Veda Johnson is a Marcus Professor in General Academics and Pediatrics and the Executive Director of PARTNERS for Equity in Child & Adolescent Health for the Department of Pediatrics at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. Prior to her current position, Dr. Johnson was the Director of Community and School Based Clinics for the Department of Pediatrics at Emory University. In that position, she served as Medical Director of the Whitefoord Community Program (WCP) which consists of two school based health clinics (SBHCs) and the Boatrock and Lindbergh Women and Children’s Health Clinics affiliated with the Grady Health System.

Dr. Johnson has participated in the development of national standards for comprehensive school based health programs. She has also been active in promoting school health programs in the state of Georgia and in petitioning Congress for increasing federal allocation for school health centers nationwide. She is a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics and serves on the executive committee for the Academy’s Council on School Health. In addition, she serves as Chair of the School Health Committee for the Georgia Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Dr. Carolyn Aidman is PARTNERS for Equity in Child & Adolescent Health’s “Convener” for school-based health care, sharing the vision, drawing interest in and helping bring School-Based Health Center planning grants to 34 counties in Georgia. Carolyn has over 30 years of front-line, programmatic, and leadership experience working with and for minority populations in public health, social services, and education. She directed the Georgia Division of Public Health’s Office of Adolescent Health and Youth Development, managing an $11 million budget, providing training to public health staff, and youth development and clinical services to children and adolescents throughout Georgia. As Executive Director of the Professional Development Centers of Florida, she led the 180-member university team that developed, delivered, and promoted a nationally recognized competency-based training, testing, and certification program for Florida’s child protection professionals.

Dr. Aidman is the Associate Director of Emory’s Urban Health Initiative, see www.urbanhealthinitiative.emory.edu developing university and community partnerships for community-engaged learning, training future health professionals, and conducting research, especially community-based participatory research. She has developed transportation ministries, providing transportation to needed services, a community teaching garden at a grocery store in a low-resourced area of Atlanta, and helps bring affordable health insurance plans through her Health Insurance Navigators and student Resource Insurance Navigators team. See http://ringofgeorgia.org

Ruth is a native of Atlanta, receiving her undergraduate degree in Psychology from Spelman College in 1976. Shortly after graduation she began her career with Emory University: first in the Human Resources Department as a Recruiter, then as a Research Assistant with the Department of Psychiatry, and finally with the Department of Pediatrics. During her career with Emory, she received a Master’s Degree from the University’s School of Public Health. Ruth has been with Pediatrics since 1989, first working with the Division of Neonatology as Administrator, and then serving as the Administrator for the Department’s Grady Operations. She retired in 2009 and returned in 2010 to serve as the Business Administrator, and was promoted to Program Director for the Department of Pediatrics’ PARTNERS for Equity in Child & Adolescent Health. Ruth received a Juris Master degree from the Emory University School of Law in 2015. She retired from the University in 2019 and is currently serving as the Program Specialist - School Based Health Centers for the Georgia Department of Education Office of Whole Child Supports.

Danté T. McKay, JD, MPA, directs the Office of Children, Young Adults, and Families (OCYF); Behavioral Health Division; Georgia Department of Behavioral Health & Developmental Disabilities. The OCYF portfolio includes community-based programs, certified parent and youth peer specialists, crisis services, workforce development, and system of care.

Pursuing personal and professional interests to impact systemic and sustainable change led McKay to a fellowship opportunity with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). The RWJF fellowship opportunity provided a career pivot for McKay. He later went on to serve as Health Policy Director at Voices for Georgia’s Children, and founding Georgia Director of Enroll America, where he was responsible for leading a statewide public education and outreach initiative that helped to connect more than 1.6 million Georgians with health insurance coverage.

Collectively, McKay possesses more than two decades of combined experience in administration; advocacy; community and stakeholder engagement; governance; grantmaking; program design, implementation, and evaluation. He is a member of the Children, Youth and Families Division of the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors. Additionally, McKay serves on the board of directors for the Georgia School Based Health Alliance.

McKay is an alumni of Clark Atlanta University (BA, Mass Media Arts, Public Relations); Southern University Law Center (JD); Austin W. Marxe School of Public and International Affairs, Baruch College (MPA); National Urban Fellows (2011); and Atlanta Leaders for Results (Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2013).

