People - Family Connects International

Kimberly Friedman

Chief Program Officer

Kimberly Friedman came to the Center for Child and Family Policy and FCI in 2018. As Chief Program Officer, Kimberly serves as a model expert and consultant for public stakeholders as they are exploring development of early childhood systems at the local and state levels. She monitors relevant federal and state policy, provides guidance on public/private funding options and explores opportunities to engage with the insurance/managed care industry. Both in her experience as an attorney and as a business development officer for a nonprofit organization, Kimberly’s career has focused on early childhood.

IMPLEMENTATION SPECIALIST

Lisa Garland

IMPLEMENTATION SPECIALIST

Lisa Garland comes to FCI from working at several sexual health non-profit organizations, schools, and government agencies. She has extensive experience working with individuals and groups of all ages, assisting them through various traumas and health challenges, both sexual and non-sexual. Lisa earned her Master’s in Social Work from North Carolina Central University and her Master’s in Public Health from UNC Chapel Hill. Lisa is a gardener and photographer and enjoys spending time outside with her partner and 2 young children.

NURSE MANAGER

Alain Glen

NURSE MANAGER

Originally from the west coast of Scotland but now living in Florida, Alain has worked in the field of Maternal Child Health Home for over 20 years. Alain is a Specialist Community Public Health nurse. Since coming to the USA, Alain has continued his passion for home visiting as part of a National Home Visiting program where he supported the nursing implementation and replication of the model over several states. Alain is fully invested in the Universal approach to home visiting and is very excited to join the FCI Family.

When not working, Alain enjoys time with his 2 Cavachon dogs; Dolly and Buster and laying in his hammock in the Florida sunshine..but not June-August!)

Salesforce Developer

Jesse Glover

Jesse Glover is a software engineer who enjoys learning new things every day. When he isn’t programming, he is spending time with his family and dogs. He also enjoys composing music with various musical instruments such as the guitar, bass, drums and piano. Jesse has also written and published a book on AR programming and currently writing to publish a book on AI systems used in Video Games.

Committee Member

Steven Green, MBA

Steven Green, MBA serves as a board member for Playful Learning Inc. and has served as a general partner of Ordinance Capital L.P., a Florida-based investment firm, since 1997. From 2012-2019, he was a board member of the New York Times Company. Steven was President of Captain Gardner House, a real estate development property, and owner of Medical Transportation Inc. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Duke University, a master’s in real estate development from the Columbia School of Architecture & Planning, and a Master of Business Administration in Finance from Columbia Business School.

Manager of Community Partnership

DANIELLA GREENHOOD

Manager of Community Partnership

Daniella Greenhood, Senior Implementation Specialist, is delighted to apply her more than ten years of public health experience to support community partners in advancing FCI’s mission. During her time at the American Heart Association, Daniella secured funding to promote cardiovascular health in partnership with foundations, local field teams and community partners across the Mid-Atlantic region. Daniella also led the SNAP-Ed program at UNC Chapel Hill’s Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, leading nutrition access and equity projects in rural communities across North Carolina. Daniella began her public health journey as a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Public Health Prevention Service Fellow, which included training at the CDC, the NC Division of Public Health and UNC. Daniella lives in the woods of Chapel Hill with her husband and two kids.

ADVANCED IMPLEMENTATION SPECIALIST

RAIN HELMS

ADVANCED IMPLEMENTATION SPECIALIST

Rain Helms comes to Family Connects International from a public and mental health background and brings experience working with communities to implement evidence-based treatments. Rain spent the beginning of his career working in residential care settings getting firsthand experience with health advocacy, Medicaid and Medicare policy, and disability supports. After going back for his MSW, he worked for the Center for Child and Family Health in Durham as a program manager and improvement advisor for the Problematic Sexual Behavior – Cognitive Behavioral TherapyTM program. He is a double Tar Heel, having completed both his undergraduate degree and MSW at UNC-Chapel Hill.

Committee Member

Bonnie Hepler, RN, MSW, MSPH, PhD

Nurse Manager, Acting CNO

Bonnie Hepler (RN, MSW, MSPH, PhD) is currently an Assistant Professor at Duke University School of Nursing, and previously the Acting Chief Nursing Officer at Family Connects International. She earned her PhD at Duke University in the School of Nursing and is a Fellow in Early Relational Health at University of Massachusetts Chan School of Medicine. As an F31 recipient, she studies relationships between mothers, infants and healthcare providers. She has prior experience as a Labor and Delivery/Postpartum Nurse with the Women’s Birth and Wellness Center and as a Labor and Delivery Nurse and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Prior to her Labor and Delivery experience, Dr. Hepler worked at RTI International promoting maternal and child health domestically and globally. Her research specialized in caring for vulnerable populations, studying caregiver child interactions, and ensuring that all people receive quality, compassionate care. From evaluating breastfeeding policies in the Middle East to the impact of long acting reversible contraception in sub-Saharan Africa, Hepler shows a commitment to empowering women. Before joining RTI, she served as a research assistant with the North Carolina Translational and Clinical Sciences Institute focusing on teaching research methods to diverse audiences. Dr. Hepler also has worked with the Center for Maternal and Infant Health at the University of North Carolina on research and dissemination projects addressing topics such as use of 17P (progesterone) for preterm birth, postpartum depression, and healthy habits during pregnancy. Dr. Hepler interned for more than a year at UNC Hospitals as a social worker focused on pediatric oncology and inpatient child abuse. She also has experience as the Co-Director of SHAC, the oldest student run, free health clinic in the country.

IMPLEMENTATION SPECIALIST

EMILY ROSE JOHNSON

IMPLEMENTATION SPECIALIST

Emily Rose joined FCI in June 2023, after completing her Masters in Political Science at UNC Chapel Hill. Prior to moving to North Carolina, Emily Rose has a background in community engagement and strategic partnerships through her work with several nonprofit organizations in Memphis, Tennessee. In her current role as an Implementation Specialist, she supports communities in implementing the Family Connects model, fostering connections and promoting maternal and child health. She facilitates FCI’s Community Alignment Advisory Board (CAAB), which provide a space for community partners to share challenges and workshop solutions around community alignment.

Vice Chair

Diane R. Johnson Grant, DrPH, MPH

Diane R. Johnson, DrPH, is a health communications and strategy expert. For almost 25 years, she has served in several executive capacities including her current position as the Chief Communications and Public Health Officer at Miss Porter’s School (Farmington, CT). She is the former Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at Providence Hospital (DC), has held senior-level roles in both large and boutique PR agencies and was a senior adviser to the Office of Research on Women’s Health at the National Institutes of Health. Diane is a doctoral candidate at the University of North Carolina Gillings School of Global Public Health where she also is adjunct faculty in its online master’s program. She uses her expertise in public health and communications to educate and facilitate behavior change to improve people’s lives. She brings her love of public health, passion for communications, and international health experience in service to Family Connects International.

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