Kaashif Ahmad, MD

Data Co-Chair

Dr. Kaashif Ahmad is a clinical neonatologist with Pediatrix Neonatology of San Antonio and Pediatrix Neonatology of Houston and serves as the Director of Clinical Research for both practices. He is also the Research Director of Neonatal Clinical Trials for Pediatrix Medical Group, which manages over 350 NICUs nationwide. Dr. Ahmad has active faculty appointments with Baylor College of Medicine (San Antonio), the University of Houston Tilman J. Fertitta Family College of Medicine, and the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences.

Dr. Ahmad attended medical school at The Aga Khan University in Karachi Pakistan followed by a pediatric residency and chief residency at Saint Louis University and Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital. He completed a neonatology fellowship at Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Hospital where he concurrently was a NICHD fellow for the Pediatric Scientist Development Program in the laboratory of Huda Zoghbi.

Dr. Ahmad serves the Texas Pediatric Society as a member of its Executive Board and as co-director of the Committee of Fetus and Newborn. Dr. Ahmad also serves as a member of the Texas Department of State Health Services’ Newborn Screening Advisory Committee.

Dr. Ahmad has collaborated on local, regional, and national research studies and his areas of interest include the conduct of clinical trials, neonatal CPR, neonatal neuroprotection, and large database research. Dr Ahmad is an active writer and speaker and has authored or co-authored over 60 peer-reviewed manuscripts.

Tom Banning

Texas Academy of Family Physicians (TAFP) Representative

CEO and Executive Vice President
Texas Academy of Family Physicians (TAFP)

Tom Banning is the Chief Executive Officer and Executive Vice President of the Texas Academy of Family Physicians. In that capacity, he directs overall strategic and legislative strategy, grass roots, political action, continuing medical education, membership and communications activities for the largest specialty society in Texas, with more than 8,000 members. Prior to joining TAFP, he held positions with the Dallas Morning News and Shipley & Associates, a nationally renowned political consulting firm. At Shipley & Associates, Tom coordinated numerous political campaigns for members of the Texas House of Representatives and the Texas Senate and he provided strategic communication and crisis management plans for clients ranging from statewide trade associations to Fortune 500 companies. Tom graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in Speech Communications.

Emily Briggs, MD, MPH, FAAFP

TMA Representative

Family Medicine Physician
Briggs Family Medicine

Emily Briggs, MD, MPH, FAAFP is a Board Certified Family Medicine physician in New Braunfels, TX. She provides her patients full scope family medicine services, including operative obstetrics. Dr. Briggs received her medical degree in Family Medicine as well as a Masters in Public Health from University of Texas at Houston HSC. Dr. Briggs has a long standing history of actively serving with the AAFP, TAFP, and TMA. Over the years she has served as New Physician Board Member to the AAFP, President for the Alamo Chapter of TAFP, and President of the TMA Comal County Medical Society. She just completed serving 2 years as Chief of Staff at Christus Santa Rosa Hospital in New Braunfels. Currently she serves as a board member of the TAFP, the Chair of the TMA’s Reproductive Women's and Perinatal Health Committee, the Chair of the Perinatal Advisory Council for DSHS under HB 15, and remains active her in local community serving as Medical Director for both Comal ISD and New Braunfels ISD.

Sadhana Chheda, MD

Perinatal Advisory Council (PAC) Representative

Dr. Chheda is a board certified pediatrician and a board certified neonatologist who has been in practice for over 20 years. Dr. Chheda completed her medical education at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. She worked there before moving to the UK where she completed a diploma at the London School of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene and went on to work for the National Health Services (NHS) before moving to the USA.

She obtained program development and program management skills once she moved to El Paso and helped developed the first ECMO program at Columbia HCA, the first neonatal & pediatric transport team in the region and a multi- and inter-disciplinary educational conference.

Dr. Chheda believes in bidirectional community involvement & engagement. She has sat on various local and regional boards. In that role, she was part of the founding board for El Paso Children’s Hospital (EPCH) where she was responsible for developing the professional affairs & quality programs.

