HMHBGA 2019 Board Nominations
We are pleased to announce our 2019 Board Nominees! At HMHBGA, our board is an integral part of the organization. We value a diverse board from all different sectors, backgrounds, and skillsets. Below are the recommended candidates to be added to the Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition of Georgia Board of Directors in October at our Annual Meeting and Conference.
Dana Donaldson is the Director of Finance/Chief Financial Officer for CareSource Georgia, a not-for-profit managed care insurance company. Prior to her tenure with CareSource, Dana worked in public accounting with Ernst & Young , specializing in healthcare and health insurance. Her work in managed care has provided a unique insight to not just the financial, but also the social and community impacts, of infant/maternal mortality and the critical importance of prenatal and preventative healthcare and supports for moms and babies, which inspired her desire to be involved with HMHBGA. Dana holds a BS in Finance & Marketing from the University of Pittsburgh and a MS in Accountancy from the University of Virginia, and is a licensed CPA. She is an active member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority and prior to moving to Georgia, was very involved in community activities & initiatives, with a focus on working with children and adolescents. She lives in Marietta with her cat, Cat Donaldson.
Maria Fernandez is Senior Manager of Patient Experience at Emory Johns Creek Hospital, a member of the Emory Healthcare system. In her role, she partners with hospital leaders to drive improvements to deliver exceptional, patient-centered care and to improve patient-provider communication. With a career in health care spanning nearly twenty years, Maria has worked in maternal and child health program development, strategic planning, health communications and process improvement initiatives. Maria was born in Minnesota, but traded in the frozen North for the South after her first taste of cheese grits. Maria credits her degree in Russian Studies for her understanding of how effective communications and framing can impact positive individual and population-level behavior change to improve health outcomes. She lives in Stone Mountain, GA with her husband, two dogs and three cats.
Olivene Makerson is a corporate attorney with over eight years of experience practicing law in-house. She has worked in the financial services industry with expertise in securities investigations, regulatory compliance and general corporate matters. Currently, she works in the technology industry as an associate corporate counsel for VMware, Inc., focusing on commercial transactions related to software licensing. She has volunteered with Junior League of Atlanta focusing on advocacy-based community initiatives such as generational poverty. She served as a volunteer for the Morningside-Lenox Park Association and continues to serve on various committees in her neighborhood. Olivene received her Bachelor of Arts degree from UNC-Chapel Hill and graduated from Stetson University College of Law. She resides in midtown with her husband and daughter.
Tangela Parker is the Sr. Director of Member Experience for WellCare Health Plans Inc. She is responsible for leading the development and execution strategies for growth, retention, outreach and community relations for WellCare’s Medicaid line of business. Tangela has 19 years of integrated marketing communications experience with most of her career centered within the Medicaid and Managed Care industries. She is a member of The National Association of Female Executives, Alcorn State National Alumni Association, American Society of Public Administrators, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., and Junior League of Atlanta. A native of Brandon, Mississippi she received a Bachelor’s of Art degree in Political Science-Pre Law from Alcorn State University.
Corey is an industry-leading cyber security professional who designs and delivers strategic solutions within multiple industries that improve performance and drive innovation while reducing exposure and cost. He currently serves as a Senior Information Security Architect for Akamai Technologies. Over his 19-year career, Corey has established himself as both a security and technical subject matter expert with several globally-recognized certifications and is a sought-after speaker for leading security conferences. He received a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Morehouse College and a Master of Business Administration from The Georgia Institute of Technology. Outside of work, Corey mentors students and young professionals interested in pursuing careers within the IT and Security industries. He is a devoted husband to his wife, Phiffer, and proud father to their only son, Niles.
K. Bryant Smalley, PhD, PsyD, MBA is a licensed clinical psychologist and the Associate Dean for Research in the Mercer University School of Medicine, where he also serves as Professor of Psychiatry and Community Medicine. Dr. Smalley’s career has focused on achieving health equity in rural and racial/ethnic minority populations. He has received more than $12 million in federal grants to support his work from NIH, HRSA, CNCS, etc. He has co-founded numerous community coalitions in rural Georgia focused on maternal and child health issues. Dr. Smalley serves as the founding joint Executive Director of South Georgia Healthy Start, a federally-funded initiative working to eliminate disparities in maternal and infant mortality in a 7-county rural region of south Georgia. Dr. Smalley’s work has been recognized nationally by the NIH and by the National Rural Health Association.
Irene currently serves as Assistant Professor at Emory University’s Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing. Her primary population of research is maternal newborn populations, with a particular emphasis on the connection between oral health, pregnancy outcomes, and systemic health. Her clinical experience includes over a decade of bedside experience caring for postpartum women and their newborns. Irene earned her BS in Nursing at Rutgers University, and both her Masters in Nursing Education, and her PhD in Nursing Research at the University of Louisville. After receiving her doctorate, she moved to Atlanta, GA to complete a postdoctoral fellowship at Emory University and feels privileged to have begun her academic research career at Emory. Irene and her husband are proud Korean-Canadians, and they have 3 daughters. Irene enjoys curling up on the sofa with her family, some good food, a glass of wine, and a great Netflix series or Korean drama.