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Chief Executive Officer
Whitman-Walker Health
Naseema Shafi is the CEO of Whitman-Walker Health, one of the nation’s oldest LGBTQ health centers, where she works to implement the strategic vision, goals, and initiatives of the Board of Directors. She has held the CEO position since 2019 and leads and supports the growth and oversight of the health center with a focus on the provision of high-quality, affirming care that embraces the community and maintains the vitality of Whitman-Walker. Before her current role, Naseema first served as Chief Operating Officer and then Deputy Executive Director for Whitman-Walker. In addition, she has served as Director of Compliance, overseeing various matters related to corporate compliance and risk management. She joined Whitman-Walker in 2007.
Naseema holds a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland, College Park and a law degree from the University of Maryland School of Law. She is a member of the Maryland State Bar. In 2016, Shafi was honored as a Minority Business Leader by The Washington Business Journal.
She currently is a Board Member of The Center for Medicare Advocacy, the DC Primary Care Association, and the Connected Care Network. An adamant believer in the values of community, Naseema views her work as embracing the strategic opportunities that will improve the health and wellness of the communities Whitman-Walker Health serves with the affirming culture within the Whitman-Walker team.
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Chief Executive Officer
Whitman-Walker Health
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Chief Executive Officer
Whitman-Walker Health System
Whitman-Walker Health System advances the mission of Whitman-Walker through expanding the capacities of some of the organization’s most critical functions including research, policy and advocacy, thought-leadership, education, and fundraising, as well as supporting critical operational and real estate endeavors. In her role as CEO, Heather Aaron oversees Whitman-Walker Foundation, Whitman-Walker Institute, and Whitman-Walker Health System Real Property Holdings.
Heather has spent her entire career in health care, making a difference for the communities where she has served as a Health Care Executive and Educator for more than thirty-five years. She has worked tirelessly to develop diversity, equity, and inclusion in all her work.
Most recently, she spent nearly 4 years as the Deputy Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Public Health where she was responsible for the operations for the state agency delivering an array of mission-critical public health programs that continue to raise the bar for all healthcare delivery and disease prevention across the state of Connecticut.
Prior to the Connecticut Department of Health, Heather designed and operated a continuum of care community for persons living with HIV and AIDS for 8 years which included a nursing home. Residential care, independent living apartments and case management. Heather has also spent many years working for hospital systems such Bon Secours Health System, Health Quest Health System. She started her career in Health at New York City Health and Hospital Corporation.
Heather completed her undergraduate studies at Quinnipiac College where she received a Baccalaureate of Science Degree in Health Services Administration and a Baccalaureate of Arts in Psychology. She later completed her graduate studies at Yale School of Medicine, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, where she received her Master’s Degree in Public Health Administration. In addition, she is a licensed Nursing Home Administrator.
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Chief Executive Officer
Whitman-Walker Health System
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Executive Director, Whitman-Walker Health System
Chief Learning Officer, Whitman-Walker
Dr. Kellan E. Baker is the Executive Director of Whitman-Walker Institute, which leverages cutting-edge research, policy, and education to advance health equity nationwide, particularly for LGBTQI+ people and people living with HIV. The Institute is affiliated with Whitman-Walker Health, a Federally Qualified Health Center with more than 50 years of service to diverse communities in Washington, D.C. and beyond.
Kellan is a nationally known health services researcher, educator, and health policy professional with specific expertise in areas such as health equity, LGBTQI+ health, community engagement in research, insurance reform, and sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) data collection. He is an appointed consumer representative to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners and is currently involved in developing global guidelines on transgender health with the World Health Organization.
Kellan has worked with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine on multiple studies related to LGBTQI+ health and was a member of the research team that conducted the systematic evidence reviews for the World Professional Association for Transgender Health Standards of Care (Version 8). He is also the co-founder and director of Out2Enroll, a national campaign launched in 2013 to connect LGBTQI+ people with insurance coverage under the Affordable Care Act.
Kellan is the former board co-chair of Equality Federation, and he holds appointments as associate faculty in the Departments of Health Policy and Management at the George Washington University and the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. He received his Ph.D. in health policy and management from Johns Hopkins, where he was the Centennial Scholar and a Health Policy Research Scholar; an M.P.H. in health policy and M.A. in international development from the George Washington University; and a B.A. with high honors in astrophysics and Russian from Swarthmore College.
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Executive Director,
Whitman-Walker Institute
Chief Learning Officer, Whitman-Walker
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Executive Director, Whitman-Walker Foundation
Chief External Affairs Officer, Whitman-Walker
Abby Paige Fenton serves as the Executive Director of the Whitman-Walker Foundation and Chief External Affairs Officer for Whitman-Walker. She oversees fundraising, branding, community relations, communications and media relations while also serving on the executive leadership team.
Prior to joining Whitman-Walker in 2015, Abby served as the Director of Community Relations at ABC7/WJLA-TV and NewsChannel 8 where she oversaw the stations corporate social responsibility initiatives and public relations strategies and created partnerships and messaging opportunities for over 400 non-profits per year. Earlier in her career, she worked in event planning and fundraising in DC for the District Chamber of Commerce and Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company and in Baltimore at Center Stage. While at Woolly, Abby helped to raise nearly $9 million for “BREAKING NEW GROUND: The Campaign for Woolly Mammoth.” At Center Stage, she helped to raise over $14 million for their $12 million capital campaign.
Abby has been named one of the YWCA of the National Capital Region’s Women of Achievement and was included in Washington Life Magazine’s list of the most influential people in Washington for four years in a row. She worked as the Executive Producer for the award-winning feature film Cruzando. She is a graduate of the class of 2012 from Leadership Greater Washington and continues to be a speaker for their Rising Leaders program. She serves on the board of the Anacostia Business Improvement District and co-chaired Theatre Washington’s Victor Shargai Leadership Awards Committee in 2023. She also serves as Board Chair for Leashes of Valor – an organization that trains rescue dogs to be service dogs for Veterans living with PTSD and TBI. Abby is a graduate of Kenyon College and has lived in the Adams Morgan neighborhood of DC for over 24 years.
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Executive Director, Whitman-Walker Foundation Chief External Affairs Officer, Whitman-Walker
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Chief Operating Officer
Whitman-Walker Health
Meghan Davies serves as Whitman-Walker Health’s Chief Operating Officer, where she oversees a wide portfolio including Whitman-Walker Health’s grants, patient legal services, insurance navigation and patient billing, community health and wellness, care navigation, clinical infrastructure, IT, and facilities. She has previously served as Whitman-Walker Health’s Chief Program Officer and Director of Community Health.
Before joining Whitman-Walker in 2008, Meghan was an HIV prevention volunteer with the Peace Corps in Honduras where she focused on HIV and gender. While there, she led a nine-person team responsible for training 200 volunteers on HIV prevention and designing and launching Viviendo Positivamente (Living Positively) to encourage the formation of support groups for HIV-positive people in the region.
Meghan earned her Master of Public Health degree with an emphasis in global health promotion from the George Washington University and her Bachelor’s degree in Biology, with a minor in Spanish, from the University of Virginia. She is also a Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES) and Certified in Public Health (CPH). Meghan lives with her partner, two children and dog in DC.
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Chief Operating Officer
Whitman-Walker Health
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Chief Health Officer
Whitman-Walker Health
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Chief Financial Officer
Whitman-Walker
Jen Maher is the Chief Financial Officer at Whitman-Walker, joining in October 2022. Jen is responsible for the overall management of accounting and finance for Whitman-Walker Health, Whitman-Walker Health System, and related entities: Whitman-Walker Institute, Whitman-Walker Foundation, WWHS Real Property Holdings, and Whitman-Walker at 1201. She oversees day-to-day management of the finance and accounting team, financial reporting and analysis, cash management, budgeting, internal accounting controls and policies, and annual audit support.
Prior to joining Whitman-Walker, Jen was the Vice President of Enterprise Analytics and Business Development at MedStar Health, where she led the enterprise analytics strategic initiative to support foundational business analytical competencies and financial stewardship. She also advised and supported major business development activity, including the due diligence and oversight of acquisitions, divestitures, and joint ventures. Jen was previously a managing director with PricewaterhouseCoopers focused on the healthcare industry.
Jen is a Fellow of the Healthcare Financial Management Association (FHFMA) and has volunteered as a Regional Executive and chapter officer with the HFMA. She is a current board member of the Grassroots Crisis Intervention Center.
Jen earned a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from the University of Maryland, College Park. She is a Certified Public Accountant and a member of the MACPA. She participated as a Health Industry Scholar with Flare Capital Partners and was a member of the initial class of participants in the MedStar Leader of the Future: Accelerated Leadership Program (ALP) at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
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Chief Financial Officer
Whitman-Walker
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General Counsel
Whitman-Walker
Katie Watson is the General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer of Whitman-Walker Health and Whitman-Walker Health System. She came to Whitman-Walker after serving as Senior Legal Counsel with a national pharmacy company and Hospital Counsel for two safety net hospitals in Baltimore, overseeing the compliance of operations and working to assure health care initiatives were successfully serving the community. Katie’s law practice has focused on representing health systems and federally qualified health centers. Katie is a former board member of the San Francisco-based AIDS Legal Referral Panel and the former board chair of the Campaign for Southern Equality, a civil rights organization based in Asheville, NC. Prior to becoming a lawyer, she was a community health outreach worker, focused on HIV/AIDS prevention and redressing health disparities. Her career centers around health care reforms that increase access.
Katie is an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University’s School of Health. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from Brown University, a Master’s in Public Health from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Health, a law degree from Georgetown University where she was a Public Interest Law Scholar, and an LLM in business and health law from Loyola University Chicago.
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General Counsel
Whitman-Walker
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Vice President of People
Whitman-Walker
George Lino, the Vice President of People for Whitman-Walker, is an accomplished health and human services industry executive with more than 20 years of experience driving performance management of human capital. His goal is to continue to build leading-edge best practice solutions and programs in support of Whitman-Walker’s mission and vision of “We See You”.
George has held Human Resources leadership roles for organizations that provide care to persons in need and budgets that were from $10-$50 million in scope. His most recent role prior to Whitman-Walker was at Volunteers of America Chesapeake and Carolinas, Inc. where he was the Vice President of Human Resources and Administration and prior to, was the Chief Human Resources Officer at Treatment and Recovery Center in Brooklyn, New York City, a Medicaid assisted treatment program servicing individual with co-occurring disorders in substance use and mental health.
As a strategist and accessible leader, George excels at identifying and implementing the need for leading-edge technology and employee-centered human resources and professional development to increase employee performance, ensure employee engagement programs are effective and champion a comprehensive Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion culture. His focus is to collaborate with leadership and ensure that all aspects of the employee experience, from on-boarding to off-boarding, provides quality employee centered care for every staff member.
Raised in the Bronx, George is a native New Yorker with both Black and Hispanic heritage/legacy from Central America Honduras and the first in his family to graduate college. He holds a Masters in Organizational Leadership, Bachelors in Organizational Management and is certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resources.
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Vice President of People
Whitman-Walker
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Vice President of Access & Strategic Initiatives
Whitman-Walker Health
Erin Loubier is Vice President for Access and Strategic Initiatives at Whitman-Walker Health. She passionately advocates to change systems and structures to promote access to healthcare, address structural and legal barriers to health and equity, and service delivery innovations focused on high quality, patient centered care, equity, and improving health outcomes. Erin oversees legal services, public benefits and insurance navigation, health care payments, and access to services. In her 25-year legal career at WWH, Erin has held several operational roles. She created WWH’s patient insurance navigation program where trained experts assist consumers in determining their insurance options, assist with enrollment and renewal, troubleshoot coverage problems, work to address any cost of care barriers, and help patients navigate the health care delivery system. Erin was also pivotal in the design of WWH’s “Red Carpet” program for immediate access to care for HIV- positive patients, which was adopted by DC as the standard of care and nationally through the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Erin received her JD from American University’s Washington College of Law and her Bachelor or Arts from Drew University. She also holds a graduate-level certificate in mediation from Syracuse University and completed the Advisory Board healthcare executive leadership fellowship program. Prior to law school, Erin was the national student organizer for Equal Justice Works. Erin is the recipient of the DC Primary Care Association’s (DCPCA) 2013 Unsung Hero Award and the DC Bar Foundation’s 2011 Jerrold Scoutt Prize. She is a member of both the District of Columbia and Maryland Bar.
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Vice President of Access & Strategic Initiatives
Whitman-Walker Health
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Vice President Population Health & Quality
Whitman-Walker Health
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Medical Site Director of Max Robinson Center
Whitman-Walker Health
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Senior Director of Communications
Whitman-Walker
Lisa Amore is the Senior Director of Communications for Whitman-Walker. She possesses more than twenty-five years of consumer, lifestyle, and technology MarComm and PR experience and expertise. She is a strong communicator and relationship builder who exudes positive energy while crafting, communicating, and promoting corporate messaging; connecting people across all levels; and empowering colleagues and executives alike.
Lisa is an expert on streaming media, having worked in the field since the industry’s infancy in the late 90s, and served on the board of the International Webcasting Association alongside fellow board members & high-tech giants: Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, and Rob Glaser. At the height of the Internet boom, Lisa was recruited by RealNetworks, Inc., where she spent nearly four years as the Director of Consumer Public Relations in charge of the strategy, management, and implementation of all aspects of public relations concerning the global media and technology company’s popular RealPlayer and Rhapsody music subscription service.
For several years, Lisa then ran her own boutique Marketing and PR firm, before making the decision that she wanted to “give back and do good” and joined Whitman-Walker. Lisa’s PR practice had specialized in media, lifestyle, hospitality, and technology clients in the U.S. and abroad, servicing: digital media companies, consumer products & emerging platforms, mobile apps, subscription services, hospitality, sports, and music. Notable clients included: INDOCHINO; Boulangerie PAUL; acclaimed musician Quincy Jones; RealNetworks; Roasting Plant; SONY Digital; and Tower Records.
Before immersing herself in digital media and consumer technology, Lisa concentrated her skills in promoting sports, culture, and the arts. Fluent in Italian, she worked in Italy for several years at the beginning of her career in international marketing and PR positions for the United States Information Agency (USIA) at the Colombo ’92 Expo, Italia e’ Cultura, and the PromoModa fashion consortium. Lisa was also the Director of Protocol for the Washington DC soccer venue of World Cup USA 1994, and was the Director of Marketing for the Schooner AMERICA, for which she secured the honor of “Ambassador Ship” of the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, as well as official Torch Bearer — sailing the Olympic Flame into the state of Georgia. She holds a BBA in Marketing from Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame, IN.
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Senior Director of Communications
Whitman-Walker
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Senior Director of Operations
Whitman-Walker
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Senior Director of Nursing
Whitman-Walker Health
Jessica Estrada serves as Whitman-Walker Health’s Senior Director of Nursing overseeing nursing and other programs that support patient care as well as occupational health and medical records. Jessica previously served as a Nurse Care Manager and Director of Nursing and Medical Support.
Before joining Whitman-Walker in 2008, Jessica earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska. Jessica was a nurse member of Nurses for America, an AmeriCorps and Georgetown University School of Nursing program to place registered nurses and advanced practice nurses in community and public health settings. This program placed Jessica in the well baby and immunization clinics at the Alexandria Health Department in Northern Virginia.
Following her time as a Nurse Care Manager, Jessica earned a Master’s degree in Nursing with a concentration in Public Health Nursing from John’s Hopkins University. She also worked as a public health nurse in the School Health Division of the Arlington County Health Department. Jessica’s passion for serving the Whitman-Walker community led her to rejoin the Whitman-Walker team in 2013.
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Senior Director of Nursing
Whitman-Walker Health
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Senior Director of Financial Reporting
Whitman-Walker
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Senior Director of Community Health & Wellness
Whitman-Walker Health
Juan Carlos Loubriel has contributed a great deal to HIV prevention and care since 2000 in Washington, DC, as well as his homeland of Puerto Rico. He is currently Whitman-Walker Health’s Senior Director of Community Health and Wellness where he has general oversight of prevention and education activities including mobile and clinic-based HIV/STI counseling, testing, education initiatives and outreach. Juan Carlos also has direct oversight of PrEP Navigation, the PrEP Clinic, and Wellness Programs that include Nutrition and Acupuncture services. As such, he has forged new partnerships with LGBTQIA-oriented businesses and community organizations in the DMV area.
While a college student in Puerto Rico, Juan Carlos took care of his father, who was bisexual and diagnosed with AIDS. Juan Carlos quickly came face-to-face with stigma, and he has spent much of his adult life trying to combat it. During this difficult period and continuing after his father’s death, Juan Carlos worked for a government program in Puerto Rico that offered HIV/AIDS counseling, testing, and education to LGBTQIA individuals. He then moved to Washington, DC and began working at WWH as a health manager and a testing counselor for several years while also volunteering with various organizations conducting outreach.
In 2017, Juan Carlos received a Capital Pride Heroes award by Capital Pride Alliance designated for those individuals who have furthered causes important to DC’s LGBTQIA community. In 2018, he was recognized as one of the top minority business leaders by the Washington Business Journal. Juan Carlos is a health advocate not only for WWH patients, but for DC’s LGBTQIA community as well.
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Senior Director of Community Health & Wellness
Whitman-Walker Health
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Senior Director of Research
Whitman-Walker Institute
Dr. Jonathon Rendina serves as the Senior Director of Research at Whitman-Walker Institute and is jointly appointed as an Associate Research Professor of Epidemiology at the Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University (GWU). He has held both positions since 2021, in which he works to advance the growth of Whitman-Walker’s clinical and applied research portfolio, develop infrastructure to support research and other sponsored projects within the Institute, support the Institute’s team of Principal Investigators and research staff, and collaborate internally and externally to promote community-engaged research. Jonathon also serves on the Executive Committee of the District of Columbia Center for AIDS Research (DC CFAR), through which he works to enhance Whitman-Walker’s strategic partnerships with other DC-based HIV research institutions.
Jonathon is an expert in HIV, sexual and gender minority health, and intersectional stigma, and has been awarded more than $30M in NIH funding as Principal Investigator to conduct work in these subjects. Trained as a methodologist and biostatistician, he regularly teaches in these areas as well. Prior to joining Whitman-Walker and GWU, Dr. Rendina was a faculty member in the Department of Psychology at Hunter College of the City University of New York (CUNY) and a core faculty member of the PhD Program in Health Psychology and Clinical Science.
Jonathon received his BPhil in interdisciplinary studies from the Pennsylvania State University, his MPH in Epidemiology and Biostatistics from the CUNY School of Public Health, and his PhD in Social Psychology from the CUNY Graduate School and University Center.
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Senior Director of Research
Whitman-Walker Institute
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Director of Research Administration
Whitman-Walker Institute
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Director of Clinical Practice
Whitman-Walker Health
David Fessler serves as Director of Clinical Practice and medical site director for Whitman-Walker Health’s 1525 14th Street location. In addition to supervising medical providers and holding various administrative roles in the Medical department, he is an Infectious Disease physician focusing on the care of people living with HIV. He also oversees student and resident medical rotations at Whitman-Walker Health.
Before joining Whitman-Walker Health in 2016, David was a Lecturer at Harvard Medical School and Staff Physician in the Divisions of Infectious Disease and General Medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, where he also completed his residency in Internal Medicine in 2008, fellowship in Infectious Diseases in 2011, and Rabkin Fellowship in Medical Education in 2013. He holds a Bachelor’s degree and a Masters of Public Health from the University of Michigan.
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Director of Clinical Practice
Whitman-Walker Health
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Director of Employee Relations & Professional Development
Whitman-Walker Health
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Assistant Controller
Whitman-Walker
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Director of Compliance & Privacy
Whitman-Walker Institute
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Director of Dental Services
Whitman-Walker Health
Patrick Hughes has served as the Director of Dental Services for Whitman-Walker Health since 2003. He joined the health center as a part-time staff dentist in March 2002. A native of Pennsylvania, he attended both Penn State University and The University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine, where he received his D.M.D. degree.
Hughes started his dental career in Texas as a Captain in the U.S. Air Force. After completing his military commitment, he became a staff dentist and later the Dental Director of a rural, community-based health center in the Appalachian Mountains of southern West Virginia. In 2002, Hughes moved to Washington, D.C. to continue his work in community-based health care, emphasizing oral health care for the HIV and LGBT communities.
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Director of Dental Services
Whitman-Walker Health
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Director of Grants & Programs
Whitman-Walker Health
Amie Krautwurst, MSW, LICSW serves as Whitman-Walker Health’s Director of Grants and Programs. In this role, she supports the mission, values, strategy, and goals of the organization by performing essential grant writing and grant administration functions to ensure continual funding for key health center programs and initiatives. During her tenure at Whitman-Walker Health, Amie has held multiple patient-facing and administrative roles. Amie most recently served as Senior Manager of Wellness Programs in Whitman-Walker’s Community Health division, where she worked with a multidisciplinary team to coordinate vital integrated wellness programming for clients and community members. She has also acted as a volunteer mental health provider with Whitman-Walker’s Behavioral Health division since 2014, specializing in crisis intervention for individuals newly diagnosed with HIV.
A social worker by education and training, Amie is a fierce advocate for social justice and health equity. Before joining Whitman-Walker Health in 2012, she earned her Master of Social Work degree from the National Catholic School of Social Service at the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. Her graduate studies concentrated on Community, Administration, and Policy Practice, preparing her to help enact structural change by organizing and empowering community members for change, analyzing and advocating for social policies, raising awareness about social injustices, implementing, and evaluating programs, and engaging in strategic organizational planning. Amie is a passionate animal lover and nature devotee. She divides her time between the small farm she shares with her partner on the outskirts of Montgomery County, Maryland, and her family’s residence in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley.
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Director of Grants & Programs Whitman-Walker Health
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Director of Community Health & Wellness
Whitman-Walker Health
Ramatoulaye Keita started at Whitman-Walker Health in September of 2013 as a health educator in the community health department. She is now the Director of Community Health & Wellness and is extremely passionate about building systems that are designed to deliver equitable and low barrier care to under-resourced populations around the globe. In her current role, she oversees HIV prevention efforts to include HIV testing and counseling, PrEP / PEP initiatives, and targeted outreach efforts. In addition to working at WWH, Rama serves as a commissioner on the DC Department of Health’s Planning Commission on Health and HIV. As commissioner, it is her duty to implement and execute integrated strategies that address the health and social needs of all Ryan White clients across the DC metropolitan area. Rama takes immense pride in her community advocacy work, where she strives to deliver care and create space that is inclusive of each client and patient’s individual experiences. She is a first-generation West African from Guinea, Conakry and – in addition to English – is fluent in French and three of her native languages. She holds a BS in Public Health and an MS in Management and Healthcare Administration from the University of Maryland.
