Information about Candidates
Member-at-Large
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Aron Tkachuk, BSN, RN, EMT
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Describe the individual's experience within the field of public health, including, but not limited to, work experience, leadership and interpersonal skills.
Work at the Arkansas Department of Health as TB Nurse Case Manager from November 2023-Present
Volunteer at the American Red Cross performing intake for clients and providing immediate assistance for sheltering in the form of cash assistance, and currently work as a nurse case manager to ensure client health care needs are taken care of from November 2023-Present
Member of Arkansas National Guard as a SGT supervising a team of five ensuring their training, performance, and health and welfare are taken care of while also performing as a combat medic with knowledge in basic WASH/Field Sanitation. 2016-Present -
Describe the individual's experience, activities and involvement within Arkansas Public Health Association (ArPHA) and/or American Public Health Association. (Board/Committees, Section and Membership)
No prior experience. I have just joined and I am looking to get involved immediately and be an active member.
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Manuel E. Tejada
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Describe the individual's experience within the field of public health, including, but not limited to, work experience, leadership and interpersonal skills.
Manuel works as a Project Manager and Community Health Worker at UAMS where he has had the opportunities to leverage organizational networks to expand health literacy, lessen health disparities, and develop the public health workforce.
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Describe the individual's experience, activities and involvement within Arkansas Public Health Association (ArPHA) and/or American Public Health Association. (Board/Committees, Section and Membership)
Manuel is new to ArPHA, but is looking forward to bringing his experience as a Community Health Worker to the association while promoting and advocating for public health policies that will assist communities in Arkansas.
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Alexis Gillett
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Describe the individual's experience within the field of public health, including, but not limited to, work experience, leadership and interpersonal skills.
The opportunity to serve as a Member-at-Large would be a welcomed opportunity and I would be honored to serve in such a role. Through the combination of experience and passion, I strongly believe I can positively contribute to the ArPHA.
My love for academia has led me to strive to apply my education for the greater good of the community which directly aligns with my role as the Program Director for the Master of Public Health program at Arkansas Colleges of Health Education. My research in pelvic health education and Native American enrollment in higher education demonstrates my desire to help our region and underserved communities. My background as physical therapist has led me to have a deep understanding of the health disparities at a community level which requires attention in the surrounding area as well as other underserved areas.
Thank you for taking the time to consider my application for the role as a Member-at-Large for ArPHA. I assure you, if selected I will provide strong leadership to serve others through public health. -
Describe the individual's experience, activities and involvement within Arkansas Public Health Association (ArPHA) and/or American Public Health Association. (Board/Committees, Section and Membership)
I have been a member of the APHA and ArPHA for less than a year and attended the APHA conference in Fall 2023.
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Incoming President-Elect
- Bala Simon
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Describe the individual's experience within the field of public health, including, but not limited to, work experience, leadership and interpersonal skills.
I am a family and preventive medicine physician, and currently serve as the Deputy Chief Medical Officer at the Arkansas Department of Health. I received my Medical Degree (MD) after completing my family medicine residency at UAMS College of Medicine, and I received my Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) degree from UAMS College of Public Health. I have been in the field of public health for over 25 years, of which, I have spent nearly 20 years at the Arkansas Department of Health in the field of public Health. I have held several leadership positions at the State and National level. I served as the President of American Academy of Family Physicians, Arkansas Chapter, 2020-2021; and President of American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin, Arkansas Chapter, 2017-2018. I currently serve as a board member of Arkansas Public Health Association, and Arkansas Medical Society. I also currently serve as the President of the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors. I am passionate about improving public health in Arkansas. I believe serving as the incoming President Elect of ArPHA would provide me an opportunity of further public health in Arkansas.
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Describe the individual's experience, activities and involvement within Arkansas Public Health Association (ArPHA) and/or American Public Health Association. (Board/Committees, Section and Membership)
I have been a member of ArPHA for the past 12 years now. I had been a presenter at ArPHA conference in the past, and had assisted with ArPHA program planning through my supervisor, late President of ArPHA, Dr. David Bourne. I have served as American Public Health Association Annual Conference abstract reviewer and has been a member of APHA. As a current board member of ArPHA, I am looking forward to working on ArPHA strategic plan, and assisting with the Annual conference team. I am passionate about improving public health in Arkansas, and using ArPHA as a vehicle to push it forward.
