| Speaker Bios |
| Taha M Ahmad MD, MPH Physician Souther California Permanente Medical Group (SCPMG) Dr. Ahmad has been practicing clinical occupational medicine for 16 years at Kaiser Permanente in Southern California. He is the chief of Kaiser Permanente on-the-job clinic at the Panorama City Medical Center. He is Board Certified in both Internal Medicine and Occupational Medicine / Preventive Medicine. Dr. Ahmad is part of the care experience team at his medical center where physicians are coached on communication strategies that emphasize empathy and connection as foundational principles. Dr. Ahmad has organized and participated in multiple educational initiatives at his medical center, as well as outside his organization, on occupational medicine, disability management and communication topics. He lives in Southern California has two daughters age 14 and 11, and enjoys tennis, golf, traveling and learning about complexity science. | |
| Stuart H. Cohen MD, FIDSA, FSHEA, FACP Board Certified Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases Professor and Chief Division of Infectious Diseases UC Davis Health Dr. Cohen is a Professor and Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at UC Davis. He has been a faculty member since 1983 after finishing his fellowship at UC Davis. He has been the Director of Hospital Epidemiology and Infection Prevention since 1986. In that role, Dr. Cohen works closely with the Employee Health Services. He is board certified in Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases. His primary areas of interest are in Transplant ID, Clostridioides difficile infection and other healthcare related infections including drug resistant bacteria. He also works 1/2 day in the County TB clinic. | |
| Kathryn Conlon PhD, MPH Assistant Professor University of California Davis Kathryn Conlon is an assistant professor of epidemiology at the University of California Davis. She is jointly appointed in the School of Medicine and the School of Veterinary Medicine. Her research focuses on characterizing how climate change influences human, animal, and environmental health. She incorporates traditional environmental epidemiological study design, spatio-temporal exposure assessment, weather and climate modeling, land-use modeling, and mixed-methods for social and behavioral epidemiology. She works with state and local health practitioners to systematically characterize and implement climate change and public health actions in support of building an evidence base for climate change and health interventions. | |
| 0 | Carolyn Dewa MPH, PhD Professor Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, UC Davis Dr. Carolyn Dewa is a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of California, Davis. Prior to joining the UC Davis faculty, she led the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health’s Centre for Research on Employment and Workplace Health in Toronto and was a Professor at the University of Toronto. She holds a PhD in health economics from the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health, an MPH in health services administration from the School of Public Health at San Diego State University and a BA from Wellesley College. She was a fellow at Harvard Medical School. Her awards include an Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care Career Scientist Award and a Canadian Institutes of Health Research/Public Health Agency of Canada Applied Public Health Chair. |
| M. Andrew Greenwood MD, MPH Chief of Service, Orange County Kaiser Permanente on the Job Southern California Permanente Medical Group (SCPMG) Dr. M. Andrew Greenwood is Chief of Service at Orange County Kaiser Permanente on the Job, SCPMG. He grew up in Ohio and Ontario, Canada. He completed his specialty training at the University of Pittsburgh, at Montefiore Medical Center in New York (the university hospital for the Albert Einstein College of Medicine), and at University of California Irvine. | |
| Amy Heinzerling MD, MPH Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Amy Heinzerling is a CDC Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) Officer assigned to the California Department of Public Health Occupational Health and Environmental Health Investigations Branches, where she has participated in investigations of occupational and environmental health hazards including silicosis, occupational heat illness, and, most recently, vaping-associated lung injury. She received her MD and completed her internal medicine residency the University of California, San Francisco, and also holds an MPH from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. | |
| David Hornung MPH, CIH Heat and Agriculture Program Coordinator Cal/OSHA David started work for Cal/OSHA in 2009 as a compliance officer in the Oakland. He spent his first summers with Cal/OSHA performing heat inspections in the early days of the heat illness prevention standard. He is currently the Heat and Agriculture Program Coordinator. David received a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering in 2002 and a Master in Public Health in 2007 from UC Berkeley. Go Bears! David is a Certified Industrial Hygienist. | |
| Sumi Hoshiko MPH Research Scientist California Department of Public Health Sumi Hoshiko is a research scientist with the California Department of Public Health where she has investigated a variety of environmental exposures including tobacco smoke, chromium, perchlorate, radiation, as well as environmentally-related health outcomes such as asthma and concerns about cancer clusters. In the last few years, she has focused on the health effects due to climate change, including wildfires and heat waves. Earlier work included reproductive health and women’s HIV risk. Her MPH is in Epidemiology and Biostatistics from UC Berkeley and her undergraduate degree from Oberlin College. | |
