9th Annual South Carolina Population Health Summit

August 21, 2024 • 9:00 AM - 12:30 PM

LIVE HEALTHY COMMUNITIES
Collective Impact in Action: Partners Aligning for Community Health

Population level changes cannot happen by an individual organization or agency; but a collaborative group made up of multi-sectoral partnerships can advance community health improvement efforts and greatly influence social impact. By developing and strengthening relationships across sectors, we can blend the strengths and resources of diverse sectors and partners who share a common vision and purpose.

Please join us virtually on August 21 for our 9th Annual SC Population Health Summit. The summit will feature an array of speakers who will provide promising practices and resources to impact work at the state and local level. CE’s available.

Plenary - State Perspectives on Health 

Introducing our Plenary Speakers

  • SC Department of Public Health

    Brannon Traxler, MD, MPH, currently serves as Deputy Director of Health Promotion and Services & Chief Medical Officer for the South Carolina Department of Public Health (DPH). In this capacity, she provides strategic direction for Health Promotion and Services, leading its approximately 2,000 employees. She ensures the delivery of appropriate, timely and quality services at DPH’s 74 public health service sites, located in every county in the state. She also oversees the statewide efforts related to chronic disease and injury prevention, communicable disease prevention and control, community engagement, community nutrition, maternal and child health, vital statistics, and emergency preparedness and response, as well as the state's public health laboratory.

  • SC Hospital Association

    Thornton Kirby is President & CEO of the South Carolina Hospital Association (SCHA). His experiences as a healthcare attorney, a hospital executive, and a senior executive for Clemson University have combined to make him a well-respected thought leader on brand management, healthcare quality, and healthcare reform. As CEO of SCHA, Thornton is a trusted advisor to hospital CEOs, the Governor, state officials, and federal lawmakers. Thornton also has extensive experience with governing boards. He has served on 50+ boards, leading ten of them as chairman. He earned his Juris Doctor at the University of South Carolina School of Law. He is a Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives and a frequent speaker on healthcare issues.

  • South Carolina Office of Rural Health  

    Darlene Lynch is the Sr. Director of Community Health Transformation for SCORH, who provides technical assistance and supports local partner coordination for the HPHC funded by TDE. Darlene brings more than 30 years of TA, coalition/leadership development and collective impact experience to communities across SC. She uses this extensive experience to help communities achieve even greater community-level results. Darlene formerly worked for the American Heart Association as their Senior Manager of Volunteer Management where she managed 59 volunteer executive committees / subcommittees and an estimated 1,500 national volunteers to influence the quality and growth of the Emergency Cardiovascular Care Training Network.

Plenary - Collective Impact in Action  

Introducing our Plenary Speakers

  • SC Department of Public Health

    Dr. Kobra Eghtedary is a visionary and transformative population health leader with more than 25 years of scientific research, data analytics, and health equity experience. As a member of SCDPH leadership team, she creates a collaborative solution-building community with health equity and analytics intertwined to create actionable insights. Currently, her focus is the development of the State Health Improvement Plan by engaging multisector thought leaders from across the state through partnership and strategic alignments to improving the quality of life for all South Carolinians.

  • Eastern Area Health Education Center

    Maddy is a recent Master of Public Health graduate from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. In January 2024, she joined Eastern Area Health Education Center (EAHEC) as a Community Health Improvement Consultant. She will be primarily providing “hands-on” expertise statewide to hospitals/health systems and Healthy People/Healthy Communities (HPHCs) to support the implementation of the Results-Based Accountability™ (RBA) framework, track progress, and tell the story of how these organizations improve the lives of North Carolinians. She will also work closely with NC DHHS/DPH, the NC Healthcare Association Foundation, and The Duke Endowment.

  • Alliance for a Healthier SC   

    Monty serves as the Executive Director of the Alliance for a Healthier South Carolina. Handling the operations of this state-wide coalition, Monty is charged with creating and expanding strong relationships with partners to ensure the Alliance’s mission to improve the health and well-being of South Carolina is carried out.

Upstate Region

Breakout Session Speakers

  • SC Department of Public Health

    Katie O'Shields Free is a graduate from the University of South Carolina where she received both her undergraduate and masters degree. She joined the SC Department of Public Health in 2018 as a Chronic Disease Epidemiologist and has since become the Director of the Epidemiology, Analytics, and Data Visualization section. She has a keen interest in creating visualizations to enhance data transparency, utilization, and understanding. She also works closely with community engagement teams to get local and stratified data into the communities.

  • Prisma Health

    Darin Thomas is the Strategic Project Director at Prisma Health's Addiction Medicine Center. A social worker by profession, he has 19 years’ experience working in various roles inside the largest healthcare system in the Upstate of South Carolina. He has a profound understanding of diverse healthcare dynamics and commitment to community welfare evident in his extensive involvement in population health initiatives, particularly in mental health, behavioral health, and homelessness interventions. He co-leads the Healthy Oconee Coalition for Mental and Behavioral Health, and actively participates in the Greenwood and Abbeville Coalition, which are dedicated to communities & enhancing recovery services.

  • Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System   

    JaLisa Jordan is a native of Macon, Georgia and her family made Spartanburg, South Carolina their home in 2021. She has over 8 years’ experience working in Public Health across Environmental Health, Chemical Hazards, Healthy Homes, and Community Health. She is a graduate of Tuskegee University and obtained her Masters of Public Health Degree from Mercer University. She currently serves as the Program Manager for Live Healthy Spartanburg, a local health coalition which strives to achieve health equity and improve health outcomes for all Spartanburg County residents.

Pee Dee Region

Breakout Session Speakers

  • SC Department of Public Health

    Jessica Threatt is a Chronic Disease Epidemiologist with a specialization in data visualization. She creates insightful dashboards, infographics, and other data products illuminating public health trends. Armed with a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of South Carolina and a Master of Science in Data Analytics from Charleston Southern University, Jessica combines epidemiological expertise with advanced data skills to drive informed public health decisions. Her work serves as a vital bridge between complex health data and actionable insights, advocating for evidence-based strategies in chronic disease management and prevention.

  • Tidelands Health

    Connie Koprowicz serves as the Community Outreach Manager for Tidelands Health, located in Georgetown and Horry Counties. She also coordinates the LiveWell Georgetown County coalition, part of the Healthy People, Healthy Carolinas program supported by The Duke Endowment. Connie comes to this work with experience in behavioral health, nonprofit fundraising, and policy research. She holds a Masters Degree in Human Services Counseling with a focus on addiction recovery. In her role at Tidelands Health, Connie has navigated and supported the use of collective impact to develop sustainable community initiatives for the purpose of helping Georgetown County residents live healthier lives.

  • Lee County First Steps   

    Alexis D. Pipkins, Sr. is a native and lifelong resident of Florence, South Carolina. As the Executive Director of Lee County First Steps, his visionary leadership has helped the agency realize a budget of over $1.8 million. Mr. Pipkins is a passionate educator, grant writer, and advocate. He holds a BA in Political Science with a concentration in Secondary Education from Winthrop University, an MA in Management from Webster University, and an Educational Specialist degree in Educational Administration from Capella University.

Midlands Region

Breakout Session Speakers

  • SC Department of Public Health

    George Kokolis comes to us from the worlds of economics, energy, the military, budgets, and legislation. With health and fitness so integral to a vibrant population, data is an indispensably important marker of success. We are all here to gain more knowledge and insight so we can move that big wheel of progress together.

  • Axis 1

    Pamela Shepard-McKnight is driven by faith and dedication to serving others. With over two decades of experience, she has significantly contributed to her community, notably as a former Early Intervention Services Program Director specializing in HIV/AIDS care across a six-county region. As the Healthy People Healthy Carolina’s Project Coordinator at Axis 1, she continues her impactful work in health promotion. Pamela also founded The Well - Community Collaborative & Pantry, creating partnerships to aid those in poverty and guide them toward self-sufficiency. Her leadership inspires teams and fosters collaboration in all her roles.

  • Fort Lawn Community Center   

    Libby Sweatt-Lambert is the Director of the Fort Lawn Community Center in Fort Lawn. She has worked in institutions, group homes, schools, and nonprofits for over four decades. As a result of these opportunities, she has seen many of the root causes of problems challenging our state. Libby believes in the power of grass root opportunities and asking people, businesses, organizations, and governmental groups to help address problems facing communities.

Lowcountry Region

Breakout Session Speakers

  • SC Department of Public Health

    Keya Jackson is a Virginia native who spent her formative years in South Carolina. In 2012, she earned her B.S. in Marine Science and a minor in Biology from Hampton University in Hampton, VA. She later spent two years studying the socioeconomic impact of a shrimp disease on Georgia fishermen and earned her M.S. in Marine Science in 2016 at Savannah State University in Savannah, GA. Keya has been a Data Manager for the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control for three years, first with the WISEWOMAN program, and now with the Environmental Public Health Tracking (EPHT) program.

  • Roper St. Francis Healthcare

    Renee Linyard-Gary is a health equity influencer who has a Doctor of Health Administration (DHA), and Master of Business Administration (MBA). She has over 20 years of experience in various healthcare roles. Renee is recognized as an expert in sound, data-based approaches for delivering patient-centered care that also addresses social determinants of health for those in need. Now serving as the Director of Diversity, Inclusion and Health Equity at Roper St. Francis Healthcare, Renee leads the work of the Community Health division as well as frontline services around diversity and inclusion efforts.

  • Trident United Way   

    Madison James is a dedicated public health professional with a Masters in Public Health from the Gillings School of Public Health, University of Chapel Hill. Currently, she serves as the Health Program Manager for Trident United Way, where she coordinates the Healthy People Healthy Carolinas initiative for Healthy TriCounty. Madison has a proven track record in community building and coalition work. Fluent in English and Spanish, she is passionate about fostering community engagement and implementing data-driven strategies to improve health outcomes in the Lowcountry of South Carolina.

Thank You to our Sponsors