She currently chairs the Medical staff & Hospital quality committee at EPCH, serves as the Neonatal Transport Medical Director at EPCH and is the vice-chair of Texas HHS Perinatal Advisory Committee. She also serves as a neonatal surveyor for the Texas Neonatal Designation Program.

Gloria Delgado, MSN, RNC-OB

Obstetrics Co-Chair

Assistant Administrator of Women’s Service
University Medical Center of El Paso

Born in Chihuahua, Mexico, Ms. Delgado came to the border in 1991 to continue her college education. In 1996, she graduated from the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. In 2016, she obtained a Master of Science in Nursing and Health Care Systems Management Specialization from Loyola University New Orleans. From September 2016 to the present, Ms. Delgado has been the Assistant Administrator of Women’s Services Services at University Medical Center of El Paso (UMC). As an Assistant Administrator, Ms. Delgado’s duties include management of programs and operations to meet regulatory agencies standards for inpatient units to include Labor and Delivery and Mother-Baby, and a Public Health home-visiting program called Nurse Family Partnership (NFP). Ms. Delgado is an active member of the following professional organizations: Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses, American Nurses Association and Texas Nurses Association.

Evelyn Delgado

Community Health Committee Co-Chair

Evelyn Delgado is Executive Director at Healthy Futures of Texas. Healthy Futures’ mission is to support development of strong families and positively impact the future of our community by reducing teen and unplanned pregnancy in San Antonio and Texas. She also serves as Chair of the Texas Women’s Healthcare Coalition, an initiative of Healthy Futures with 87 member organizations that advocate for access to preventive healthcare for all Texas women.

A native of San Antonio, Evelyn is passionate about addressing the health needs of our community’s teens, young adults and families. Evelyn has extensive experience as a senior-level executive leader in public health at the Texas Department of State Health Services, including overseeing women’s and children’s health programs. Using the principles of public health prevention, community health programs under her leadership served over one million Texans and delivered $950 million in public health services annually.

Eric Epley

Regional Advisory Committee (RAC) Representative

Executive Director/CEO
Southwest Texas Regional Advisory Council (STRAC)

Eric Epley is a Certified Emergency Manager with nearly 30 years in public safety response and administration. Mr. Epley has been a nationally registered paramedic for over 30 years and was a licensed police officer for 15 years, serving as a tactical paramedic at the Branch Davidian standoff, the Republic of Texas standoff and other high-profile Texas incidents. Epley served as a flight paramedic for San Antonio AirLife in the 90’s, where he also received the National Flight Paramedic of the Year award in 1996. Mr. Epley is currently Chair of the Governor’s EMS & Trauma Advisory Council’s Disaster Committee, which develops hospital and EMS response plans for statewide disasters and oversees the Texas Emergency Medical Task Force (EMTF) Program. He is also a member of the of the DSHS Preparedness Coordinating Council. Since STRAC’s founding in 1998, Epley has led the learning organization through many initiatives, including the deployment of a regional wireless electronic medical records (EMR) system for 75 EMS agencies and 2 air medical programs that now has over 3 million medical records. STRAC also has regional clinical care registries for trauma, cardiac, stroke and ICU care from 35 hospitals in South Texas, a regional 12-lead EKG wireless transmission system, and multiple research efforts related to Prehospital Whole Blood deployment in Trauma and EMS in conjunction with UT Health San Antonio and the San Antonio Fire Dept.

Catherine Eppes, MD, MPH

Past Chair

Maternal Fetal Medicine Physician, Baylor College of Medicine
Chief of Obstetrics, Ben Taub Hospital

Dr. Catherine Eppes is a maternal fetal medicine physician at Baylor College of Medicine, and the Chief of Obstetrics for Ben Taub Hospital. She received dual degrees in molecular biology and psychology from the University of Texas, Austin. She received her MD from The University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio and completed residency at Johns Hopkins. Her fellowship, and masters of public health, were received from Northwestern University. Her primary areas of focus are quality and safety and infectious diseases in pregnancy. Recently, she has been focused on Zika virus during pregnancy, including numerous collaborations with the CDC, ACOG, and the Texas Medical Association. She has travelled to Brownsville to partner with the department of public health in their efforts to stop local spread. She also was the course director for the Society of Maternal Fetal Medicine Zika and other infectious disease course in 2017. She has given grand rounds and plenary presentations in multiple venues, in efforts to educate providers and patients about Zika virus. She is currently the ACOG District XI (Texas) patient quality and safety chair, Chair of the Texas Collaborative for Healthy Mothers and Babies executive committee, and member of the Texas fetal and infant review of HIV and Syphilis. She holds several grants with the CDC for influenza and HIV in pregnancy.

