NRHA announces 2024 Rural Health Fellows
After a competitive review process, 17 fellows were selected to participate in this yearlong, intensive program aimed at developing leaders who can articulate a clear and compelling vision for rural America.
“We are very pleased to announce this new class of fellows as this program enters its eighteenth year. Once again, this class represents various levels of rural health expertise,” NRHA CEO Alan Morgan says. “With the successes achieved by the previous classes, we look forward to continuing the tradition of building rural health care leaders through this valuable program.”
The 2024 Rural Health Fellows are:
Casey Balio, Research Assistant Professor at East Tennessee State University Center for Rural Health Research, Johnson City, Tenn.
Vistrit Choudhary, Health Policy Coordinator at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Springfield, Ill.
Sagar Dugani, Physician at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.
Tianna Fallgatter, Director of Contract Services at The Rural Collaborative, Olympia, Wash.
Katie Gorndt, Vice President at Santa Ynez Valley Cottage Hospital, Solvang, Calif.
Susie Gurzenda, Graduate Research Assistant at the NC Rural Health Research Program in the UNC Sheps Center for Health Services Research, Chapel Hill, N.C.
Kimberly Haverly, Chief Executive Officer at Carroll County Memorial Hospital, Carrollton, Ky.
Carrie Howard, Program Manager at Stratis Health, Bloomington, Minn.
Aaron Kramer, President and Chief Executive Officer at Adirondack Health, Saranac Lake, N.Y.
Laura Mispelon, Social Drivers of Health Manager at the Michigan Center for Rural Health, East Lansing, Mich.
Devon Noonan, Associate Professor at Duke University, Durham, N.C.
Kasey Shakespear, Assistant Director at the Rural Health Association of Utah, Cedar City, Utah
Rachael Sherard, Senior Vice President of Rural Health at Avera Health, Sioux Falls, S.D.
Tom Syverson, Director of Government Relations at Sanford Health/Good Samaritan Society, Sioux Falls, S.D.
Bryan Weichelt, Associate Research Scientist at Marshfield Clinic Research Institute, Marshfield, Wis.
Megan Weis, Director of Connecting Communities at the South Carolina Center for Rural and Primary Healthcare, Columbia, S.C.
Brian Williams, Chief Executive Officer at Winner Regional Healthcare, Winner, S.D.
The new class of Rural Health Fellows will first meet at NRHA’s 35th Rural Health Policy Institute, our chance to guide the future of rural health policy and advocate for issues we care about, Feb. 13-15.
Beyond advocating in person on Capitol Hill on behalf of rural health, new fellows will present their policy paper project before NRHA’s Rural Health Congress and their peers as the previous class graduates.
We hope to see you there, so register early to save.