Ms. Bennet has dedicated her career to organizations with a focus on social and economic justice. For the past four years she has served as the Executive Director of The Family Van at Harvard Medical School. The Van has been a pioneer in the growing trend in public health practice. Mobile health vans like The Family Van successfully reach populations that typically do not or cannot access primary healthcare. When the Family Van was launched, on Martin Luther King Day in 1992, the core focus was to address health disparities in Boston neighborhoods. During the past sixteen years the Van has had over 85,000 visits by those seeking health screening, education and testing for a wide array of health issues such as stroke, hypertension, obesity, diabetes and HIV/AIDS. An estimated 25% of those seen have been referred into health and social services for follow-up care. Ms. Bennet works with a talented team of healthcare professionals to improve the health of our communities by encouraging people to take steps to prevent chronic disease and maintain good health.

 

Prior to joining The Family Van, Ms. Bennet served as Chief Development Officer at the Center for Women & Enterprise (CWE), an economic development organization dedicated to empowering women to become economically self-sufficient and prosperous through entrepreneurship. She was at CWE for six years and initially founded the Community Entrepreneurs Program. This program has successfully trained hundreds of low-income women in Massachusetts and Rhode Island in basic business, economic literacy, and life management skills they need to launch their own micro-enterprise.

 

Ms. Bennet has dedicated her time to a variety of non-profit organization in a board and advisory capacity including Beyond the 11th, Mobile Health Clinics Network (MHCN), The Hawthorne Youth and Community Center, The Economic Justice Project, and Giving New England.

 

Ms. Bennet’s diverse background also includes positions in operations, community relations, business development, management, and crisis intervention at both for-profit and non-profit organizations. She holds a certification in mediation from UMass Boston and a Bachelor of Arts in history from Williams-Smith College.

 

 

Mr. Comeaux holds a graduate degree in Social Work from Tulane University and is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker. He is a Board Approved Clinical Supervisor with extensive experience as a clinician, program manager and facilities director for a variety of behavioral health and healthcare organizations. His 19 years of experience has provided him with knowledge of program and systems development and implementation. As part of the Administrative Team of St. Charles Community Health Center, he has helped grow the health center to one of the largest in Louisiana. The Center is considered a model example of the “patient centered medical home” including its mobile health outreach program. Mr. Comeaux is currently the Chief Operating Officer and supervises all clinical areas.

 

Mr. Comeaux is the President of the St. Charles Parish Children and Youth Planning Board, past chairman of the St. Charles Parish Mental Health Taskforce and is a member of the College of Healthcare Executives. He also is on the faculty of the Texas Association of Community Health Center’s Optimizing Comprehensive Clinical Care Collaborative. Mr. Comeaux is a founding member of Mobile Health Clinics Network and currently serves on the MHCN Advisory Board.

 

 

Ms. Lofton began her career at M. D. Anderson Cancer Center as a Marketing Representative, and was later reclassified as an Administrative Manager as the needs of the Mobile Program grew. She is responsible for the overall operation of the Mobile Unit, strategic planning, community outreach, customer relations, and grant writing and execution. She has had the privilege of working with partners both inside and outside of M. D. Anderson Cancer Center to develop successful screening and prevention behavior programs like Project Valet, which is designed to target low-income women in the Greater Houston area and provide them with access to screening and behavior-altering education.

 

She served as the 2008 Chair of the Breast Health Collaborative of Texas, an organization that works to help breast health advocates and providers to educate, advocate, and leverage resources in Texas. Under her leadership, the Collaborative has grown from 37 member organizations to more than 70 across the state. Ms. Lofton is also serving as a member of the Texas Comprehensive Cancer Control Coalition, served on the selection committee for the National Minority Cancer Awareness Week Researcher Award, and is a United Way Learning Circles participant.

 

Each year Ms. Lofton has worked as a steering committee member or presenting partner of the Breast Health Summit, held in Houston, which covers topics important to breast health providers, advocates, and survivors from across the state. The 2008 Summit had more than 200 participants and featured a speaker’s panel of Executives from hospitals including Memorial Hermann and the Harris County Hospital District who addressed the issue of caring for the uninsured.