| Nicholas Kenyon MD, MS Professor and Chief, Div. of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine UC Davis Dr. Kenyon is th edivision chief in Pulmonary/ Critical Care and a physician-scientist with a translational research focus in adult severe asthma. His areas of emphasis are asthma and lung injury therapeutics, the role of nitric oxide in airway inflammation, and environmental triggers of lung disease. He completed an NHLBI-funded Phase II clinical trial of L-arginine supplementation in severe asthma that was based 10 years of hypothesis-driven mouse model work in our laboratory. He is Co-PI on a U01 PRISMS grant to develop wearable environmental sensors for children with asthma. In addition, I have collaborated with other environmental health UC Davis investigators to run intervention trials in asthma, test novel therapeutics in animal models, develop novel breath sensor technologies and identify the environmental triggers for patients with asthma. His training and translational research has depended heavily on the UC Davis CTSC and interdisciplinary focus. He is the Director of the NHBLI T32 Training Program in Comparative Lung Biology and Co-Lead of the Career Development Program of the UC Davis NIEHS-funded Environmental Health Center. | |
| Sarah Mansell MD Occupational Medicine Physician Kaiser Dr. Mansell is an Australian trained doctor with 20 years of experience. She initially worked as an Emergency Room doctor and outback General Practitioner in Australia. This involved flying in small planes to outback towns and properties, and conducting medical clinics from the back of a plane. In 2002, Dr. Mansell relocated to the US. She worked in Adult Medicine at Kaiser San Rafael for 11 years before transitioning to Occupational Medicine at Kaiser Richmond. Dr. Mansell is Board certified in Family Medicine, Obesity Medicine, Integrative Medicine, and is a Fellow of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of General Practitioners. She has a Diploma from the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetrics and Gynecology. | |
| Rajiv Misquitta MD, FACP, BC LM, CHEF Medical Director, Lifestyle Medicine The Permanente Medical Group Dr. Rajiv Misquitta is the Medical Director of the innovative Lifestyle Medicine Department at Kaiser Permanente South Sacramento Medical Center. He is also the principal investigator of a research trial called Health Achieved through Lifestyle Transformation (HALT). This is an intensive lifestyle program with a focus on plant-based eating and its effects on patients with diabetes and heart disease. He attended medical school at State University of New York (SUNY) Downstate and completed his residency in Internal Medicine at the University of California, Davis Medical Center where he later served as a chief resident. He was elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha honors medical society. He is board certified in Lifestyle Medicine by the American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM). He is also a certified plant-based chef and has created a culinary program for patients at his Medical Center. He has promoted plant-based eating at numerous venues in Northern California, which have included community events, medical centers, television, and magazine articles. He is one of the authors of a landmark special report in the Permanente Journal on Lifestyle Medicine and its dramatic impact on health and survival. He has also authored an article on Evidence-Based nutrition information in the International Journal of Disease reversal and Prevention. Dr. Misquitta is certified as a personal trainer through the National Academy of Sports medicine (NASM) and is a yoga instructor (RYT 200). Dr. Misquitta is the past president of the Sierra Sacramento Valley Medical Society (SSVMS) and chairs the Joy of Medicine Committee. | |
| Chang Na MD, MPH Chief of Service Kaiser Permanente Dr. Chang Na is the Chief of Service for Kaiser Permanente Kern County Occupational Medicine Department. She serves on the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine Transportation Section leadership. | |
| Kathleen Navarro PhD, MPH Research Industrial Hygienist CDC NIOSH Kathleen Navarro is a research industrial hygienist at the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Her research focuses on characterizing firefighter’s exposure to chemicals from smoke, understand pathways of exposures, and developing practices to reduce exposure. Previously, she worked for the US Forest Service and conducted research quantifying exposure to smoke for the public and wildland firefighters and estimating risk of mortality for lung cancer and cardiovascular disease for wildland firefighters. To complete her dissertation research, she became qualified as a wildland firefighter. This allowed her to obtain high-quality personal and area exposure data and understand the environment and workplace that influence exposures for wildland firefighters. Last fire season, Kathleen expanded her wildland firefighter qualifications and experiences by working as a crewmember on a Type 1 Interagency Hotshot Crew, an elite team of highly trained wildland firefighters. | |
| Amalia Neidhardt MPH, CIH, CSP Senior Safety Engineer DIR/DOSH-Research and Standards Health Unit Amalia Neidhardt graduated in 1996 from UC Berkeley with a Master’s Degree in Public Health. She is a Certified Industrial Hygienist and Certified Safety Professional working for Cal/OSHA as a Senior Safety Engineer with the Research and Standards Occupational Health Unit. Amalia has been working for Cal/OSHA for 23 years. The first nine years she served as a Cal OSHA Enforcement Inspector, conducting and assisting with workplace inspections and accident investigations in various industries. While in the Health Unit, Amalia has worked on several advisories committees and rulemaking projects including Heat Illness Prevention (T8CCR 3395), Hotel Housekeeping Musculoskeletal Injury Prevention (T8CCR 3345), Health and Safety in the Cannabis Industry, Heat Illness Prevention in Indoor Places of Employment standard and Protection of Workers from Wildfire Smoke (T8CCR 5141.1). | |
