Speakers
Speakers Subject to Change
Speakers
Amer Al-Nimr, MD FAAP is the Section Chief of Pediatric Gastroenterology & Nutrition at the Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center (CHaD). He is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Internal Medicine at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. In addition, he serves as the Program Director for the Global Child Health Program at CHaD.
Dr. Al-Nimr travels to Jordan periodically partnering with SAMS (Syrian American Medical Society) to care for Syrian refugees in Jordan. He along with WANN (Welcoming All Nationalities Network) and RHAS (Royal Health Awareness Society) in Amman, Jordan have been collaborating on a pilot program: CHAT (Children Health Awareness via Telecommunication) now in its third year. This program links middle school children in the Upper Valley with Middle school refugee children in Amman Jordan. In 2018, Dr. Al-Nimr was awarded a grant by the Byrne Foundation for his Project 30-20-10: a 3 year project dedicated to decreasing added sugar intake for children in New England. Nationally, Dr. Al-Nimr serves on NASPGHAN’s Public Affairs and Advocacy Committee and the Global Health Special Interest Group. In 2017, He was presented the Clinical Innovations award by the North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology (NASPGHAN Foundation) for creating nutrition focused educational videos.
Prior to joining the faculty at Dartmouth, Dr. Al-Nimr was on staff at Case Western Reserve University from 2007 till 2015. He assumed the role of Program Director of the Global Child Health Program in 2010. This program, established in 1978, was the first program in the nation focusing on training future generations of pediatric residents in global health. Dr. Al-Nimr earned his MD at the American University of Beirut in 2002 and completed his training in Internal Medicine & Pediatrics and Pediatric Gastroenterology at Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio.
Dr. Steven Chapman
Director, Boyle Community Pediatrics Program; CHaD General Pediatrician; Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Geisel
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Steven H. Chapman, M.D., is a general pediatrician with over 20 years of experience and is Medical Director of the Boyle Community Pediatrics Program at the Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth-Hitchcock (CHaD). He served 4 years in the National Health Service Corp and is President of the New Hampshire Pediatric Society as well as school physician for his local Dresden School District. He is a Core Investigator at the National Institute on Drug Abuse Clinical Trials Network (NIDA CTN) Northeast Node, and has particular interest in Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) in primary care, integrated behavioral health in primary care, and support of parents in recovery who are raising young children. He serves as Director of Outpatient Child Health for the Center for Addiction, Recovery, Pregnancy and Parenting (CARPP), and Moms in Recovery (MORE).
Lola Adedokun
Lola Adedokun, MPH is the program director for child well-being and director for the African Health Initiative. Adedokun earned a bachelor’s degree in health policy and sociology from Dartmouth College and a master’s degree in public health from Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. Prior to her work at the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, she worked as an analyst at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, where she was responsible for management and analysis of HIV/AIDS surveillance data. Earlier in her career, she served as an analyst at Abt Associates Inc., assisting in the implementation of several federally funded impact evaluations related to HIV/AIDS programming and research-capacity building—both domestically and internationally. She was also a co-founder and advisor for the nonprofit organization Boys Speak Out as well as an advisor for the Adaptive Education Languages Institute.
Dr. Resmiye Oral
Bruce Duthu
Professor N. Bruce Duthu is the Samson Occom Professor (and former Chair) of Native American Studies at Dartmouth College. An internationally recognized scholar of Native American law and policy, Professor Duthu joined the faculty of Arts & Sciences at Dartmouth in 2008. He served as Dartmouth’s Associate Dean of the Faculty for International Studies & Interdisciplinary Programs. Duthu earned his BA degree in religion and Native American Studies from Dartmouth College and his JD degree from Loyola University School of Law in New Orleans. Prior to joining the Dartmouth faculty, Duthu was Professor of Law at Vermont Law School where he also served as the law school's Vice Dean for Academic Affairs and as inaugural director of the VLS-Sun Yat-sen University (Guangzhou, China) Partnership in Environmental Law. He served as visiting professor of law at Harvard Law School, the universities of Wollongong and Sydney in New South Wales, Australia, and the University of Trento in northern Italy.
Professor Duthu is an enrolled tribal member of the United Houma Nation of Louisiana. He and his wife, Hilde Ojibway, have 3 children and 3 grandchildren.