Jana Eubank, MPA

TACHC Representative

Executive Director
Texas Association of Community Health Centers (TACHC)

Jana Eubank serves as the Executive Director of the Texas Association of Community Health Centers (TACHC). Jana’s commitment to underserved and marginalized communities spans 30 years of experience through her work in health care policy, government relations, leadership development, strategic planning, fundraising, association management and grassroots advocacy in Texas and nationally. Jana earned her undergraduate degree in political science from the University of North Texas and a Master of Public Affairs from the LBJ School of Public Affairs at UT Austin. She is also an alumna of the University of California at Los Angeles/Johnson & Johnson Health Care Executive Program. In 1993, she joined TACHC as the Deputy Director and was responsible for association fundraising, strategic planning, and federal and state level policy and advocacy. In 2013, she was tapped to be the Vice President of Public Policy and Research at the National Association of Community Health Centers, where she led community health center policy and advocacy efforts in Washington, DC, working with all state/regional primary care associations around the country, payers and policymakers to better position health centers to participate in value-based care initiatives. Jana has received various national and state awards for her advocacy work on behalf of health centers and patients and continues to advocate that access for all individuals to health care services is a human right.

Jasmine Farrish, MSN, MPH

At Large Member

Nurse Supervisor-Nurse Family Partnership, University of Texas at Tyler Health Science Center

Jasmine Farrish CNM, MSN, MPH began her career as a postpartum doula. Once she entered the birth scene, she quickly knew that more could be done to serve families. Jasmine has completed her Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from Lamar University, Master of Public Health from Liberty University, and Master in Nurse Midwifery from Texas Tech University Health Science Center. She helped start the Nurse Family Partnership program at University of Texas at Tyler 6 years ago, serving as a Nurse Home Visitor and now as Nursing Supervisor. Jasmine also serves as a Certified Nurse Midwife at Community Wellness of Tyler. She firmly believes that every person deserves care tailored to their needs without judgement.

Kendra Folh, MSN, RNC-OB, C-ONQS, CPHQ, CLSSBB

Data Co-Chair

Kendra Folh is a Registered Nurse with 20 years of Obstetric and health system operations experience and is a certified Six Sigma Black Belt. She is currently the Program Director for the Women’s and Children’s Service Line for the Memorial Hermann Healthcare System in Houston, Texas. She has worked on multidisciplinary innovation teams with a focus on clinical care redesign and transformation. She has worked on collaboratives, such as the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) International Perinatal Community, the Children's Hospital Association, and serves as faculty for the Texas AIM collaborative where she has implemented multiple quality improvement projects impacting the Quadruple Aim Initiative. She is currently the Vice Chair of the Southeast Texas Regional Advisory Council (SETRAC) Perinatal Committee working with the region to develop quality improvement initiatives, metrics, data registries. Kendra has extensive training and experience in analytics, data base development and implantation, and the development of relevant, actionable, and timely metrics. As a member of the March of Dimes Perinatal Safety Center, she was a steering member in the development of the Perinatal Safety Culture Roadmap. Kendra and her son Jackson are survivors of an obstetric emergency, delivering by emergency at 28 weeks gestation and spending many weeks in the neonatal ICU. This experience inspired a passion to improve maternal and neonatal care in the United States, and she is now a national and local speaker focusing on nursing innovation and collaboration for healthcare change in the obstetric and pediatric populations.

Alice K. Gong, M.D.

