Michigan Health
Policy Forum

Randolph Rasch, PhD, RN, FAANP

Dean, MSU College of Nursing

Dr. Randolph Rasch is Dean and Professor of the Michigan State University College of Nursing. He has been the Director/Coordinator of two well-known family nurse practitioner (FNP) programs. Dr. Rasch has over twenty-five years of experience teaching in BSN, MSN, DNP and PhD programs in nursing. He has published and presented in the areas of primary care, HIV risk reduction, and diversity in health care education and clinical practice. Prior to his appointment as Dean, Dr. Rasch served as Chair of the Department of Community Practice Nursing in the School of Nursing at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and as the Director of two well-known family nurse practitioner programs in the Vanderbilt University School of Nursing and the School of Nursing at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Dr. Rasch was the first State-wide Director of Nursing Services/Programs Director in the Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC), where he provided leadership and direction for nursing services, and assisted the Director of Health Services with the overall development, management, and operation of Health Services in the TDOC. As part of a three-member management team, Dr. Rasch was responsible for designing and implementing a system of health care for the TDOC, and as Programs Director, leading the development and facilitating the implementation of the Quality Assurance Program for Health Services in the TDOC.

Dr. Rasch has consulted on a multitude of projects including analysis of nursing productivity and workload, and process improvement. Notably, his expertise is in the area of primary care and community health, particularly the roles, functions and appropriate skill mix for all levels of nursing; licensed practical nurses, registered nurses, advanced practice nurses/nurse practitioners, and cultural diversity in healthcare services.

Dr. Rasch’s clinical experiences as a registered nurse include charge nurse on a surgical unit in a community hospital and public health nurse (PHN) and PHN Team Leader and home health nurse in a county health department. As a FNP, he has provided care in a prison system; a corporate health care center; and a nurse managed clinic recognized as a clinical agency by the NC Board of Nursing.

A Fellow in the American Association of Nurse Practitioners (FAANP) and a Distinguished Scholar and Fellow in the National Academies of Practice (DS&FNAP), Dr. Rasch holds the distinction of being the first African American male graduate of the nursing program at Andrews University, and the first African American male Masters-prepared FNP (a graduate of the FNP program at Vanderbilt School of Nursing). He is the first African American male to hold a PhD in nursing, and was the first African American male public health nurse in the State of Michigan.

Jeffrey Kullgren, MD, MS, MPH

Associate Director of the National Poll on Health Aging, University of Michigan Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation

Jeffrey Kullgren, MD, MS, MPH, is a Research Scientist in the VA Health Services Research & Development Center for Clinical Management Research at the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School. Dr. Kullgren holds undergraduate and medical degrees from Michigan State University and a master of public health degree from the University of Michigan. He completed his internal medicine residency at Brigham and Women's Hospital and was a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholar at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Kullgren's research aims to improve patient decisions about preventive behaviors and utilization of health care services. The main focus of his work is identifying effective and scalable approaches to promote modification of behavioral risk factors among patients at high risk for developing chronic diseases. Dr. Kullgren's Health Services Research & Development Career Development Award is focused on identifying new opportunities to improve Veteran engagement in evidence-based ways to prevent type 2 diabetes mellitus. (Source)

Rep. Angela Witwer

Michigan House of Representatives District 71

State Rep. Angela Witwer is serving her first term representing the 71st House District, which includes much of Eaton County and the cities of the cities of Charlotte, Olivet, Potterville, Grand Ledge, parts of Lansing, as well as the townships of Bellevue, Benton, Carmel, Chester, Delta Charter Eaton Rapids, Kalamo, Oneida Charter, Roxand, Sunfield, Vermontville, Walton, and Windsor Charter. An alumnus of Waverly Community Schools, Witwer went on to receive her bachelor’s degree in business and marketing from Northwood University.

Witwer began her professional career in clinical health care, working first in Sparrow Hospital’s burn unit and later as the manager of pediatric rehabilitation. This desire to help others, coupled with her clinical expertise, propelled her to become manager of Sparrow’s community relations and marketing department.

After 22 years working in health care, Witwer left Sparrow in 2007 to co-found Edge Partnerships, an award-winning public relations, marketing and advocacy group. During this time, she was a strong advocate for quality public education and community engagement, serving as the vice president of Waverly Community Schools’ Board of Education and was an active member of the Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce Economic Club committee, and the Wharton Center for Performing Arts Advisory Council and the McLaren Greater Lansing Foundation Board of Directors. (Source)

Paula Cunningham, MLIR

Director, AARP Michigan

Paula D. Cunningham is the State Director for AARP Michigan which has more than 1.4 million members. AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, social welfare organization with a membership of nearly 38 million. They work to lead positive change and deliver value to all people 50+.

