CHICAGO (June 29, 2016) – Action for Healthy Kids® announces changes in the leadership of its Board of Directors and the addition of four new distinguished members. The new members join an esteemed group of individuals who work across a variety of fields related to child and public health, nutrition, sports medicine, obesity and education and who are passionate about making a positive difference in the lives of students and schools nationwide.

Reginald Washington, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children in Denver, joined the Board of Directors in 2004 and has served as Board Chair since 2010. During his tenure as Board Chair, the organization grew its operating revenues from $3.8 million to $5.9 million and hired an entire network of more than 20 state coordinators to oversee volunteer management and relationships with schools and community partners.

“It has been a tremendous honor to serve as Board Chair alongside a dedicated group of individuals who have further helped to propel the mission envisioned by our founding Board Chair, 16th U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher,” said Dr. Washington.

Martin (Jay) J. McHale Jr., President of US Equity Services, Computershare will serve as the new Board Chair. Mr. McHale has served as a member of the board since 2010. Dr. Robert Murray, pediatrician and professor of human nutrition at the Ohio State University School of Medicine, College of Education and Human Ecology, will serve as the new Vice Chair.

“I look forward to continuing to serve the organization in the role of Board Chair during one of the most exciting, challenging and dramatically changing periods in our nation’s quest to reverse obesity and undernourishment among children,” said Mr. McHale.

New members joining the Board are:

• Cheryl Austein Casnoff, MPH, Senior Fellow, NORC at the University of Chicago – Ms. Casnoff is leading multiple studies at NORC focusing on children, Medicaid and public and population health. She brings over three decades experience working on health policy and public health topics, including as Director of the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and Associate Administrator for Health IT at the Health Resources and Services Administration.
• Laura Cubillos, RD, Partner, FoodMinds, LLC – Ms. Cubillos is a partner and co-founder of FoodMinds, a leading food and nutrition consulting and communications firm. Her role at the intersection of science, public affairs and communications brings a highly specialized perspective to the Board for AFHK.
• Felipe Lobelo, MD, PhD, FAHA, Associate Professor, Hubert Department of Global Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University – Dr. Lobelo has focused on chronic disease prevention, physical activity, obesity and cardio-metabolic diseases in high and low-to-middle income countries for more than 12 years. He has authored more than 80 peer-reviewed scientific publications and is a member of the American College of Sports Medicine’s Exercise is Medicine Initiative advisory board.
• Eric Stern, Administrator for Physical, Health and Driver Education, The School District of Palm Beach County – As an administrator in the 11th largest school district in the U.S. and the 5th largest in the state of Florida, Mr. Stern brings an insider’s perspective and experience to his role on the Board. Additionally, he serves on the Action for Healthy Kids Urban School Wellness Coalition and as one of 12 leading experts in the U.S. to serve on the CDC’s National Urban Physical Education Leadership Coalition.

“We are honored to have such a diverse and accomplished group of individuals serving on our Board of Directors who are committed to sharing their expertise to grow the organization as we continue to address the complex issues of school health and childhood undernourishment and obesity,” said Rob Bisceglie, CEO, Action for Healthy Kids. “Our long-term mission of helping all 130,000 schools become health promoting environments where all children are healthy, active and ready to learn requires a strategic approach to growing our impact, and these new members will add significant value to the Board as it governs AFHK in pursuing this vision.”

Complete bios on all Board members can be found here.