Vice Chair/Chair-Elect

Professor of Pediatrics. Director, Premiere Program. Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine, UT Health San Antonio

Dr. Alice Gong is a professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics at University of Texas Health San Antonio where she has been on faculty since 1985. She holds the Rita & William Head Distinguished Professor of Environmental and Developmental Neonatology. She is the Medical Director of the PREMIEre (premature infant neurodevelopmental) program as well as the mother-baby unit at University Hospital, San Antonio. She received her medical degree from University of Mississippi school of medicine and trained in pediatrics at University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston and State University New York, Buffalo, New York where she also completed her neonatology fellowship.

Dr. Gong has had a distinguished career, receiving numerous awards for advocacy on behalf of newborns, children, and families. Dr. Gong has served on the Texas Perinatal Advisory Council, Texas Newborn Screening Advisory Committee, the Texas Collaborative for Healthy Mothers and Babies, TMA Council on Science and Public Health, TMA committee on reproductive, women’s and perinatal health, Vice Chair for the March of Dimes’ State Advocacy and Government Affairs, and the board of directors for the Baptist Health Foundation of San Antonio. She is the president of Texas Pediatric Society for 2023-24. In 2015 she started an annual summit, Neonatal Evaluation Outcomes Network (NEON), that has met annually. NEON strives to help NICU follow-through programs in Texas keep well-informed of best evidence-base practices for children born with the highest risk for poor neurodevelopmental outcomes. The Premiere program offers early cerebral palsy diagnosis with all the staff trained in Pretchl’s General Movements Accessment (GMA) and the Hammersmith Infant Neurologic Exam (HINE). Dr. Gong has also made significant contributions to the understanding of neonatology, newborn screening, breastfeeding, follow-through care for NICU patients, and early relational health in the NICU through numerous scholarly publications, hundreds of presentations, and decades spent educating new generations of nurses, nurse practitioners, medical students, pediatricians, and neonatologists.

Gillian Gonzaba, NNPC

Neonatal Committee Co-Chair

Neonatal Nurse Practitioner, Associate Director for High Reliability/Patient Safety and Simulation, Pediatrix Medical Group, San Antonio

Gillian Gonzaba is a Neonatal Nurse Practitioner with 15 years of neonatal and quality improvement experience. She received her Master of Science in Nursing from Baylor University. She is a certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt and is a Certified Healthcare Simulation Educator. She has served as the Associated Director for High Reliability/Patient Safety and Simulation Programs with Pediatrix Medical Group for five years through December 2022. She is currently the Quality Advanced Practice Provider Lead for Pediatrix Medical Group San Antonio. She has led multidisciplinary neonatal teams with a focus on quality improvement and patient safety within Baptist Health System in San Antonio, Texas. She has presented numerous posters at various quality improvement and neonatal forums including the Vermont Oxford Network Annual Quality Congress, the American Academy of Pediatrics Conferences, the Institute for Healthcare Improvement Patient Safety Congress and has had multiple poster and podium presentations at the International Meeting on Simulation in Healthcare. She has led multiple simulation workshops with the Pediatrix Medical Group Simulation Program. She is a TeamSTEPPS Master Trainer and has incorporated this training into simulations and quality improvement initiatives within the Baptist Health System as well as the Pediatrix Medical Group Simulation Program. Her areas of interest are quality and process improvement, patient safety, simulation, delivery room medicine and neonatal CPR as well as Tiny Baby care.

Charleta Guillory, MD MPH FAAP

Chair

Professor of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine. Director of the Neonatal-Perinatal Public Health Program, Texas Children’s Hospital President/Chapter Chair, Texas Pediatric Society of the American Academy of Pediatrics

Charleta Guillory, MD, MPH, FAAP, is a Professor of Pediatrics in the Section of Neonatology at Baylor College of Medicine and Director of the Texas Children's Hospital Neonatal-Perinatal Public Health Program. She is the immediate past Director of the Texas Children’s Hospital Level II Neonatal Intensive Care Unit having served for over 20 years in that capacity. She earned her Doctor of Medicine degree from Louisiana State University Medical School, completed her pediatric residency at Louisiana State University Medical Center and the University of Colorado. She received her post-doctoral fellowship training in neonatal-perinatal medicine at Baylor College of Medicine and is board certified in both pediatrics and neonatal-perinatal medicine. She received her Master’s Degree in Public Health from the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston. Dr. Guillory was one of six physicians nationally to receive the Robert Wood Johnson Health Policy Fellowship Award from The Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences for Outstanding Health Science Professionals. Her primary research focus addresses the issue of decreasing Black infant mortality and morbidity. Dr. Guillory has led a very impressive career. She is a leading expert in her field of pediatrics and neonatology, and has invaluable experience caring for newborns, including those with genetic and metabolic disorders.

