MPH Faculty

kofi avusuglo

Kofi Avusuglo, D.H.Sc., M.P.H.

Course Developer

Dr. Avusuglo joined Gordon College in 2022 with experience in global health programming, infectious disease, healthcare management and teaching. He has over 15 years of domestic and international public health experience and leading community health efforts at non-governmental organizations. His research interests include the emerging and re-emergence of vector-borne diseases, food-borne illness, and waterborne diseases. His more recent work focused ... more ➔

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Elisha Caldwell, D.H.A., M.P.H.

Course Instructor

Dr. Elisha Caldwell joined Gordon College in 2023 with more than a decade of practical, technical, and operational research experience in public health and global health programming. He is the founder of Envision Health Access Initiative, a nonprofit global health organization in which he leads programs focused on HIV epidemic control and maternal and child health. Dr. Caldwell is also the author of the book Contemporary Issues in the U.S. Healthcare ... more ➔

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Rachelle Chiang, Dr.PH., M.P.H.

Course Instructor

Dr. Rachelle Johnsson Chiang joined Gordon College in 2022 with over twenty years of experience in public health at the national, state, and community levels. She brings a wealth of expertise in program evaluation, health policy, chronic disease prevention, social determinants of health, school health, and substance abuse and mental health. Her experience includes serving as Director of a national school health initiative at the National ... more ➔

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Marshae McNeal, Ph.D., M.P.H. CHES

Course Developer, Part-time Instructor

Dr. McNeal worked in community mental health for 11 years serving as Prevention Coordinator for alcohol, tobacco, and other drug prevention related activities. In this position, she supervised the implementation of several grants, taught science-based curriculums, and actively served on several coalitions. Dr. McNeal’s passion for mental health and the effects it has on the community, especially the African American community, grew during ... more ➔

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Michael Ritter

Michael Ritter, Ph.D., M.P.H.

Assistant Professor of Public Health

Dr. Ritter joined Gordon College in 2022 with experience in management, research, and teaching.  He co-founded and managed a non-profit organization that provides safe water through a social enterprise in rural Haiti. After scaling the program through partnerships with governmental, non-governmental, faith-based, and academic partners, he transitioned leadership of the organization to local staff. Dr. Ritter’s research has ... more ➔

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Heather Sipsma

Heather Sipsma, Ph.D.

Master of Public Health Program Director
Associate Professor of Public Health

Dr. Sipsma joined Gordon College in 2021 with experience in both academia and consulting. She oversees the MPH program and conducts research related to maternal and child health. Her dissertation focused on analyzing patterns of risk behaviors among adolescents, and her post-doctoral experiences focused on health systems strengthening, with a particular emphasis in global health. Her more recent research seeks to evaluate the implementation and ... more ➔

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Stella Zawedde-Muyanja, M.P.H., Ph.D.

Course Developer

Dr. Zawedde-Muyanja joined Gordon College in 2022 with expertise in implementation research to improve healthcare delivery in Uganda. She has more than twenty years of experience in the field of public health and healthcare delivery and has worked on various public health interventions for HIV, TB and Malaria. Recently, her work has primarily focused on improving delivery of TB care services in Uganda, Kenya, and South Africa. She currently works ... more ➔

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