2026 IRHA CONFERENCE PRESENTERS
R O B E R T K R U S E
MD, MPH, FAAFP State Medical Director
Dr. Robert Kruse serves as the State Medical Director and Division Director of Public Health. Prior to joining HHS, Dr. Kruse served as the Medical Director of Occupational Health at MercyOne in Des Moines. Dr. Kruse is board certified in Family Medicine and completed his residency training program at Rutgers
University. He has a Master of Public Health with a concentration in Environmental and Occupational Health and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians. He has held a teaching appointment as Assistant Professor at Rutgers University’s Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health in Central New Jersey.
J E F F R O S E
Director of Special Initiatives – Older Adults Technology Services (OATS) from AARP
Jeff Rose has been at the forefront of the intersection between aging and technology for more than 19 years. He’s had the opportunity to hold several diverse roles, working in retirement communities, community-based organizations, and even a startup—all dedicated to the well-being of older adults. Jeff received his Bachelor of Science in Hospitality Management from The Ohio State University and Master of Business Administration from Roosevelt University. Passionate about teaching older adults through quality-of-life programming, he draws from his background and passion for tech-enabled living in his writing and teaching. When Jeff’s not at work he enjoys spending his spare time tinkering with technology, golfing, and cherishing moments with his two kids and wife in Chicago.
C A R O L F E R C H
Director of Special Initiatives – Older Adults Technology Services (OATS) from AARP
Carole Ferch, RDH, has been the I-Smile Silver Coordinator for the Scott County Health Department since 2016, where she leads initiatives to improve adult oral health through education, care coordination, and community collaboration. She works with healthcare providers, dental professionals, community organizations, and veterans’ services to expand access to dental care, navigate insurance and payment options, and promote the connection between oral health and overall health. Carole also partners with local hospital systems to educate staff on oral care practices that help reduce hospital-acquired pneumonia and engages dental providers in I-Smile programs throughout the region.
A registered dental hygienist with more than 30 years of experience, Carole has also volunteered at Matthew 25 Free Dental Clinic and the Iowa Mission of Mercy providing care to underserved adults. She is passionate about improving community health by increasing access to oral healthcare, fostering cross-sector partnerships, and empowering individuals through education.
R A C H A E L P A T T E R S O N – R A H N
Oral Health Program Manager – Lee County
Rachael Patterson-Rahn, RDH, is the Oral Health Program Manager for Lee County Health Department, a county public health department and Title V agency in Southeast Iowa. With nearly two decades of public health experience, Rachael has focused her career on expanding access to oral healthcare through innovative programs, strategic partnerships, and systems development
In 2020, Rachael began serving as both an I-Smile Coordinator and I-Smile Silver Coordinator at the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services’ request to pilot a one-coordinator model, remainingunique in this dual role. This coincided with officially joining LCHD management after many years of leading the agency’s oral health programs. She is responsible for grant writing and reporting to funders, monitoring data through ongoing needs assessment and other areas with interest in policy advocacy when opportunities arise, while managing preventive oral health services including care coordination across seven counties and supervising a team of oral health professionals.
Rachael is passionate about strengthening public health infrastructure and advancing health equity across the lifespan through collaboration with healthcare, community, and government partners to improve oral health outcomes for low-income children, pregnant women, at-risk adults and older Iowans.
K E R R I J O H A N S E N
Senior Director of Policy and Programs, Iowa Environmental Council
Kerri Johannsen is the Senior Director of Policy and Programs with the Iowa Environmental Council, providing strategic oversight and advocacy strategy across the Council’s Energy, Climate Initiatives, and Water Programs. She has two decades of experience in energy and environmental policy and has previously served as the Council’s Energy Program Director as well as Manager of Government Affairs. Kerri previously served as professional staff with the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee, administered the Iowa Power Fund for innovative clean energy projects, and worked as an analyst and Legislative Liaison with the Iowa Utilities Commission before joining the Council in 2016. Kerri was a visiting researcher with the Florence School of Regulation in Florence, Italy, in the summer of 2024. She has a B.A. from Gustavus Adolphus College and a Master’s in Public Policy from the Humphrey Institute at the University of Minnesota.