Her leadership in advocacy efforts and in community-based initiatives has distinguished her as a passionate and tireless warrior for Texas babies. She has championed landmark legislation on Newborn Screening and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) which has placed Texas in the forefront of infant care. Dr. Guillory served as Chair of the March of Dimes State Prematurity Campaign and Chair of the March of Dimes State Advocacy and Government Affairs Committee. Dr. Guillory is the immediate Past Chair of the Texas Department of State Health Services Newborn Screening Advisory Committee and the present Chair of the Texas Collaborative for Healthy Mother and Babies (TCHMB), the State Perinatal Quality Collaborative. In addition, she served on the Texas Health and Human Services Perinatal Advisory Council (PAC) designating levels of neonatal and maternal care, ending ten years of service in 2023. Recently, she was appointed to serve on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Pediatric Advisory Committee and was appointed to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) National Committee on Fetus and Newborn. She served as President of the Texas Pediatric Society (TPS) of the American Academy of Pediatrics for 2021 and now serves as the TPS/AAP Chapter Chair President.

Dr. Guillory is the recipient of many awards, including the American Academy of Pediatrics President’s Cup Award, in recognition of her contributions to improve access to healthcare for children, during the AAP Committee of Federal Government Affairs Meeting in Washington, DC. She was the recipient of the 2023 Charles W. Daeschner, Jr., Lifetime Achievement Award from the TPS/AAP, the highest award bestowed by the organization and recognizes Dr. Guillory’s lifetime contributions to the health and welfare of children, her passion for advocating for vulnerable children and dedicated service of leadership.

Manda Hall, MD

DSHS Representative

Associate Commissioner for Community Health Improvement
Department of State Health Services

Manda Hall, M.D. was named the Associate Commissioner for Community Health Improvement (CHI) effective October 1, and also serves as the Title V Maternal and Child Health Medical Director at the Texas Department of State Health Services. Prior to these positions, Dr. Hall served as the Interim Associate Commissioner for Family and Community Health Services and served as the Title V Children with Special Health Care Needs Director for over three years. She has also had experience in private practice and worked as a State Agency Medical Consultant at Disability Determination Services in Texas. Dr. Hall graduated with her Bachelor of Science Degree in Biology from Lamar University and her Medical Degree from Texas A&M University Health Science Center College of Medicine. She completed her residency and fellowship at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Dr. Hall is board certified in Internal Medicine, Pediatrics and Allergy and Immunology. Dr. Hall is the Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs Region VI Director. She graduated in May of 2014 as a fellow in the Maternal and Child Health Public Health Leadership Institute at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the Texas Health and Human Services Executive Leadership Academy in 2017. She is a faculty member of the DSHS Preventative Medicine and Public Health Residency Program and serves as a mentor in the University of Texas Health Careers and Mentorship Program. Dr. Hall is an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at Texas A&M College of Medicine.

Deanna M. Hoelscher, PhD, RDN, LD, CNS, FISBNPA

John P. McGovern Professor in Health Promotion
Regional Dean, UTHealth Houston School of Public Health in Austin
Director, Michael & Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living
Distinguished Teaching Professor at The University of Texas System

Dr. Hoelscher’s research interests include teaching children and their families to engage in healthier dietary and physical activity behaviors to avoid chronic diseases, with an emphasis on low-income, diverse populations. Her recent work has focused on implementing interventions and evaluations on policy, systems, and environmental changes. Dr. Hoelscher has received multiple federal and foundation grants, and has over 200 peer-reviewed publications, as well as numerous awards for research, teaching, and mentoring. She is principal investigator of the Texas School Physical Activity and Nutrition (Texas SPAN) survey funded by the Texas Department of State Health Services to monitor the prevalence of obesity in school-aged children in the state, and the STREETS project, a NIH-funded natural experiment to determine the effects of Safe Routes to School policies on child physical activity. She is also Director of the Michael & Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living, where she oversees the Texas Research-to-Policy Collaboration Project. Dr. Hoelscher is the new Executive Sponsor of TCHMB beginning September 1, 2023.