 

In her career at M. D. Anderson, Ms. Lofton has helped to secure more than $350,000 worth of grant dollars from many different organizations in order to help support the Mobile Mammography Program, or to support some aspect of breast health within the community through partners like the Harris County Hospital District or the City of Houston Health and Human Services.

 

Ms. Lofton is an MBA student at the University of Houston, who looks forward to graduation in early 2010. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from the University of Texas at Austin, and has worked in a variety of industries, including radio, advertising, and healthcare.

 

 

Dr Maryam Mohsenzadeh, a graduate of University of California San Diego majoring in Biochemistry/Cell Biology, received her DDS training at University of Southern California. She has worked in a variety of dental facilities and settings including the Navy (Camp Pendleton) and dental practices in the cities of San Francisco and Los Angeles. In 2004 she established a successful solo private practice in Woodland Hills, California. She later moved to Napa, California where she currently serves as the Dental Director for Queen of Valley Medical Center’s Mobile Dental Clinic, a Community Benefit program.

 

Dr. Mohsenzadeh was the recipient of the Rising Star Award from the Medical Center for exceptional performance during her first year as Dental Director. Through a series of rapid improvement projects involving billing, supplies, and patient flow, Dr. Mohsenzadeh and her team increased the number of new patients by 69% (from 243 to 410), and increased the number of clinic visits by 24% (from 1,992 to 2,464). The number of total active patients served by the mobile dental clinic has increased by 40% (from 1,992 to 2,464). As a result of the performance improvement projects around billing and supplies, revenue quadrupled. Based on community need, Dr. Mohsenzadeh has also incorporated root canals and crowns as an additional service provided in the mobile for underserved population who previously had no access to these services locally. Again, based on that same need, she recently added hospital dentistry to her vast variety of provided services.

 

 

Dr. Larry Wolk was born and raised outside of Scranton, Pa. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Pennsylvania and his Medical Doctorate from the University of Vermont. Dr. Wolk moved to Colorado in 1988 and received his training in Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, including a Masters in Public Health, from the University of Colorado and The Children’s Hospital. He started and directed the outpatient pediatric clinic at the Hospital for Infants and Children at Presbyterian/St. Luke’s Medical Center and, in 1996, created The Rocky Mountain Youth Clinics (RMYC), the first non-profit organization of its kind in the country, providing medical and nursing services to un-insured and at-risk children and teenagers throughout the state of Colorado. In addition to providing care at three traditional clinics, RMYC operates two Mobile clinics and 20 additional community-based satellite clinics in homeless shelters, schools and community agencies. Dr. Wolk’s work with RMYC has been recognized by the American Hospital Association as one of four model programs in the country and Dr. Wolk has himself been honored as a Colorado Pediatrician of the Year, a Volunteer of the Year, a Healthcare Executive of the Year, a “7 Everyday Hero” and the recipient of the University of Vermont and University of Colorado’s Awards for Service to Medicine and Community.

 

Dr. Wolk also served as an officer on the Boards of the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, the Coalition for the Medically Underserved, the Colorado Association for School-based Healthcare and the Rocky Mountain Center for Health Promotion and Education. Having previously served as the Senior Medical Director at several regional and national managed care plans, Dr. Wolk is currently the President and Chief Operations Officer for Correctional Healthcare Companies, a company providing healthcare to more than 50,000 inmates in 17 states. He continues to see pediatric patients on a part time basis while serving as RMYC’s Executive Director on a voluntary basis.

 

 

 

Dr. Valdez-Garcia’s directorship includes oversight for Caravanas de la Salud, a nationwide system of mobile healthcare (medical and dental) clinics launched throughout Mexico in 2008. He is also the coordinator for the Unit of Medical Diagnosis and Treatment, Laser Optical Department of Ophthalmology for the Hospital San José Tec de Monterrey.

