Module 1 - The Community Health Care System

Craig Wood, CHCEF
Craig Wood is the former Director of Grants Management for one of the largest Federally Qualified Health Centers in California, and currently consults health centers, and other non-profit entities, in areas of grant writing, reporting, implementation, and other aspects of program development and management. Past affiliations include The FUND for Santa Barbara, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit community foundation dedicated to addressing the root causes of social, economic, environmental and political challenges in Santa Barbara County.

Craig earned his Bachelor's degree at the University of Kansas in 2009, before moving to California's Central Coast. In 2010, Craig began working for the Community Health Centers of the Central Coast as a Program Coordinator for the Healthcare for the Homeless Program, which serves over 3,000 individuals each year. In the last five years, he has been given additional opportunities to manage mobile medical services, migrant and farmworker healthcare, school-based health, public housing programs and Affordable Care Act related programs. He is still involved in health center advocacy and policy at the federal level. He completed the Community Health Center Executive Fellowship in 2014.

As a hobby, Craig teaches young people about the grant making process by volunteering with the Youth Making Change program in Santa Maria, where teens learn to write proposals and receive and manage funding for community projects aimed at bringing about social change. He is currently on the Board of Directors for Corazón del Pueblo, a cultural and creative arts center to be located in Santa Maria, CA. Craig was recently accepted to the Leading from Within: Emerging Leaders Program, 2018 cohort.

Module 2 - Human Resource Management

Marilyn Kettering Murray, BSN, PhD, RN
Marilyn is the CEO of SMBF, LLC Healthcare Consulting of Overland Park, KS. Her practice is focused on healthcare management & human resource consulting. Her areas of expertise include organizational analysis, compensation analysis & design, reward/recognition programs, Magnet-readiness assessments; job performance systems, human resource policy/practice assessment, management training/seminars, satisfaction surveys, workflow analysis, focus groups, & labor relations advice. She has been in this position since 1998.

Prior to her current position, Marilyn was a Vice President for Management Science Associates, Inc. where she specialized in employee and labor relations. She has held CNO positions at several hospitals and was the Associate Director of Nursing at Truman Medical Center in Kansas City for several years.

In addition to her human resource and health care experience, she has been on the adjunct graduate faculty of several universities, including Avila, Webster and UMKC where she has taught several health care courses.

She holds a PhD in Nursing and a Master of Science in Nursing, both from the University of Kansas. She is pursuing an MBA from KU as well.

Module 3 - Clinic-based Information Systems 

Fred D. Rachman, MD
Fred Rachman, M.D serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the Alliance of Chicago Community Health Services, a HRSA funded Health Center Controlled Network.  The Alliance was founded in 1997 by four large health centers and has grown to provide critical Health Information Technology services to more than 50 Safety Net Health Centers in 16 States. He also serves as the Co-Director of the Chicago Health Information Technology Regional Extension Centers, and see patients Erie Family Health Center in Chicago.

Dr. Rachman received his medical degree from Temple University and completed his residency in pediatrics at Albert Einstein Medical Center. He is board certified in pediatrics and completed post graduate work in ethics, economics and healthcare management at Harvard University School of Public Health. He previously served as medical director at Howard Brown Health Center and Erie Family Health Centers, and was a field representative for Joint Commission, conducting accreditation surveys and providing field education from 1998-2006. He is Co-Chair of the Community Health Applied Research Network, and is departing Vice Chair of the Board of the Health Information Management Systems Society North America Board.

Module 4 - Finance and Reimbursement for Community Health Centers

Jeffrey E. Allen, CPA
Jeff Allen, a partner with FORVIS is the National Community Health Center Leader for the firm.  FORVIS presently serves approximately 350 community health center clients. Jeff manages audit and cost report preparation services and provides consulting services in the areas of Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement, federal grant reporting and operational issues. Jeff also serves as a firm-wide resource regarding federal audit guidelines and their application to community health centers. 