James Hill, MD

Obstetrics Co-Chair

Division Chief for the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine
Baylor College of Medicine/The Children’s Hospital of San Antonio

Dr. James Hill graduated from the United States Military Academy in West Point, NY with a concentration in Mathematics. After spending the first 10 years of a very successful military career as a Field Artillery officer in the US Army, he elected to pursue a graduate degree from Stanford University, where he earned a Master’s Degree in Operations Research Engineering. Upon graduation, he returned to his Alma Mater, where he taught Calculus, Probability and Statistics, and Differential Equations at the United States Military Academy at West Point. While teaching at the Academy, he completed 2 years of pre-med preparation and pursued a lifelong dream by applying to medical school. He was accepted at the University Of Florida College Of Medicine, where he earned his Doctorate in Medicine. He then completed a residency in OB/Gyn at the National Capital Consortium in Washington, DC and a fellowship in Maternal-Fetal Medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas, Texas. In 2009, he was deployed with the 21st Combat Support Hospital in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. The following year, Dr. Hill retired as a Colonel from the US Army with over 29 years of active service. He then joined the faculty at Eastern Virginia Medical School. He is currently a member of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Baylor College of Medicine in San Antonio, Texas, where he serves as the Division Chief for the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine. He has published numerous papers in peer review journals and serves as a peer reviewer for numerous medical journals.

David Lakey, MD

UT System Representative

Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs and Chief Medical Officer, The University of Texas System
Senior Adviser to the President, UT Health Science Center at Tyler

David Lakey, MD, is Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs and Chief Medical Officer for The University of Texas System. He previously served on federal public health advisory committees for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Defense Health Board. He currently serves on the March of Dimes Board of Trustees and the Trust for America's Health Board of Directors. Lakey served as Commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services from January 2007 to February 2015. As Commissioner, Dr. Lakey led one of the state’s largest agencies with a staff of 12,000 and an annual budget of $3.3 billion and oversaw programs such as disease prevention and disaster preparedness, family and community health services, environmental and consumer safety, regulatory programs and mental health and substance abuse prevention and treatment programs. Lakey served as president of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) in 2011‐2012. In 2015, he was elected by the March of Dimes to a five‐year term on its board of trustees.

Alicia Lee, MHA

Community Health Committee Co-Chair
March of Dimes non-voting representative

Alicia Lee serves as the Director, MCH Collective Impact at March of Dimes for the Greater Houston Market. Previously, she was the director for Improving Maternal Health, an initiative addressing the various and complex drivers of maternal mortality and other adverse outcomes in Houston and Harris County through a comprehensive, long-term strategy. Prior to that, she worked at the Greater Houston Partnership as the health policy manager. A native Houstonian, she started her professional career in Washington, D.C. in the Office of Representative John A. Culberson (TX-07) and later in legislative affairs at the American College of Physicians. She spends her volunteer time as a member of The Junior League of Houston, Inc., a court appointed advocate with Child Advocates, Inc., a member of The Kinkaid School's Board of Trustees, and Director of Government Relations for Kappa Alpha Theta. She received her Bachelor of Arts from Wake Forest University in 2002 and is pursuing a Masters in Healthcare Administration at the University of Houston-Clear Lake. She resides in Houston and has a 16-year-old Yorkshire Terrier named Snickers. 

