Town Hall Meeting: Managing Stress In Uncertain Times

Dr. Godwin ‘O. ORKEH, Jr. is a Physician, experienced healthcare administrator, Public Health Officer and Quality Improvement Officer, with an interest in International Health and Development. He has worked extensively in disaster relief and humanitarian assistance in the Middle-east and North African Region, Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and Latin America; where his work has focused on Public Health Assessments in a range of humanitarian crisis (man-made or natural disasters), war and conflicts, population displacements, disaster preparedness and in the development of health systems.

As a fellow of the International Human Rights Consortium (2002-2003), Dr. Godwin Orkeh traveled widely in Central America, researching rights to health and other social, demographic and economic considerations affecting access to health. He has considerable experience in the field of health policy, disaster relief and humanitarian assistance in complex settings. He has been blessed with cross-cultural experiences and have had opportunities to tackle real-life, diverse professional challenges and have successfully designed or implemented programs in remote mountain top Himalayan communities, in dust-bowl desert terrain, Mayan indigenous villages, to conflict-affected populations in different regions of the world.

He serves with specialized agencies of the United Nations and is active in the non-governmental & non-profit sector. He is retained as an emergency public health specialist in the Global Health Cluster of the World Health Organization. He is a proud recipient of Regional and International awards, including the Ralph Bunche Gold Medal of Excellence for his work.

He is an Adjunct Faculty in the Department of Health Care Administration and Department of Health Sciences at California State University, Long Beach. 

Summary of Experience & Skills

• Over 20 years’ experience in Coordination and Program Management covering International Health & Development in Africa, Latin America & Asia, including Health Systems Planning, Emergency Preparedness, Recovery and Gender mainstreaming Project coordination, Quality Improvements and Monitoring and Evaluation
• Experience in the health sector in both developing and contemporary settings
• An understanding of global developments in health
• Physician with extensive Public health (Community Health, Preventive & Social Medicine, Applied Epidemiology & Biostatistics) background, including Communicable diseases & Surveillance, Immunization, HIV/AIDS, Child Health & Nutrition, Maternal & Reproductive Health
• Humanitarian assistance in emergencies in post-conflict, failed & transitional areas; including refugee health, civil re-construction, early recovery & community development and conflict resolution
• Mentor, Researcher, Medical Educator and health workforce capacity building within Public Health in Crisis settings, International Development and Health Program Management, Disaster Risk Assessments and Population Displacements.
• Team leadership, capacity building and organizational development & management in non-profit / non-governmental sector and within United Nations system
• Experience in implementing improved access to healthcare for women, children and people with disability; and familiar with minority & disadvantaged groups; rights issues; cultural diversity & sensitivity

Dr. Amber Johnson is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Science at California State University at Long Beach. She earned both her PhD and MPH in Community Health Education received her BA in Psychology.  Her love for epidemiology also motivated her to pursue a Post-Bac Certificate in Epidemiology.   Dr. Johnson’s research focuses on the social epidemiology. Her research is guided by the weathering hypothesis, which posits that stress associated with racial inequities may cause health deterioration among African Americans as early as young adulthood, leading to racial disparities in health outcomes over the life span. Dr. Johnson has also had experience working with community-based participatory research projects, HIV prevention, CVD prevention education on the campus of Historically Black College and Universities, and community health assessment and outreach. Dr. Johnson enjoys creating an engaging and interactive learning environment that encourages students to become active learners in and out of the classroom.

Dr. Early is an assistant professor in the School of Nursing. Her clinical background is long and varied; she is a Family Nurse Practitioner that currently teaches public health nursing. With a doctorate in public health and a specialization in epidemiology, Dr. Early's research has focused on the intersection of infectious disease and obesity in children.

