PROGRAM OFFICE DIRECTORY

PROGRAM OFFICE DIRECTORY
You can use this resource to look up contact information and better understand Program Office staff roles. Please contact Hugh Tilson if you need assistance identifying the appropriate Program Office personnel. The role of the Program Office is to: Set a strategic course to ensure the mission is met Ensure alignment across the AHEC Program Provide support to Regional AHECs in accomplishing statewide and regional goals Evaluate success in meeting goals Provide funding to support regional AHEC work Lead statewide initiatives
Hugh Tilson Executive Director Hugh_tilson@ncahec.net	Provides overall direction for the NC AHEC Program, including: Setting strategic direction for the Program Ensuring effective and efficient administration of the Program Developing new Initiatives and maintaining support for the Program Representing NC AHEC on the state and national level Coordinating Regional AHEC leadership
Ty Martin Executive Assistant Ty_martin@ncahec.net	Various duties for the Executive Director and additional duties as requested
SERVICE LINES
HEALTH CAREERS Pathway Programs: To introduce high school students, and where feasible, younger students from 1st generation, rural, and/or underserved communities to a variety of health professions. Our aim is to inspire and provide students with insights into these professions, encouraging them to consider them as potential future careers. AHEC Scholars: The NC AHEC Scholars Program recruits, trains, and supports a broad group of students from across the state so that upon graduation from the AHEC Scholars Program students enter the health workforce, preferably in NC and in a rural and/or under-resourced community.
Paris Andrew Director of Health Careers Paris_andrew@ncahec.net	Oversees statewide work for Health Careers, including AHEC Scholars and Pathway Programs. Leads work of the Health Careers team Provides leadership for the NC Alliance for Health Professions
Caitlin Ewald Program Assistant for Health Careers and Business Analytics Caitlin_ewald@ncahec.net	Serves as the statewide NC AHEC Program Office contact and liaison for 9 Regional AHECs and Duke University on matters related to Health Careers and information & Business Analytics. Responsible for ensuring the timely and accurate completion of all Health Careers grant-related and other data collection and reporting. Coordinate communications originating from the Director of Health Careers as well as the Director of IT and Business Analytics.
STUDENT SERVICES Supports community-based education of health professions students, particularly in rural and/or less-resourced areas of NC. This Service Line includes student housing, student support, faculty development, Consortium for Clinical Education and Practice (CCEP), Interprofessional Education and Practice (IPEP), onboarding, gatekeeping, and preceptor development/recognition/appreciation.
Jill Forcina Director of Education and Nursing Jill_forcina@ncahec.net	Oversees statewide services to students and preceptors Oversees student housing and the statewide onboarding/credentialing efforts Leads Interprofessional Education and Practice for students and faculty development Liaises with schools and statewide organizations for faculty development and student support
Katie Fitzpatrick Nursing Education Program Manager Katie_collier@ncahec.net	Responsible for managing, implementing and evaluating various nursing education programs and initiatives Oversees the Clinical Site Development, Educational Mobility, and Clinical Instructor Partnership Programs while providing support and technical assistance to regional AHECs Supports the Director of Education and Nursing in developing and overseeing nursing pathway programs, retention strategies, and other nursing-related projects
Elyssa Tucker Health Professions Student Liaison Elyssa_tucker@ncahec.net	Manages NC AHEC student housing billing, policies, procedures, and planning Supports Interprofessional Education and Practice initiatives Liaises with Program Office and regional AHEC staff to assure alignment and collaboration between Student Services and Health Careers programs
GRADUATE MEDICAL EDUCATION (GME) Improves the distribution and retention of primary care physicians and other specialties of need through residency education and other important system supports.
Adam Zolotor Director of Medical Education adam_zolotor@ncahec.net	Leads GME (Graduate Medical Education) and UME (undergraduate medical education) strategies to expand and enhance medical education Supports efforts related to Practice Support and Community Health Worker program
CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT (CPD) Provides health care workforce with the continuing education they need to tackle the problems of today and tomorrow and to maintain their licensure. Promotes interprofessional education and practice to ensure the deliverability of the highest quality of care and the opportunity to practice at the top of professional scope/license.
