Heather joined GRC in November, 2015. Over a period of 25 years she held a series of consultant, policy, and leadership positions at the Ohio Department of Health. Most recently, she served as Chief of the Bureau of Health Promotion, with 90 plus staff and programming focused on chronic disease an injury prevention. Heather also served in a senior leadership role as Acting Chief of the Office of Health Improvement and Wellness, as well as Chief of the Bureau of Community Health Services and Patient-Centered Primary Care and as Ohio’s first Director of the State Office of Rural Health.
Much of Heather’s professional career has been spent in roles that focus on access to primary care services for underserved populations and health care workforce initiatives. She has held leadership roles at the national level, including President of the National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health (NOSORH) and as a member of the National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services. She is a published co-author in the National Rural Health Association (NRHA) publication The Journal of Rural Health.
Heather received her Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology at the Ohio State University in 1988 and a Master’s in Community Health Education in 1991.