Dr. Amer Al-Nimr
Resmiye Oral, MD, is a Professor of Pediatrics at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College and Director of the Child Advocacy and Protection Program at the Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth-Hitchcock, who is board-certified in child abuse pediatrics. She has published numerous articles on Child Abuse and Neglect since 1993 after establishing the first multidisciplinary child protection team in Turkey, her country of origin. She wrote a book and three book chapters, co-authored two training kits on child abuse. Her interests are international systems building to address child abuse and neglect, drug endangered children, shaken baby syndrome, adverse childhood experiences and trauma informed care, and early intervention with child abuse to prevent negative consequences of abuse. She believes recognition of subtle findings of abuse and trauma screening of victims and their caretakers are of utmost importance. She gives 50-60 lectures a year to regional, national and international professional audiences on child abuse and neglect.
Elizabeth Carpenter-Song
PhD, Dartmouth Department of Anthropology
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​Dr. Carpenter-Song is a medical and psychological anthropologist. She is currently Research Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology at Dartmouth College. Her work involves engaging with individuals, families, and communities to learn about the lived experiences and meanings of mental health problems and how people engage with mental health services. Dr. Carpenter-Song also examines the cultures of medicine and psychiatry in the United States, particularly in relation to the production and mitigation of health inequalities. Her long-term goal is to apply anthropological approaches to make mental health services more patient-centered and more acceptable to marginalized populations. She is deeply committed to integrating anthropologically-informed theoretical and methodological approaches into mental health services research and the education and training of health professionals.
Zaneta Thayer
PhD, Dartmouth Department of Anthropology
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Zane Thayer is a Dartmouth '08, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology, and the 2020 recipient of the Michael A. Little Early Career Award from the Human Biology Association. Her research largely addresses how social inequalities “get under the skin” to affect human biology and health. She received her PhD at Northwestern University in 2013 where she was also a Presidential Fellow. Her dissertation research, entitled, “Intergenerational Effects of Maternal Stress Experience: Evidence from New Zealand” was based on a multi-ethnic birth cohort she recruited in order to understand how factors such as poverty and discrimination experienced in pregnancy affected offspring health and development. Thayer has continued her work in New Zealand and is currently working on a series of articles assessing how maternal experience of racial discrimination affects birth outcomes, telomere length, and patterns of gene expression in offspring. In addition to continuing her work in New Zealand, Thayer has recently authored several studies assessing the impacts of early life trauma and residential boarding school attendance on adult health in Native American communities.
Daisy Goodman
Daisy Goodman, DNP, MPH, CNM is an assistant professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Community and Family Medicine, and The Dartmouth Institute, and a practicing nurse midwife with 17 years of frontline engagement in the management of pregnancies complicated by drug and alcohol use. Since joining Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in 2013, she has been actively involved in developing a system of care providing comprehensive services for women with substance use disorders. In her current role, she directs women’s health services at DHMC's multidisciplinary perinatal addiction treatment program, "Moms in Recovery."
Goodman completed her doctoral studies at Massachusetts General Hospital’s Institute of Health Professions in 2010. Her doctoral work focused on improving access to medications for the treatment of opioid use disorder for rural perinatal women, with a specific focus on the clinical care of women on buprenorphine, at the time (2010) a novel medication. Her research, quality improvement, and clinical interests include the implications of trauma and substance use for women's health, and the design and implementation of integrated treatment models for perinatal substance use disorders.
Dr. Phillip Landrigan
Philip J. Landrigan, MD, MSc is a pediatrician and epidemiologist. He is Professor of Biology and Director of the Program in Global Public Health and the Common Good at Boston College. He was previously Professor and Chair of Preventive Medicine and Dean for Global Health in the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York. He is a member of the US National Academy of Medicine.
For four decades, Dr. Landrigan has been a leader in environmental and occupational health. His early studies of lead poisoning demonstrated that lead is toxic to children even at very low levels and contributed to the US government’s decision to remove lead from paint and gasoline. A study he led at the US National Academy of Sciences defined children’s unique susceptibilities to pesticides and other toxic chemicals and catalyzed fundamental revamping of US pesticide policy to protect children’s health. In 1997-98, he guided EPA in establishing the Office of Children's Health Protection. From 2015-2017, Dr. Landrigan co-chaired the Lancet Commission on Pollution & Health which found that pollution causes 9 million deaths annually and is an existential threat to planetary health. To continue the work of this Lancet Commission, Dr. Landrigan has formed the Global Observatory on Pollution and Health at Boston College. The Observatory collaborates with UN Environment and the Centre Scientifique de Monaco and is currently undertaking studies of the Impacts of Air Pollution India on Health, Human Capital and the Economy; the Intersection between Pollution and Development in Sub-Saharan Africa; and Human Health and Ocean Pollution
Sophie Frey & Becca Thomson Thayer School of Engineering Students Sensory-Safe Pod
Visiting the hospital can be a scary experience. The commotion, bright lights, new smells, and uncomfortable procedures build an unfamiliar scene, particularly for children with sensory processing disorder (SPD). The Child Life Program at the Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth-Hitchcock (CHaD) is a department devoted to minimizing the psychological burden of hospital visits on pediatric patients. The department has recognized the need to provide a more accessible space for children, especially those with SPD, in order to minimize incidents of agitation and anxiety, and maximize the efficacy of healthcare. Minimizing the psychological burden of hospital visits on pediatric patients is critical to CHaD’s mission. This project will alleviate some of the challenges in treating patients who are triggered by the uncomfortable hospital environment. Not only will it prevent incidents of agitation in pediatric patients, but also provide an accessible space for the historically underserved SPD population.
