State Management Team
Mike Betz, PhD
Principal Investigator
Michael Betz is an assistant professor in the Department of Human Sciences and an FCS state specialist at The Ohio State University. Professor Betz’s research focuses on how local economic conditions impact a wide range of individual, family, and community wellbeing indicators and is particularly interested in the differences between rural and urban areas. He is currently investigating questions examining the connection between local economic factors and the opioid crisis and engaged in research on the economic and social impacts of natural resource extraction on the communities in which it occurs
Kelly Cabral
ROTA Projet Director, Co-Investigator
Kelly Cabral serves as Prevention Coordinator in the College of Education and Human Ecology and provides support to Butler, Darke, and Wayne counties. She received her B.S. in agriculture from Ohio State University and her M.A. in agricultural and Extension education at New Mexico State University. Kelly has over 10 years of experience in community leadership and education in both the southwest and midwest regions focusing on food and health factors that impact community development. Most recently, Kelly worked for the Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association as the co-director of a USDA grant that resulted in a comprehensive statewide educational program for beginning farmers in Ohio. Kelly is a youth and teen Mental Health First Aid instructor through the National Council for Mental Well Being.
Ken Martin, PhD
Principal Investigator
Dr. Martin is responsible for convening the prevention education team from various colleges (College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences; College of Public Health; College of Education and Human Ecology; College of Pharmacy). As a Professor in the Department of Extension, Dr. Martin is working on education and outreach focusing on prevention education to reduce opioid misuse and abuse, to address farm stress, and to support a NC multi-state project developing community-based recovery-oriented systems of care. Dr. Martin is PI or co-PI on seven federal and state agency grants supporting this work. With a background in rural sociology, he leads efforts tied directly to rural health and community development programs, and specifically focusing on broader rural vitality. Dr. Martin currently serves as co-chair of the legislative committee for the Ohio Rural Health Association.
Laura Akgerman
State Coordinator
Laura Akgerman is the State Program Coordinator for Ohio Youth Resilience Collaborative, and the Disability Services Coordinator for Ohio AgrAbility & Ohio State University Extension. She serves as the Secretary for the Ohio Rural Health Association. She is a two-time Ohio State University Alum, with a Bachelor of Arts in English and a Master of Arts in Rehabilitation Services and is a Certified Rehabilitation Counselor. Her work focuses on farming with a disability, accessible Agritourism, Caregiver support, and rural health advocacy. She presents workshops on OYRC, GenerationRx, Gardening with Arthritis, Farming with a disability, Accessible AgriTourism, and other rural health, disability and agriculture related issues for Ohio AgrAbility, OSU Extension, OYRC and Ohio Rural Health Association.
Andy Wapner, DO, MPH
Advisor
Andrew Wapner, DO, MPH is the Director of the Center for Public Health Practice (CPHP), the Director of the Master of Public Health Program for Experienced Professionals and a Clinical Assistant Professor of Public Health in the Ohio State College of Public Health (CPH). As a practicing pediatrician with more than 7 years of public health and health policy experience, his primary interest lies in population health planning through integration of health care and public health, with a focus on social and physical environments and their impact on health status. During his time as chronic disease medical director at the Ohio Department of Health, he lead the creation of the state’s first chronic disease prevention and reduction plan and the plan’s implementation collaborative. He also served on several statewide advisory groups, including the Health Policy Institute of Ohio’s Health Value Measurement Dashboard and Prevention and Public Health Advisory Groups.
Evaluation and Research Team
David Julian
Program Director – Evaluation and Community Practice
David A. Julian, Ph.D., is CETE’s Program Director for Community Engagement and Evaluation. He also serves as the lead for CETE’s translational research scholarship. He received his Ph. D. from Michigan State University in Community Psychology and his MCRP (Master of City and Regional Planning) from The Ohio State University. His educational experiences and participation in a variety of professional roles have allowed him to be an active strategic planner, evaluator and community engagement consultant who has worked with a variety of health and social services organizations at the state and county levels. Dave pioneered a specific approach to collaborative planning that has its roots in Ohio’s effort to support inter-systems planning and service provision for youth and families. Dave has held appointments in the College of Public Health, City and Regional Planning and Social Work. He has taught community engagement, program planning and evaluation and worked with students to conduct formal evaluations of education, health and social services programs.
Prevention Coordinators
Mackenzie Browning, MSW, LSW
Senior Prevention Coordinator
Mackenzie Browning is a Prevention Coordinator in the College of Education and Human Ecology. She provides support to Perry, Greene, and Brown counties. Mackenzie holds a bachelor’s degree in Family Studies and a master’s degree in Social Work with a specialization in School Social Work. She has over six years of experience in mental health and substance use disorder treatment. For the last three years, Mackenzie, provided direct mental health services in an urban school setting. She is passionate to bringing preventative services to schools in Ohio and is an advocate for children’s emotional well-being.
Community Team Leaders
Kristy Watters – Adams County
Heather Reister– Butler County
Jami Dellifield & Amanda Raines – Hardin County
Danielle Combs – Highland County
Treva Williams & Dennis Decamp– Scioto County
Cheryl Goodrich & Ken Stewart – Monroe County
Michael Schweinsberg – Paulding County
Misty Harmon – Perry County
Tammy Jones – Pike County
Travis West – Vinton County