Leadership

Director, Urban Health Initiative
Professor, Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery
Chief of Service, Dept. of Otolaryngology, Grady Health System
Founder/President, HEALing Community Centers
Emory University School of Medicine

Dr. Charles Moore received a Bachelor of Science from Union College and his medical degree from Harvard Medical School. He subsequently completed residency training in Otolaryngology- Head and Neck Surgery and fellowship training in Craniomaxillofacial – Cranial Base, Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at the University of Michigan. Dr. Moore is a Professor at Emory University and the Chief of Service in the Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery at Grady Health System. Dr. Moore has a longstanding and profound commitment to the training and development of learners from all backgrounds. His research focus has been in the investigation of factors involved in healthcare disparity with a particular focus on head and neck cancer incidence in medically underserved communities. He is the President and Founder of Health Education, Assessment and Leadership (HEAL), Inc. This organization began in 2004 as a travelling educational resource out of the back of his personal vehicle. Through this organization, he strives to educate the community on health issues, assess its needs and in the process build leaders from within the community to address those issues. This travelling resource has grown into the Healing Community Center (HCC), one of Atlanta’s newest Federally Qualified Healthcare Centers. This center is a free and affordable medical facility with four separate locations, which provide general adult medical care, pediatric medical care, specialty medical care, dental services as well as mental health services for the uninsured and disadvantaged. The HCC is focused on those who fall in the gap between public funded health care and the privately insured. A primary emphasis is on preventative health, nutrition and wellness. This center incorporates all of the major Atlanta academic institutions and community organizations in an integrated fashion to provide service-learning experiences while also providing the necessary care to those in need.

Associate Director, Urban Health Initiative

Dr. Brittany Prince is the Associate Director of the Urban Health Initiative, where she oversees daily operations, manages budgets, attracts philanthropic support, writes grants, recruits volunteers, and collaborates with key stakeholders. She plays a crucial role in developing departmental goals and objectives, preparing statistical reports, analyzing data, and overseeing programs including the Agriculture Careers Collaborative, Health Careers Collaborative, Tobacco Cessation, and Violence Prevention: Strategies for Just Communities.

Dr. Prince holds a Bachelor of Science in Public Health from the University of South Carolina, a Master of Health Administration from Clayton State University, and a Doctorate from Georgia Southern University. She is a graduate of Emory Healthcare’s Operations Development Program and Quality Academy. She has also earned a Health Coach Certification and a Lean Six Sigma White Belt Certification from Emory University, along with a Tobacco Treatment Specialist Certification from the Mayo Clinic.

Dr. Prince serves on several boards and advisory groups, including Breathe Easy DeKalb, Georgia Majority for Gun Safety, the Atlanta Regional Collaborative for Health Improvement, the DeKalb Men’s Health Task Force, Friends of the Food Forest (Board Representative), Benjamin E. Mays High School Healthcare Science Advisory Board, Partnership of Southern Equity, Just Health Circle, No Menthol ATL, RCE Community of Practice for Community Academic Partnerships, and Live Healthy DeKalb.

Co-Director, Community-Engaged Outpatient Healthcare Innovations for Achieving Equity, Urban Health Initiative
Associate Professor, Department of Medicine
Medical Director, Primary Care Center, Grady Division of General Medicine and Geriatrics
Emory University School of Medicine

Stacie R. Schmidt MD received her BS in chemistry at Xavier University and completed both her MD and the J. Willis Hurst Internal Medicine Residency Program at Emory University. Dr. Schmidt serves as Medical Director of the Primary Care Center at Grady. She is dedicated to providing high quality, patient-centered care for underserved patients and using innovative methods to teach healthcare professionals about the social determinants of health and health inequities. Her current efforts involve helping vulnerable patients with chronic illnesses make healthy behavior choices around diet, exercise, and disease management, and developing motivational interviewing skills to assist patients in making choices.  This Healthy Living Group Class has led to organizational, interdisciplinary conversations about food access involving the Grady administrative team, dietitians, physicians, social workers, and community partners. Dr. Schmidt has also created an innovative experiential ambulatory module around the social determinants of health to inspire Internal Medicine residents to assist patients in overcoming barriers through goal-setting, health coaching, and an enhanced understanding of what patients endure in their daily lives. Currently, she oversees the Emory UHI Health Careers Collaborative, a pipeline program aimed at helping high school students from minority backgrounds gain exposure to, and mentorship within, the health professions. Other passions include service within Food As Medicine initiatives, and the formation of medical legal partnerships that collaboratively work within health teams to address social determinants of health (such as food insecurity and affordable housing) affecting vulnerable communities and patients.