Laura Perez
Laura has many years of experience in community organization and program development including fundraising, education, and outreach with a goal of enhancing community wellness. Her baccalaureate education focused on the politics of poverty at the domestic and international levels and community education as a force for social change. She received her Master’s in Business Administration with a Strategic Organizational Leadership Focus from Norwich University. She is personally and professionally committed to creating a safer, happier, and healthier place for us all to live, play, and work.
Before joining our team Laura was part of the leadership team at Stagecoach Transportation Services. Ensuring access to transportation for vulnerable people in rural areas is an issue that is near to her heart. Previously, she enjoyed the work of cultivating and maintaining relationships within the Upper Valley community which resulted in community participation in the delivery of services and stewardship of the facilities and programs at the Upper Valley Haven.
William Hudenko
Chief Executive Officer, Voi Inc.
President, Trusst Health Inc.
Research Assistant Professor of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College
Adjunct Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine
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Bill Hudenko, Ph.D. has significant experience in the fields of both mental health and technology. Dr. Hudenko is a licensed psychologist, a researcher, and a professor who holds a joint appointment as a faculty member at Dartmouth's Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences and Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine. His research focuses on the use of technology to improve mental health delivery and patient outcomes. Dr. Hudenko is also an experienced web designer who has served as a software engineer and database administrator for the National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and has designed and implemented websites for numerous other organizations. Dr. Hudenko is currently the CEO of Voi Inc., a company dedicated to reducing suicide rates through the implementation of technology and artificial intelligence. He is also the President and Founder of Trusst Health Inc., a startup company devoted to providing low-cost remote psychotherapy via messaging.
Dr. Hudenko is the former CEO of Incente, LLC. Prior to his work at Dartmouth, Dr. Hudenko was a professor at both Ithaca College and Cornell University. Dr. Hudenko has broad expertise in clinical psychology with an emphasis in child psychopathology and family systems.
Dr. Hudenko received his BA from the University of Michigan, his PhD in Clinical Psychology from Vanderbilt University, and his PostDoc from Dartmouth College. He has a wife and two young girls (5 & 7) and lives in Lyme, NH
Elizabeth Stein
​Tuck School of Business
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Elizabeth Stein spent four years working with children in inner city public schools with the education nonprofit City Year, through academic and behavioral support, before joining The Genesis Foundation for Children, which provides funding for the care of children with rare diseases, genetic disorders, and disabilities at Boston Children’s Hospital. Elizabeth is currently completing her MBA at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth and will be joining Deloitte Consulting in their Healthcare and Life Sciences practice upon graduation. While at Tuck, her studies have included healthcare benefits management, data analytics, and a consulting project for the City of Flint Michigan and the Crim Foundation on city-wide mindfulness initiatives.
Dr. Susanne E. Tanski
Susanne Tanski is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, a practicing primary care pediatrician, Section Chief and Vice Chair of General Pediatrics at the Children’s Hospital at Dartmouth of Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, and Associate Director of the C. Everett Koop Institute at Dartmouth. Dr. Tanski is also a project director in the American Academy of Pediatrics Julius B. Richmond Center of Excellence, a national center of excellence funded by the Flight Attendant Medical Research Institute dedicated to protecting children from all forms of tobacco: free from the use of all tobacco products and free from exposure to secondhand smoke and vapor. She is also the immediate past chair of the AAP’s Tobacco Consortium, a multidisciplinary research group.
Dr .Tanski’s current research endeavors focus on tobacco use in adolescents and young adults, media influences on adolescent smoking and drinking, communication between pediatric clinicians and parents regarding eliminating secondhand smoke exposure of children and helping parents promote healthy lifestyles for their children. She has specific research interest in how young people make choices regarding risk behaviors, such as alcohol and tobacco. She has expertise and interest in a broad range of topics including healthy use of media, smoking cessation for parents and adolescents, and parent/patient education.
