The UMD School of Public Health Alumni Network has been re-energized with the leadership of a new group of officers who are planning activities that will connect UMD SPH alumni (as well as those who graduated from the colleges that pre-dated the formation of the School of Public Health in 2007) for networking, educational and recreational opportunities. Welcome to the new leaders!
President
Christopher Silayan DeVore ’14 (Community Health), MPH
Senior Manager, Legislative Affairs at the Alliance of Community Health Plans and President and CEO of Matet’s Kitchen
Christopher is a health policy influencer, representing the interests of non-profit community health plans and advocating for policy change before the Congress. Christopher also owns and operates Matet’s Kitchen, a Filipino food brand based in Washington, DC, with his mother and sister.
Prior to his current roles, Christopher advised on health policy for Members of Congress and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As the Chief of Staff and Legislative Director to Congresswoman Alma Adams (D-NC-12), Christopher developed and executed the Congresswoman’s legislative strategy which led to a $1.2 billion increase in funding for HBCU’s and Minority Serving Intuitions. As the staff lead for the Black Maternal Health Caucus, Christopher was the lead architect of the Maternal and Child Health Stillbirth Prevention Act which increases funding and supports for stillbirth prevention across the nation. The bill was signed into law by President Biden.
Christopher has also served as the Co-Chair of a policy work group for the National Academies’ Genetic Population Health Action Collaborative. The work group sought to identify the ethical, legal, and social implications of genetic screening to inform national precision medicine policy. Christopher is credited as an author on the work group’s findings which have been published in Health Affairs and the Journal of Law and the Biosciences.
Christopher is a 2014 graduate of the Community Health program at the University of Maryland and went on to receive his Master of Public Health degree in Health Policy and Graduate Certificate in Genetic and Molecular Epidemiology from Emory University in 2018.
Vice President
Isaiah Griffith ’24, MPH ’25 (Health Policy Analysis and Evaluation)
Local Affairs Liaison, City of Baltimore
Isaiah graduated from the University of Maryland School of Public Health in 2024 with a B.S. in Public Health Science and in 2025 with an MPH in Health Policy Analysis and Evaluation through the accelerated BS + MPH program. He currently serves as a Local Affairs Liaison in the Mayor’s Office of Government Relations for the City of Baltimore, where he works closely with City agencies and the Baltimore City Council to support the Administration’s legislative priorities.
Isaiah brings experience across federal, state, and local government, including roles with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Maryland General Assembly. His work centers on public health policy, legislative strategy, and cross-sector collaboration.
As a first-generation college graduate, Isaiah is deeply committed to mentorship. He remains actively engaged in his community by serving as a mentor to students in Baltimore City and exposing students of color to career pathways in public health.
Secretary
Leyla Merlo ’19 (Public Health Science)
A 2019 graduate of the University of Maryland, College Park, Leyla received her B.S. in Public Health Science with a Minor in Sustainability Studies. She later obtained her M.A. in International Development Studies, specializing in Gender and Global Health from The George Washington University.
Leyla is proud to be a former federal employee with the United States Agency for International Development. At USAID, she served as a Program Officer for approximately three years, half of that time being stationed overseas in Dakar, Senegal.
In her free time, Leyla enjoys spending time outdoors either walking or biking, ice skating, and karaoke. She speaks Spanish fluently and passed her Foreign Service Institute language exam in French, achieving full professional proficiency.
Treasurer
Zachary Rabovsky ’09 (Kinesiology)
Director of Practice Transformation, CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield
Zachary Rabovsky is the Director of Practice Transformation for CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, where he is advancing innovative population health strategies for value-based care partners. Zach leads CareFirst’s Practice Consulting team who work with physicians and healthcare professionals to identify opportunities, recommend strategies, and support workflow redesign to improve affordability, access, quality, and equity for patients. He has also championed efforts to build partnerships across payers and providers and leads CareFirst’s alignment with the Maryland Primary Care Program through the Maryland Department of Health and The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation. Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, Zach received his Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology from the University of Maryland and a Master of Public Health with a concentration in Health Policy from The George Washington University. Zach has a passion for mentoring and developing a public health workforce that is ready to solve the many challenges facing our healthcare system. Zach believes public health professionals have an exciting and impactful role to play in improving health outcomes and healthy living that can be accelerated by the UMD SPH Alumni Network.
