, which offers professional development opportunities to kindergarten teachers statewide; and Maricopa Family Support Alliance, a collective of 70 independent agencies that work together to best serve families in need. Previously, Dal Pra served as the director for the Governor’s Division for Children, where she coordinated policies and programs to improve conditions for Arizona’s children and families in partnership with professional organizations, business groups and policymakers. She holds a Master’s Degree in Education from Northern Arizona University and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Arizona State University.

Jen Reeves
University of Arizona
Jen served as Associate Research Scientist at University of Arizona for 18 years, where she wrote more than $200 million in grants. Jen served as Principal Investigator of Partners for Healthy Promises, and also developed the Empower Youth Fitness and Empower Youth Health Programs (EYFP & EYHP). She worked for 20 years as a bilingual PE teacher in Avondale and Tucson. Jen won a national SHAPE America Award.

Sean Rickert
Sean has served as Superintendent of the Pima School District in the Gila Valley in eastern Arizona since 2012. Sean also serves on the executive board of the Arizona Rural Schools Association, where he brings the perspective of rural eastern Arizona to the table. He advocates frequently in state legislative and state board of education rule-making processes. His employment with the Pima School District began in 2010, when he relocated from the White Mountains to work as a classroom teacher at Pima Junior High School teaching social studies. Sean has worked in public education since 2002, with 3 different public school districts and a charter school, covering the full range of academic subjects, at levels ranging from fourth grade to junior college. He was the director of the St. Johns Learning Center, an alternative high school program serving up to 20 students ranging in grade level from 6th to 12th and beyond. While living in Eagar, Sean worked for Round Valley Unified School District, St. Johns Unified School District, and 4-Winds Academy as a teacher and administrator.

Melisa Sadorf
Melissa is Superintendent of Stanfield ESD, a very-low-income rural school district with no M&O override, yet a national leader in increasing physical activity & healthy nutrition & integrating health in standards-based curriculum. Stanfield was the first AZ school to earn USDA Healthier US Schools Challenge Gold with Distinction Award. Melissa was named All Arizona Superintendent of the Year for Small Size Districts and AZ Middle Level Principal of Year.
Listen to some testimony by Melissa & Chris Lineberry on physical education & activity, school nutrition, school health and related school accountability systems.

Keri serves as Safe & Healthy Students Specialist at the Arizona Department of Education (ADE), where she is responsible for Title IV-A grant program to foster safe & healthy learning environments for students. Previously, she worked at ADE as Physical Education/Physical Activity Coordinator for over 5 years. Prior to joining ADE, Keri worked as a PE Teacher in Dysart USD and Glendale Union HSD for 14 years.

Jeffrey Smith
Dr. Smith served from 2008 to 2020 as Superintendent of Balsz School District, a very-low-income high English Language Learner school district in south Phoenix. Jeff was awarded All AZ Superintendent, & has served as President of Arizona School Administrators (ASA). He helped found & served as President of Educare AZ. Balsz SD has led in extended school year, school health including gardens, & Promise Neighborhoods.

Anne Stafford
American Academy of Pediatrics, Arizona Chapter
Anne serves as Executive Director of AzAAP. She was formerly ED of Community Health Charities, Arizona Market. AzAAP is committed to improving the health of Arizona children and supporting the pediatric professionals who care for them.

Josh Stine
Boys & Girls Clubs of the Valley
Josh serves as Director of External Affairs for Boys & Girls Clubs of the Valley (BGCAZ), after working as Director of Grants and Government Relations, Donor Development & Government Relations Manager, and Unit Director for BGCAZ. Josh earned a MS Recreation and BS Kinesiology from ASU.

Penny Allee Taylor
Valley of the Sun United Way
Penny has served for 10 years as Chief Public Policy Officer for Valley of the Sun United Way. She has overseen all advocacy and public policy efforts for VSUW. VSUW is one of the largest nonprofits in Arizona–with 90,000 donors, 400 business supporters & 5,000 volunteers. It monitors needs, identifies critical social issues & brings the right people together to advance the common good & help break the cycle of poverty.

Adrienne Udarbe
Pinnacle Prevention
Adrienne serves as Executive Director of Pinnacle Prevention, which focuses on public health consulting, training, and technical assistance, with emphasis in healthy eating and active living. She worked previously as Community Programs Manager, Arizona Department of Health Services; and Nutritionist, American Red Cross. Adrienne earned a MS and is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN). She has received numerous national and state recognitions as a nutrition leader. She is a social innovator fueled by a passion for advocacy and good food. Her career has been dedicated to Prevention work with over a decade of experience working with government, nonprofits, and health care groups. She excels in facilitating collaborative solutions to complex challenges to shape healthy communities.

Greg Vigdor
Greg serves as President, Washington Health Foundation, after having served for over 6 years as President & CEO of Arizona Hospital & Healthcare Association. AzHHA’s members are devoted to collectively building better healthcare & health for the patients, people and communities of Arizona.

Charlton Wilson
Charlton currently serves as Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Policy Fellow at National Academy of Medicine. Prior to this, Dr. Wilson served for 10 years with Mercy Care, a unit of Aetna and one of the two largest Medicaid plans in Arizona. As Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Charlton Wilson led Mercy Care’s Office of Health and Clinical Services, which is accountable for quality management, medical and behavioral health management, and practice transformation supports across all lines of business. He collaborated across the organization and with members, providers, and the community at large to ensure that comprehensive, quality health care is available to those in need.
Read More
Prior to joining Mercy Care, Dr. Wilson served as a Commissioned Officer with U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS), Indian Health Service (IHS). In this role he traveled throughout the United States to develop and strengthen disease management and performance measurement programs which were recognized for improving quality and reducing costs.
Dr. Wilson was also selected for the highly competitive, one-year position as Chief Resident and faculty member at The John Hopkins Hospital at John Hopkins University. He earned his Doctor of Medicine degree at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston and a Bachelor of Art in History at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. Dr. Wilson also holds active medical licenses in Arizona and New Mexico, and is Board Certified with the American Board of Internal Medicine and the Board of Governors for American College of Healthcare Executives. Dr. Wilson serves as a Board Member for Native Health and Aunt Rita’s Foundation, and is also a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Arizona College of Medicine-Phoenix.

Ed Zito
Ed served for many years as President of Alliance Bank of Arizona, where he was a leader in the state’s commercial banking & public finance sectors. He also made significant contributions to the region’s economic development & success, including as initial vice chairman of Arizona Economic Resource Organization, and in senior leadership positions with the Arizona Chamber of Commerce, Downtown Phoenix, and the Flinn Foundation Bioscience Steering Committee. He was a founding member of Social Venture Partners Arizona.
Note: Where the organization is listed, it is a member of the Healthy Future US network; where only the individual name is listed, the organization itself is not necessarily in the network.
@February 2022