We are currently seeking speakers who are passionate about global health topics, advocacy & health policy, community initiatives, healthcare disparities, and Native American studies. If you have expertise in these areas and are interested in sharing your knowledge, we invite you to join us as a speaker for our upcoming event. Contact us at ghcmidwest@gmail.com

Keynote Speakers

Planetary Health: The Urgency of Now

Megan Weil Latshaw, PhD is the Director of the Master’s Degree Programs in the Department of Environmental Health and Engineering at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health. She serves the Johns Hopkins Institute for Planetary Health as co-Director for Education and on the Steering Committee Member for the Environmental Challenges focus area of the Bloomberg American Health Initiative. Recently, Dr. Latshaw co-lead JHU’s Sustainability Plan Steering Committee. Her work focuses on designing healthy communities, connecting environmental health research with the real world, and improving environmental health surveillance (all through a justice and equity lens).

HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS . . . BUT . . . WHAT EXACTLY DOES THAT MEAN?

Dr. Kandis McCafferty graduated from the University of Nebraska at Omaha with a BA in Sociology in 2002 and from the University of Nebraska Medical Center with a BSN in Nursing in 2007 and a PhD in Nursing Research and Education in 2014. Kandis has spent much of her professional career at Creighton University serving as a professor in the College of Nursing from 2012 - 2021, and as the Director of Student Health Education and Compliance and the Director of Simulation based learning from 2021 – 2024. Currently Kandis serves as an executive consultant for Health Outcomes at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Nebraska.

As a nurse researcher, Kandis has focused her research endeavors on Rural health care and education strategies, advocacy and support strategies for survivors of intimate partner violence and sexual assault and on the use of simulation within academic and clinical arenas, as both an assessment and evaluative method of teaching and learning.

Clinically Kandis has spent her career at the bedside in labor and delivery and serves as a Forensic Nurse Examiner, both for CHI Health. Today we are going to focus our conversation on the impacts Interpersonal Violence, and Assault can have on how we define “home”.

Homelessness: Causes, Consequences, and Solutions

Margot Kushel, MD is a Professor of Medicine at University of California San Francisco, and Division Chief of the Division of Health Equity and Society and Director of the UCSF Action Research Center for Health Equity and the UCSF Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative. She is a practicing general internist at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital. Dr. Kushel's research focuses on the causes and consequences of homelessness, with the goal of preventing and ending homelessness and ameliorating the effects of homelessness on health. She is the Principal Investigator of the California State Study of People Experiencing Homelessness (CASPEH) and of multiple NIH studies, including the HOPE HOME Study, a longitudinal cohort study of homelessness in older adults Homelessness and a study of advance care planning in permanent supportive housing. Dr. Kushel serves on the board of Housing California and the National Homelessness Law Center and the Steinberg Institute. She is a member of the California Interagency Council on Homelessness. She speaks at a local, state, and national level about issues of homelessness, and frequently provides testimony to legislative bodies. She received her AB from Harvard College, her MD from Yale and completed residency, chief residency, and fellowship in internal medicine at UCSF.

Unity of Community - Creating Transformational Healthcare Opportunities to Advance Tribal Health

Dr. Janelle Ali-Dinar, PhD is a nationally and internationally recognized speaker, thought leader and CEO in several healthcare areas including (tribal, rural, elder, veteran populations) research, leadership, innovation (public health/population health, precision medicine) and bio-tech/wellness initiatives. She serves on the national healthcare congress and advocates for clinicians, underserved communities, access and eliminating healthcare access barriers and inequities. She has served as a hospital/health system and CEO/ Market President of various healthcare industries across the nation. She is a mentor, coach and leader in DEI, Social Determinants of Health for healthcare systems and universities and serves via appointment by the NE Governor, to the WHAC - Women's Health Advisory Council (women/children/healthcare/housing/access) and The Nursing Home Administration, Pubic Health and NE DHHS SHIP - State Health Improvement Plan.

Breakout Speakers

ReThinking the Internet: Finding Our Homes on Social Media

Trisha Prabhu is the 24-year-old inventor and Founder and CEO of ReThink™, a patented technology that stops cyberbullying before the damage is done. ReThink detects offensive content and encourages users to rethink sending it, stopping online hate proactively. Today, ReThink’s technology (named one of Google Play’s Most Innovative Apps), educational materials, and anti-cyberbullying advocacy have been shared with young digital citizens worldwide, everywhere from the Caribbean to Lebanon. ReThink's non-profit arm, ReThink Citizens, has brought ReThink's offerings to tens of thousands historically underreached youth across the US -- and is building a pipeline of young digital changemakers that are working to create the internet that they deserve.