Members at Large
Lourdes Ansberry ’16
Family Nurse Practitioner
Lourdes is a Family Nurse Practitioner with a professional background in primary care, having practiced in a small clinic in Hunt Valley since 2023 where she cultivated a strong commitment to delivering high-quality, patient-centered care within a community setting.
She currently resides in Pennsylvania with her husband and their six-year-old pet leopard tortoise, Tina. At present, she is expecting her first child, with a due date in August 2026. In her personal time, she values maintaining an active and balanced lifestyle through running and yoga, and enjoys gardening, listening to podcasts, traveling on road trips, and preparing home-cooked meals.
Jameson Bowen ’26
Health Policy Advocacy Intern, Pyxis Partners
Jameson recently graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park with a B.S. in Public Health Science and a minor in Global Poverty, and is entering his second year of the Accelerated BS+MPH Program at the University of Maryland, College Park, concentrating in Health Policy Analysis and Evaluation.
In his undergraduate studies, Jameson has earned a citation from College Park Scholars in the Global Public Health (GPH) program, and has been a Global Fellow in the UMD Fellows Program. He has also served as a Student Ambassador for the School of Public Health, and as the Sustainability Chair for Kappa Omega Alpha, the premier public policy professional fraternity.
In addition to his coursework, Jameson is currently a Research Assistant at the University of Maryland, College Park, analyzing the healthcare experiences of sexual and gender minority (SGM) birthing people at each stage of the perinatal period. Jameson is also currently a Health Policy Advocacy Intern at Pyxis Partners, and has previously interned at the Alliance of Community Health Plans (ACHP) and at the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG).
Outside of school and internships, Jameson enjoys playing sports, backpacking, and traveling with friends.
Vagmi Luhar ’25 (Public Health Science)
Quality Manager, Epic Systems
Vagmi graduated from the University of Maryland School of Public Health in 2025 with a B.S. in Public Health Science and a minor in General Business. During her time at UMD, she was involved in the University Honors Program as Lead Peer Academic Leader, served as a Public Health Science Ambassador, and was an active member of the Student Alumni Leadership Council and Omicron Delta Kappa.
Vagmi is currently based in Madison, Wisconsin, and works as a Quality Manager on the oncology team at Epic Systems, where she partners with healthcare organizations to improve cancer care delivery through the design and optimization of electronic health systems.
Prior to joining Epic, she worked as a pharmacy technician and as research fellow at the National Cancer Institute where she gained experience in cancer research by contributing to projects focused on breast cancer and digital pathology. Her work has strengthened her passion for using innovation, research, and collaboration to improve healthcare outcomes.
As a recent graduate, Vagmi is passionate about strengthening connections between current students and alumni while helping others explore the many pathways available within public health. She is excited to serve on the SPH Alumni Network Board and support a community that empowers Terps to continue making an impact in healthcare and beyond.
Georgia Parolski, MPH ’22 (Environmental Health Sciences)
Program Manager, University of Maryland School of Public Health
Georgia graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park School of Public Health in 2022 with an MPH in Environmental Health Sciences and from the George Washington University with a Bachelor of Science in Biology in 2019. Georgia is currently working as Program Manager in UMD’S Department of Global, Environmental, and Occupational Health (formerly the Maryland Institute for Applied Environmental Health) on the Maryland Safe Drinking WATER Study. Her public health research interests include environmental microbiology, climate resilience, food systems, and spillover events.
Carson Peters ’13, MPH, Ph.D. ’25 (Behavioral and Community Health)
Program Manager, Kennedy Krieger Institute (an affiliate of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine)
Dr. Carson Peters is a public health practitioner, educator, and researcher. Her fearless ideas leverage community-centered and technology-informed, transformative practices to advance optimal health and educational outcomes. Dr. Peters’ scholarly agenda does the following: examines how digital technologies and supports inform navigation; assesses the role of digital tools in shaping outcomes; and analyzes community engagement mechanisms. Her research, passion, and innovation require her to move forward fearlessly, while reflecting both connectivity and community. These areas were further strengthened during her time as a doctoral Terp, where she focused on (a) research development and scalability of an AI-powered health education chatbot and (b) community-engaged practice, including community-academic partnerships.
