Ep. 55: Dr. Sharla Smith completed her Ph.D. in Health Systems and Services Research with a concentration in Health Economics from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in 2013. Sharla is a health services and systems researcher whose primary research is maternal and infant health disparities, women cancer disparities, and community engagement.

She is the co-founder of Kansas Sisters and Brothers for Healthy Infants and the founder of the Kansas Birth Equity Network. She has experience manipulating large datasets and performing descriptive, cross-sectional, and longitudinal data analysis using SAS and Stata, and conducting social network analysis. In addition, she has over four years of experience in clinical research. Dr. Smith is passionate about developing a culture of birth equity through community engagement, empowerment and education.

Sharla has experience teaching public health law, public health policy and law, introduction to public health, developing public health interventions, introduction to health policy and politics, and epidemiology. She advises students and has served as a faculty mentor on master's-level and Ph.D. research projects.

Listen now, and learn how Sharla is an innovative leader in health care.

For more about the Health Fund, visit www.healthfund.org.

Ep. 54: Avenel Joseph, Ph.D, joined the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in early 2020 as the vice president for policy, where she leads the foundation’s policy office and heads its Washington presence. Previously, Joseph served for more than 10 years shaping public policy in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate. She began her career on Capitol Hill in 2009 in the U.S. House of Representatives, where she worked in both a personal office and on the Natural Resources Committee. In July 2013, she moved to the Senate as the chief health advisor for Senator Edward J. Markey, managing a comprehensive health care portfolio before transitioning to become his director of policy and oversight. Joseph received her Ph.D. in cell and molecular biology at Emory University; graduated with a master’s degree in developmental toxicology from the University of Illinois, Urbana‐Champaign; and earned her bachelor’s degree in animal sciences from Pennsylvania State University.

Listen now, and learn how Avenel is an innovative leader in health care policy.

For more about the Health Fund: https://healthfund.org/

Ep: 53: A rerun of one of our most popular episodes of 2025. Justin Duncan, BS, NRP, CCEMT-P, FP-C, serves as the chief executive officer for Washington County Ambulance District. Chief Duncan holds a bachelor’s degree in EMS administration and is currently a graduate student pursuing a master’s degree in organizational leadership.

Chief Duncan has a long history in EMS, serving as both a ground and air EMS clinician. He obtained numerous certifications and designations, including the following: Nationally Registered Paramedic, Missouri Licensed Paramedic, Board-Certified Critical Care Paramedic and Board-Certified Flight Paramedic.

Given Chief Duncan’s history of dedication to healthcare and passion for education, his career naturally progressed into both education and leadership. He has served as an EMS instructor, a line level supervisor, department manager, regional director and now chief executive officer.

In addition to overseeing Washington County Ambulance District, Chief Duncan serves as the president of the Missouri EMS Association (MEMSA), is a board member for the Missouri EMS Agent Corporation, and a member of the National EMS Management Association.

Chief Duncan has endeavored to maintain both breadth and depth in all his healthcare pursuits. He is a life-long advocate for EMS professionals, an ardent supporter of education, and is constantly looking for new ways to bring innovative therapies into the prehospital setting. He is particularly passionate about mobile integrated healthcare systems and the study of mechanical ventilation.

Listen now, and learn how Justin is an innovative leader in healthcare.

For more about the Health Fund: https://healthfund.org/