The following candidates have been nominated and approved to run in the 2012 AMCHP Board Election. All AMCHP delegates and family delegates will be sent an e-mail with a link to the ballot. THE DEADLINE TO VOTE IS 5 PM on FEB. 10, 2012.

If you have any questions about the election, please contact Julio Arguello, Online Media & Information Technology Manager.

Treasurer (1 candidate)

Lisa Bujno, APRN, MSN
New Hampshire

Please list any past and current service to AMCHP.

• Governance Committee Chair, 2009-2011
• Region I Director, 2007-2011

Provide a personal vision statement for AMCHP.
I believe that quality health care should be available, accessible, affordable and culturally
competent for all families. I see AMCHP as the premier venue for promoting maternal and child
health strategies within the national context, as a voice for MCH programs and through national
advocacy and partnership.

What is your motivation for running for this office?
I have been involved with MCH issues over the past 25+ years. As Region I Director, I’ve worked to maintain a consistent voice for AMCHP and have provided input into AMCHP’s direction and new strategic plan. In this current environment of health reform, economic uncertainty and emerging public health threats, I believe I have the experience to help AMCHP achieve its strategic goals and am ready to take a leadership role on the AMCHP Board.

Secretary (1 candidate)

Valerie Ricker, MSN, MS in MCH
Maine

Please list any past and current service to AMCHP.

• Program and Policy Committee, 1997-2001
• Region I Representative, 2001-2006
• During my time as the Region I representative I was active in the Governance Committee and several ad hoc Board and AMCHP committees/workgroups.
• Currently I serve on the Annual Conference Planning Committee as well as the Chair of the Workforce Development Committee.

Provide a personal vision statement for AMCHP.
In addition to being recognized as the representative of state MCH public health leaders and providing national leadership on issues impacting the MCH population, AMCHP will provide technical assistance to state Title V Programs, assist in the development of future state Title V leadership, and inform the development and implementation of national policy representing state Title V Programs in partnership with the Maternal Child Health Bureau and other federal and national partners. AMCHP will also take a leadership role in engaging state Title V programs in preparing for public health accreditation. 

Director-at-Large (3-year term)

Sam Cooper III, LMSW-IPR
Texas

Please list any past and current service to AMCHP.

• Chair of the AMCHP Workforce Committee’s New Director Mentor
  Program Workgroup, 2009-2011
• Provided administrative support to the Region VI Regional Director’s activities, 2007-2008

Provide a personal vision statement for AMCHP.
AMCHP has the benefit of the talents, knowledge, and experience of all its members - clients, family members, healthcare professionals, and researchers. This organization has demonstrated repeatedly that the focus on improving health for all women, children, including those with special health needs, is the driving force behind its work. I believe that using these assets and the ongoing efforts to build partnerships with other associations and organizations AMCHP will be able to reach the goals of “healthy children, healthy families, and healthy communities.”

What is your motivation for running for this office?
With the challenges related to healthcare reform and limited fiscal resources, ongoing collaboration among states and other organizations that are committed to improve the health of individuals and families is essential. The opportunities to build partnerships through a vibrant professional association like AMCHP can support the efforts to maximize potential benefits to the individuals, families, and communities that we serve. As the Director-At-Large, I would seek to ensure that the resources of AMCHP are used effectively to engage members in efforts to achieve the mission of improving maternal and child health.

Family Representative (1 candidate)

Eileen Forlenza
Colorado

Please list any past and current service to AMCHP.
I am currently a member of the AMCHP Board as one of the designated Family Representatives.  I began my service to AMCHP as a Family Scholar in 2005, offering the family perspective in activities such as trainings, presentations and marketing materials.  I am also the family delegate for Colorado.  I currently serve on the Family and Youth Leadership Committee and have participated in several project-specific activities on behalf of AMCHP.  

 Provide a personal vision statement for AMCHP. 
 I welcome the opportunity to move our stakeholders to embrace the value of the consumer voice in all levels of our work.  I would like AMCHP to further cultivate the human capital that is an under-utilized resource within all MCH programs.  Family Leadership development is a strategy that enhances parent/family/youth engagement to assure quality programs across the MCH programmatic spectrum.  With heightened intention around this goal, I believe AMCHP will be better equipped to address the need for full-funding at the legislative level. 