Dr. Tanski received her MD from the University of Connecticut School of Medicine. She completed her residency in pediatrics at Strong Memorial Hospital/University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, followed by a fellowship in General Pediatrics and Masters of Public Health degree at the University of Rochester. She worked for the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Center for Child Health Research prior to joining the Dartmouth faculty in 2005.
Cynthia Perry
In 1994, Cindy decided to become a teacher because she always hated school; it was, simply put, boring. She believed kids were not being taught how they should be taught, with lots of play, hands-on activities, and making real-life connections to everything they learn. Cindy taught for the last 25 years in Montessori, public, private, and community schools (Cibecue Indian Reservation, AZ), spent six years as the One Planet Afterschool and Summer Camp Programs Site Director in Sharon, VT, and ran her own wilderness programs and camps for children for the past 3 years at Raven's Wood Outdoor School for Renegades. She believes in kids as our future, and helps them gain skills to become responsible, resilient, and respectful adults. Cindy loves to hike, swim, travel, snorkel, snowshoe, sew, and teach primitive and survival skills.
Donna Coch
Donna Coch is a Professor in the Department of Education at Dartmouth College. She
majored in Cognitive Science as an undergraduate at Vassar College, earned master's and doctoral degrees in Human Development and Psychology from Harvard University
Graduate School of Education, and held an NIH-supported postdoctoral position at the
University of Oregon Brain Development Lab. At Dartmouth, she supervises the all-
undergraduate Reading Brains Lab. Using a noninvasive brain wave recording technique (the recording of event-related potentials) in combination with standardized behavioral measures, her research focuses on what happens in the brain as reading skills develop. Her research has been funded by the NSF and NIH, but her real joy in the lab is from supporting undergraduates as they explore their own research questions. Professor Coch teaches courses on reading, atypical developmental pathways, and what works in education. Her courses focus on evidence-based practice and are designed for students to discover the science of learning and development in the context of education. A goal of both her research and her teaching is to make meaningful and useful connections across the fields of psychology, neuroscience, and education.
Duncan McDougall
Duncan McDougall is Executive Director of the Children’s Literacy Foundation (CLiF), a position he has held since he founded the organization 22 years ago. Duncan has also worked as a management consultant, expedition guide, freelance writer, teacher, and public radio commentator. He received his MBA from the Amos Tuck School at Dartmouth College in 1987 and spent seven years with Mercer Management Consulting, a Boston-based international management consulting firm, where he was a partner specializing in marketing strategy. He has taught courses in Peru, in U.S. penitentiaries, and to Vietnamese refugees in Boston. Duncan is also founder and Chair of Waterbury LEAP (Local Energy Action Partnership), a nonprofit that encourages renewable energy, energy efficiency, and emissions reduction in central Vermont. He is active in many local political and environmental campaigns, and served as Treasurer for Vermont Democrat Sue Minter’s gubernatorial campaign. He lives in Waterbury Center, VT, with his wife and son.
Dr. Alka Dev
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Geisel
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Dr. Alka Dev is a Scientist at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center and an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Geisel Medical School at Dartmouth. She is an international maternal and neonatal health expert with over 20 years of experience in developing, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating global health projects. She recently completed a 3-year project in southern Haiti, focused on reducing neonatal mortality in a high volume tertiary referral hospital.
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Dr. Juliette Madan
Dr. Juliette Madan (Geisel Med 2000), Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Epidemiology is a pediatrician, neonatologist, physician-scientist and Clinical Director of the Children’s Environmental Health and Disease Prevention Research Center at Dartmouth and directs large-scale molecular epidemiology cohort investigations of human microbiome studies beginning in fetal life, in high risk populations (e.g. prematurity and cystic fibrosis), in the context of environmental exposures and toxicants, and in health. Her research program aims to rigorously test associations between microbiome and metabolome development and human health, and to apply this knowledge to the discovery of strategies for optimal health promotion in high risk populations.
Eric Edmonds
Dartmouth College Department of Economics
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Edmonds research aims to improve policy directed at child labor, forced labor, human trafficking, and human capital in poor countries. Edmonds is a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research in Cambridge MA, a Senior Fellow at the Bureau for Research and Economic Analysis of Development, a Research Fellow at the Institute for the Study of Labor, and Editor of World Bank Economic Review. Here at Dartmouth, he created the curriculum in development economics, teaches Economics 24 and 44, and is the faculty lead for the Human Development Initiative.