The Staff of CMHCP

       Our Organizational Structure
Our Board of Directors provides active support and review of all programs, policies and activities. Individual members of the Board assist the Executive Director by making program recommendations and identifying additional funding sources. Our well-trained and highly experienced staff provides expertise in the administration and implementation of programs. Their primary responsibilities include providing quality prevention, educational and outreach services to program participants. Dedicated volunteers also provide a wide range of invaluable services, including: preparing safer sex kits and incentives for scheduled events, producing a quarterly newsletter, serving as chaperones for youth retreats, assisting with program referrals, and serving as advisors to the Board of Directors.

Our staff is composed of ethnically diverse, multidisciplinary professionals with extensive knowledge and experience in health care delivery, health education/promotion and disease prevention. That diversity, in conjunction with an ability to plan, coordinate and manage both community-based and national programs, enables us to excel in providing a broad range of community health services.

Our Staff

Yoseph Kebede, M.D., M.P.H., Executive Director of CMHCP

For the past ten years, Dr. Kebede (formerly known as Joseph Kebede Peterson, M.D.) has provided both administrative and clinical oversight of CMHCP. As a trained physician with over 16 years of experience in HIV/AIDS care and STD treatment and prevention, he brings a level of medical expertise that ensures scientific accuracy and interpretation of all program materials. Dr. Kebede is a member of the Infectious Disease Society of America, the HIV Medicine Association and the National Advisory Councils of African American Health Initiative and Health Disparities. He has consulted both at the highest levels of governmental policy and in the community-based organizations and counseling centers that deal with the very personal side of addiction, as well as HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment. In 1999, Dr. Kebede was selected by his peers as one of the "Best Doctors in America" in HIV/AIDS, featured in the Washington Times. Some of his experience includes building the capacity of organizations involved with delivering services to underserved populations along with direct or indirect responsibility for consulting and managing the allocation of more than one million dollars in grants per year. Dr. Kebede is in demand as a special consultant, particularly in the areas of training in HIV/AIDS, STDs and other infectious diseases as well as chemical dependency, violence and cultural issues. As a nationally-recognized lecturer, he has delivered thousands of hours of training to a wide variety of audiences and has hosted weekly cable television and radio shows on HIV/AIDS.

Rev. Adora Iris Lee, M.P.H., Assistant Executive Director of CMHCP

Currently, Rev. Lee is the project director responsible for the application and management of several local, state and federal grants, including: Department of Health and Human Services - Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, evaluating committee for CMHCP's Project H.O.P.E. SAMHSA High Risk African American and Hispanic female Project. She has closely worked with the evaluation team on research methods, collecting, managing and analyzing both quantitative and qualitative data.

Chavonne D. Lenoir, M.P.H., Project H.O.P.E. Coordinator for Women of Color

Ms. Lenoir is a 3rd year Dr. Ph.D. student at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She has training in the area of health communication, and extensive experience in HIV prevention in African American communities. She previously worked on the American Red Cross African American HIV/AIDS program providing technical assistance to local chapters and trainers throughout the country in implementing the program. She also serves as a Johnson and Johnson Community Health Care Scholar providing technical assistance in the area of program monitoring and evaluation to a nationally recognized theatre-based HIV prevention program for youths. She is currently involved in research addressing HIV and STI prevention in African American female adolescent populations with a focus on relationship dynamics. She has worked on a Curriculum Committee, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Department of Population and Family Health Sciences and providing recommendations and modifications that meet the needs of students and faculty expertise.

Anita Raj, Ph.D., Evaluation Consultant

Dr. Anita Raj is an Assistant Professor at Boston University School of Public Health. Dr. Raj's research focuses on violence, substance abuse, and sexual risk in racial/ethnic minority communities. She has over 10 years experience working on federally funded HIV and substance abuse evaluation studies, and holds publications on evaluation research findings in Health-reviewed professional journals. Recently, she completed an evaluation of an HIV intervention with lower income, young adult Latinas in greater Boston. This study serves as the sole Spanish-based HIV intervention study for Latinas demonstrating statistically significant behavioral change. Findings from the outcome evaluation from this study are in press in Public Health Reports, and findings from the process evaluation of this study have been published in Health Promotion Practice. Dr. Raj is currently an Evaluator for the Program Coordinating Center for Cohort 1 of the SAMHSA-funded Minority AIDS Initiative to provide integrated HIV and substance abuse prevention for lower income minority women, adolescents, and families. Dr. Raj has the primary role for all aspects of evaluation (e.g., survey and test design and procedures and statistical analyses), including any behavior change among program participants.

Dr. Rosemarie Downer, Evaluation Consultant

Dr. Downer is responsible for the overall implementation of the process and outcome evaluation. She also reviews and clarifies project objectives and outcomes with the project director, directs the community needs assessment (including convening focus groups) and develops appropriate forms and procedures to monitor the process evaluation. Dr. Downer also has a number of other responsibilities at CMHCP that include: supervising and directing the activities of the research assistant, providing regular feedback to program staff particularly regarding process activities during the first project year, supervision of data collection, conducting data analysis, meeting with the community advisory board, and disseminating project findings including preparing papers collaboratively with program staff for presentation at professional conferences and for journal publications.