What is your motivation for running for this office?
I would like to enhance AMCHP’s role in the concept of family leadership. Noting that the national dialogue around health care reform is promoting a family-centered approach, I believe that AMCHP can serve as a mentor organization on this topic. While I believe that AMCHP and MCH programs demonstrate value to family engagement, I would like to suggest that we raise the bar of accountability from engagement to leadership.  Informed family leaders, with skill sets that align with MCH Professional Competencies, can effectively partner with AMCHP at all levels.  These informed MCH Family Leaders will also be beneficial for State Title V programs, families and the community as a whole.  I would like to contribute to AMCHP by infusing the consumer voice in a manner that is informed, meaningful and impactful. 

Region IV Director (1 candidate)

Kris-Tena Albers
Florida

Provide a personal vision statement for AMCHP.
My vision for AMCHP is that research and data will be utilized to promote public health policy and funding to improve the health and well being of women, children, youth and families, including those with special health care needs and to hold true to AMCHP’s core values of leadership, social justice, diversity, equity and integrity.

What is your motivation for running for this office?
In my 30 year professional nursing career I have spent 26 of those years as a clinical and public
health maternal, infant and child health practitioner and advocate. I am well versed in the MCH
issues at hand and my motivation for running for the Region IV Director is to become more actively engaged with AMCHP at the national level, provide leadership to Region IV states and to assist AMCHP in carrying out their mission, vision

.

Region VIII Director (2 candidates)

Lois Bloebaum, MPA, BSN
Utah

Please list any past and current service to AMCHP.
I have served on the Emerging Issues Committee and also on the conference planning committee both during Nan Streeter’s tenure as AMCHP Board President.

Provide a personal vision statement for AMCHP.
As an experienced MCH public health professional my personal vision statement for AMCHP is to
promote excellence in MCH public health in this new era of prevention. I believe that with passage of the Affordable Care Act the country has an opportunity to turn the healthcare “ship” around from its long time focus on acute care to the more logical, affordable and humane model of preventive care. AMCHP is well placed to be an important player in this historical transition due to its long history of excellent support to state public MCH programs and its strategic partnerships with likeminded organizations.

What is your motivation for running for this office?
Moving into the MCH Quality Improvement Director position has enabled me to be free of many of the weighty responsibilities of the past sixteen years and maintain a single focus in my day to day work which will provide more time and energy to devote to AMCHP responsibilities. My past experience as program staff and then program management have provided expertise and insights that would be valuable to my Region VIII colleagues as well as the AMCHP Board and staff. I am motivated to run for this office at this point in my career not only because of what I have to offer based on past experience, but also to gain insights, ideas, new directions and skills from AMCHP
colleagues and staff.

Karen Trierweiler, MS, CNM
Colorado

Please list any past and current service to AMCHP.
I have been a member in good standing of AMCHP since 2000. I have been serving as the Title V Director in Colorado for the last 6 years, representing Region VIII on the AMCHP Board for the last 3 years. I also currently serve as a member of the Finance sub-committee.

 Provide a personal vision statement for AMCHP. 
AMCHP provides a forum for working together as partners and collaborators at the federal, state and local level to improve the health of women, children and families across the nation. By increasing capacity to work at the population-based and systems building level, resources can be further leveraged to impact the health of all MCH populations, particularly in these times of limited resources.  

What is your motivation for running for this office?
 I am supportive of AMCHP’s strategic plan, which provides a systematic process to move MCH issues forward.  A clear strategic direction is of particular importance during this period of great challenge for Title V. I am interested in continuing to serve Region VIII as a now more seasoned member of AMCHP Board, utilizing my educational background and work experience to assure that MCH remains a top priority at the national level.  In addition, I have been a member of the Region VIII community since 1990, in both the family planning and MCH arenas, which has given me a long-term perspective on the challenges facing the region. I look forward to having the opportunity to continue serving my colleagues.