Prior to joining AARP Michigan, Paula D. Cunningham was the CEO of Capitol National Bank (CNB). CNB has been in the community for more than 32 years. She was the only African American woman in the country to be president of a majority owned bank.

Prior to joining Capitol National Bank Ms. Cunningham was the first woman to be President of Lansing Community College. Lansing Community College has more than 30,000 students and is the State’s 3rd largest community college. As President of Lansing Community College, she successfully led a community millage campaign to generate an additional $9 million for the institution into perpetuity. Under her leadership, the college implemented a strategic planning process that resulted in five new buildings. The main building on the LCC campus was officially named the Paula D. Cunningham Administration Building in 2006. This is the only building named after a woman in downtown Lansing.

President Cunningham has also been a small business owner. She and her husband owned and managed an 18-hole golf course and she was the founder of an entrepreneurial academy for young people.

Paula Diane Cunningham’s dedication to education, small business and community has been recognized by many organizations. She has received numerous awards and recognition throughout her career, including the 2016 Michigan Black Caucus Trailblazer Award, being inducted in to the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame, a former recipient of the prestigious Athena Award, featured in Ebony Magazine as a “Woman on the Move” and featured in Bridge Magazine as a woman who “Breaks Barriers”, as well as other featured articles.

Paula serves on numerous boards including, but not limited to Davenport University, McLaren Health Systems – Lansing, and she was the first African American female to Chair the Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce Board.

Alexis Travis, PhD

MDHHS Senior Deputy Director of Aging and Adult Services

Dr. Alexis Travis is senior deputy director of MDHHS’s Aging & Adult Services Agency, where she oversees an agency that provides statewide leadership, direction and resources to support Michigan’s aging, adult services and disability networks.

Dr. Travis previously served as director of MDHHS’s Bureau of Health and Wellness within its Population Health Administration, where she managed the Division of Chronic Disease and Injury Control and the Division of HIV and STD Programs. In that role, she collaborated with internal and external stakeholders to develop a state dementia plan and established a state-level public health workgroup on healthy aging.

Prior to her work at MDHHS, she worked as chief of community health for the Worcester Department of Health and Human Services in Massachusetts, where she managed the Community Health Improvement Plan and was a champion of health equity while working effectively with diverse community stakeholders – including older adults and people with disabilities. Earlier in her career, she was a payer operations manager for Athena Health and chapter director of program services and state director of program services for March of Dimes New England.

Dr. Travis holds a doctorate in public health from Walden University in Minnesota, a master’s degree of pharmacy with honors from the University of Bradford in the United Kingdom and was a participant in the Socrates/Erasmus Student Exchange Program at the University of Salamanca in Spain. (Source)

Clare Luz, PhD

Director of Research, Associate Professor, Department of Family and Community Medicine, College of Osteopathic Medicine; Director, IMPART Alliance

Dr. Clare Luz is a gerontologist, Associate Professor in Family and Community Medicine, and founding Director of AgeAlive, a program to foster age-related networking, information exchange and partnerships across Michigan State University. Her commitment to work on behalf of older adults spans 40 years. Prior to joining MSU in 1998, Dr. Luz worked for 15 years as a geriatric social worker in long-term care settings and six years as a consultant with nursing homes for staff development and case management.

Dr. Luz’s research addresses aspects of health and long-term care that have an impact on optimal aging and quality of life for frail and vulnerable older adults and those who care for them. The majority has focused on the eldercare workforce, particularly the direct care workers. She is currently the PI on a 2-year project titled IMPART Alliance, funded by the Michigan Health Endowment Fund, aimed at building an infrastructure in Michigan for developing and supporting the personal care aide workforce.

Michelle Moccia, DNP, ANP-BC, CCRN

Program Director Level One Senior ER, St. Mary Mercy Livonia

Dr. Michelle Moccia is the Program Director of Michigan’s first-ever Senior ER Center, which opened in July 2010 at St. Mary Mercy Hospital in Michigan. Besides working in the Emergency Department, she also performs comprehensive gero assessments in the Senior Wellness Clinic. Michelle has been a Registered Nurse since 1975. She has devoted more than three decades of her life to emergency room nursing, nurse training, and partnering with EMS agencies, community groups, and senior care centers to promote the wellness and special care needs of seniors.