Family Connects
Contact
3710 University Dr,
Suite 310,
Durham, NC 27707
info@familyconnects.org
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.
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.
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.
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.
Jenny Jensen is a nurse executive with expertise in home visiting, postpartum care, and women’s health. Jenny brings experience leading health care systems reforms that improve health care quality and safety, particularly in pursuit of health equity. She has a dual masters in public health and nursing from Johns Hopkins University, is a board-certified lactation consultant, and has lived and worked abroad as a Foreign Service Officer.
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.
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.
Michele Benoit-Wilson is a board-certified Obstetrician/Gynecologist whose life’s work has been providing the full scope of women’s health care, including preventative care, high-risk obstetrics, and gynecologic surgery. She is a writer, speaker, and continues to live her passion through her work as an advocate for maternal healthcare and reproductive justice. Dr. Benoit-Wilson is a graduate of Brown University where she earned her B.A. in Biology and Afro-American Studies before completing her medical education there in 1999. She is serving her second term on the board of the Brown Medical Alumni Association. She trained at Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia and has since practiced in New Jersey, Central Pennsylvania and North Carolina, most recently with WakeMed Health. Dr. Benoit-Wilson is a 2021 recipient of the Triangle Business Journal’s Health Care Heroes Award and received the highest honor at WakeMed Health through induction into the 2021 Pyramid Society for her work in partnering with a group of Black female physicians to deliver the Covid-19 vaccine to marginalized people. She and those physicians were also recipients of the 2021 Dogwood Award presented by North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein. Her article summarizing their work was featured in the North Carolina Medical Journal.
Dr. Jonathan Kotch, a board-certified medical specialist in pediatrics and preventive medicine, retired in 2016 after 38 years on the faculty of the Department of Maternal and Child Health of the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health. Dr. Kotch was the lead researcher for the North Carolina cohort of LONGSCAN, Longitudinal Studies in Child Abuse and Neglect, which at the time was the longest (22 years) and the largest (1354 mother-infant pairs) ever funded by the Office of Child Abuse and Neglect of USDHHS. Dr. Kotch served for 8 years on the Advisory Board of the Durham Family Initiative, the precursor of FCI.
Family Connects
Contact
3710 University Dr,
Suite 310,
Durham, NC 27707
info@familyconnects.org