J. Wheeler, M.D. and D. Roane, M.S., Case Managers

Case Managers are responsible for managing the cost effects, utilization of health services and community resources. They serve as client advocates and coordinate the integration of health services with patient, physicians' health teams and facility availability. They participate in developing individual treatment plans and needed resources and work to minimize risks and make safe choices for effecting care plan. They have knowledge of community resources and characteristics, and develop action plans and priority designation for individual treatment programs. Case Managers also activate referrals for preventive services for the African American Heath Initiative Program.

Syed Akhtar Naqvi, M.D., Medical Director for Substance Abuse Program

Born in Pakistan, he is presently working as an assistant Professor and Staff Psychiatrist in the Dual Diagnosis Outpatient Program at Saint Elizabeth Hospital. He also works in the Commission on Mental Health Service in Washington, D.C. and the Concerned Medical Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Program. Dr. Naqvi is also providing treatment to dually diagnosed patients. Inpatients rotation through schizophrenia, effective disorders, dual diagnosis, substance abuse and detoxification, adult general, geriatrics, adolescent and child units. Dr. Naqvi is licensed to practice Psychiatry in the State of Massachusetts and in the District of Columbia.

Togunde Nantambu Nokware Adesegun, Consultant

Mr. Nokware, a licensed attorney, has vast experience in the area of grants administration and proposal development. He has managed some large-scale grant programs including a twenty seven million dollar higher education reform initiative funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, in collaboration with the National Science Foundation. Nokware has also worked with several community-based organizations in developing successful grant proposals, having secured in excess of ten million dollars over the last three years. Many of the proposals Nokware has worked on have focused on K-12 and Higher Education, as well as HIV/AIDS and Substance Abuse. In addition to a law degree, Nokware, who is currently completing his Ph.D. in Policy Sciences at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, also holds a bachelor's and master's degree in engineering. Nokware has several years experience as a senior administrator and adjunct faculty member in Higher Education and has served as Executive Director of an international educational and sports advocacy organization. Nokware, whose research interests include public health, criminal justice, and legal history, is a Principal with the Ma'at Group and currently consults with various public and private agencies in the area of professional development training, proposal review, needs assessment, strategic planning and grant writing.

Our Health Educators

Rhenda Nugent, Project H.O.P.E. Health Educator

Ms. Nugent has experience working on HIV/AIDS, substance abuse and STDs within culturally diverse populations. Her responsibilities include: maintaining program referrals and referral agent relations, statistical data collection and evaluation assistance, community outreach, and training and supervision. She has implemented African American females-based prevention and intervention curriculum and organized youth activities. Ms. Nugent has additional experience in crisis intervention for abused women and their children. She has been trained in substance abuse and HIV education, gangs, conflict resolution, case referral services, the juvenile justice system and parenting, and was responsible for the mentoring intervention in the CMHCP project H.O.P.E. for the older adolescents, ages 16 and 17 years old, and their mothers.

Gisele Pelot, Ed.M., Health Educator

Ms. Pelot is a Project H.O.P.E. health educator who has expertise in education. She presently works as an HIV/AIDS educator who focuses on conducting and designing informational workshops that target African American teens. She identifies new areas where African Americans are at risk for HIV infection and organizes informational sessions that focus on behavioral reduction for individuals that are at risk. Ms. Pelot is also an elementary Teacher for Prince George's County Public Schools.

Charles Brown, YOUth Health Educator

Mr. Brown is a licensed Professional Counselor and a Certified Addictions Counselor. He has served as an HIV Group Facilitator with the United Planning Organization and the Chief of Central Intake with the Addiction Prevention and Recovery Administration. Mr. Brown conducts group sessions on substance abuse and street outreach on HIV and STD prevention.

Karen Blanton, Health Educator

Ms. Blanton is a Project H.O.P.E. health educator who is HIV positive and has personal expertise in education and prevention. She presently works as an HIV/AIDS educator who focuses on conducting and designing informational workshops that target African American women. She identifies new areas where African Americans are at risk for HIV infection and organizes informational sessions that focus on behavioral reduction for individuals that are at risk.

Clem Ross, Health Educator

Mr. Ross is a Project H.O.P.E. and YOUth health educator who is HIV positive and has personal expertise in HIV education and prevention. He presently works as an HIV/AIDS educator, and identifies new areas where African Americans are at risk for HIV infection. He also organizes informational sessions that focus on behavioral reduction for individuals that are at risk.

Involvement of People Living with HIV/AIDS
Our program participants are currently involved in our organization in a number of ways. They provide ongoing feedback on the effectiveness of Project H.O.P.E. sessions by way of direct feedback, evaluations, and focus groups. In addition, some selected program participants who successfully completed Project H.O.P.E. have become trained volunteers who conduct peer-to-peer HIV outreach in Montgomery County. Further, two of our board members are HIV positive. In addition to their regular board activities, they provide presentations about their HIV experience to participants in our prevention programs.