Our Organization

As the Director of Community Health Programs and Strategies with the Office of Community Health, Equity and Wellness at Henry Ford, Jaye's primary duties include staffing the Detroit Regional Infant Mortality Reduction Task Force and providing administrative oversight for their nationally-recognized and award-winning Women-Inspired Neighborhood Network: Detroit program, and working to operationalize a CHW Hub for the health system.

As Program Manager of Strong Beginnings, Celeste supports the elimination of disparities amongst prenatal African American and Latina mothers and their families within Kent County through the use of CHWs. She has been recognized as an ATHENA Young Professional Finalist, W. MI Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Young Professional of the Year Finalist, and is currently a fellow with the W.K. Kellogg Community Leadership Network.

Julie is responsible for administrative and operational oversight of Cherry Health, a Federally Qualified Health Center serving W. MI communities. She has provided expertise to national, statewide, and local initiatives focused on the assessment of social determinants of health and the implementation of CHW programs. Julie became a founding Board Member and Vice Chair for MiCHWA in 2018, following two years of service on the Steering Committee.

Rebeca has been with the Detroit Health Department since 2017. She was previously the Training Coordinator for the Detroit Healthy Start Project. She is a founding member of MiCHWA and holds a seat on the National Healthy Start Association CHW Advisory Board. Rebeca is a Master Trainer for the MiCHWA CHW Training. She is a frequent guest speaker and serves as a field instructor for students of social work and public health.

Rodney has a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Rutgers University School of Management and went on to earn his MBA in Healthcare Administration from Davenport University. Rodney has spent most of his professional career in Healthcare Finance and Accounting. As CEO of AHS Foundation, that he founded, and as Senior Financial Analyst for Spectrum Health Healthier Communities, Rodney specializes in being a content expert on health system financial processes and complex financial projects within the community health space. Rodney also serves on boards and councils of various community and professional organizations.

Dr. Keiffer is a founding member of MiCHWA and its steering committee who currently serves as Past President of the Board. She conducts research addressing health and health care disparities. Since 1999, Dr. Keiffer and her collaborators have developed and evaluated the effectiveness of Detroit-based community health worker programs such as Healthy MOMs, REACH Detroit Partnership, and the CHASS Center.

Felicia finds it a blessing to be a community health worker at Henry Ford Health System. She wants to see community health workers incorporated into more aspects of people’s lives and into the fabric of our communities. Felicia knows that ensuring one healthy pregnancy and baby can ensure a healthy neighborhood and community. With community health workers’ help, Felicia works to turn these healthy babies and communities into a healthy nation.

A Professor at Lansing Community College and Davenport University, Dr. Davis has his Ph.D. in International and Comparative Education from Michigan State University and has taught for 14 years in the K-12 system and 40 years as an Adjunct Professor. He has spent 40 years in Public Health as a Consultant in the areas of Health Education, Statistics, Chronic Disease Control, Community Organizing, Quality Control for Medicaid Screening and Minority Health. He has published in several journals and books and has traveled extensively, gathering material for the All Around the African World Museum and Resource Center of which he is the Curator/Director. He has also served as a board member of an African Centered School for 25 years.

Ryan Grinnell-Ackerman is the Director of Operations at InterCare Community Health Network, a community health center serving southwest Michigan. Prior to joining InterCare, Ryan worked for the Michigan Primary Care Association for 6 years where he led the public policy and government affairs efforts on behalf of community health centers and underserved communities. Ryan worked closely with policymakers in Lansing, MI, and Washington, DC, to promote health equity and access to care.

PJ is a Certified Public Accountant with Rehmann. He provides tax planning and review services for individuals, trusts, corporations and pass-through entities. He has significant knowledge of multi-state and international taxation, enabling him to serve businesses with complex structures. PJ is a member of the AICPA and MICPA.

Tiffany Stone is the Deputy Director, Medicaid Policy for the Michigan Association of Health Plans (MAHP), a Lansing based organization that represents 12 health plans in Michigan. Prior to joining, MAHP, Tiffany worked in the Medicaid Health Plan space focusing on operations and program implementation.  She also served as a Quality Analyst for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. Currently, Tiffany volunteers her time by serving as Vice President on the Board of the National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI) of Genesee County and on the Board of Honor Community Health. Tiffany earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education from the University of Michigan-Flint and her Master’s Degree in General Administration from Central Michigan University.

Jenifer Murray, Community Connections HUB Director for the Northern Michigan Community Health Innovation Region (NMCHIR), and Coordinator of the Northern Michigan Regional Perinatal Quality Collaborative.  She received her bachelor in nursing degree from Hope College and a Master degree in Public Health Policy and Administration from the University of Michigan.  For 22 years she worked in Public Health Administration at the Genesee County Health Department and the Benzie – Leelanau District Health Department.  Most recently, Jenifer is the owner and president of JHM Consulting, a public health and health care consulting company.  Specializing in the planning and implementation of Community Health Worker programming and health systems design, Jenifer has been involved in promoting systems change in northern Michigan for RN and CHW home visiting, perinatal substance use disorder and creating Clinical Community Linkage HUBS for addressing Social Determinants of Health.