Jill Forcina Director of Education and Nursing Jill_forcina@ncahec.net	Leads CPD strategic direction to assure healthcare workers and teams have access to coordinated, innovative, and efficient training activities that address their needs Provides leadership and support to the Nursing discipline group and leads statewide nursing initiatives (i.e., CIP) Provides leadership for Interprofessional Education and Interprofessional Practice (IPP) CPD initiatives statewide Oversees non-medical on-campus UNC-CH health sciences liaisons PO lead for the Project ECHO
Caroline Collier Associate Director of CPD Caroline_collier@ncahec.net	Provides oversight, direction, and support to the CPD function of NC AHEC Leads development of statewide CPD policies and procedures Provides leadership and support to Allied Health, Behavioral Health, CME, Oral Health, Pharmacy, and Public Health discipline groups Leads (with regional co-chair) CPD Working Team meetingsSupports on-campus UNC–CH health sciences liaisons
Kristie Hicks Project Manager Kristie_Hicks@ncahec.net	Support new and ongoing initiatives that enhance NC AHEC’s platform and visibility Key responsibilities include leading project planning, resources allocation, and execution to align with NC AHEC’s Strategic goals Verifies that NC AHEC librarians and the ADL serve the functions of service provider and library, respectively, for the NC AHEC System Prepare reports, manage expectations, and ensure accurate data collection and reporting Involves facilitating partner communication and supporting project implementation efforts
PRACTICE SUPPORT Ensures that rural and under-resourced primary care and specialty practices receive the education and technical assistance they need on a variety of practice transformation initiatives.
Chris Weathington Director of Practice Support Chris_weathington@ncahec.net	Provides leadership and support to NC AHEC’s Practice Support teams and coaches Ensures that medical practices have the help they need to evolve an ever-changing health care system Leads coordination of Medicaid managed care virtual office hours, webinars, etc. Liaisons with professional associations and provider networks PO lead for the Practice Manager Academy
Debbie Grammer Deputy Director of Practice Support Debbie_grammer@ncahec.net	Leads fiscal, budgetary, and contracting activities for all projects and grants and serves as fiscal liaison to regional AHEC fiscal teams and coaches Leads communications strategy and activities on behalf of the practice support team and in collaboration with Communications Specialist Responsible for the management of special projects and operations
Terri Roberts Quality Improvement Manager Terrie_roberts@mahec.net	Provides leadership on all QI activities with practice support coaches Leads QI contracted deliverables with NC Medicaid Serves as subject matter expert on practice support coaching topics and activities Responsible for new coach orientation, staff self-assessments, ongoing coach support and training
Liz Griffin Behavioral Health Integration Manager Liz_griffin@ncahec.net	Leads behavioral health integration efforts including TCM and CoCM Serves as subject matter expert resource to practice support coaches for issues resolution and resource development Serves as liaison to NC Medicaid, professional associations, and health plans on behavioral health program matters
Lauren Tomola Librarian Ltomola@email.unc.edu	Manages the archiving and research of publications, tools and resources via PBworks and Basecamp
Kim Moser Communications Specialist Kim_moser@ncahec.net	Coordinates marketing and communications efforts on behalf of Practice Support
LIBRARY SERVICES • Ensures each of the nine libraries, complete with a librarian staff, are prepared to meet the unique needs of health care providers • Maintains the AHEC Digital Library, ensuring that all providers in the state have high-quality health information at their fingertips
Ashley Langley Director of Statewide IT & Business Analytics Ashley_langley@ncahec.net	Provides leadership support to Library Services
Sarah Kimmel Director of Library Services Sarah_kimmel@ncahec.net	Works with the ADL Technical Team to plan for and manage all ADL technical enhancements and data reporting Explores and facilitates collaboration with other NC AHEC service lines Ensures that regional AHEC librarians and UNC HSL staff are familiar with and carry out the work outlined in annual work statements Verifies that NC AHEC librarians and the ADL serve the functions of service provider and library, respectively, for the NC AHEC System Works directly with the ILS technical team to manage and plan for all ADL technical enhancements Oversees resource management functions of the ADL and the AHEC library consortiumUpdates the ADL with current free and subscription-based resources Facilitates help desk communication between patrons, Regional AHECs, and Program Office
NC Center on the Workforce for Health
The NC Center on the Workforce for Health (Center) seeks to identify solutions, share best practices, and monitor progress in addressing the state’s health workforce challenges. The Center develops partnerships and organizes ecosystems to address today’s health workforce crises and anticipate future needs. Current initiatives include: NC Health Talent Alliance Caregiving Workforce
Andy MacCracken Director of NC Center on the Workforce for Health Andy_ maacraken@ncahec.net	Directs the NC Center on the Workforce for Health to lead statewide efforts to plan for and meet the state’s Health workforce needs Leads workstreams such as the Health Talent Alliance (Talent Pipeline Management) and the Caregiving Council
Rhonda Turner Business Officer Rhonda_turner@ncahec.net	Manages budgets and facilitates budget/financial transactions for the NC Center on the Workforce for Health Coordinates contract and grant management for the NC Center on the Workforce for Health Provides support for HR transactions
Kai Rosen Work Stream Coordinator Kai_rosen@ncahec.net	Coordinate statewide project planning and implementation of the NC Health Talent Alliance Support the development of resources and information, such as the Solution Playbook and similar efforts
Kaniqua Outlaw Data analyst Kaniqua_Outlaw@ncahec.net	Spearheading data analysis for Center-related activities Coordinating data-related efforts among health workforce partners Providing technical assistance on data needs among health workforce partners
Trish Farnham Caregiving Workforce Analyst Trish_farnham@ncahec.net	Liaise with state agencies to support implementation of Caregiving Workforce Strategic Leadership Council recommendations Support alignment of public sector health workforce efforts (e.g., Caregiving Council, All Ages All Stages, etc.)
