To foster community-engaged health research, the Penn State CTSI has appointed a Community Advisory Board , co-chaired by Patricia Fonzi, vice president of Customer Services and Relationship Management at the Family Health Council of Central Pennsylvania, and organization that administers clinical and social services for low-income families throughout the central Pennsylvania region; and Rosemary Browne, formerly with the Foundation for Enhancing Communities in Harrisburg and now program officer at Highmark Foundation.
The nine-member Community Advisory Board has identified initial priority health topics for central Pennsylvania communities: improving the health of women of reproductive age; improving oral health; caring for cognitively impaired elders; and preventing and reducing obesity. Within these topics, the Board encourages research that focuses on rural or underserved communities, or that uses new technologies for health care delivery or improving health literacy.
Community Advisory Board (CAB)
Leslie Best, B.S.W., Pennsylvania Department of Health
Rosemary Browne (co-Chair), Highmark Foundation
Barry Denk, Center for Rural Pennsylvania
Anne Doerr, Head Start and Early Head Start
Patricia Fonzi, M.A. (co-Chair), Family Health Council of Central Pennsylvania
Donna Gority, Blair County Commissioner (retired)
Kathleen Jones, Schuylkill County VISION
Wm. Russ McDaid, M.H.A. LeadingAge PA
Sandra Valdez, Spanish American Civil Association (SACA)