For her work with ReThink, Trisha has been the recipient of many awards, among them, the Princess Diana International Anti-Bullying Award and Mozilla’s Rise25 Award. Trisha has also made waves as a contestant on ABC’s Shark Tank and as the winner of Harvard University's President's Innovation Challenge and The Elevate Prize. Most recently, her work was recognized by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Archewell Foundation.

Trisha is a TED speaker and has delivered 100+ talks in 30 cities about the power of “ReThinking." She is the author of “ReThink the Internet,” the world’s first-ever “by-youth, for-youth” guide to the internet.

Trisha is a graduate of Harvard University and a US Rhodes Scholar.

Home & Health

Dr. Filipi is Adjunct Professor of Surgery in the Department of Surgery at Creighton University School of Medicine. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from Iowa State University, a medical degree at the University of Iowa and he completed his surgical residency at George Washington University in Washington D.C. He was in private practice for 17 years and then joined the Creighton University surgery department where he developed laparoscopic surgical procedures for cholelithiasis, gastroesophageal reflux disease, inguinal hernia and flexible endoscopic upper gastrointestinal procedures. He has published 116 peer reviewed articles, 53 book chapters and has spoken worldwide on laparoscopic and intraluminal operations and global surgery.

He served as president of the Americas Hernia Society and although retired from surgery, he continues to work as founder of Hernia Repair for the Underserved herniahelp.org , co-founded of Chronic Care International chroniccareinternational.org, the founder of a Children’s food program in Ouanaminth Haiti, and founder of the Creighton University global surgery fellowship https://www.creighton.edu/globalsurgery . He was also one of two physician coordinators of care for the Creighton University 2010 Haitian Earthquake Relief Program. In October of 2023 Dr. Filipi received the American College of Surgeons Pfizer Humanitarian award.

Beyond “Safe Spaces”: Implementing Evidence-Based IPV Strategies for LGBTQ+ Youth

Andrew Alemán (He|Him|His) is a Nebraska based Social Worker who conducts both local and national work that centers those most impacted by oppressive and abusive systems and environments. His vast experiences have allowed him to work in many issues areas, including: LGBTQ+ liberation, intimate partner violence, gender based discrimination and violence, mental health, reproductive justice, sexual health, and more. Andrew has had the opportunity to work in many settings including universities, non-profits, and corporations; however the work that has impacted him the most has been within and alongside community. In a time where many feel powerless and our environments are changing daily, Andrew believes that it is essential that we focus on the power of connection. Relationships are an intervention.

Lead Poisoning Prevention in the Nation's Largest Lead Residential Superfund Site

Naudia McCracken has worked at the Douglas County Health Department in the Lead Poisoning Prevention Program for almost 10 years. She is responsible for blood lead surveillance, lead risk assessments and inspections, and outreach in the nation's largest residential superfund site. Naudia has an MPH in Biostatistics from the University of Nebraska Medical Center. She is passionate about raising awareness about the dangers of lead poisoning not only from lead-based paint and contaminated soil, but also the numerous overlooked sources affecting health in her community.

***Dr. Melissa Dittberner, PhD, CPS, PS, LMT***

Healing on the Streets: Integrating Street Medicine to Reframe Health Equity, Housing, and Human Connection

Dr. Mo, (Melissa Dittberner), PhD, CPS, PS, LMT, is an award-winning lecturer in the Addiction Counseling and Prevention department at the University of South Dakota. She has a Ph.D. in Counseling and Psychology in Education, a master’s in Addiction Studies and a bachelor’s in Health Sciences. Dr. Mo is a TEDx speaker, prevention specialist and peer specialist. She is the CEO of Straight Up Care, a telehealth platform for peer specialist. Dr. Mo is the Executive Director of Midwest Street Medicine. She is a co-author of, The Alcohol Reset. She does research on college students’ substance use, pedagogy, addiction, trauma, body brokering, tattoos as healing and harm reduction. Dr. Mo is a person in long-term recovery and her mission is to empower individuals to learn and navigate their paths to recovery and well-being.

