2025 Primary Care Conference: Empowering a Resilient Primary Care Workforce

A national leader in workforce retention and recruitment, Suzanne K. Speer joined ACU in 2017 and serves as Vice President of Workforce Development. In this role, she oversees ACU’s workforce development efforts and initiatives. She works directly with a variety of stakeholders, including federal, state, and corporate partners to accomplish ACU’s strategic workforce priorities. She has worked with community health centers since 2013, first by recruiting providers at the Virginia Community Healthcare Association. She received a Bachelor of Science from Virginia Commonwealth University.

Dr. Kathleen Fear is the Senior Director for Digital Health and AI at the University of Rochester Medical Center. She also serves as Director of Data & Analytics at the UR Health Lab, URMC’s digital health innovation incubator. Dr. Fear holds a Ph.D. and master’s degree in information science from the University of Michigan School of Information, and a bachelor’s degree in physics from Yale University. Dr. Fear currently leads a team of data scientists, engineers and clinicians in leveraging big data and artificial intelligence to refine clinical decision-making as well as to streamline administrative processes, reduce clinician burnout, and help the health system become more sustainable and efficient.

Janice is the Founder and CEO of Workplace Transformations. Her company works with organizations to help them assess and improve their organizational culture. Prior to this, Janice worked in community health as the Director of Workforce Programs for the state’s primary care association for 17 years. In that position she worked with 52 community health centers on improving employee recruitment and retention as well as helping them to assess and improve their organizational culture. She has had extensive experience working in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors. Janice has a Master’s Degree in Management and is also a certified Executive Coach and a Life Coach.

Colleen Meiman is the National Policy Advisor for state and regional associations of Community Health Centers (CHCs), often called Primary Care Associations (PCAs.) Previously, she spent six years with the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) as the Director of Regulatory Affairs and Senior Policy Advisor. She also spent over two decades in the Federal government, including in the HHS Secretary's Office, CMS, HRSA, and the US Senate. Colleen's focus is on Federal policy issues impacting Community Health Centers and medically-underserved patients.

Kiona Baez Heath, MPA, is a program director, facilitator, and community advocate with 15 years of experience coordinating social and systems change initiatives in Vermont. She believes that being attentive to the needs of others is the work of life and seeks to hold herself and those she engages compassionately accountable to that principle. Her position at the Vermont Network Against Domestic and Sexual Violence has included direct services to survivors of violence and exploitation and technical assistance and training on gender-based violence for a range of networks, agencies, and individuals. She spends her remaining time being mystified by parenting, sharing meals with loved ones, and enjoying the woods.