D A V I D C W I E R T N Y
Rose & Joseph Summers Chair of Water Resources Engineering and Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Professor of Chemistry, Director of CHEEC at University of Iowa
David M. Cwiertny is a Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Iowa (UI). He holds a B.S. in Environmental Engineering Science with a minor in Chemistry from U.C. Berkeley and a Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from Johns Hopkins University. His research focuses on pollutant fate in natural and engineered aquatic systems, with particular expertise related to emerging pollutant classes and the development of technologies that promote water sustainability. He currently serves as Director of the Center fo Health Effects of Environmental Contamination (CHEEC) and the Environmental Policy Research Program at the UI Public Policy Center. He is also a core faculty member in the campus-wide Water Sustainability Initiative, a faculty affiliate of the UI Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Institute, and the founding Editor-in-Chief of Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology.
W H I T N E Y Z A H N D
Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Management and Policy in the College of Public Health, University of Iowa
Dr. Zahnd is a tenure-track Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Management and Policy in the College of Public Health at the University of Iowa. Her research employs health services research and social epidemiological approaches to address rural cancer disparities across the continuum and to ameliorate disparities in access to health care services. She serves as deputy director of the RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis, past-president
of the Iowa Rural Health Association board, a member of the National Rural Health Association board, and chair of the Journal of Rural Health editorial board. Whitney teaches graduate courses in healthcare organization, policy, and research methods, and mentors students through the Advancing Cancer and
Rural Equity (ACRE) lab and the Student Association for Rural Health. She earned her bachelor’s in microbiology and master’s and doctoral degrees in community health from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and completed postdoctoral training at the University of South Carolina.
S T E P H A N I E R A D K E
MD-PhD, University of Iowa
Stephanie Radke is a Clinical Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine and a leader in efforts to improve the quality, safety, and equity of maternal and newborn care across Iowa. She serves as Collaborative Director of the Iowa Statewide Perinatal Care Program and leads initiatives that strengthen communication, collaboration, and quality improvement among hospitals and healthcare providers throughout the state, with particular attention to the needs of rural communities. Dr. Radke is also a co-founder and medical director of the Iowa Maternal Quality Care Collaborative and director of the Iowa Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health Program. A native Iowan, she is passionate about improving access to high-quality maternity care for families across the state.
J E S S I C A M A R I A N
Certified Dementia Practitioner, Broadlawns Medical Center GUIDE Program
Jessica Marian earned a Master’s in Science and Gerontology from the University of Missouri, St. Louis and is a Certified Dementia Practitioner. She brings over 10 years of personal and professional experience in healthcare for older adults and dementia care to her role in the GUIDE program at Broadlawns Memory Clinic. When she is not helping care partners and people in the community living with dementia through support, education, and community partnership, you can find her in her garden, reading, and doing embroidery.
J E N N I F E R S U K A L S K I
Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Management and Policy in the College of Public Health, University of Iowa
Jennifer Sukalski is an Assistant Professor at the University of Iowa College of Dentistry, a Dental Public Health professional, and a registered dental hygienist providing oral health services to underserved populations. Her research focuses on the effects of healthcare reform on overall health, oral health, access to care, as well as dental workforce trends in Iowa.
E L I Z A B E T H F A B E R
Director of Programs with Iowa Public Health Association and has served as Iowa Immunizes Coalition Director
Elizabeth Faber is the Director of Programs with Iowa Public Health Association and has served as Iowa Immunizes Coalition Director since its inception in January 2020. She earned a Master of Public Health from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health in 2003. Prior to her work with IPHA and Iowa Immunizes, Elizabeth served as an independent consultant, which included roles as the Iowa Region 2 Public Health Emergency Preparedness Director and the coalition consultant for the Lifelong Smiles Coalition.
E M I L Y J A N I O
MD-PhD student at the University of Iowa
Emily Janio is an MD-PhD student at the University of Iowa and is completing her PhD in the College of Public Health, Community and Behavior Health Department with Dr. Natoshia Askelson. Her long-term goal is to use both quantitative and qualitative methods to implement interventions in emergency department settings to improve the quality of care provided.
E M I L Y P R I C E
CEO, Brain Health
Emily Price oversees the national expansion of the evidence-based Count the Kicks public health campaign that educates and empowers expectant parents to track their babies’ movements in the third trimester of pregnancy. Since launching in Iowa in 2008, Healthy Birth Day, Inc. continues to join communities across the country in reducing the rate of stillbirth through the evidence-based Count the Kicks program. Price leads the vision of Healthy Birth Day Inc’s stillbirth prevention work — with an overall goal of saving more than 5,000 babies from preventable stillbirth every year.