Public Health Emerging and Engaging Leaders (PHEEL) Awards

Kimberly Stinchcomb

MPH'16 (Environmental Health)

Kimberly Stinchcomb, MPH, is currently the Manager of Community Impact and Assessment at the Prince George’s County Health Department. Her role involves engaging community partners to drive positive change through the Prince George’s County Healthcare Action Coalition. She leads efforts to develop the Community Health Improvement Plan, collaborating with stakeholders to address community health priorities identified in the Community Health Assessment, while ensuring adherence to Accreditation standards.

Dr. Deanna Barath

MPH, PhD ’22 (Health Policy and Management)

Dr. Deanna Barath, MPH, PhD, is currently an Assistant Teaching Professor within the Public Health Program at Florida State University. Her multifaceted role extends beyond the classroom, encompassing leadership positions as the Director of Community Outreach and the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH) Accreditation Coordinator. In addition to her academic pursuits, Dr. Barath is the visionary CEO of DeliBerate Strategies, LLC, a distinguished public health consulting agency. Her expertise lies in a diverse array of areas, including health services, policy development, advocacy, program planning, and quality improvement.

Fabian Doñate

MHA '20 (Health Administration)

Fabian Doñate is a graduate of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, holding a BS in Public Health, and he furthered his education by earning a Master of Health Administration (MHA) from the University of Maryland, College Park. Elected in 2022, Senator Doñate currently represents Nevada's 10th Senate District in Clark County. This district includes prominent areas such as the Las Vegas Strip, Harry Reid International Airport, UNLV, and Central-East Las Vegas. Notably, during the 82nd Legislative Session, Senator Doñate assumed the role of Chair for the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services, demonstrating his commitment to addressing critical issues in public health and human welfare within the state.

Monique Thornton

MPH'13 (Community Health)

Monique Thornton, MPH, is the founder and CEO of Let's Talk Public Health, a Washington, DC-based public health communication and marketing consultancy. Through Let’s Talk Public Health, she provides resources, products, and services that help students, professionals, and organizations to effectively and creatively engage with people around public health topics and issues.

Martin Gesheff

MS'10 (Community Health) 

Mr. Gesheff received his BS in community health from the School of Public Health at the University of Maryland, College Park in 2010, and his MS in clinical research organization and management from the College of Medicine at Drexel University. He began his career at Sinai Hospital of Baltimore as a researcher with the Sinai Center for Thrombosis Research and the Rubin Institute for Advanced Orthopedics and was instrumental in supporting operations and developing a robust research portfolio. Mr. Gesheff also served as a program manager with Battelle Memorial Institute’s Health Business Unit responsible for the Baltimore Public Health Research Laboratory, providing clinical trial subject matter expertise and supporting contracts for the FDA, CDC and US Army.

Mr. Gesheff in his current expanded role at LifeBridge Health helps research flourish across the health system. He oversees research at the Rubin Institute for Advanced Orthopedics (RIAO) and supports Physician Investigators within the Department of Research. He is a dedicated mentor to research staff and takes great pride in supporting academic research that is routinely presented and published.

Ayana L. Langston

MS. MD'13 (Kinesiology and Exercise)

Ayana L. Langston, MS, MD is a December 2013 graduate of the University of Maryland School of Public Health as well as the College of Mathematical and Natural Sciences. She earned a bachelor’s of science in biology as well as a bachelor’s of science in kinesiology and was a part of the College Park Scholars Program. Originally from Prince George’s County, Maryland, Ayana is the youngest of three children. She always knew she would pursue a career in medicine due to her dedication to service and love of women’s health. Ayana is a proud alumna of the Eta Epsilon Chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated and a US naval officer. She graduated with a master’s in biomedical sciences and a medical degree from Wake Forest School of Medicine and is currently pursuing a residency in obstetrics and gynecology. 

