Executive Leadership

Waridibo Allison MD, PhD, FACP, CPE, FIDSA

Vice President of Health Policy and Founding Executive Director

Dr. Waridibo Allison is Vice President of Health Policy in the Division of Research and Innovation and Associate Professor in the Department of Medical Education. She is Executive Director of the HSC Center for Health Policy. Dr. Allison believes health care is a human right and the focus of her work is on improving access to health care for underserved, marginalized populations by combating disease specific, racial, cultural, gender-based, geographical, and economical barriers to health care access from the individual to the health systems level. This includes telementoring and work force development. Her work has received consistent federal funding for several years. She is the principal investigator and program director of the multi-million-dollar Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) funded national Rural Telementoring Training Center and Integration of the National HIV Curriculum e-learning Platform into Health Care Professions Programs project.

Senior Leadership

Sean Hubbard, PhD

Joint Assistant Professor

Dr. Hubbard is an Assistant Professor with the Center for Health Policy and the Department of Health Administration and Health Policy within the College of Public Health. He holds a doctorate in Public Policy and Political Economy from the University of Texas at Dallas. Driven by his belief that health insurance coverage does not equate to access, Dr. Hubbard’s research focuses on healthcare-related financial decisions made by economically vulnerable households. He seeks to use his research to remove financial barriers to healthcare and improve patients’ ability to navigate complex healthcare systems. Dr. Hubbard’s recent work examines medical debt and cost avoidance among American Indians and Alaskan Natives, as well as the role of financial knowledge in healthcare-related financial decisions.

Chaz B. England, MS, CLSSBB, CCME, CCTE, SFC

Director of Operations

Chaz serves as the Center for Health Policy’s Director of Operations.  This includes operational and strategic oversight involving Center-based programs, education, projects, and initiatives.  He brings 10+ years’ experience in managed and acute care leadership including quality and process improvement, regulatory compliance, clinical operations, and research programming.  He holds a Master of Science Degree from Jackson State University in Health Science and has completed additional study through Stanford University, Tulane University, Louisiana State University, and the University of South Florida.  Chaz is a Certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, Certified Change Management Expert, Certified Cultural Transformation Expert, and Scrum Fundamentals Certified.  Chaz is also certified as a TeamSTEPPS Master Trainer.  Chaz is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE), the National Association of Health Services Executives (NAHSE), the Association for Clinical and Translational Science (ACTS), and North Texas Ethics and Compliance Council.

Leadership

Trisha Melhado, MPH

Evaluation Staff Lead

Trisha Melhado leads evaluation efforts across the Center for Health Policy and the Rural Telementoring Training Center, including the development of telementoring quality measure toolkit and dissemination of program findings. As a Senior Research Specialist, she provides research guidance to faculty and residents on all aspects of the research process with an emphasis on study methodology and statistical analysis. She has collaborated with teams across institutions to implement multi-year grant funded projects from the state and federal grantors, including the following: Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute, Department of Defense, and Health Resources and Services Administration. She has presented research at local and international conferences in addition to co-authoring publications based on her analytical contributions.

Suyen Schneegans, MA

Senior Program Manager, Training and Technical Assistance

Suyen Schneegans serves as Senior Program Manager for the Center for Health Policy.  Suyen was previously with UT Health San Antonio at the Research to Advance Community Health (ReACH) Center.  She has a MA from the University of Texas at San Antonio in Bicultural Bilingual Studies with a concentration in Cultural Studies and is a graduate of the University of the Incarnate Word with a BA in Spanish, Literature and Language and a minor is Psychology. Ms. Schneegans has worked on various social science projects pertaining to substance use disorders, community health, and screening, brief intervention, referral to treatment (SBIRT). She is also a qualitative researcher and has presented at numerous local and national conferences and co-authored several publications.

Staff

Alejandra Garcia-Ponce, MPH

Research Assistant III

Alejandra is the Research Assistant for the University of North Texas Health Science Center, Department of Research and Innovation, Center for Health Policy. She provides support across all projects including planning, development, & implementation.  She graduated with her MPH from the University of New England. Alejandra is very passionate about immigrant health and social justice policy. She brings qualitative data analysis and research methods experience. She also brings experience from her studies in Sweden, with a focus in community health and refugee and migrant integration.

Charde’ Jones

Program Manager, Operations

Charde’ Jones serves as the Program Manager of Operations for the Center for Health Policy in the Division of Research and Innovation. Charde’ joined the UNT Health Science Center in 2018 and has served in various programmatic support roles facilitating all aspects of internal and external communications and coordinating special projects. Charde’ led efforts in the coordination of administrative and fiscal management, including active efforts supporting quality and process improvement, fiscal oversight, and grant and project management.  Charde’ is certified as a TeamSTEPPS Master Trainer.  Charde’ has a passion for recognizing and supporting the needs of underserved communities.

Maya McMillian, M.Ed.

Senior Communications Specialist

Maya McMillian serves as a Senior Communications Specialist for the Center for Health Policy in the Division of Research and Innovation. She earned her Master of Education in Higher Education from the University of North Texas, along with her Bachelor of Arts in Communications from The University of Texas at San Antonio. Maya has accumulated years of relevant experience in communications and marketing at the higher education, agency, and corporate levels with project management experience in recent years. Maya has a passion for creativity, community outreach and fostering connections all of which she brings to her current role.

Alison McRae, MS

Research Assistant II

Alison McRae is a Research Assistant at The Center for Health Policy at the UNT Health Science Center at Fort Worth. She has a background in community outreach for organizations such as the American Cancer Society and Blue Zones Project. This work includes supporting health policy through coordinating legislative testimonial for city council, working with schools on nutrition mandates, and advising worksites on employee wellness programs. She has a Master of Science in Sociology from the University of Texas at San Antonio. Alison has lived abroad in countries like Spain and Australia and these experiences have led to an interest in how culture and social determinants impact health.

Blake Ross, MPH

Research Assistant II

Blake Ross is a Research Assistant at the University of North Texas Health Science Center, Department of Research and Innovation, Center for Health Policy. He earned his Masters of Public Health in Epidemiology from UNTHSC.  As a part of his MPH practicum, Mr. Ross spent time working with urban farming projects and discount food events in Southeast Fort Worth and gathered extensive data on the food inventory of vendors across Tarrant County.  From these experiences, his professional desire is to contribute to innovative and multifaceted approaches to building healthier and more resilient communities.