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Who we are

Our Mission

HWNY was formed in 2014 to improve access to quality healthcare in underserved communities by helping organizations address critical health workforce challenges with human-centered workforce development solutions. We believe diverse, equitable, and inclusive workforce development is the key to creating thriving communities.

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To achieve our Mission, we collaborate with local businesses, community organizations, industry leaders, and government to address systemic workforce challenges, including issues of inclusion, equity, diversity, accessibility, shortages, recruitment, and retention with our human-centered solutions.

For more than 20 years, our team has helped 100s of clients, including NYC H+H and SEIU 1199 address critical workforce challenges using our five-step human-centered workforce development framework.

Now more than ever, industry stakeholders need to better understand workforce needs, motivations, and desires to identify opportunities and offer solutions that grow, attract, and retain workers.

Board of Directors

Our Board of Directors is comprised of powerful leaders in healthcare, education, and business. They represent and serve urban and rural communities across New York State and beyond. 

OFFICERS

Chair

David W. Felton
President & Chief Executive Officer (Retired)
Crouse Community Center 

Vice Chair

L. Thomas Wolff, M.D.

Distinguished Teaching Professor Emeritus
Family Medicine
SUNY Upstate Medical University

Secretary

Tricia A. Peter-Clark, MBA, FACMPE, FACHE

President and CEO
ConnextCare

Treasurer

Rodney Boula, MSHA, MHQI
Chief Executive Officer (Retired)Self Regional Healthcare, SC

DIRECTORS

Charles N. Aswad, M.D., FAAFP, FACEM
Chief Medical Advisor
Abrams, Fensterman, Fensterman, Eisman,

Formato, Ferrara & Wolf, LLP

Mantosh J. Dewan, M.D.
President

SUNY Upstate Medical University

Allison A.N. Duggan, M.D., MBA, FACS
Physician/Plan Program Medical Director
Wellpoint Partnership, LLC
Elevance Health

David E. Rogers, Ph.D.
President (Retired)
SUNY Morrisville

Dan Young
Senior Business Advisor
Empire Advocates

Hazel Sanderson-Marcoux, Ed.D., R.N.
Associate Dean (Retired)
Long Island University Brooklyn Campus

Our Team

Our team brings more than 100 years of combined experience researching, designing, developing, and implement human-centered, equitable, and inclusive workforce development strategies.

Executive Team:

Richard Merchant

Chief Executive Officer
[email protected]

Christina DeLorenzo

Chief Financial and Administrative Officer
(716) 790-2704
[email protected]

Ashleigh McGowan

Chief Innovation & Design Officer
(607) 423 9199
[email protected]

Grace Danboise

Director of Human Resources
[email protected]

Admin and Finance Team:

Rachael Schafer

Administrative Operations Manager
[email protected]

Kayla Gugin

Fiscal Operations Manager
[email protected]

Logan Shoen

Fiscal Compliance and Grants Administrator
[email protected]

Nicholas Chun

Center Director, BQLI-AHEC 

[email protected]

HWapps Team:

Ben Aldrich

Director of Technology
[email protected]

Tasnim Islam

HWNY Program Manager
[email protected]

Grace Natale-Riley

ICAM Engagement and Growth Manager
[email protected]

Nicholas Chun

Center Director, BQLI-AHEC 

[email protected]

Rural Roots Team:

Joe Lynch

Program Director, HWNY 
[email protected]

Ash Davis

Program Coordinator, CNYAHEC

[email protected]

Orion Roeder, CTRS

Program Coordinator, CNYAHEC 
[email protected]

Orion Roeder, CTRS

Program Coordinator, CNYAHEC 
[email protected]

Area Health Education Centers:

BQLI-AHEC

Nicholas Chun

Center Director, BQLI-AHEC 

[email protected]

Lizetta Alexander

Program Manager, BQLI- AHEC 
[email protected]

Kenneth Cruz

ICAM Program Manager, NYC Region

[email protected]

Wendy Soto

ICAM Case Manager

[email protected]

 

CNYAHEC

Annabelle Fears

Center Director, CNYAHEC
[email protected]

Mary Cupelo

Program Manager, CNYAHEC 
[email protected]

Camryn LeRoux

ICAM Program Manager, CNY Region

[email protected]

Anna Read

Program Coordinator, CNYAHEC

[email protected]

Ash Davis

Program Coordinator, CNYAHEC

[email protected]

Orion Roeder

Program Coordinator, CNYAHEC 
[email protected]

Sophia Pluff

ICAM Case Manager

[email protected]

JanJuba Mathiang

ICAM Case Manager

[email protected]

NAHEC

Emily Ehrensperger

Center Director, NAHEC

[email protected]

Jamey Merkel

Program Manager, NAHEC

[email protected]

Vanessa Green Falzon

ICAM Program Manager, NC Region

[email protected]

Andrew Carpino

Program Coordinator, NAHEC 
[email protected]

Scylar McGuire

ICAM Case Manager

[email protected]

Jordan McCarthy

ICAM Case Manager

[email protected]

Jordan McCarthy

ICAM Case Manager

[email protected]

Scylar McGuire

ICAM Case Manager

[email protected]

Key Partners & Brands

We collaborate with several partners and offer multiple brands to leverage areas of expertise and increase the value we each bring to the communities we serve. They are workforce development organizations, academic institutions, innovation and strategy consultants, and technology development agencies that provide cutting-edge programs, products, and services in their respective fields.

Time and cost-saving digital workforce development tools

Get in touch

Talk to us about your recruitment, training, and retention challenges today

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