COMMUNITY ADVISORY BOARD

MISSION

The Community Advisory Board (CAB) identifies community needs, selects pilot grant projects, and actively participates in the strategic planning of the HEALTH Center for Addictions Research and Cancer Prevention. CAB members may serve as individuals or representatives of an organization.

ROLE

The primary responsibilities of the CAB are to:

Engage in strategic planning with the HEALTH Center for Addictions Research and Cancer Prevention to identify the health needs, barriers, and sustainable community-embedded solutions to systemic challenges experienced by underserved communities.
Collaborate with the HEALTH Center for Addictions Research and Cancer Prevention to establish a broad network of community agencies and stakeholders to facilitate data collection, participant retention, outreach, and service activities.
Ensure activities and research in each Core are in alignment with community needs.
Contribute to final approval authority over partnership, dissemination, and implementation activities that affect the community.

CAB MEMBERS

C.J. Eisenbarth Hager

Senior Research & Innovation Officer

Episcopal Health Foundation

C.J. Eisenbarth Hager serves as the Senior Research and Innovation Officer for Episcopal Health Foundation (EHF). C.J. provides leadership, strategy development, and management of applied research projects. Through relationships with external partners in the philanthropic, public, private sector, policy, and research institutions, she identifies innovative practices and opportunities to further EHF’s commitment to improving community health. She recently became the founding director of Vitalyst Health Foundation’s (Phoenix, AZ) healthy communities portfolio, which focuses on public policy, social determinants of health, and health equity. She has also held positions with Morrison Institute for Public Policy at Arizona State University, NeighborWorks America, the Minnesota House of Representatives, and Minnesota Housing. C.J. currently serves on the Advisory Board for The Funders Network PLACES Fellowship. She received her bachelor’s degree in economics from Marquette University and a master’s degree in Community and Regional Planning from Kansas State University.

Dorothy Gibbons

Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder

The Rose

Ms. Gibbons and Dr. Dixie Melillo founded The Rose in 1986, believing that no woman should die from breast cancer because she could not afford a mammogram. This Houston-based breast organization serves over 40,000 women annually and provides services throughout Southeast Texas. The Rose is recognized as a Breast Imaging Center of Excellence. Its award-winning Patient Navigation Program secures treatment for over 500 women each year and is replicated throughout the nation. The Breast Care Center in Washington DC and Gateway to Care were modeled after The Rose. Ms. Gibbons introduced the concept of patient navigators in 1999, created the Breast Health Collaborative of Texas in 2007. She was the first woman to win the Community Health Leadership Award in 2008, and in 2017, she was recognized nationally with Nancy Brinker as a Woman of Vision. Dorothy’s book, The Women of The Rose, has ranked number one in Cancer E-books.

Helen Stagg, LCSW

Senior Director &
Chief Executive Officer

Change Happens

Ms. Stagg is Senior Director and Chief Executive Officer of Change Happens, a community-based social service organization in Houston, Texas. She is responsible for operational planning and management, program operations and oversight, strategic organizational issues, human resources planning and management, financial planning and management, and community relations/advocacy. Ms. Stagg received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Texas A&M University, Commerce, and a master's degree in Social Work from the University of Houston, Graduate College of Social Work. She is also an Internationally Certified Prevention Specialist and serves on the board of the Texas Association of Substance Abuse Programs and the Greater Houston Healthy Marriage Coalition. Ms. Stagg has been featured in a documentary commissioned by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Promise Story: “Empowering Community Health.” Ms. Stagg is also an adjunct professor at the University of Houston Clear Lake and University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work.

Elizabeth Perez, MPH

Deputy Secretary for Public
Affairs and Equity

Washington State
Department of Health

Elizabeth Perez joined the Department of Health in March 2021 after serving five years as Director of the Harris County Public Health Office of Communications, Education, and Engagement. Ms. Perez was a Public Health and Communication Advisor at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under the Obama Administration. During that time, she managed the public engagement platform for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and the Office of Minority Health. Before working at HHS, she worked at the National Coalition of Health Care, a think tank for Affordable Care Act advocacy. Ms. Perez came into the public health arena after a decade working in southern California's healthcare sector on quality improvement in patient care and health policy. Originally from California, she received her bachelor's in Radiation Sciences, with an emphasis in health administration and research, and a master's in Public Health in Health Policy and Leadership from Loma Linda University.

Jeanette Lastrape, MPH

Co-Chair

African American Health Coalition

Ms. Lastrape is a manager at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Ms. Lastrape received her Bachelor of Science degree in Health Care Administration from Texas Southern University and her Master of Public Health degree from the UTHealth School of Public Health. She has worked in the field for almost 20 years, with the majority of her focus being in tobacco prevention and control. She currently manages a group of health educators on the Community Relations and Education team, which advances MD Anderson’s mission by educating people about healthy behaviors to reduce cancer risks. The team provides a culturally relevant approach to community cancer control programming and outreach grounded in evidence-based strategies. Ms. Lastrape has been active in many community coalitions and currently serves as Co-Chair of the African American Health Coalition.