Climate Solutions offer Health-promoting Interventions

Jonathan Patz is a Vilas Distinguished Professor and the John P. Holton Chair of Health and the Environment, and inaugural director (2011-2022) of the Global Health Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Professor Patz is an elected member of the US National Academy of Medicine and he currently serves as Director and PI of the NIH-sponsored Health-First Climate Action Research Center at UW-Madison.

Dr. Patz served as Health Co-Chair for the first US National Climate Assessment , and for 15 years, served as a Lead Author for the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) – the organization that shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize. Professor Patz has taught and conducted research on the health effects of climate change and global environmental change for nearly 30 years.

Community & Staff Engagement: Our Way - Winnebago Public Health Department

Mona Zuffante is a member of the Seneca Cayuga Nation of Oklahoma. She grew up in the northwest suburbs of Chicago with her parents and sister, and joined the Winnebago Public Health Department in 1998, following her education at Northland College. After her time as both an Environmental Health Specialist and Emergency Medical Technician, she became the Chief Public Health Director 12 years ago, and received her Master’s in Public Health from Concordia University in 2017.

She currently oversees the 18 field health programs within the Winnebago community, and has been able to write, manage and implement several grants through the years. In 2020, she was accepted into the first PhD Indigenous Health Program at University of North Dakota and graduated in August 2023. This program tested her, but was also what she needed during a Global Pandemic where she was working full time not just as the Health Director, but also as a member of the Winnebago EMS team. The lessons she learned from this program have been empowering and truly life affirming as an Indigenous person. Her dissertation centered around positive mental health and well-being among our adolescents and young adults. She has had the privilege of serving on several national boards such as NACCHO and PHF and regional boards such as Buffet Cancer Advisory Board and the Great Plains Tribal Advisory Board. She had the honor of receiving the UNMC Distinguished Researcher in 2023.

The most important role that she have had is being a mother to 4 amazing children. All that she have been able to do in this life is because of the support from them, but also from her companion. She enjoys in her spare time to bead and sew. She loves working outdoors in the garden and trying to grow some flowers from time to time with the help of the Creator. Her parents have set the foundational road that led her throughout her life and she so blessed to be able to do all of this work.

***Monica Meier, Director of Social Work at CIRA***

***Magda Batiz Salazar, Social worker at CIRA***

***Khenda Mustafa, Director of Community engagement at CIRA***

***Center for Immigrant and Refugee Advancement***

Homes Away from Home: Health through an Immigrant Perspective

In 2022, the Immigrant Legal Center and Refugee Empowerment Center merged, and the combined nonprofit organization is now CIRA. Their mission is to empower immigrants and refugees to live confidently through high-quality legal representation, resettlement, and social work, as well as to create welcoming communities through education and advocacy. This panel will be a combination of various professionals who work at CIRA who describe their personal experiences and their experiences working alongside and serving immigrants and refugees in the greater Omaha area.

Siena Francis House - The Cottages Project

Linda Twomey, LICSW, serves as the Executive Director & CEO of Siena Francis House, located in downtown Omaha, Nebraska. Siena Francis House is the state's largest provider of services for individuals experiencing homelessness, offering emergency shelter, residential addiction treatment and transitional housing, street outreach services and permanent supportive housing.

Prior to joining Siena Francis House, Linda spent 15 years in mental health, with the last 10 years as the Program Director of the Mental Health Specialty Programs at the VA's Nebraska-Western Iowa Health Care System. During her tenure at the VA, Linda played a key role in expanding the organization's homeless programs in Nebraska. She coordinated partnerships for the development of three permanent supportive housing projects for Veterans in Omaha, Lincoln, and Grand Island, creating 186 new units to serve homeless Veterans.

Linda leads Siena Francis House's efforts to provide effective services and community solutions to combat homelessness in the Omaha metro area. In late 2023, the Siena Francis House opened a new tiny home community with 48 housing units designed to support individuals who are chronically homeless and disabled. This $8.6 million project is part of Linda's commitment to addressing homelessness through innovative solutions.

Linda earned a Master of Social Work from the University of Nebraska at Omaha and a Bachelor of Social Work and Sociology from Nebraska Wesleyan University.

Outside of work, Linda enjoys spending time with her husband, Jay, and their three young adult children: Jackson, Jenna, and Jamison. Her hobbies include cooking, golfing, and spending quality time with her family.

To contact Linda, you can call (402) 341-1821 ext. 1216 or email her at Ltwomey@sienafrancis.org.

2025 Speakers