Suzanne Smith is a CHW-C and is the Executive Director of Lafayette County Enterprises, Inc. She has worked diligently to develop relationships between over 80 different organizations in Lafayette County. She has a strong leadership development background, having spent 18 years with the YMCA in Saline County as the CEO and 9 years as the Network Development Director at HCC Network. Suzanne works with disabled adults on a daily basis and advocates for resources and services that they need. Suzanne is also the lead facilitator on the CHW HUB ECHO team through the Missouri Telehealth Network and has served on the CHW Advisory Committee and has been board member for the CHW Association for the State of Missouri since 2019. Suzanne has been the Board President of the Community Health Workers Association for the past two years.

Suzanne has been married to her husband David for 34 years and they have two sons and two daughter-in-laws: Andrew & Alicia and Alex and Ally. She has a precious grandson, Grady, that she takes to work with her two days a week! Suzanne and her family like to camp at the lake, fish, and be in the outdoors!

Ciearra Walker serves as Project Coordinator with St. Louis Integrated Health Network’s Community Health Worker Workforce Partnership.

Her notable achievements and steadfast dedication throughout her undergraduate career gained her national recognition by President Barack Obama during his commencement address to the 2016 Howard University graduating class. Since the presidential recognition, Ciearra has been featured live on CNN, Detroit Deadline, Teen Vogue, the front page of the Detroit Free Press and was named Youth of the Year by Essence. Ciearra decided to expand her love for public health through a different lens, focusing now on the environmental influences of a youth’s upbringing. Using mentorship, academic empowerment and professional development as the main vehicles of service, Ciearra started her own initiative entitled, Cjs Corner.

Ciearra is on a mission to serve as a vehicle of opportunity for millennial’s and eager to get involved with those in her community. Ciearra received her Master’s in Public Health with a concentration in Prevention Science from Emory University’s Executive Master’s of Public Health program. She is happily married to her long-term partner, Michael.

is a Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES), CHW-C, and Harm Reduction Specialist (HRS) and has been with Family Care Health Centers in St. Louis for 4 years. Starting as a Community Health Worker, she has transitioned to Community Health Worker: Housing Specialist and is currently Community Health Worker: Project Lead at FCHC. She graduated from Truman State University in May 2020 with a Bachelor of Science in Health Science and minors in Psychology and Disability Studies. Hanna then completed the Community Health Worker training program through St. Louis Community College in 2021 and became credentialed through the Missouri Credentialing Board (MCB).

With a background in health education and customer service, Hanna specializes in improving the health literacy and knowledge of the individuals she works with by building trusting relationships and giving them the tools to better advocate for themselves and their communities. Working with people from diverse lived experiences, from being unhoused to having substance use disorder and a multitude of other social determinants of health & social barriers, her ability to understand and translate their needs, as well as collaborating with members of the care teams to establish patient-centered goals ensures improved health outcomes for those individuals and communities.

She is a part of several professional, public health organizations and in 2023 was voted by peers as CHW of the Year in the state of Missouri. Hanna is also proud to share that she has been able to do a lot of advocacy work in the substance use & prevention field, even getting to sit on a panel with USDHHS Assistant Secretary for Health, Admiral Rachel Levine; co-facilitate on a national webinar hosted by HHRC, SAMHSA, and USDHHS regarding her work with her peer, DeAnthony Henderson, on getting naloxone into public housing; and travel to Jefferson City to testify in front of the Missouri Substance Abuse and Prevention Task Force, made up of elected officials across the state of Missouri.

Wendy Smith, new member to the CHWAM board, is a CHW-C.  She is continuing her two-year employment at Madison County Health Department.  When she finished her CHW class through State Fair college she received the highest honors certificate.  Wendy is also certified in Asthma ready communities along with CPR/First Aid.  Currently she serves Madison and Iron counties and is actively trying to bridge the gap we have in the more rural communities and hopes to continue and be a voice for those who cannot. She hopes to be a voice for all our CHW’s in our region.     

Ryan Smith was raised in a single parent household within the city of St. Louis. Ryan learned as a young teen that equity in resources and opportunity for success varied widely amongst geographical locations, race and socioeconomic status. This was evident as he participated in a new “desegregation” program for a high school in Clayton, MO. He was bused to another community, outside of the city, and it was then that his passion to foster positive impact into communities that resembled his own ignited.

Ryan earned a bachelor’s in social work recognizing that most of the people attempting to help didn’t look like him, yet most of the people who needed help did.  To date, Ryan has dedicated more than 25 years to social services. He charged himself to bridge community gaps through increased health literacy and community inclusion. Ryan currently works for St. Louis Integrated Health Network, connecting patients and people justice involved to medical and social service resources, as appropriate, to assist with system navigation and work on strategy that creates access and improved utilization of care/services.

In 2016, Ryan received his CHW Certificate through St. Louis Community College and has been instrumental in the CHW Workforce within the region, serving as a founding member of the STL CHW Coalition. As a member of the STL CHW Board of Leaders, Ryan provides voice to state departments, guiding strategy around CHW credentialing and sustainability.

In his downtime, Ryan enjoys spending time with his son and watching football. In 1997, Ryan started an adult flag football team founded on the values of fellowship, mentoring and healthy activity; this team continued to operate until 2019 impacting several generations of young men. Ryan is also the founder of Marsha’s Moms, an organization created in the memory of his mother to assist single moms enrolled in school.

Melissa Smith was born and raised in Clinton MO. Melissa has spent the last seven years in Buckner, MO and has recently moved back to purchase a home in Tightwad. For the past 5 years Melissa has worked as Director of Population Health and has dedicated her time and efforts in leading a team in Public Health, implementing programs to help individuals find resources and provide comprehensive tools to improve quality of life. Melissa has served on the board of directors for the Community Health Worker Association since 2022 and works at the state level to identify ways to help improve community health by determining ways to address social drivers in the communities. Melissa received her certification as a Mental Health First Aid instructor for Adults and Youth in 2022 and is passionate about the education of prevention. When Melissa is not dedicating her time to her work she enjoys spending time with her family in her two children, Bryndle and Stetson and her significant other, Eric.

Kathy Mason, CHW-C: My goal is to help educate the health care system about the value of Community Health Workers (CHW).  I would love to see CHWs reimbursable through insurance companies through billing codes created for Social Determinates of Health.  

I have worked with community agencies and organizations for the past 26 years.  My experiences come from being a home care worker, employee with Head Start / Early Head Start, receptionist at a Psychological Office and a CHW – C for Freeman Health System.   I have implemented and run a Caregiver Support Group in the Joplin area.  My passion for serving can be traced back as far as 1992 when I received Volunteer of the Year Runner-Up for the “Points of Light” Award.   This was presented for organizing an AWANA Club at the Hainerberg Chapel at Wiesbaden, Germany.

One of my favorite personal accomplishments was the privilege of walking alongside a client and watching the growth she made to become her own advocate of her health.

Lorna Miles, CHW, LNHA, MBA, BS Paralegal Studies is currently the Administrator for Meadow Ridge Senior Living. She is a part-time Project Director for the Randolph County Caring Community Partnership Opioid program.  In her spare time, she loves teaching Community Health Worker (CHW) certification classes for the state of Missouri and Kanas.

Lorna currently serves on Advisory and Curriculum board for the State of Missouri Community Health Worker (CHW) certification program.  Within this role both as a board member and a CHW, Lorna advocate on behalf of people to exercise their rights and gain access to resources. Her advocacy work involves supporting individuals and the community by bringing awareness to issues impacting health. Lorna also strives to build capacity, because both advocacy and capacity building go hand-in-hand and can help create conditions and build relationships that lead to better health.

Lorna is the Co-Chairperson for the Northeast Alliance Advisory Coalition for the Missouri Office of Minority Health.  The Statewide Minority Health Alliance; serves as a voice of advocacy and advice for the community in identifying and improving minority health status; serves with the purpose of establishing and maintaining meaningful communication on minority health issues; and to develop and submit specific recommendations to the Department of Health and Senior Services that will have a positive impact on minority health and wellness disparities at the local level and statewide.

Northeast Alliance Goals embodies the following; the “bridge” between minority communities and public health care agencies to provide better access to services and to influence policies impacting minorities, the Alliance offers open dialogue for sharing successes, problems, and barriers within the community and working together to create solutions.

Northeast Alliance Efforts Include: Prioritizing issues of minority communities in rural areas, encouraging minority participation in health programs, advising current community organizations on minority outreach, and identifying new community health partners. As the first minority elected to serve on Moberly Planning & Zoning commission for 2021-2024 term, Lorna leads by example.

Janna Ingram is the Coordinator and Instructor for the Behavioral Health Support Program at North Central Missouri College (NCMC) in Trenton, MO. With over a decade of experience in mental health, Janna has served as a mentor, instructor, and counselor. She is passionate about working with youth and families across north Missouri, engaging in various roles such as counseling, mentoring, and volunteering for youth activities.

Janna holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Park University in Parkville, MO, and a Master of Education in School Counseling from Stephens College in Columbia, MO. She is certified in School Psychological Evaluation and recently began working towards a Provisional License for Professional Counseling (PLPC).  Her experience includes case management, school counseling, alternative education, Psychological Evaluation, adult education and therapy services.  She is passionate about education, building stronger families, and supporting our communities. 

Janna is excited to expand her knowledge about Community Health Workers while establishing a new program at NCMC, set to launch in Fall 2024. In her free time, she enjoys spending quality moments with her husband, children, and extended family. Janna is actively involved in her community, often volunteering for her children’s activities and delivering meals for the Senior Center during the summer.