Assistant Director, Urban Health Initiative

Originally from Atlanta, Joan has worked for a number of health care, academic and scientific research institutions over her career, including the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Emory Biomedical Research Center, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Metropolitan State University of Denver, Grady Health System, and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta prior to her work with UHI. Additionally, she has worked independently as a consultant for federal administrations such as the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), US Department of Agriculture, Patient Centered Outcomes Research Center (PCORI) and the US Department of Education, as well as for foreign governments in Nepal, Northern Ireland, Japan, and Russia.

Joan has a long history of engagement with her local and “world” community. For over 20 years, Joan has been involved in advocacy issues for Native Americas on federal Indian reservations, as well as for those living in urban poverty. She has supported refugees with resettlement and worked with migrant workers living in extreme poverty conditions. She has organized public health teams and traveled to rural parts of Central America to help to improve the living conditions that were causing a high rate of infant mortality. Her background in aviation (and experience as a pilot) has been instrumental in helping to improve safety in Third World airports that are essential for infrastructure as well as the delivery of humanitarian aid.

Some of her current projects within UHI involve addressing food insecurity and literacy challenges in urban Atlanta. As an established teacher and trainer, her educational activities have touched military troops learning aviation and aerospace subjects, as well as graduate students, medical students, and medical residents learning about the social determinants of health. Joan has mentored over twenty graduate practicum/master’s thesis projects.

Joan received her Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Mercer University, Master of Aeronautical Science degree from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, and Juris Master degree with a focus in Global Health Law and International Human Rights from Emory Law School. She is board certified in healthcare administration and a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE).

Assistant Director, Urban Health Initiative

Tammy Reasoner serves as Assistant Director of Emory School of Medicine’s Urban Health Initiative establishing and maintaining maternal health programs and the street medicine program for housing-insecure communities.

With her Master of Public Administration Degree from the University of Georgia, Tammy has spent the past twenty years working for healthcare and community-based, non-profit institutions and directed statewide food security programs in community and clinical settings in both rural and urban areas.   She has led community and clinical programs across Georgia to develop partnerships to address social determinants of health.

An outspoken advocate on food insecurity, Tammy has presented at ASNNA and the Association of Nutrition and Dietetics’ Congressional briefings on the Farm Bills impact on Georgians and provided testimony for Georgia’s Senate Food Insecurity Committee.

Compliance Associate, Urban Health Initiative

Taqiyya Alford serves as the Compliance Associate and volunteers as Volunteers and Operations Manager. She has volunteered with UHI since 2019 and served as the Operations Manager. Taqiyya has a diverse background in rehabilitation, clinical research, oncology, regulatory, and pharmaceuticals. Taqiyya has worked at a Clinical Research Site for Mental Disorders (ADHD, ADD, Schizophrenia, Bipolar, Alzheimer’s, Depression, etc.), a Global Pharmaceutical Organization (CRO), a Clinical Research Coordinator at Emory’s School of Nursing, as well as an Activations/Start-up Regulatory Specialist for clinical trials at Emory Winship Cancer Institute. Taqiyya completed her associate degree in medical assisting, a bachelor’s degree in psychology, and a master’s degree in public health. Her passion has always been to help others by spreading her love, compassion, and light to others. “I want to create a positive change and make an impact in this world that will last for generations after me”.

Project Coordinator, Urban Health Initiative

Greg Loughlin, MSSW, is a social worker, writer, and policy advocate with more than 25 years of experience engaging men and communities in violence prevention. As Project Coordinator for the Urban Health Initiative, he supports UHI’s violence prevention initiatives. He also teaches part time at Georgia State University’s School of Social Work.

Greg’s previous leadership roles include Executive Director of the Georgia Commission on Family Violence, Director of Strategic Initiatives at Men Stopping Violence, and Co-Coordinator of the Georgia Domestic Violence Fatality Review Project. He has also served as a consultant for the IVYY Project at Grady and is currently a Circle of Safety Advisory Board member.

He is a member of the Joyful Heart Foundation’s National Council of Leadership. Greg has provided media commentary for outlets including the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, NBC.com, WSB-TV, Peachtree TV, WABE, WREK, and WRFG. His writing has appeared in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Atlanta Voice, Voice Male Magazine, WomenStrong International, and MARCH literary magazine. In 2020, he co-authored a chapter on preventing male sexual violence in Handbook of Interpersonal Violence and Abuse Across the Lifespan, published by Springer Cham.