Polly has been advocacy director at Voices for Georgia’s Children since 2010. Additionally, she owns a strategic communications company, Long Game Strategies, LLC, allowing her to enhance and continue her work at Voices, while creating content for clients and causes akin to child policy. She serves on the Georgia School Based Health Alliance Board, is a member of the National Juvenile Justice Network and is past Chair of the ChildKind Board of Directors. Polly also serves on the Juvenile Justice State Advisory Board, an appointment made by Governor Nathan Deal. She is a member of the Annie E. Casey Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative state steering committee. Prior to her work in child policy, Polly was responsible for developing communications for Southern States Energy Board, served as Executive Director of the League of Women Voters of Georgia and spent more than two decades in various production capacities in the Georgia film industry, which included two regional Emmy nominations and the writing and production of the introductory film at the National Prisoner of War Museum at Andersonville National Historic Site. She was a member of the first class of the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics and earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. She has two astounding kids, Skye and Zane.

Lisa Medellin serves as Director of Programs for Healthcare Georgia Foundation, and is a member of the executive leadership team at the Foundation. She oversees the Foundations’ strategic grantmaking programs, management of program staff and programmatic partnerships for the Foundation. She ensures all programs and initiatives deliver desired results for the Foundation by focusing on implementing grantmaking strategies that accomplish the mission and vision of the Foundation. Lisa has been instrumental in the design and development of the Foundations’ grant making process, policies and procedures. She is the primary liaison between the Foundation’s philanthropic partners, and the non-profit sector both in Georgia and nationally. She provides thought leadership to the Foundation on identifying new strategic funding opportunities, cultivating key partnerships, and directs the allocation of the Foundation’s annual distribution of $3.8 million. Since joining the Foundation in 2005, she has been responsible for awarding over $57million in grants in Georgia. Lisa has successfully implemented a multitude of Foundation health initiatives and programs during her tenure. Her grant portfolio expertise includes; Health Equity, Childhood Obesity, Health Policy, Behavioral Health and School-Based Health. She is currently leading the Foundation’s largest funding investment since inception The Two Georgias Initiative-a five-year comprehensive funding program to support achieving greater health equity among rural populations in Georgia.

Ruth is a native of Atlanta, receiving her undergraduate degree in Psychology from Spelman College in 1976. Shortly after graduation she began her career with Emory University: first in the Human Resources Department as a Recruiter, then as a Research Assistant with the Department of Psychiatry, and finally with the Department of Pediatrics. During her career with Emory, she received a Master’s Degree from the University’s School of Public Health. Ruth has been with Pediatrics since 1989, first working with the Division of Neonatology as Administrator, and then serving as the Administrator for the Department’s Grady Operations. She retired in 2009 and returned in 2010 to serve as the Business Administrator, and was promoted to Program Director for the Department of Pediatrics’ PARTNERS for Equity in Child & Adolescent Health. Ruth received a Juris Master degree from the Emory University School of Law in 2015. She retired from the University in 2019 and is currently serving as the Program Specialist - School Based Health Centers for the Georgia Department of Education Office of Whole Child Supports.

Lynne P. Meadows has 34 years in health care and nursing experience. She received a BSN from Queens College and a MS degree in nursing from Georgia State University. Lynne had an extensive career at Grady Health System in Atlanta, GA where she served in several leadership roles which included: Assistant Head Nurse, Staff Development Instructor, Director of Quality Improvement & Staff Development for Ambulatory Services and the Assistant Vice President of Patient Care Services from 1996-2000. Lynne has also worked as a Pediatric Nursing Instructor and a Legal Nurse Consultant. She is currently the Director of District Health Services for Fulton County School System (FCS) where she has served in this capacity since the program’s inception in 2000.

Lynne was named 2011 School Nurse Administrator of the Year by the Georgia Association of School Nurses and received the “Game Ball” award for exemplary work in 2014 by FCS Superintendent. Lynne is a certified American Heart Association CPR, AED and First Aid Instructor and a designated Training Center Faculty at Grady Health System. She participates and has served on a host of health care and community boards which has included the Atlanta Children’s Shelter, South Fulton United Way Advisory Board, the Ronald McDonald Care Mobile Van Advisory Council, and Secretary of the Fulton County Board of Health. Lynne is very active in public health initiatives and the school health services arena. She currently serves as the State Data Champion for the National Association of School Nurses and Georgia Association of School Nurses. Lynne also was selected and participated in the School-Based Health Alliance Leadership Fellows Program in 2015. She was one of ten to graduate in the first cohort class.