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The VHWC Advisory Council was established in November 2023 and includes experts, leaders, and stakeholders who are committed to optimizing health and wellness for Veterans and their care partners. The Council’s functions are to prioritize topics for action and advocacy, disseminate VHWC messages and opportunities to their networks, and provide guidance to the Administrative Core Team to carry out VHWC activities and initiatives. The Advisory Council Meeting Notes are available below.

We extend our gratitude to these individuals who contribute their time, expertise, and experience to advance the goals and activities of the VHWC. We are pleased to introduce the members of the Veteran Health and Wellness Collaborative (VHWC) Advisory Council.

Veterans Health and Wellness Collaborative Advisory Council

Frank Aiello, JD
MSU College of Law
frank.aiello@law.msu.edu

Gregory Allen
Genesee Health System
gallen2@genhs.org

Ann Annis, PhD, RN^
MSU College of Nursing
annisann@msu.edu

Melanie Baird, LMSW
Alzheimer's Association, Michigan Chapter
mbaird@alz.org

Andrea Belk, MPH*
MVAA, Veteran Engagement Officer, Region #5
belka@michigan.gov

Rachel Bergmans
UM Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center
rbergs@med.umich.edu

Brad Blanchard
Great Lakes Bay Veterans Coalition
bpblanchard@outlook.com

Kevin Bohnsack, MD*
Trinity Health Michigan, MI Air National Guard
Kevin.Bohnsack@trinity-health.org

Melanie Brim
Melanie Brim Consulting/MSU COM Impart Alliance
Melanie@melaniebrimconsulting.com

Parker Brisbee*^
MSU Institute for Health Policy
brisbeep@msu.edu

Arielle Buckley
MDHHS Bureau of Aging, Community Living & Supports
Buckleya3@michigan.gov

Eduardo Calzada
Genesee Health System
ecalzada@genhs.org

Andrew Dabish
Kevin's Law
andrewdabish@yahoo.com

Lindsay DeCamp, MHA
MDHHS, State Suicide Prevention Coordinator
decampl@michigan.gov

Paul Dery
Lapeer County CMH
PDery@lapeercmh.org

Marcia Ditmyer, PhD, MBA, MS
SVSU College of Health and Human Services
mditmyer@svsu.edu

Craig Donahue
Michigan Health Council
Craig.Donahue@mhc.org

Mathew J. Edick, PhD
Michigan Public Health Institute
mjedick@mphi.org

Shawn Edwards
Genesee Health System
SEdwards@genhs.org

Will Emerson, PhD*
Lansing Community College
emersow1@star.lcc.edu

Ryan Engle*
MDMVA Michigan Veteran Homes
EngleR3@michigan.gov

Erica Farr^
MSU College of Human Medicine
farreric@msu.edu

Jonathan Ferguson 
Community Mental Health Authority of Clinton, Eaton, Ingham Counties
Ferguson@ceicmh.org

Kara Fields
Region 10: Motor City Veteran Community Action Team
fieldsk61@macomb.edu

Patrick Forystek*
MSU Student Veterans Resource Center
foryste3@msu.edu

Eric B. Fretz, PhD*
Veterans Community Action Team, Region 9, UM College of Literature, Science, and the Arts
ebfretz@umich.edu

Jonathan Fritz, MBA
MDHHS, PRiSMM Program Coordinator 
fritzj4@michigan.gov

Jonathan Garvey*
MDMVA, Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency
garveyj@michigan.gov

Kai N. Gritter, MSHE
MSU Extension
grittern@msu.edu

Farah Hanley
Health Management Associates
fhanley@healthmanagement.com

Autumn Hartpence*
Lakeshore Regional PIHP
autumnh@lsre.org

Ariel Hawthorne, MPH^
MSU Institute for Health Policy
george51@msu.edu

Judge Molly Hennessey Greenwalt, JD, MA
54B District Court
mgreenwalt@cityofeastlansing.com

Erika Hoover*
MDMVA, Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency
hoovere2@michigan.gov

Joan Ilardo, PhD, LMSW^
MSU CHM Department of Family Medicine & Institute for Health Policy
ilardo@msu.edu

Christy Koons*
MDHHS, Regional State Veterans Coordinator
christy.a.koons@gmail.com

Michelle Kees, PhD
UM College of Literature, Science, and the Arts
mkees@med.umich.edu

Alyssa Knoll
Oscar G. Johnson VA Medical Center
alyssa.knoll@va.gov

Jeff Kullgren, MD, MPH, MS
Ann Arbor VA Center for Clinical Management
Research, University of Michigan
jkullgre@med.umich.edu

Adam LaVigne*
National Guard Bureau- Michigan
adam.p.lavigne.mil@army.mil

Tammy Lemmer
MDHHS Bureau of Aging, Community Living & Supports
lemmert1@michigan.gov

Kristina Leonardi
MDHHS Bureau of Aging, Community Living & Supports
Leonardik1@michigan.gov

Frank Lombard, BSW, MSW*
Upper Peninsula Commission for Area Progress,
Region 1 VCAT
lombardf@upcap.org

Erin Maroni
Heart to Heart Hospice
emaroni@htohh.com

Mollie Marti, PhD, JD
Worldmaker Resilience Institute
mollie@worldmakerinternational.org

Steve McCartney*^
MDMVA Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency
mccartneys2@michigan.gov

Emily Norrix
MDHHS Oral Health Program
norrixe@michigan.gov

Heather Nystrom, LMSW, MBA*
National Guard Bureau- Michigan
heather.l.nystrom2.mil@army.mil

Kathleen Oberst, RN, PhD^
MSU Institute for Health Policy
oberstka@msu.edu

Charles Ohlsson
The War Memorial
cohlsson@warmemorial.org

Dawn S. Opel, JD, PhD
Food Bank Council of Michigan
dopel@fbcmich.org

Dominick Pallone
Michigan Association of Health Plans
dpallone@mahp.org

 

Brian Pegouske*
VA Battle Creek Medical Center
brian.pegouske@va.gov

Jenna Pryor, MSW
PsychArmor
jpryor@psycharmor.org

 

Mia Railing
UM Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center
mrail@med.umich.edu

Shaun Raleigh, MBA
Molina Healthcare
shaun.raleigh@molinahealthcare.com

Melissa Riba
Center for Health Research and Transformation (CHRT), UM
ribameli@med.umich.edu

Summer Robertson
Barry County Community Mental Health Authority
surobertson@bccmha.org 

 

Dave Schneider, MPA
MSU Institute for Health Policy
schne694@msu.edu

Holli Seabury, EdD
Delta Dental Foundation, Michigan Oral Health Coalition
hseabury@deltadentalmi.com

Courtney Seaman, OTRL,  MS, MBA
Lansing Community Based Outpatient Clinic
courtney.seaman@va.gov

Jonathan Shiflett, JD*
Priority Health
Jonathan.shiflett@priorityhealth.com

Beth I. Sieloff, MPH, E-RYT, CMSgt*
Inter-Tribal Council of Michigan
bsieloff@itcmi.org

Dean Sienko, MD, MS*^
MSU Institute for Health Policy
Dean.sienko@affiliate.msu.edu

Kayla Smith
MDHHS Bureau of Aging, Community Living & Supports
smithk138@michigan.gov

Inetta Smith, MSA
NovaCare Rehabilitation, Lansing Area Veterans Coalition (Region 7)
lansingareaveteranscoaliton@gmail.com

April Stopczynski
Michigan Dental Association
astop@michigandental.org

Ellen Sugrue-Hyman
The Law Office of Ellen Sugrue Hyman PLLC
loellenhymanpllc@gmail.com

Alex Szwarc
The War Memorial
aszwarc@warmemorial.org 

Tina Thompson, LMSW
MSU School of Social Work
blaschke@msu.edu

Sarah Tomaka, DDS, MPH
UM School of Dentistry (Victors for Veterans)
satomaka@umich.edu

Michelle Twichell
MSU COM Impart Alliance
twichell@msu.edu

Emre Umucu, PhD
The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP)
eumucu@utep.edu

Renee Verbeke
Strength in Numbers
rverbeke5928@charter.net

Cassandra Watson
LifeWays CMH
cassandra.watson@lifewaysmi.org

Brian Webb, MDIV*
MDHHS Bureau of Specialty Behavioral Health Services/Veteran Health Navigator Program
webbb3@michigan.gov

Tabitha Welch
Lapeer County CMH
twelch@lapeercmh.org

Gayle Witham, LMSW, ACM, BCD
VA Battle Creek Medical Center
Gayle.Witham@va.gov

Brenden Wright, LISW, LICDC*
VA Battle Creek Medical Center
brenden.wright@va.gov

  

*Active/Retired Veteran Status
^Administrative Core Team