John Loyd, MD, MSPH

PCR Representative

Division Chief of Neonatology, Dell Children’s Hospital/Ascension Austin
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, UT Austin Dell Medical School

John Loyd, M.D., MPH, is a board-certified neonatologist in the Comprehensive Fetal Care Center, a clinical partnership between Dell Children’s Medical Center and UT Health Austin. He specializes in coordinating fetal-to-neonatal care for complex fetal conditions. Additionally, Loyd is an assistant professor in the Department of Pediatrics at Dell Medical School. Loyd earned his medical degree from the Long School of Medicine at UT Health San Antonio and his master’s in public health, with a focus in epidemiology, from the University of Illinois at Chicago. He completed a residency in pediatrics at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center and a fellowship in neonatology at Northwestern University. Loyd serves as the chief of the Division of Neonatology for Dell Children’s Medical Center. His clinical career is dedicated to the medical care of infants with complicated medical and surgical issues and advancing the care of infants across the state through participation and leadership in statewide quality collaboratives, such as the Texas Collaborative for Mothers and Babies and the Regional Advisory Council (RAC) Perinatal Care Region (PCR) Alliance. He supports the Department of State Health Services’ NICU verification efforts by serving as a unit surveyor with the American Academy of Pediatrics NICU verification program. He is a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics, of which he is also an active participant of the Section on Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine, serving as his region’s representative to the executive committee.

Valerie Mayes, MMP

HHSC Representative

Valerie Mayes is a mission-driven, collaborative policy and program professional with 15 years’ experience leading policy analysis, development and implementation for health care, social service and nonprofit programs. Valerie serves as deputy executive commissioner of Policy and Quality for Medicaid and CHIP Services (MCS) at the Health and Human Services Commission. In this role, she is responsible for providing strategic direction and oversight of policy and quality for Medicaid and CHIP. She joined HHSC in 2008 as a Medicaid and CHIP policy analyst and held various leadership roles within HHSC, including director positions in Medicaid and CHIP program and eligibility policy, cross-division coordination and at a nonprofit social service program.

Valerie holds a Bachelor of Arts from Mount St. Mary’s University and a Master of Public Policy from the Johns Hopkins University.

Gayle Olson, MD, MPH, FACOG

ACOG Representative

Professor, School of Medicine Obstetrics and Gynecology
UTMB

Dr. Gayle Olson is a Professor with Tenure in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Texas Medical Branch, and a holder of a Distinguished Teaching Professor title for the UTMB Academy of Master Teachers.

Dr. Olson serves as the Director for the Maternal Fetal Medicine Fellowship Program and is the recipient of the Hargraves Fellowship Endowment. She has also served in the roles of Clerkship Director and Assistant Residency Program Director. She has received awards for her educational efforts and is well-received by students, residents, and fellows and demonstrates a high level of educational scholarship. She serves as a mentor for residents and fellows in the area of clinical research and many of the outcomes have been presented at national and international meetings. She has been an invited speaker at national and international meetings, has served on committees for the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, is currently a Board Examiner for the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and was President of the Central Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. After rigorous peer-review, she was selected as an inaugural member of the UTMB Academy of Master Teachers. She has also served on several SOM and hospital committees. Additionally, she is the current Chair-Elect for DXI ACOG as well as a member of UTMB’s Academy of Master Clinicians and has recently been appointed to the Galveston County United Board of Health.

Terrie E. Price, DNP, RNC-OB

AWHONN Representative

Director of Antepartum, Labor and Delivery, Obstetrical Emergency Department, and Gynecology, St. Luke's Baptist Hospital (TENET)

Terrie E. Price, DNP, RNC-OB, is Texas Section Leader for the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN) and Director of Antepartum, Labor and Delivery, Obstetrical Emergency Department, and Gynecology at St. Luke's Baptist Hospital (TENET). She has over 30 years of experience in women's health as a staff, charge nurse, educator, manager, and director. Dr. Price earned her Bachelor's of Science in Nursing from University Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, a Master's of Science in Nursing, Leadership and Management from Western Governors University, and her Doctorate in Nursing Practice fro Touro University Nevada. She is an ACOG Maternal Level of Care Surveyor and a member of Sigma Delta Alpha at Large Chapter.

Nicole Purnell

MoMMA's Voices Coalition Representative

Nicole Purnell is a maternal health advocate based in North Texas. Her life was tragically changed in 2005 when preeclampsia and HELLP caused multiple organ failure, placenta abruption and resulted in the stillbirth of her son at 34 weeks gestation. She found the Preeclampsia Foundation in the following months and soon began volunteering. In 2018, Nicole joined the staff at the Preeclampsia Foundation as the MoMMA’s Voices Coalition Program Director.