| Paul J Papanek MD, MPH Public Health Medical Officer Cal/OSHA Paul J Papanek MD MPH has served as Public Health Medical Officer for Cal/OSHA for the past seven years. Previously he was Chief of Occupational Medicine at two Kaiser hospitals in Southern California. He has served on the Boards of Directors for WOEMA and ACOEM, and is a member of the clinical faculty and RAC for the UC Irvine Occupational Medicine residency. | |
| Cheif Douglas Parker Chief of the Division of Occupational Safety and Health California Labor and Workforce Development Agency Douglas Parker was appointed Chief of the Division of Occupational Safety and Health at the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency in August 2019. Previously, he was executive director of Worksafe. Chief parker has also served as deputy assistant secretary of labor at the Mine Safety and Health Administration at the U.S. Department of Labor from 2014 to 2015, and senior policy advisor and special assistant at the U.S. Department of Labor from 2009 to 2014. He was a partner at Mooney, Green, Baker & Saindon from 2005 to 2009, where he was an associate from 2000 to 2005. He was a staff attorney at the United Mine Workers of America from 1997 to 2000, a sales and marketing director at Custom Engineering and Sales from 1993 to 1994, and radio press director for the Presidential Inaugural Committee from 1992 to 1993. Parker was a radio press operations manager for the Democratic National Committee in 1992 and a staff assistant in the Office of Senator Paul Wellstone from 1991 to 1992. Parker earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Virginia School of Law. | |
| Tim Shadix J.D. Legal Director Warehouse Worker Resource Center Tim Shadix is the Legal Director at the Warehouse Worker Resource Center (WWRC), where he works to improve working conditions in the warehouse industry in Southern California through strategic campaigns and direct legal support for low-wage workers. He previously supported WWRC's work in his role as a staff attorney with Worksafe, where he also advocated for policies to improve workplace health and safety in California. Tim also worked on occupational safety and health and other workplace issues with the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of the Solicitor. Prior to law school, he worked as a policy advocate and organizer on campaigns for economic justice and immigrant rights. Tim is a graduate of Whitman College and UC Berkeley School of Law. | |
| Gina Solomon MD, MPH Principal Investigator Public Health Institute Gina Solomon is a Principal Investigator at the Public Health Institute in Oakland, CA, where she researches science and policy issues related to toxic chemicals and environmental health. Dr. Solomon is also a Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF). She served as the Deputy Secretary for Science and Health at the California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) from 2012-2017, and as a senior scientist at the Natural Resources Defense Council from 1996-2012. She was also the director of the occupational and environmental medicine residency program at UCSF, and the co-director of the UCSF Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit. Dr. Solomon’s work has spanned a wide array of areas, including children’s environmental health, reproductive toxicity, cumulative impacts, and the use of novel data streams to screen chemicals for toxicity. She has also done work in exposure science for air pollutants, pesticides, mold, and metals in soil, and on the health effects of climate change. Dr. Solomon serves on multiple boards and committees of the National Academies of Science, and on the EPA Board of Scientific Counselors Chemical Safety for Sustainability subcommittee. Dr. Solomon received her bachelor’s degree from Brown University, her M.D. from Yale, and did her M.P.H. and her residency and fellowship training in internal medicine and occupational and environmental medicine at Harvard. | |
| Matthew S. Thiese PhD, MSPH Associate Professor University of Utah Dr. Thiese's research focuses on the overlap between a person’s job and their health. He has a particular interest in truck driver health and safety. This includes everything from musculoskeletal disorders like Low Back Pain or Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, to motor vehicle crashes, to cancer. Other areas of emphasis include musculoskeletal disorders in other populations, mental well-being in the legal profession, and injury prevention in safety-sensitive workers. Dr. Thiese is interested in identification of potential risk factors, interventions to prevent injury or illness, evidence-based practice for both treatment and prevention, and assessments of worker health and safety fitness-for-duty. His background is in epidemiology and exercise physiology. He has coauthored 93 articles (20 as first author), 31 practice guidelines, and 5 book chapters. He also directs the Occupational Injury Prevention program, mentoring 11 PhD and Masters Students, and teaching 4 courses at University of Utah. | |
| Steven Wang MD, MBA Chief of Service, Radiology Kern County Kaiser Permanente Dr. Wang is a board certified Radiologist, B-reader, and specializes in breast imaging. He completed his residency and fellowship at Yale University, and joined Kaiser Permanente in 2014. | |
