Our Team
CHW Initiative Advisory Team
The Maine Community Health Worker Initiative (MECHWI) is a statewide group that exists for and must be led by Community Health Workers (CHWs). It serves as a space where CHWs can network, learn from one another, build a shared identify, and discuss the future direction of the workforce. The purpose of the MECHWI is to support, promote, and advocate for the profession of Community Health Workers including those working under other titles. In 2022, The Maine CHW Initiative elected seven CHWs to serve on the network’s first Advisory Committee. The CHW Advisors direct decision making, lead strategic planning, build consensus, engage stakeholders, and advocate for the profession. For more information, contact CHW Advisory Team co-chairs Betty and Darcia.
Betty St. Hilaire, Community Programs Manager MaineGeneral Health
Darcia Gonzales, Hometown Health Center
Henoc Ngoy, Western Maine Community Action WIC Program
Dalal Almoosodi, City of Portland, Maine Health
Arksan Egueh, Djiboutian American Community Empowerment Project, Lewiston Public Schools
Eunice Francis, Eastport Health
Ketson Dubuisson, Maine Mobile Health
Maine CHW Initiative Project Coordinator: Ben Hummel
Faculty Research Team
Katherine Weatherford Darling, Ph.D, Principal Investigator
Assistant Professor of Sociology, UMA
Tara Casimir, Ph.D, Co-Investigator
Assistant Professor School of Nursing , USM
Lois-Ann Kuntz, Ph.D, Co-Investigator
Professor of Psychology, UMM
Tora Johnson, Ph.D, Co-Investigator
Director of Geographical Information Systems and Associate Professor of GIS, UMM
Valerie Rubinsky, Ph.D, Co-Investigator
Assistant Professor of Communication, UMA
Jennifer Crittenden, Ph.D, Co-Investigator
Assistant Professor of Social Work, UMaine
Erika Ziller, Ph.D, Co-Investigator
Assistant Professor of Public Health and Director of the Maine Rural Health Research Center, USM
Student Researchers & Project Alumni
Olive Morelli, UMaine Social Work Graduate Student
Tyler DuBois, UMaine Social Work Graduate Student
Gray Jones, UMaine iPhD Student
Adele Weaver, URI Psychology PhD Student
Stellisha Thomas, UMaine Machias, Psychology & Community Studies Undergraduate Student
Joseph Spiller, USM Sociology Undergraduate Student
Project Alumni
Emma Williams, UMaine Social Work
Matraca Bellegarde, UMA Liberal Studies
Emily Elwell, UMA Nursing