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Moderator: Matt Richardson, FACHE
Director of Public Health
Denton County, Texas

Panelists:

Ruby Blum
Health Policy Advisor
Dallas County, Texas

Joy Griffin
Director of Community Health Improvement
Texas Health Resources, Tarrant & Parker Counties

David Mansdoerfer
Special Assistant to the President
University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth

Paula Turicchi, FACHE
Chief Strategy Officer
Parkland Community Health Plan

Speakers Bios:

Ruby Blum serves as the health care policy advisor for the Office of the Dallas County Judge. She comes to Dallas after working for the Wyoming Department of Health’s Director’s Unit for Policy, Research and Evaluation. Her work in Wyoming focused on Medicaid research and exploring possibilities for coverage Expansion.

In her work for Dallas County she works closely with the county public hospital, Parkland, and the other local hospitals systems, doctor’s organizations, and various community partners. Ruby serves in a leadership position with the Enroll North Texas ACA Coalition and works closely with enrollment groups to support the coalition’s efforts. In addition to her work locally, she works with statewide partners to bring about the best legislative outcomes for health care in Texas.

She was directly involved in the county’s response to the unprecedented Ebola virus cases in Dallas, working with local, state, and federal public health experts. During the current COVID-19 response her work has focused on hospital and health care capacity and response, as well as working closely with Dallas County Health and Human Services on core public health functions.

She earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Seattle University in Seattle, Washington, and a Masters of Health Care Leadership from the University of Texas at Dallas. Originally from Eugene, Oregon, Ruby enjoys many outdoor activities and is an avid equestrian.

Joy Griffin BSN, RN, is the Director of Community Health Improvement for

Tarrant/Parker Counties. Joy graduated from the University of Texas at Arlington (Go Mavericks!) and is a registered nurse with 23 years of experience in a variety of areas including- medical-surgical, home health, pediatrics, case management, and community health. Joy has chaired and/or served on numerous coalitions and committees including Healthy Tarrant County Collaboration and Tarrant County Homeless Coalition. Additionally, she has served as Community Health Outreach subject matter expert assisting Texas Health Arlington Memorial to attain Magnet Designation and several other accreditations including Cancer, Stroke, and Baby Friendly designations. Joy was the 2010 Community Service Award recipient and Diversity and Inclusion Mosaic Pin recipient in 2012, both during her tenure at Texas Health Arlington Memorial.

Joy has been married to Scott for 22 years, and together they rescued a black lab named Jet. She loves running, hiking, and any activities that allow her to spend time with the two loves of her life: Scott and Jet.

David Mansdoerfer, MPP, is the Special Assistant to the President at UNT Health Sciences Center, Fort Worth. David joined UNTHSC in September of 2019. Prior to joining, David served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health for the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). There, he had operational responsibility for the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health including the offices of: HIV and Infectious Disease, Human Research Protection, Minority Health, Women’s Health, and Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. David also served as the HHS Chief Labor Negotiator. During his time at HHS, David worked on a variety of topics including the top Presidential initiatives of Ending HIV, Opioids, Youth Sports and Veterans Suicide.

In other capacities, David has also worked for the California State Senate, County of Orange, and served as the Chairman of the Mission Viejo Planning and Transportation Committee.

David will be primarily focused on building strategic partnerships for the Health Science Center. From philanthropy to research, David will bring his background in high level health communications and operations to increase support and visibility for the University.

Dr. Matt Richardson was appointed as the Director of Public Health for Denton County in the summer of 2014. Dr. Richardson previously served as Director with the City of Amarillo and Potter/Randall Counties for 9 years. Dr. Richardson has authored peer-reviewed publications, testified to the Texas Legislature regarding public health issues and continues to advocate for public health practice and resources for Denton County and the state of Texas.

He has a bachelor’s degree in Biology from Abilene Christian University and both Master’s and Doctoral degrees in Public Health from the University of North Texas. He is currently board certified and Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives. Dr. Richardson also serves as an accreditation site reviewer for public health programs in universities across the US.

Matt lives in Argyle with his wife of 24 years and their two daughters.

Paula Turicchi is the Chief Strategy Officer at Parkland Community Health Plan in Dallas, Texas. The health plan serves more than 185,000 members in Medicaid’s STAR, CHIP, and CHIP Perinatal programs through a network of more than 3,000 providers and 25 facilities located in 7 counties in the Dallas service delivery area.

Previously, Paula served as the Vice President of Hospital Operations and Administrator of Women and Infant’s Specialty Health (WISH) at Parkland Health & Hospital System. She was instrumental in the design and construction of the New Parkland Hospital facility and the Moody Center for Breast Health. Paula played a key role in completing the System Improvement Agreement (SIA) and Corporate Integrity Agreement (CIA) from 2013 to 2018. In addition, she chaired the Women’s Health Advisory Committee of Texas which was created by Texas’ 84th Legislature to advise the Health & Human Services Commission on consolidation of women’s health programs.

Paula was a 2018 Texas Hospital Association Leadership Fellow. She is board certified in Healthcare Administration and holds a Master’s degree in Healthcare Administration from Trinity University and Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville.