Community Advisory Committee Biographies

Dr. Anthony Bilittier, Commissioner of the Erie County Department of Health, is an Assistant Professor at the State University of New York at Buffalo in the Department of Emergency Medicine in the School of Public Health and Health Professions. He remains active in the academic practice of emergency medicine and emergency medical services, and has integrated these disciplines into his public health agenda. Dr. Billittier is committed to advancing regional and State collaborative initiatives.

Marjorie A. Cadogan, Executive Deputy Commissioner of the Human Resources Administration’s Office of Citywide Health Insurance Access (OCHIA), oversees the Mayor's HealthStat Initiative which seeks to connect New Yorkers to public health insurance through the collaborative effort of 14 City agencies, 17 health plans, and community-based organizations throughout New York City. She also directs OCHIA's initiatives to promote affordable health insurance coverage for small businesses and working individuals. Prior to becoming the Executive Director of OCHIA, Ms. Cadogan was the Director of Operations and External Affairs for the Primary Care Development Corporation whose mission is to expand access to primary health care in the City's underserved neighborhoods.

Dr. Alwyn Cohall is Director of the Harlem Health Promotion Center, one of 37 national Prevention Research Centers established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to build bridges between academia and vulnerable communities. Dr. Cohall's main areas of research include adolescent health; reproductive health; access to health care, particularly for young men of color; and using media/technology to enhance health communication/health promotion. Dr. Cohall is board-certified in both pediatrics and adolescent medicine and has a private practice in adolescent health. He serves as the Director of Project STAY (Services to Assist Youth), which is a New York State Department of Health-funded program that provides confidential health services to young people affected by or infected with HIV/AIDS. He is a member of several professional organizations, including the American Public Health Association and the Society for Adolescent Health in Medicine, and serves on the Executive Committee—the Section on Adolescent Health—for the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Dr. Allan Formicola is Dean Emeritus and Professor Emeritus of the Columbia University College of Dental Medicine. He is credited with expanding the school’s mission by creating a far-reaching community-based network of care known as the Community DentCare Network. The program has dramatically improved access to oral health care in the underserved communities of northern Manhattan—Harlem, Washington Heights, and Inwood. After his 23-year deanship, Dr. Formicola established the Center for Family and Community Medicine, which merged with the Center for Family and Community Medicine at Columbia University. Dr. Formicola has served in many national leadership positions, including President of the American Association of Dental Schools. Among a number of national demonstration projects he operated, Dr. Formicola co-directed the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation project, “Pipeline, Profession & Practice: Community-Based Dental Education,” which assisted 23 dental schools to establish community-based education programs and to increase enrollment of underrepresented minority students. Dr. Formicola has published widely and has received numerous honors and awards for his accomplishments.

Mindy Thompson Fullilove, M.D., is a research psychiatrist at New York State Psychiatric Institute and Professor of Clinical Psychiatry and Public Health at Columbia University. She is a board-certified psychiatrist, having received her training at New York Hospital-Westchester Division and Montefiore Hospital. Dr. Fullilove has conducted research on AIDS and other epidemics of poor communities, with a special interest in the relationship between the collapse of communities and decline in health. From her research, she has published numerous books and has received many awards, including inclusion in many “Best Doctors” and two honorary doctorates. Her work in AIDS is featured in Jacob Levenson’s “The Secret Epidemic: The Story of AIDS in Black America.” Her current work focuses on the connection between urban function and mental health.

Rayton Gerald is the President and Chair of the Associated Black Charities. The mission of the Associated Black Charities is to promote the delivery of quality health and human services to African Americans through a system of voluntary community-based organizations a nonprofit federation of health and human service agencies. It was founded in 1982 to assist in the support—financially and otherwise—of organizations that promote the social welfare and health of the African American community of New York City and to advocate for the equitable distribution of the philanthropic dollars generated annually in New York City.

Mark Hannay is Director of the Metro New York Health Care for All Campaign, a citywide coalition of community groups and labor unions that advocates for universal health care reform and undertakes interim issue campaigns strategic to that goal. He also co-chairs the New York Network for Action on Medicare and Social Security, co-chairs the board of the national Universal Health Care Action Network, and serves on the Steering Committee of New Yorkers for Accessible Health Coverage. Mr. Hannay co-hosts “Health Action,” which is broadcast weekly over WBAI/Pacifica radio in New York (99.5 FM, www.wbai.org.)

David Hoffman is the Director Bureau of Chronic Disease Services at the New York State Department of Health. Mr. Hoffman has a long history of public health service, having served as a Division Director at the Albany County Health Department, a State Program Manager in Child and Adolescent Health Programs and Chronic Disease Programs. Mr. Hoffman chairs the Legislative and Policy Committee of the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors, a national membership organization. He formerly chaired the National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities Diabetes Council. Mr. Hoffman serves on a number of advisory groups including Steps to a Healthier U.S. National Workgroup, the New York State Diabetes Task Force, the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors, the National Research to Prevention Coalition, the National Campaign for Public Health, and the New York State Geriatric Mental Health Planning Council.

Donna Kahm is the Chief Operating Officer of Southern Tier Health Care System, Inc. Southern Tier Health Care System is one of 35 rural health networks in New York State. Ms. Kahn provided oversight for the Child Health Plus/Family Health Plus facilitated enrollment program, the Cattaraugus County RealityCheck Program, and a tobacco cessation program that works with health care providers in a four-county area. Ms. Kahn strives to foster collaboration among organization members and community agencies to enhance the health and wellness of the residents in Allegany, Cattaraugus and Chautauqua counties. She works with many community agencies on various projects such as the Child Advocacy Center and Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner project.

Ronda Kotelchuck is the founding Executive Director of the Primary Care Development Corporation (PCDC), a nonprofit organization dedicated to expanding access to primary care in underserved communities. Since its inception in 1993, PCDC has financed more than 90 primary care projects throughout New York State, totaling $260 million. PCDC has also provided Performance Improvement training and coaching to more than 250 primary care organizations throughout the U.S., helping to transform the delivery and quality of primary care services. Prior to PCDC, Ms. Kotelchuck served as Vice President for Corporate Planning and Intergovernmental Relations at the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC), where she spearheaded HHC’s 1989 strategic plan, focusing on efforts to expand primary care services in New York City.

Ann F. Monroe is President of the Community Health Foundation of Western and Central New York, a health foundation serving the Buffalo and Syracuse/Utica regions and primarily focused on improving the health outcomes of frail elders and children in communities of poverty, as well as increasing community health capacity. She has 30 years of leadership experience in public and private sector programs in mental health, community health, managed care, and philanthropy. She previously directed quality and coverage initiatives for the California HealthCare Foundation and was a senior vice president of Blue Cross of California. She sits on the boards of Western New York Grantmakers Association and Grantmakers in Health, and is a member of the Consensus Standards Committee of the National Quality Forum.

Doug Rahner is Vice President of Medical Services for Family Health Network of Central New York, Inc., a community health center with nine sites in the greater Cortland County area. He has worked in community health for 17 years in both urban and rural environments. He has been active in quality improvement, particularly with regard to diabetes, and has presented on this at regional and national meetings. He currently serves on the on the Diabetes Advisory Committee and the Clinical Committee for CHCANYS. He is also Assistant Clinical Professor of Family Medicine, SUNY Upstate Medical University. Dr. Rahner is a physician in Cincinnatus, NY, a town of 1,100 people where he still does house calls.

John Rugge is the Executive Director of Hudson Headwaters Health Network, a nonprofit network of 11 community health centers that provide care to residents, visitors, and travelers within 2,400 square miles of the southeastern Adirondacks. The network also participates in the medical education of physician assistants.

Bob Thompson is the Vice President, Safety Net Programs, Excellus BlueCross BlueShield. Before joining Excellus in January of 2010, Mr. Thompson served as President and CEO of the Monroe Plan for Medical Care. Prior to Monroe Plan, Mr. Thompson spent 20 years in health care in New York City where he served as Deputy Director of the Health Systems Agency, Executive Vice President of the Greater New York Hospital Association, and Executive Director of the New York County Medical Society. In 1989, Mr. Thompson initiated the development of a Medicaid Managed Care program, PrimeCare, sponsored by physicians in New York City. From 1992 until his relocation to Rochester, Mr. Thompson worked full time in Medicaid Managed Care, first as the President of Managed Care Administrators and later as a regional Vice President for Wellcare of New York. Mr. Thompson is a current member and past Chair of the Finger Lakes Health Systems Agency Board of Directors and serves as a member of the St. Joseph’s Neighborhood Health Center Board, Genesee Valley Health Partnership Board, Anthony L. Jordan Foundation Board, and Pediatric Links Advisory Council. Mr. Thompson is the Chair of the Association for Community Affiliated Plans, a national association of nonprofit health plans serving safety net populations.