Meet the Team

Dr. White is a nurse practitioner and diabetes care and education specialist. She received her Doctorate in Nursing Practice from Thomas Jefferson University in 2010.

In 2000, Dr. White joined Thomas Jefferson University Hospital’s Center for Urban Health (CUH). She has developed several community based chronic disease self-management education and support programs in underserved communities for Philadelphia.

Dr. White has worked on several National Institute of Health funded clinical trials that test the efficacy of diabetes education and behavioral activation to improve diabetes self-management in older African Americans. In collaboration with Drs. Rovner and Casten, she developed an extensive training program to prepare community health workers to deliver diabetes self-management education.

Dr. White is also the board president of Sugga Mamas Diabetes Prevention and Management.

As Director of Community Care Management, Lakisha is responsible for promoting health equity through innovative projects related to population health, quality and pay for performance. She also helps build and foster relationships to expand Temple Population Health’s community imprint.

Lakisha has more than 20 years of experience managing programs to improve health outcomes. She joined Temple from Montgomery County Emergency Services where she was Director of Nursing and Quality Systems. She was previously Admissions Manager at Bryn Mawr Rehab Hospital and Manager of Health Care Management Operations for Health Partners Plan.

Lakisha is a registered nurse who earned her undergraduate nursing degree from Ohio University and a master’s degree in Public Health from the University of Pittsburgh.

I am Community Health Worker Latifah Smith, I have been in the medical field for about 9 years. I am a Philadelphia native, who is aware of the many barriers my community faces. These barriers have gotten in the way of a healthier lifestyle for those within the community. This knowledge led me to where I am today, in a position of being an advocate and support system for our community. In addition, I am currently pursing a degree in Behavioral Health/ Human Services to provide me with more tools, resources, and knowledge to be more effective.

My name is Nancy Porroa, I’m a Community Health Worker in the Philadelphia Collaborative for Health Equity. My passion has been to help the Community in many programs from guiding the uninsured to gain access to basic health care needs to educating the community about diabetes, hypertension, chronic disease, asthma and Tobacco. For 17 years in Peru, I worked as a Registered Nurse in the emergency department, oncology, surgery room, and community. In my free time, I like to travel to Peru and visit my mother, and spend time with my children and my grandchild. I am also a volunteer in an organization that helps people with cancer.

Dr. Robert H. Rosenwasser is among the country’s first dually trained Neurovascular neurosurgeons, meaning he is able to treat diseases of the brain’s circulatory system using both conventional microsurgical methods and minimally invasive interventional endovascular techniques. As a cerebrovascular neurosurgeon, he treats patients who have had strokes, aneurysms, AVMs, and carotid artery stenosis. He also serves as President/CEO of the Vickie and Jack Farber Institute for Neuroscience and is responsible for strategic directions in neuroscience.

He worked to establish the Jefferson Neuroscience Network (JNN)—a telemedicine system that affords Jefferson stroke physicians the ability to remotely assess and make treatment recommendations for people with suspected stroke throughout the region. In 2014, the American Association of Neurological Surgeons awarded Dr. Rosenwasser the Cushing Award for Technical Excellence and Innovation in Neurosurgery, which recognized his career-long effort to include  all modalities and  techniques in neurosurgical training as it relates to treating all Vascular Diseases of the Brain and Spinal Cord.

He has authored/co-authored over 500 peer reviewed scientific publications and 6 textbooks on this topic.

Ms. Hayden has vast leadership and management experiences in a number of health care settings: hospitals, a consulting firm, managed behavioral health care companies and a research university and medical school.  Prior to joining Jefferson, Ms. Hayden held administrative and research leadership positions in the Division of Geriatric Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine University of Pennsylvania, first as the Deputy Director of an NIH P30, Resource Center for Minority Aging Research (RCMAR) and then as the Deputy Director for the HRSA funded Keystone Geriatrics Center for Enhancing Primary Care and Community Education. In these roles, Ms. Hayden engaged community-based stakeholders, created inter-organizational connections, organized and implemented community-based education, trained health professionals and lay persons, and facilitated and conducted community-based research, most recently with a focus on research on end-of-life care and end-of-life decision-making in partnership with the African American Church Community. In 2019 as the inaugural Associate Director of Geriatric Education and Research, Ms. Hayden had administrative oversight for the Division’s educational programs for fellows, residents and medical students and management of the Division’s research programs and personnel.