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Second Vice-President
- Donald Dale Simpson, Ph.D., MPH
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Describe the individual's experience within the field of public health, including, but not limited to, work experience, leadership and interpersonal skills.
Don Simpson is an ASCP-certified Cytologist that has served in higher education administration for more than two decades and across four academic institutions as Program Director, Department Chair, Director of Global Health, Director of Population Health, Dean, and as Special Assistant to the Vice President for Academic Affairs.
He is a first-generation college student with a passion for serving the underserved, and an experienced student-centered leader with a deep understanding of the manifold challenges currently facing higher education.
He has directed funded research across the disciplines of public health, women’s health, pediatrics, emergency medicine, and laboratory sciences, and served as principal investigator of a project that received more than $10 million dollars to serve as a partner with the Polytechnic of Namibia to develop a Biomedical Sciences Program in Windhoek, Namibia, Africa. He also served as co-principal investigator of a HRSA-funded project that received $205,668 dollars for student scholarships, and provided funding for full-time, financially needy students from disadvantaged backgrounds enrolled in the laboratory sciences.
He recently received $172,855 dollars from the Louisiana Department of Health to increase rates of COVID-19 testing and vaccination for disadvantaged populations, and use peer-to-peer mentoring to assess COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among LGBTQIA+ youth living in rural underserved areas of Northeast Louisiana.
He has extensive national and international experience with program development and sustainability, and was instrumental in licensing curriculum across multiple programs to international partners.
Don will be joining the Arkansas Colleges of Health Education in Fort Smith, Arkansas next month (May 2024) as faculty in the MPH Program. -
Describe the individual's experience, activities and involvement within Arkansas Public Health Association (ArPHA) and/or American Public Health Association. (Board/Committees, Section and Membership)
Don first became a member of both the APHA and the ArkPHA in 1995. He is currently involved with the Public Health Education and Health Promotion and the International Health discipline-based professional communities (section membership) of the APHA.
He is the Past-President of the American Society for Cytotechnology; the Past-Chair of the Cytotechnology Programs Review Committee of the American Society of Cytopathology (the Committee on Accreditation for the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs); the Past-Chair of the BreastCare Quality Management Committee of the Arkansas Department of Health and Human Services Breast and Cervical Cancer Control Program; and a volunteer laboratory inspector for the College of American Pathologists.
He served on the Board of Directors for five non-profit organizations in upstate New York, and continues to serve the Medical Technology Professional Standards Committee for the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing School (CGFNS) International.
In addition to serving the Louisiana Cancer Foundation, he serves on the board of directors for Tulane University’s School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine Alumni Association where he co-chairs the Alumni Engagement Committee.
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President
- Aaron Carroll, MPH, CPhT
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Describe the individual's experience within the field of public health, including, but not limited to, work experience, leadership and interpersonal skills.
Aaron has an unusual connection to public health. Aaron serves as the Environmental Monitoring Supervisor for the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Pharmacy and Therapeutics Service Line. Through his role there, Aaron supervises cleanroom operations as they relate to compliance with Arkansas State Board of Pharmacy and US Pharmacopeia chapters.
Aaron has recently been presenting on behalf of ArkPHA to organizations such as the Arkansas Pain Management Symposium and Arkansas Colleges of Health Education MPH Program.
In addition to his roles with UAMS and the ArkPHA, Aaron is the former Executive Director of International Quadball Association. In this role he lead a small nonprofit to manage and coordinate the sport of quadball across 30+ countries and organize international tournaments with 15+ countries being represented.
Aaron has been engaged in nonprofit work such as Make a Wish, March of Dimes, and the American Foundation for Suicided Prevention. These roles gave Aaron a view on issues and how they effected the communities he served. -
Describe the individual's experience, activities and involvement within Arkansas Public Health Association (ArPHA) and/or American Public Health Association. (Board/Committees, Section and Membership)
Aaron has been Incoming President-Elect and served as President during the 2023-2024 year. In addition to his duties with Arkansas Public Health, he has been an engaged member of the Pharmacy member section. He has helped shape policy proposals from within the section.
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