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Director of Community Health & Wellness Whitman-Walker Health
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Director of Training
Whitman-Walker Institute
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Director of Annual Giving & Community Partnerships
Whitman-Walker Foundation
David Mallory is the Director of Annual Giving & Community Partnerships at Whitman-Walker, a community health center with multiple locations in Washington, DC that is recognized nationally as a leader in providing affirming quality care to all with a specialty in LGBTQ+ and HIV/AIDS care. Having joined Whitman-Walker, Dave manages direct response fundraising including mail and digital, planned giving, corporate engagement, volunteer activities and special events. Prior to joining Whitman-Walker in 2005, Dave was an event director & volunteer manager for multiple non-profit peer-to-peer fundraisers. His decades of work in the local community as an organizer, volunteer, fundraiser, and advocate have included leadership roles as director of both Capital Pride and AIDS Walk Washington and president and board member of the Arlington Gay & Lesbian Alliance. Born and raised in Northern Virginia, he has called Arlington home for over 30 years where he resides with one husband and two cats.
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Director of Annual Giving & Community Partnerships
Whitman-Walker Foundation
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Director of Contract Grant Accounting
Whitman-Walker
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Director of Policy
Whitman-Walker Institute
Caroline Medina is the Director of Policy for the Whitman-Walker Institute, which leverages cutting-edge research, policy, and education to advance health equity nationwide, particularly LGBTQ+ people and people living with HIV. The Institute is affiliated with Whitman-Walker Health, a Federally Qualified Health Center with more than 50 years of service to diverse communities across the D.C. area and beyond. Caroline’s work focuses on furthering policies to improve access to high-quality health care services and health insurance coverage, combat discrimination, and enhance data collection on sexual orientation and gender identity to support intersectional research agendas and evidence-based policymaking. They oversee the Policy Department’s work to advance health equity for underserved communities through strategic advocacy, effective coalition-building, timely and impactful policy research and analysis.
Prior to joining Whitman-Walker Institute, Caroline was the Director of LGBTQI+ Policy at the Center for American Progress think-tank where they worked to expand legal and lived equality for LGBTQI+ people. Caroline worked as Legislative Director and Chief of Staff to State Representative Kay Khan, House Chair of the Massachusetts Joint Committee on Children, Families, and Persons with Disabilities. Caroline earned their Master of Public Administration from the London School of Economics and Political Science with a focus on social and economic policy and their B.A. from Amherst College.
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Director of Policy
Whitman-Walker Institute
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Director of Legal Services
Whitman-Walker Health
Amy Nelson is the Director of Legal Services at Whitman-Walker Health, the nation’s oldest medical-legal partnership and a community health center responding to DC’s public health challenges, including systemic racism. Legal services are offered free of charge to pursue immigration relief; access public benefits; empower seniors; and fight against LGBTQ/HIV discrimination such as prohibitions to gender affirming medical care and workplace harassment. Amy launched WWH’s Name and Gender Change Clinic in 2012 which continues to empower hundreds of clients annually. Amy serves on George Washington University’s Lambda Law Alumni Board and the DC Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking Insurance Advisory Committee. She recently completed a 4-year term on the DC Bar Board of Governors, DC Consortium Steering Committee, and the DC Mayor’s Advisory Committee on Street Harassment. Amy also served on the Board of Miriam’s House, serving women living with HIV and without secure housing, and oversaw its successful transition into N Street Village. Amy’s work to protect LGBTQ+ rights has been recognized by the Washington Blade, Washington Business Journal, DC Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs, TransPride, and Tagg Magazine. A Texas native, she has been proud to call DC home for more than 23 years. Amy received degrees from Texas A&M University and the George Washington University Law School.
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Director of Legal Services
Whitman-Walker Health
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Director of Data Science
Whitman-Walker Institute
Eleanor Sarkodie is the Director of Data Science for the Whitman-Walker Institute, which leverages cutting-edge research, policy, and education to advance health equity nationwide, particularly LGBTQ+ people and people living with HIV. The Institute is affiliated with Whitman-Walker Health, a Federally Qualified Health Center with more than 50 years of service to diverse communities across the D.C. area and beyond. She oversees data-related infrastructure, implementation, and analytics within research and other relevant programmatic areas of Whitman-Walker Institute. She leads the data team and works with investigators and project staff to determine the appropriate tools, methodologies, and staffing model to implement data-related activities of quantitative projects. Eleanor’s research focuses on advancing evidence for comprehensive transgender healthcare, with a focus on gender affirmation; and the capture and measurement of sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) data in electronic medical records.