When Dr. Langston is not seeing patients at the hospital or mentoring minority premedical students, Ayana spends most of her time hanging out with her older sister, who is also a UMD graduate, and her nephew. She enjoys dance of all styles, Bikram yoga, watching independent films and creating medical content and healthcare discussions for her social media. She is excited to resume her global travels—both recreational and service related with the US Navy—with her favorite travel companion in tow, her dog Theodore.

Mariano Kanamori, Ph.D. '13

Assistant Professor, Division of Prevention Science and Community Health
University of Miami Miller School of Medicine

Dr. Kanamori is a Latino epidemiologist who researches social networks and ways to reduce HIV and substance misuse in Latino populations. His research has been implemented in Peru, Africa and the United States. As a PhD student at UMD, he received several awards including a Dean’s Scholar Award, Chair’s Scholar Award and the University of Maryland Distinguished Dissertation Award.

Following graduation in 2013 from UMD, Dr. Kanamori completed a postdoctoral program on Latino HIV and substance misuse at Florida International University. He joined the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine as an Assistant Professor in January 2018.

Dr. Kanamori has published how immigration policies and enforcement actions are changing the structures and dynamics of Latino farmworkers’ social networks, and how these changes are influencing increases in women’s alcohol dependence and children’s marijuana use. His research is analyzing the role social networks have on the evolving opioid epidemic among Latino farmworkers. He has developed a novel spatially-explicit social network model, called PrEParados, that merges four social network methods with spatial analysis to address the intertwining epidemics of HIV and substance misuse.

Dr. Kanamori’s advice to current UMD students is “Don't be afraid to ask for mentorship. Some doors may not open but the right ones will. There are many public health professionals who are committed to mentoring the next generation. I have mentors and colleagues from all over the world!”

Rebecca Rehr

MPH ‘12 (Environmental Health)

Rebecca Rehr is the director of the Climate for Health program at ecoAmerica, where she works to build public support and political will for climate solutions. Climate for Health is a network of leaders from across the health sector demonstrating visible health leadership on climate change. Rebecca is currently also serving on the American Geophysical Union’s GeoHealth Section leadership and is a governing counselor for the Environment Section of the American Public Health Association. 

Ms. Rehr previously worked in state-level environmental health advocacy, managing a portfolio that included pesticide use, lead poisoning and fracking, while facilitating multidisciplinary collaboratives on environmental justice and natural gas infrastructure. At that time, she also chaired the Maryland Public Health Association Advocacy Committee and served on the Maryland Commission on Environmental Justice and Sustainable Communities. Rebecca also served a two-year fellowship in the Office of Children’s Health Protection at the US Environmental Protection Agency.  

She holds a BA in environmental studies from Franklin and Marshall College and a master of public health from the University of Maryland School of Public Health Institute for Applied Environmental Health. Originally from Baltimore, Rebecca lives with her husband in Washington, DC where she has taken up needlepoint as a hobby during the pandemic.

Ms. Maya A. Walker '13

Family Science, UMD School of Public Health
Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSAgov), HHS

Maya Walker is a Public Health Analyst for Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) in the Community Based Outreach workforce division. At HRSA Maya works to improve health outcomes and achieve health equity through access to quality services, a skilled health workforce, and innovative, high-value programs. Maya has been able to support community organizations in administering thousands of Covid-19 vaccinations in underserved communities.

Prior to HRSA, Maya was the Manager of Health and Wellness Programs for the Washington Nationals Youth Baseball Academy where she addressed inequities to improve health outcomes through food access and education. Maya managed the only year-round farmers’ market in Ward 7 of Washington, D.C. With the support of her amazing colleagues, she was able to distribute over 3,000 subsidized produce bags and 20,000 meals during the current covid-19 pandemic.

Maya is also currently assisting Black Nurses Rock and the Be the Match campaign to increase bone marrow donations within Black communities. This has created the opportunity for her to continue on the ground outreach to improve health inequities in underserved communities, her deepest passion. She believes that true success is not measured by individual achievements but how you are able to positively impact others.