I have dedicated my life’s work and career to providing community service and enhancing the quality of life for children, families, and underserved communities – locally, statewide and nationally.
I have extensive experience as an administrator and chief executive in the fields of criminal and juvenile justice, public policy, program planning, management, training and education, and advocacy. I have witnessed first-hand the multitude of problems that unhealthy individuals and their families experience, and the life-long impact when individuals are not provided with appropriate health care services, treatment, and support to increase their odds of not just surviving but thriving.
I have read with great interest about the issues surrounding the proposed partnership between Florida State University and Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare to create an academic health center. During my tenure working within the law enforcement and criminal justice arena, I realized that it is not enough to just talk about reforms and make a few changes, we must be willing to make transformative changes and appropriately support and fund systems and services that are interrelated and interconnected with many of the issues confronted by our communities and health care system – physical health, mental health, education, child welfare, substance misuse, criminal and juvenile justice, public safety, quality affordable housing, employment and livable wages, community and economic development…