Jeff's expertise is routinely called upon by the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC), state primary care associations and the Bureau of Primary Health Care for financial analysis of issues important to community health centers. He serves as a resource to state primary care organizations and state Medicaid programs on Medicaid prospective payment system issues and the cost report submission and settlement process specific to state Medicaid programs. He also provides training to individual health center management teams and board of directors on financial management issues. 

He is a frequent speaker on community health center topics for the NACHC and several state primary care associations. He also conducts presentations for private and governmental organizations seeking to develop the community health center model for their communities. Jeff has co-authored articles on community health center accounting as well as operational and reimbursement topics for National and FORVIS publications. 

He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and Missouri Society of Certified Public Accountants. 

Jeff is a 1994 graduate of Missouri State University, Springfield, with a B.S. degree in accounting. 

Module 5 - Planning and Outcomes Analysis

Karla Finnell, MPH, JD, PHD
Dr. Karla Finnell is the staff researcher for the Oklahoma Nutrition Education and Information Project (ONIE), a social marketing program promoting nutrition and physical activity among SNAP recipients. She has a specialist's understanding of program development and the financing of health care delivery systems for underserved populations. Karla is also a seasoned advocate and was recognized by Kathleen Sebelius, then Governor of the State of Kansas, and the Kansas State Legislature for her leadership role in expanding access to primary health care services. In addition to her work at ONIE, she is a consultant for the FranaGroup, a consulting firm that provides an array of services to community health centers, and Management Solutions Consulting Group.  

Karla earned her Doctorate in the field of Health Promotion Sciences in May, 2015. Her minor area of study was sociology and substantive area was the social determinants of health. She is holds a law degree and has a Masters in Public Area (MPH) in the area of health policy and administration. Her undergraduate training was in finance. She is interested in studying ways health promotion sciences can be integrated into the primary care delivery system to improve management of chronic diseases and to increase utilization of preventive services. 

Dr. Finnell's additional professional experience includes serving as the Executive Director of the Kansas Association for the Medically Underserved, and as the Deputy Director of the New Mexico Primary Care Association. She is also a Peace Corps alumnus, having volunteered in Uzbekistan, where she specialized in developing culturally appropriate primary care services. Before beginning her career in the health center program and public health, Dr. Finnell practiced law for more than twelve years.

Module 6 - Health Center Management and Leadership

Denise Cyzman, MS, RD, CHCEF
Recently retired, Denise Cyzman led Community Care Network of Kansas since October of 2014. Community Care is Kansas’s Primary Care Association serving a network of community health centers and other nonprofit clinics. During her tenure at Community Car, Cyzman oversaw the rebranding of the organization from the Kansas Association for the Medically Underserved (KAMU), supported a member network that serves one in nine Kansans, and guided Community Care Network and member clinics through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Denise has over 40 years’ experience in national and regional healthcare, public health, and nonprofit leadership. Prior to joining Community Care, Cyzman served as the Vice President of the National Kidney Foundation of Michigan, and the Senior Health Consultant with the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors (NACDD) in Atlanta, Georgia. She has served as a diabetes and chronic disease Manager with Michigan’s state health department, owned and operated a healthcare consulting business, and received numerous awards in recognition of her leadership and advocacy.  

Cyzman also serves on the Board of Directors for the National Association of Community Health Centers, and previously the Sunflower Health Plan and the Children’s Oncology Camp Foundation. Additionally, she is a 2020 graduate of Leadership Greater Topeka, 2016 graduate of the Sunflower Foundation’s Advocacy Fellowship and the University of Kansas’ Community Health Center Executive Fellowship.

Denise has a Bachelor of Science degree in Nutrition from the University of Michigan, a Master of Science degree in Health Education from the University of Michigan, and is a Registered Dietitian.

Cyzman has two adult children, both graduates of the University of Kansas, has two grandsons who she adores, and lives in Lawrence, KS with her husband, Jeff.