Ben G. Raimer, MD, MA, FAAP

TPS Representative

President ad interim
The University of Texas Medical Branch

Over the past three decades, Dr. Ben Raimer has held numerous academic and administrative positions at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas. Most recently, he was appointed president ad interim in September 2019. A tenured professor in the departments of Pediatrics, Family Medicine, and Preventive Medicine and Community Health, Dr. Raimer was appointed senior vice president for the Office of Health Policy and Legislative Affairs in 2008. In 2016 the UTMB Provost also asked that he assume the role as Executive Director of the UTMB Community and Global Health Collaborating Center. In addition to the many hats he wears at UTMB, Dr. Raimer is President of the Texas Pediatric Society, serves as chair of the Texas Health Institute Board of Directors, and is chair of the East Texas Baptist University Board of Trustees. He is a member of the Executive Committee of the Baptist General Convention of Texas and serves as a commissioner on the BGCT Christian Life Commission. He also serves as the chair for the Galveston County Health District United Board of Health.

Erika Ramirez

THA Representative

Senior Director, Health Policy
Texas Hospital Association

Erika Ramirez joined the Texas Hospital Association in September 2022 as their Senior Director of Health Policy. Her focus is public health, including maternal and infant health. Previously, she was the Policy and Advocacy Director for the Texas Women’s Healthcare Coalition, working to improve access to preventive healthcare and family planning services for all Texans. Prior to that she served in various policy roles with the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, including Senior Policy Advisor in the access and eligibility division and in the chief program and services office. Erika is committed to improving programs and policies that address the health needs of our diverse communities across the state. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of Texas in Austin and her Master of Public Administration degree from the Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration at the George Washington University.

Sasha Rasco, MPAff

DFPS Representative

Associate Commissioner of Prevention and Early Intervention
Texas Department of Family and Protective Services

Ms. Rasco is currently serving as the Associate Commissioner Prevention and Early Intervention at the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. She took this position in August of 2013. Previously, Ms. Rasco worked for 14 years regulating and supporting early childhood education and foster care, including two years as the Assistant Commissioner for Child Care Licensing at DFPS. Ms. Rasco has also developed programs and projects in other child and family service organizations including the Early Childhood Intervention program, the Texas Alliance of Child and Family Services and as a Governor’s Policy Fellow in the Governor of Maryland: Office of Children, Youth, and Families. She received her Master of Public Affairs and Bachelor of Arts from University of Texas at Austin in 1996, and 1994, respectively.

Sonal Zambare, MD

At Large Member

Assistant Professor - Obstetric Anesthesiology, Baylor College of Medicine

Dr. Sonal Zambare is board certified anesthesiologist, specialized in obstetric anesthesiology. She is an Associate Professor at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas and works full time at Ben Taub Hospital, one of the county hospitals for the Harris Health System.

Dr. Zambare graduated medical school from Lokmanya Tilak Municipal Medical College in Mumbai, India and has a Diploma in Anesthesia from Seth GS Medical College in Mumbai. After her arrival to the US, she completed her residency in Anesthesiology and fellowship in Obstetric Anesthesiology at Baylor College of Medicine. She has been working as faculty in Anesthesiology at Baylor since 2016.

Dr. Zambare is an active member of the patient safety, education and the simulation sub-committees for Society of Obstetric Anesthesia and Perinatology (SOAP). She is a member of the Texas Society of Anesthesiologists (TSA) and the American Society of Anesthesiology (ASA). Dr. Zambare is part of a dedicated multi-disciplinary team caring for substance use disorders in pregnancy. This group is recipient of the MOM grant from CMS for opioid use disorders in pregnancy. Apart from her clinical duties, she is deeply invested in teaching residents in anesthesiology and Ob Gyn as well as nursing teams with in-situ simulations.

She is excited to bring her expertise in analgesia, anesthesia and critical care in the management of mothers in the labor and delivery suite, the obstetric ORs extending into post-partum period to TCHMB to help achieve a goal of healthy mothers and babies in Texas.