Eleanor has been working at Whitman-Walker since 2015. She earned her Master of Public Health from the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University and her B.S. from James Madison University.
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Director of Data Science
Whitman-Walker Institute
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Director of Research Projects
Whitman-Walker Institute
Janelle Schrag is the Director of Research Projects at the Whitman-Walker Institute. She has over ten years of experience working at the intersection of healthcare and public health and has supported numerous research studies focused on reducing disparities and improving health outcomes among historically marginalized populations. Janelle completed her bachelor’s degree in biology at Northwest University and received her Master’s in Public Health from King’s College London. In her spare time, Janelle is an avid crafter, movie-goer, and reader.
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Director of Research Projects
Whitman-Walker Institute
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Director of Gender Affirming Care
Whitman-Walker Health
britt walsh is the Director of Gender Affirming Care at Whitman-Walker Health. They first encountered Whitman-Walker as an AmeriCorps member with its Gay Men’s Health and Wellness Clinic in 2008. They returned to the organization in 2013 with training as a community practice, clinical social worker to lead Whitman-Walker’s Retention and Engagement team in assisting people living with HIV. In that work, they connected with early gender-affirming surgery referrals and now oversee services as our Director of Gender Affirming Care. In this role, britt leads a team of Trans Care Navigators in supporting medical patients of Whitman-Walker Health to access gender-affirming surgery. As such, he works across disciplines with every department to ensure staff have the training and support necessary to practice inclusive, informed, and quality patient-centered care to the highest standards. britt brings lived experience to his work as a Navigator and therapist and as a trainer, working with local and national groups across the country.
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Director of Gender Affirming Care
Whitman-Walker Health
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Director of Facilities
Whitman-Walker
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Interim Director of Therapy & Substance Use Treatment
Whitman-Walker Health
Jennifer Loken, MSW, LICSW is the Interim Director of Therapy and Substance Use Treatment Services at Whitman-Walker Health. In that capacity, she oversees ongoing direct clinical care, clinician supervision, and program development. Her clinical work spans co-occurring mental health and substance use disorders, trauma specific care (EMDR), and the intersection of sexual health, harm reduction, and LGBTQ+ specific needs. Jennifer received her MSW from the University of Maryland, Baltimore, and advanced substance use specific training at the University of Utah.
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Interim Director of Therapy & Substance Use Treatment
Whitman-Walker Health
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Interim Director of Behavioral Health Practice
Whitman-Walker Health
Dr. Kevin Waldorf-Cruz, DSW, LICSW, LCSW-C is the Interim Director of Behavioral Health Practice at Whitman-Walker Health. He started his career here as a volunteer in the food bank in 1995 and shortly after began a clinical path as a behavioral health intern in 1998. He was moved by working with people living with HIV and especially newcomer asylees who faced barriers to accessing health care. Kevin completed his MSW from the Catholic University of America with a focus on trauma-informed care and his doctorate in social work from the University of Southern California with a focus on human-centered management. Kevin’s focus at Whitman-Walker Health has been around trauma informed care, gender affirming care, gender care for adolescents, integrated behavioral health, graduate education/ training, and peer support for LGBTQ seniors. In his free time, Kevin has taught yoga and meditation for over 20 years and has been trained in many modalities of holistic healing.
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Interim Director of Behavioral Health Practice
Whitman-Walker Health
Whitman-Walker at LIZ
1377 R St NW, Suite 200
Washington, DC 20009
Max Robinson Center
1201 Sycamore Drive SE
Washington, DC 20032
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