Emily McCartha Senior Policy Analyst Emily_mccartha@ncahec.net	Coordinate policy research efforts across Center activities and in collaboration with partner organizations Lead development and implementation of research agenda addressing priority and emergent topics in health workforce planning Identify opportunities to advance research-driven priorities in policy and practice
Betsey Zook Behavioral Health Workforce Development Manager Betsey_zook@ncahec.net	Embedded at NC DHHS to analyze DMHDDSUS footprint on behavioral health training and education and identify opportunities to strengthen and streamline those programs. Provide subject matter expertise to Center activities related to behavioral health workforce
OPERATIONS
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Provides information management, communication technologies, and IT-enabled educational capabilities throughout the NC AHEC system to support cross-site collaboration and the implementation and support of statewide capabilities. This includes: Development of Statewide IT plans to support business processes Deployment of capabilities needed to improve the web experience for AHEC customers Coordinated use of shared IT resources such as videoconferencing support
Ashley Langley Director, Statewide IT & Business Analytics Ashley_langley@ncahec.net	Manages all aspects of Statewide IT and relationships between AHECs and campus resources and directs data work around reporting for many initiatives
James R. T. Bossert IT Team Leader James_bossert@ncahec.net	Orchestrates how development is done within web services, technologies adopted, and primary system administrator of IT housed in the Amazon cloud Lead developer for many new initiatives
Ashim Ghimire Systems Engineer Ashim_ghimire@ncahec.net	Provides programming within web services environment and serves as system administrator across web services
Cleibe Souza Applications Analyst Cleibe_souza@ncahec.net	Responsible for code on PHP servers that run MyAHEC portal, practice support tools, and student housing application SalesForce first point of contact with the Practice Support CRM
Jamie Kirk Applications Analyst Jamison_kirk@ncahec.net	Primary point person for Docebo programming integration and secondary user support. Contributing programmer in web services environment
Andrew Thomas Jr. Software Engineer Andrew_thomas@ncahec.net	Contribute to development and operational issues within the web services environment.
Naomi Cox Help Desk Technician Naomi_cox@ncahec.net	Provides first response and resolution for requests through Support@ncahec.net for staff and end users Writes internal and external documentation of processes to share with users
Kathy Peticolas Data Analyst Kathy_peticolas@ncahec.net	Provides data analysis and management for all aspects of statewide data collection
COMMUNICATIONS Supports statewide communications and marketing strategy for NC AHEC
Kim Moser Communications Specialist Kim_moser@ncahec.net	Coordinates marketing and communications efforts on behalf of NC AHEC
FINANCE Monitors and oversees state funding, grants, and funding allocated through the: Nine Area Health Education Centers Duke AHEC Program 17 UNC on-campus departments supported by NC AHEC UNC Air Operations
Jocelyn Brooks Statewide Director of Finance and Administration Jocelyn_brooks@ncahec.net	Provides oversight for Program Office Finance and Administration Manages all aspects of HR Serves as the Liaison for the School of Medicine administrative engagement
Darien Brockington Finance Manager Darien_Brockington@ncahec.net	Manages budget and facilitates budget transactions for the Program Office, including state funds, contracts, and grants. Also serves as the liaison for MedAir finance.
Ashleigh Crutcher Business Services Coordinator Ashleigh_crutcher@ncahec.net	She will be working with the Associate Directors and Program leads in the Program Office, including administration of the Work Statement process, Both on and off campus.
Sharon Jones Accountant Sharon_jones@ncahec.net	Processes monthly regional AHEC reimbursement invoices for state & grant funds, reconciles accounts, handles UNC Facilities work orders, process travel
ADMINISTRATIVE Supports staff and oversees various duties as requested
Shayron Saunders Administrative Support Specialist Shayron_saunders@ncahec.net	Various duties for: Director of Planning and Innovation Director of Education and Nursing Associate Director of CPD Director of Medical Education