Toni Espinoza-Ferrel received a bachelor’s degree in Community Health (1990), CHES Certified in 1990, and earned a Master’s Degree in Public Health (1997) from California State University, Long Beach.  Ms. Espinoza-Ferrel has been a lecturer at CSULB in the Health Science Department since 1997, the HSC Graduate Program Coordinator from 2000-2011 and the Graduate Program Director from 2011 to present.  She has taught Drugs and Health, Orientation to Health Science, Community Health, Applied Concepts of Health Education, Human Sexuality and Internship.  Ms. Espinoza-Ferrel has worked in the area of tobacco since 1990 on eight California Tobacco Control Program (CTCP) funded grants.  Ms. Espinoza-Ferrel’s expertise in evaluation includes, but are not limited to, training of data collection and data entry personnel, database development, data management, data analysis, and generation of reports. Additionally, Ms. Espinoza-Ferrel also has over 30 years of experience evaluating community based public health projects involving youth, sexual health and alcohol, tobacco and other drug (ATOD) issues. 

Dr. Shirley Feldmann-Jensen is a global thinker and leader with policy expertise at the intersection of disaster risk management and human outcomes. Scholarly activity focus is on foundations that can advance the professionalization of the emergency services sector. Her experience is both international and domestic, spanning a range of instructional, disaster risk management, and public health settings.

Dr. Feldmann-Jensen’s Doctoral degree in Policy, Planning and Development was earned from the University of Southern California Sol Price School of Public Policy.  She also holds a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree from California State University of Long Beach, and a graduate certificate in Health Emergencies in Large Populations from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. 

Dr. Joanne Tortorici Luna is a Professor in the Advanced Studies in Education and Counseling Department, and an interdisciplinary faculty member for the M.S. program in Emergency Services Administration in the College of Professional and International Education. She is known nationally and internationally for her clinical and community work with individuals, families, and communities in situations of armed conflict and disasters. She frequently serves as a consultant and trainer regarding school crisis.  Soon after the September 11 terrorist attacks, the Archdiocese of New York and the New York Chancellor asked her assistance for their impacted crisis teams., and she provided related services for New York schools then, and for several subsequent years. Her published works include Children in War: A Guide to the Provision of Services, a book she co-authored for the United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF).  She is also author of the book Promoting psychosocial wellbeing in the community. A manual for local personnel, published by the Pan American Health Organization, available in Spanish, English, and Portuguese.

In Nicaragua, she has worked as a Psychologist, University Professor, and Coordinator of Mental Health Services for a large region of the country. She was National Director of a mental health program for Nicaraguan child survivors of the war. As a United Nations consultant, she has worked in the war and refugee zones of the Central American countries as well as in South Africa. As a UNICEF advisor, she led the development and implementation of Nicaragua's first Peace Education Program, and the creation of South Africa's first UNICEF Country Programme for Emergency and Long-term Humanitarian Assistance. She was an international advisor to South Africa's Goldstone Commission for the Prevention of Political and Public Violence.

She has worked for the Long Beach Unified School District as a school counselor, and as district-wide Violence Prevention Coordinator. She helped lead the formation, training, and management of LBUSD's multiagency School Crisis Response Team, as well as the CSULB Volunteer Crisis Resource Team.

Dr. Tortorici Luna is a member of the National Trauma Network and EMDR Humanitarian Assistance Programs. She is a Trainer and Member of the Culver City Fire Department's Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), and is an American Red Cross Disaster Mental Health volunteer. She is a Founding Member and Trainer of the City of Long Beach's Hate Crime Response Team, Her community volunteer work also includes service as Staff Psychologist at MACH1 (Move a Child Higher) and MACH2 (Military and Companion Horses), equine-partnered therapy programs.

Dr. Tortorici Luna has a long time interest in the body-mind-spirit approach to self-healing and wellbeing, and is a Master Reiki Practitioner and Teacher.

Finally, Dr. Tortorici Luna is proud to have been one of New York City's first women cab drivers.

Ms. Whitehouse-Capuano is a part-time faculty member for the Health Science Department, and serves as the Coordinator for the MSHCA Accelerated Program.  Ms. Whitehouse-Capuano has over twenty years of experience in tobacco prevention.  She wrote and administered several tobacco prevention grants for the Center for Health Care Innovation at CSULB working on tobacco-free policies for college campuses, parks, restaurants, bars, and communities.  She is currently the co-chair of the BREATHE campaign at CSULB.

Ms. Whitehouse-Capuano received her teaching credential, Bachelor of Science in Dietetics and Food Administration, and Master of Public Health degrees at CSULB.