Currently, Dr. Peters is the Program Manager at the Kennedy Krieger Institute in the Center for Excellence in Public Health, an affiliate of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She has worked across academia and government sectors. Previously, Dr. Peters was an Instructor at the University of Maryland School of Public Health and an Alumni Program Assistant at Harvard University. She has conducted research at the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and Clinical Center. Dr. Peters completed her doctoral training at the University of Maryland School of Public Health in the Department of Behavioral and Community Health. She has a Master of Public Health in Epidemiology from the University of Iowa College of Public Health and a Bachelor of Arts in Biology of Global Health from Grinnell College.
She is honored to serve as a member at-large in moving fearlessly forward with the School of Public Health community. She welcomes the opportunity to foster connections among alumni and to support the next generation of Terp public health leaders and change agents.
Rebecca Pyuzza, MPH ’18
Project Manager and Agile Leader
Rebecca Pyuzza, PMP, SSM, is a seasoned Project Manager and Agile Leader with over 10 years of experience driving enterprise IT initiatives and business transformation projects.
A certified SAFe Scrum Master and PMP, she specializes in Agile delivery, portfolio management, team coaching, and stakeholder engagement.
Rebecca holds a Master of Public Health (MPH) in Public Health Practice and Policy from the University of Maryland and combines her public health background with technology leadership to deliver impactful, results-driven solutions.
She has a proven track record of improving team performance, enhancing operational transparency, and leading complex programs that deliver measurable business outcomes.
Erin Rende ’16 (Kinesiology)
Organizational Transformation and Change Specialist. Booz Allen Hamilton
Erin graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park School of Public Health in 2016 with a Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology, and from the University of Maryland, Baltimore with a Doctorate of Physical Therapy in 2020.
Erin currently works in healthcare consulting as an Organizational Transformation and Change Specialist at Booz Allen Hamilton, providing strategic guidance and project management support to federal healthcare systems, including the Defense Health Agency and Department of Veterans Affairs, to strengthen safety culture, quality improvement, and system reliability in alignment with CMS, Joint Commission, and High Reliability Organization (HRO) standards. She is also the owner of REVIVE PT LLC, her orthopedic physical therapy practice in Baltimore, MD.
Previously, Erin completed her orthopedic residency and practiced as a staff physical therapist at The Jackson Clinics in Arlington, VA.
Erin is a Certified Professional in Patient Safety (CPPS) and a board-certified Orthopedic Clinical Specialist (OCS), and has a passion for improving patient safety, quality, and health equity across the healthcare system. Her goal is to bridge clinical expertise with strategic leadership to drive sustainable improvements in care quality at both the bedside and the system level. She is excited to join the SPH Alumni Network Board as a Member at Large and help strengthen connections among alumni across the public health and clinical communities.
Duane J. Wallace II, MPH ’15
Duane J. Wallace II, DrPH, MPH, PMP, CPH, CHES is a two-time graduate from the University of Maryland, College Park, earning both his bachelor and masters from the School of Public Health.
Dr. Wallace is a DrPH graduate from Morgan State University School of Community Health and Policy and serves as adjunct faculty teaching Public Health at Morgan State University.
Dr. Wallace has served on the Student Assembly executive board for the American Public Health Association (APHA) and is a member of the Society of Public Health Educators (SOPHE), the Metropolitan-Washington Public Health Association (MWPHA), the Consortium of Universities for Global Health (CUGH) and the American Association of Blacks in Higher Education (AABHE).
Dr. Wallace utilizes his doctoral degree, Community Health Education Specialist (CHES), Certified in Public Health (CPH) and Project Management Professional (PMP) certifications to effectively manage and conduct participatory action research.
Presently, he works as a Proposal Manager in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, supporting federal and state government contracting efforts across public health and human services portfolios.
Valerie Westney ’18 (Kinesiology), MPH
Reproductive Health Procurement Analyst, Connexi
Valerie is a Reproductive Health Procurement Analyst for Connexi, supporting the USAID Global Health Supply Chain Program - Procurement and Supply Management (GHSC-PSM) project. Valerie supports the project by enhancing the health care experience in the communities served through transformative supply chain solutions. Prior to joining Connexi, Valerie obtained a Masters of Public Health with a concentration in Maternal and Child Health from George Washington University in 2022.
Valerie is passionate about advocating for women's health, improving reproductive and maternal health outcomes for Black women, and promoting health equity. While serving on the UMD SPH Alumni Network, she hopes to inspire alumni and current students to join her in advancing these critical issues, fostering a more equitable and healthier future for all people.