Danielle Ast, MBA, RD, currently serves as the Project Manager for the Kansas Center for Rural Health.

A native of the Salina area, Mrs. Ast graduated from Kansas State University with degrees in nutrition, kinesiology, and dietetics. Upon completing her internship and earning her Registered Dietitian certification, she began her career in Public Health while attaining an MBA from Kansas Wesleyan University. After moving to Garden City, she managed a public health program in Southwest Kansas for five years and earned her International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC). Following a move to the Wichita area, Mrs. Ast managed a pediatric clinic for a year. Then she spent four years working as a Project Manager for Wichita State University’s Center for Public Health.

Working in public health in rural western Kansas, Ms. Ast experienced firsthand the struggles and disparities families in rural Kansas experience every day. The impact of a lack of transportation, resources, and adequate time off has on rural Kansan's physical and mental health. Because of these experiences, she is passionate about ensuring all Kansans receive quality care.

Lynn Fisher, M.D., comes to the Kansas Center for Rural Health with a great emphasis in rural health. Dr. Fisher serves as the Associate Director of Service and Education for the Kansas Center for Rural Health. He spent the formative years of his life in Ellis, KS and practiced full-spectrum rural family medicine in the Kansas towns of Great Bend and Plainville prior to his role in academic education.

Dr. Fisher received his undergraduate degree in human biology from the University of Kansas in 1996 and his medical degree from KU School of Medicine-Wichita in 2001. He completed a family medicine residency at North Colorado Medical Center in 2004 in Greeley, CO. Dr. Fisher joined the Wichita Department of Family and Community Medicine in 2019 where he currently serves as the fourth-year rural preceptorship course director, fourth-year director of sub-internships and electives and an assistant director for the third-year family medicine clerkship. In addition, he also is involved with the supervision of residents at the Wesley Family Medicine Residency in Wichita. Dr. Fisher has been through leadership roles with the Kansas Academy of Family Physicians, having served as a past president, and currently serves on the Commission for Public Health and Science for the American Academy of Family Physicians. He is currently on the Board of Directors for the Kansas Hospital Association and the Kansas Healthcare Collaborative and is a past board member of the Kansas Medical Society.

Udana Arceo currently serves as the Administrative Assistant for the Kansas Center of Rural Health. A proud native of Salina, her journey is defined by a profound passion for addressing community needs.

Mrs. Arceo’s career began as an administrative assistant for the City of Salina, Parks and Recreation. This initial role provided her with a platform to cultivate a deep appreciation for community involvement. She then transitioned to the realm of insurance, starting with Blue Cross & Blue Shield as a customer service representative. She continued to channel her passion for insurance through roles at Fletcher & Associates, where she served as a benefits consultant, independent agent, and administrative assistant.

Beyond her professional pursuits, Mrs. Arceo remains deeply passionate about addressing the needs of her community. Her love for the community involvement, cultivated early in her career, continues to drive her work and commitment to making a positive impact. She is currently involved in creating awareness of area resources that help families with young children: Heartland Early Education Policy Council.

Mrs. Arceo is guided by a set of values that place community service and engagement at the forefront. She believes in the power of collaboration and the positive influence that individuals can have when they are committed to the well-being of their communities. She is excited about further opportunities to contribute to enhance community development and individual well-being.

J. Tom Mueller, Ph.D., is the Director of the Kansas Center for Rural Health and Assistant Professor of Population Health at the University of Kansas Medical Center. As a rural sociologist and demographer, he studies the geography of well-being and the environment in rural America. Dr. Mueller’s work focuses on three primary areas: health and well-being in rural America, (2) environmental injustice and environmental health, and (3) the measurement and tracking of poverty across space.

Dr. Mueller has published his work in leading outlets such as the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences; American Journal of Public Health; Journal of Rural Health; Nature Water; Nature Communications; Demography; and Rural Sociology, among others. Dr. Mueller pursues and receives funding from a variety of sources and is currently working on projects funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities, and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, among others. His upcoming book, The Case for Rural America, will be released by University of North Carolina Press in Fall 2025.

Born in North Kansas City, MO, Dr. Mueller grew up in Merriam, KS — a suburb of Kansas City — before moving to college at the University of Montana. Following a brief career in outdoor education in Colorado, Australia, and California, Mueller returned to school at Penn State, where he received an MS in Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management and a PhD in Rural Sociology and Human Dimensions of Natural Resources and the Environment. Prior to moving home to work at KU Medical Center in 2023, Mueller worked as an assistant professor at Utah State University and the University of Oklahoma.

Karen L. Weis, PhD, RNC-OB, FAAN, serves as the Associate Director of Research for the Kansas Center for Rural Health. Dr. Weis, a professor in the School of Nursing, also holds the Christine A. Hartley Rural Nursing Professorship. She is a native of the Salina area, working with and focusing on research of various health disparities.

Dr. Weis received her baccalaureate from Wichita State University, her masters’ degree in nursing from the University of Texas Medical Branch and her Ph.D. in nursing from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Previously, Dr. Weis was professor and the BG Lillian Dunlap Endowed Chair at the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, TX., following a 29-year career in the United States Air Force Nurse Corps.

Dr. Weis’ program of research focuses on perinatal mental health, birth outcomes and associated maternal and fetal physiologic responses. Her work has led to the development of the Mentors Offering Maternal Support (M-O-M-STM) intervention. She has been funded as principal investigator by the TriService Nursing Research Program, DoD Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs, as well as other federal and professional organizations.

Dr. Weis is a fellow in the American Academy of Nursing, is on the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses Research Advisory Board and reviews for multiple nursing and interdisciplinary journals.

Dr. Weis has received both military and civilian recognition and honors. Her highest military decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Bronze Star, the Meritorious Service Medal (with 4 Oak Leaf Clusters) and the Aerial Achievement Medal. Other military awards include the United States Air Force’s (Air Education and Training Command) Clinical Researcher of the Year award and the Air Force Research Laboratory, 711th Director’s Award, among other clinical and nursing awards. She received the Rebecca Sealy Distinguished Alumnus Award and was inducted into the University of Texas Medical Branch, School of Nursing, hall of fame.