OPHA STAFF

ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT
Jan Howard

Jan Howard serves as Oklahoma Public Health Association Administrative Assistant. She has worked with the OPHA since September 2010. She is medically retired from Tinker AFB and since then has worked as an independent bookkeeper for a number of individuals and for two other non-profits over the years. You can reach her by emailing opha@opha.net or by calling 405-605-2099 from 8 - 11 a.m. 

PRESIDENT
DJ McMaughan, Ph.D.

Dr. DJ McMaughan (they/them) is a disabled scholar in Health Education and Promotion at Oklahoma State University. Their work centers on improving systems using a disability studies and critical health services approach. They’ve taught health education and public health students using Universal Design in Learning and Critical Disability Theory frameworks. Dr. McMaughan is the recipient of the APHA New Scholar Award in Disability (2015) and the Aggie Allies Rainbow Award (2020) for their work in disability and advocacy. They have published and presented disability focused research in peer-reviewed journals and national conferences, and are a professional member of SOPHE, APHA, and the Society for Disability Studies. The guiding principle behind their work is 'nothing about us without us'.

IMMEDIATE PAST-PRESIDENT
Emilia Hart

Oklahoma Public Health Association Board of Directors. She runs Smart Bites Oklahoma, a wellness and nutrition coaching business in Norman. She is bookkeeping and administrative professional for Urban Agrarian, a local food hub dedicated to connecting consumers with locally grown and produced food.

She spent eight years in communications before obtaining her nutrition certificate and launching her wellness coaching business. Throughout her time coaching nutrition and wellness clients, she became increasingly aware of the health disparities that plague Oklahomans, particularly regarding access to high quality food and healthcare. This sparked her interest in community nutrition and public health, and inspired her to begin a master's program for nutrition and dietetics.

She received her BS in Agricultural Communications from Oklahoma State University in 2007 and her nutrition coaching certificate in 2014 from the Nutritional Therapy. 

Tracy Freudenthaler has earned both her PhD and her MPH (OSU and OUHSC respectively). Her professional background includes conducting clinical research trials and over 10 years teaching in higher education. She coordinated a large-scale (5,000 subject) human papillomavirus (HPV) clinical trial in Northeastern Oklahoma and Arkansas and has partnered with various pharmaceutical companies leading to FDA approvals of both her vaccines and STA testing products. She loves to serve her community, connecting women with health services regardless of health insurance or ability to pay. When she is not in the classroom discussing community health, you’ll find her writing about historical patent medicines and late 1800’s medical treatments related to abnormal psychology. 

SECRETARY
Kimberly Cripps

Bio coming soon!

Kamisha D. Busby has been working as the Maternal and Child Health Equity and Special Projects Manager for the Oklahoma State Department of Health since December 2019. In this role, she works closely with her colleagues in focusing on the reduction of infant mortality and premature births while empowering families and encouraging healthcare providers to provide quality and equitable care to their clients which she holds dear to her heart. She also serves as the Quality Improvement Coordinator in Maternal and Child Health services addressing maternal health and is active on other community-based committees that focus on Maternal/Child Health including serving as a past Health Care Chair of the Infant Mortality Alliance Health Care Workgroup of Oklahoma County, and current agency lead for the Health Disparities Workgroup of the Oklahoma Maternal Health Taskforce. Having the experience of working for non-profits and local government, Kamisha brings over 16 years of public health and nursing experience and knowledge to the field. In the community, Kamisha continues to serve her community in several capacities. She is a board member of March of Dimes Oklahoma Chapter, Family Builders, Greater Mount Olive Baptist Church, and the Stork’s Nest of Oklahoma City. She holds a Masters in Business Administration with a focus in Health Care Administration from Southern Nazarene University, and a Bachelors degree in Public Health and a Bachelors degree Nursing from the University of Central Oklahoma.

Yanet Trejo is the Community Outreach Coordinator at the Oklahoma City-County Health Department. She has served in the field of public health for 8 years and is committed to building cross-sector partnerships to co-design innovative projects, that will help make a positive impact in the community. Yanet’s major roles include overseeing the Wellness Now Coalition, bridging connections between Latino community and institutions/organizations in Oklahoma County, and coordinating community efforts such as the Mobile Markets in food desserts and Open Streets.

She believes, together we can help improve health outcomes. Although many organizations' work or focus may be in different areas of health, we all have
one thing in common: we work to improve the health and well-being of our communities. She also believes that partnerships are vital in addressing health inequalities.