Ms. Hayden previously held leadership positions with the American Public Health Association as an ex-officio Executive Board Member, Chair of the Education Board, and Co-Chair of the Joint Policy Committee. Currently, she serves on the Boards of the Trinity Health PACE-Mercy LIFE West Philadelphia Center, the Ralston Center for Quality Aging and Tabor Children’s Services. Previously, she served on the boards of the SHARE Food Program and the National Adoption Center.  Ms. Hayden received her degree in Health Services Administration from the University Of Michigan School Of Public Health and her bachelor’s degree, cum laude in psychology and sociology from Brandeis University. 

Mr. Carson is the Senior Vice President of Population Health for Temple University Health System, President and CEO of Temple Center of Population Health, LLC and serves as adjunct faculty for the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University

Mr. Carson has over 30 years of leadership experience in both academic and community based delivery systems, nursing leadership, inpatient and ambulatory quality improvement, clinical case management as well as value base care incentive programs.

A graduate of Gwynedd Mercy University with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, and a Master’s of Science from Saint Joseph’s University, Mr. Carson is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives, and the Pennsylvania Organization of Nurse Executives. He holds an appointment to the Pennsylvania Patient Centered Medical Home Committee, which serves to develop recommendations for the Pennsylvania Human Services, medical assistance program.

Recent regional collaborations have included the Temple Center for Population Health, LLC’s development of hub and spoke model for the management of opioid use disorder in Philadelphia through the Pennsylvania Coordinated Medication-Assisted Treatment grant program. The program was recently awarded an honorable mention Gage award from America’s Essential Hospitals.

Mr. Carson serves on the Board of the HealthShare Exchange and has recently been listed as one of the 2021 Modern Healthcare Top 25 Innovators.

Kathleen Reeves, MD, FAAP, is the Chair of the Department of Urban Health and Population Sciences. A faculty leader since 2003, Dr. Reeves is also Professor of Clinical Pediatrics and Founding Director of the Center for Urban Bioethics.

For more than 20 years, her research has centered on trauma-informed interventions, violence prevention, opioid use disorder, community-based health initiatives, and population health. She has served as Principal Investigator on multiple grants that benefit public education and health equity. These include trauma informed schools, comprehensive interventions to address interconnected cycles of violence, substance use disorder, and economic development.

Her work – published in the AMA Journal of Ethics, the Journal of Urban Health, and other leading journals – has been supported by the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the Victims of Crime Act, and private foundations.

A fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Dr. Reeves serves on the Board of Trustees for Physicians for Social Responsibility and is the Governor’s appointee to the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency Commission on Safe and Secure School.

Dr. Witt is an experienced Family Physician who completed her residency training in Family Medicine at the Sidney Kimmel Medical College and continued her career with Jefferson’s Family Medicine Department for more than 26 years. She works extensively with faith based and community organization to promote health and wellness, most recently conducting pop up COVID 19 vaccination clinics throughout the city. As Medical Director, Dr. Witt will have oversight of PCHE’s community health outreach efforts with a specific focus on the Frazier Family Coalition for Stroke Education and Prevention and Closing the Gap initiatives, continuing in her efforts to improving the health and well-being of the most medically underserved and economically vulnerable communities of Philadelphia. Dr. Witt continues to teach first and 3^rd year students at the Sidney Kimmel Medical College (SKMC). Dr. Witt is passionate about community service and serves on the Board of Directors with Glory Unlimited Ministries, Teaching to Change Lives, Inc., and Sugga Mamas Diabetes Prevention and Management.

Marlin brings more than 25 years of experience leading public health programs and initiatives, with proven background and knowledge in strategic engagement, organizational and community capacity building, program development and thought leadership in addressing health disparities and social determinants of health. Most of the Marlin’s work has focused on creating and enhancing organizational and community capacity to address chronic disease disparities statewide and integrating health promotion models within the continuum of care. Prior to joining Jefferson, Marlin spent more than 14 years in various leadership roles at Public Health Management Corporation.

Marlin earned an MBA with a health administration focus from Eastern University and a B.S. in Business Administration Finance from Bloomsburg University. Marlin is working toward becoming a fellow in the American College of Health Care Executives (ACHE).