Brittany Perrotte, MPH, was the Project Director for the Healthiest Cities and Counties Challenge with the American Public Health Association. Brittany managed the technical and operational aspects of the Challenge, in addition to providing coaching support to our 10 city-based teams. Brittany’s passion for public health and health equity was originally inspired by her experience working as a public school teacher in the city of Chicago. Prior to joining APHA, Brittany worked for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women’s Health, where she led policy initiatives to improve the health and wellbeing of women and girls. Brittany holds an MPH in Maternal and Child Health and a BA in Hispanic Languages and Literature from the George Washington University.
Amy Aparicio Clark, MEd, serves as Executive Director of the Aetna Foundation. Amy has led numerous philanthropic programs at Aetna since 2016 and has a strong commitment to advancing health equity through community-based, resident-led efforts. Prior to Aetna, Amy managed a large portfolio of research and evaluation projects at the State Education Resource Center, a Connecticut quasi-public government agency, and Education Development Center, a global nonprofit in the Boston area. Amy has a master’s in education from Lesley University and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Wellesley College.
Phil Bors, MPH, is the Technical Assistance Director at Healthy Places by Design, where he provides coaching and technical to stakeholders engaging in healthy community initiatives. For the Challenge, Phil coordinated the activities of the Challenge's peer learning network, including the planning and implementation of our affinity sessions and webinars. Previously, Phil was the evaluation coordinator for the North Carolina Cardiovascular Health Program in the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. He began his health career as a paramedic and instructor in Florida and North Carolina. Phil received a Bachelor’s of Science from Virginia Tech and Master of Public Health from UNC-Chapel Hill.
Gabriella Moreno is the Events and Meeting Coordinator for Healthy Places by Design. In her role, Gabriella provides logistical support and organization for various on-site events and virtual meetings. For the Challenge, she primarily assisted in coordinating the logistics for our peer learning network. Prior to joining our team, Gabriella served as the Director of Carolina Athletic Hospitality, a sub-branch of Colonnade Group. She also served as the Assistant Director for Carolina Athletic Hospitality, where her primary responsibility included the coordination and execution of rental events in the Blue Zone at Kenan Stadium. Gabriella graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2015 with a Bachelor of Arts in Management and Society.
Arianne Noorestani was the Project Communication Support Specialist for the Challenge with the American Public Health Association. In her role, Arianne was in charge of curating and disseminating communications content on Challenge activities, in addition to supporting technical assistance efforts for our 20 communities. Before her time with the Challenge, Arianne worked as a Capacity Building Intern for HealthHIV and assisted in legislative tracking and research for organizations such as the World Wildlife Fund. Arianne earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Environmental Studies with a minor in Public Health from The George Washington University. Arianne possesses a deep passion for healthy equity and environmental health and hopes to further explore this passion in her future graduate career.
Susan L. Polan, PhD, is the Associate Executive Director for Public Affairs and Advocacy with the American Public Health Association and was in charge of overseeing the development and implementation of Challenge activities. She also overlooks the Association's departments of government relations and affiliate affairs, communications and membership. Susan has almost three decades of experience in public health, government relations and associations. Prior to joining APHA, Susan worked as the director of government relations at the Trust for America's Health, a public health advocacy organization. There, she served as lead staff lobbyist to Congress, federal agencies and the administration on priority issues, including public health infrastructure development, chronic disease prevention and where she advocated for new funding for a nationwide health tracking network. Susan earned her Bachelor of Science degree in psychology from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. She later earned a Master of Science degree in health psychology from San Diego State University and a doctorate in social ecology from the University of California, Irvine.
Sarah Strunk, MHA, is Strategic Advisor at Healthy Places by Design. Sarah provided strategic support to Challenge activities and previously served on the first iteration of the Challenge's advisory council. Prior to working with Healthy Places by Design, she was the Director of External Affairs at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health. Sarah also served as Director of Corporate Planning at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, and in strategic planning and business planning roles at Duke University Medical Center and Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. Sarah earned an MHA from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1991, and a BA in Public Policy from Duke University in 1987.
Nastassia Walsh, MS, is the Associate Program Director for Community Health and Justice at the National Association of Counties. Nastassia oversees programmatic activities and strategy on NACo’s justice and health portfolios to support county innovation, in addition to supporting the 10 county-based teams of the Challenge. Prior to joining NACo, Nastassia was a senior policy analyst at The Council of State Governments Justice Center where she provided training and technical assistance to state and local criminal and juvenile justice agencies to develop programs for people returning to their communities from jails and prisons. She also spent six years at the non-profit Justice Policy Institute researching local, state and federal criminal and juvenile justice policies. She has a master’s degree in forensic psychology from Marymount University and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Arizona State University.