 

Dr. Valdez-Garcia graduated from the Medical School of Medicine Tecnológico de Monterrey. He obtained a degree from the Institute of Ophthalmology “Foundation Conde de Valencia” UNAM, as a specialist in Ophthalmology and with a subspecialty in Cornea and Refractive Surgery. He obtained his Master in Arts degree in Medical Science at Boston University’s School of medicine, where he won a Scholarship in Cornea Research Fellowship.

 

Dr. Valdez-Garcia has extensive experience in the field of Telemedicine. From 2003-2006 he worked on the PAECO (Programa de Actualización y Educación Continua en Oftalmología) project which is a nation-wide (32 states) that broadcasts interactive programs of continuous medical education in conjunction with the Mexican Society of Ophthalmology. In 2006, he worked on Tele-education in Ophthalmology which used a hybrid system to offer nation-wide updates and continuous medical education in Ophthalmology. He is currently working on linking clinical teaching with Tele-Ophthalmology through medical school and state health services; the results of the program will be used for the detection of diabetic retinopathy, which will be presented at the World Ophthalmology Congress in Hong Kong, 2009.

 

Academically, he serves as an associate professor for the graduate departments as Chair of Cornea and Refractive Surgery. He is also an associate professor for the undergraduate departments of Basic Science, serving as Chair of History and Method of Medicine, and Basic Medical Sciences, serving as Chair of Propedeutic in Ophthalmology. He also served as Academic Dean for the Medical School of the Tecnológico De Monterrey from 2002 until July 2008.

 

Dr. Valdez-Garcia is a member of the Committee on Scientific Activities of the Mexican Society of Ophthalmology, a member of the Committee for recertification of the Mexican Council of Ophthalmology, and is the Director of the Journal AVANCES: Medical Science Magazine. Additionally, he serves as Co- Chair of the Tele-Ophthalmology section for the World Ophthalmology Congress in Sao Paulo 2006, Hong Kong 2008, and Berlin 2010.

 

In the past Dr. Valdez-Garcia has held many esteemed positions. From 2007-2008 he served as President of the Mexican Center of Cornea and Refractive Surgery; and, from 2005-2006 he served as President of the College of Ophthalmology of Nuevo Leon.

 

In addition to the many positions he has held, Dr. Valdez-Garcia has published approximately fifty articles in both national and international magazines, as well fifty abstracts of scientific papers. Furthermore, he has Published two books: Breve Historia de la Medicina and Propedeutica en Oftalmologia.

 

Dr. Valsez-Garcia won the Biennial Prize in Ophthalmology which is given by the Mexican Society of Ophthalmology-Puis, Mexican Health Foundation, for his work on the Automated Morphometric Analysis of Contralateral Eye in Bullous Keratopathy Keratoplasty. He was also given an award for the Best Teaching Practice in 2007 from the Tecnologico de Monterrey.

 

 

 

Ms. Dunn attended Lake Land College School of Dental Hygiene in Mattoon IL. She began her career in private practice, but a new path in life took her into the world of public health.

 

Her diverse experience in public health dentistry includes positions ranging from independent contractor for school-based dental sealant programs to Program Coordinator for Tri-County Dental Clinic and Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center’s Women and Children FIRST Dental Services, both comprehensive care dental programs.

 

Through these positions, she has had the opportunity to be involved in facility and clinic planning, vehicle design, as well as program development and expansion. In 2007, due to the tremendous growth of the Women and Children FIRST Dental Services, Monica refocused her professional life to concentrate solely on expansion efforts. Currently, she directs and manages clinical activities and projects for the program, serves as adjunct faculty for Lake Land College School of Dental Hygiene, supervising and instructing students during clinical rotations, and maintains collaborative relationships with community partners. Monica loves all aspects of her job, but her favorite part is providing clinical services and case management to the children and families her program serves.

 

As a result of countless hours of research and miles of footwork, The Women and Children FIRST Dental program recently received delivery of a 40 foot, 3 operatory mobile dental clinic which will be an integral part of providing care to the underserved in Sarah Bush Lincoln’s nine county service area. Monica has a passion for the women and children who are in desperate need of dental care and it shows in her everyday work.