The Albany Health Management Associates Team
Patricia A. Fennell, MSW, LCSW-R, is CEO of Albany Health Management Associates, Inc. She is a research scientist, clinician, educator and author specializing in chronic illness, trauma, forensics, hospice, and global health care concerns. As the author of the validated Fennell Four Phase Treatment model, she lectures to, advises, and consults with government, professional, medical, academic, management, and patient organizations in North America, Europe, Africa and Australia. Patricia has authored several books on chronic illness including: Managing Chronic Illness Using the Four-Phase Treatment Approach and The Handbook of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome with Wiley. She has also written numerous scholarly and lay press articles and chapters on this and other topics, including the chapter: Chronic Illness for the Encyclopedia of Social Work and “Chronic Illness” Oxford Bibliographies Online with Oxford Press. Ms. Fennell pilots and develops IRB approved research projects, creative/business projects and assists scholars, clinicians, entrepreneurs, and artists in launching their own. She consults with clinicians and patients, and utilizing original content and curriculum, administers a two-year clinical training program. Read more >
Nancy Dorr, PhD, is currently Professor of Psychology at the College of Saint Rose. She has over 20 years of experience as a full-time faculty member in an institution of higher education where she has served as both a teacher of psychology and research methods and a primary investigator of psychological/health/medical research. She also has over 10 years of experience in program evaluation and served as the Associate Director of the Institute for Community Research and Training at the College of Saint Rose. She holds a PhD in Social Psychology from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a minor in research methods and statistics. She also did her undergraduate work in psychology at the University of Buffalo-SUNY. She has authored scholarly articles and research presentations on a variety of health-related topics, including scleroderma, stress and coping, blood pressure, cardiovascular reactivity, risky behaviors in adolescents, fibromyalgia, vaccination uptake, aging, and well-being. She has served on the Institutional Review Board at the College of Saint Rose for over 13 years, and as chair for eight of those years. She was the recipient of the Thomas A. Manion Distinguished Faculty Award from the Alumni Association at the College of Saint Rose in 2013.
Jon S. Rice, MSW, LCSW-R, AHMA Senior Clinician, has experience working with victims of sexual abuse, behavioral problems, interpersonal conflict and chronic illness. His forensic and child welfare work includes clinical assessment and treatment, training and consultation, and he has worked with social services, probation/parole and family court. He is a licensed trainer through the International Institute for Restorative Practices, promoting holistic responses to trauma, loss and interpersonal conflict. Jon is a member of the National Association of Social Workers and serves as Co-Chair of New York State NASW’s Advocacy and Governmental Relations Committee. He is an appointed member of the Restorative Justice Commission of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany, N.Y. and is a volunteer with New Yorkers for Alternatives to the Death Penalty.
Namita Sachdev, MD, FACP, FAAP is a physician with over 30 years’ experience caring for patients, especially those with chronic illness. She believes empowering individuals to care for themselves leads to optimal personal health and wellness. She received her BSE in engineering science from University of Michigan at Ann Arbor in 1985, her medical degree from Ann Arbor in 1989, and she completed her residency at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor in 1994. She has mentored and taught students, residents, and faculty, and is Clinical Assistant Professor Emerita in Internal Medicine at the University of Michigan. In 2018, Dr. Sachdev was selected by the Medicine Pediatrics Program Directors Association to receive the Brendan Kelly Associate Program Director Award. In 2019, she received the Special Recognition for contributions to the Internal Medicine House Officer Training Program Award. She is currently a practicing physician in urgent care and will be joining the faculty at the University of California, San Diego in September 2020.
Lee Shapiro, MD is Professor of Medicine in the Division of Rheumatology at Albany Medical College (AMC), director of the AMC scleroderma clinic, and chief medical officer of the Steffens Scleroderma Foundation. He is a graduate of Yale College (B.A., magna cum laude) and Columbia University School of Medicine. His post-graduate training in internal medicine and his rheumatology fellowship were at Presbyterian-University Hospital, Pittsburgh and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. He is a fellow of the American College of Physicians and the American College of Rheumatology. He has served on the medical advisory board of the Scleroderma Foundation, Tristate Chapter for the past 30 years and was the recipient of the Distinguished Physician Lifetime Achievement Award (2008) and Physician of the Year Award (2016) from the Scleroderma Foundation. His research interests center on microvascular complications of scleroderma and on the development of new treatments for Degos Disease, an ultra-rare multisystem microvascular disease. He was co-chair of the first International Symposium on Degos Disease held at the NIH in 2018.
Kenneth J. Friedman, PhD, an adjunct associate professor, Department of Medicine, School of Osteopathic Medicine, Rowan University, Stratford, N.J., is a retired Associate Professor of Pharmacology and Physiology, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ), Newark, NJ. He was a trainer for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome continuing medical education courses, developed and delivered continuing medical education courses to physicians and other healthcare professionals throughout the U.S. After his daughter was diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia after contracting Mononucleosis in college, Doctor Friedman became a passionate advocate for Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS).
Deborah Lee, MSW, retired from a long career as an LCSW and ACHP-SW. She served over thirty years as both a hospice social worker and a hospice clinical manager with three different hospice programs in the Chicagoland area. She is the author of Hospice: A Memoir of Life among the Dying, and numerous articles related to hospice social work that have been published in professional publications and journals. Her commitment to assisting individuals with end-of-life issues continues. See Mensa review of Hospice
Hannah Bowen is a research assistant for the Steffens Scleroderma Foundation. Her research is focused on scleroderma, degos disease, rare disease advocacy, interprofessional education, melatonin, and clinical trial developement. She has a BS in Psychology from Clarkson University and an MS in Translational Biomedical Research Management from Hartwick College (pending, June, 2022).
Shane S. George is a Summa Cum Laude graduate from The College of Saint Rose, and a member of the Saint Rose chapter of Psi Chi. Shane completed his studies with a B.S. in Psychology and a minor in Public Health. With research grant funding, he successfully completed an Honors Thesis project and defense titled “The Relationship Between Interoceptive Body Awareness, Illness Identity, and Health Anxiety to Predict Depression, Stigma, and Self-Disgust Among People with Chronic Illness.” He has been published in the peer reviewed journal Healthcare and presented research at the Association for Psychological Science Conference and at the Eastern Psychological Conference. Shane has assisted in research for various professors during his time at The College of Saint Rose. His research interests include the interdependent relationship between physical, social, and psychological health in clinical settings, behavioral health/planned behavioral change, coping with stress, comorbid psychological concerns in physical health (e.g. in chronic illness), and stigma as a barrier to health. He is also interested in physical and mental health at the community level, as well as health disparities based on race/ethnicity, income, sexual orientation, or sex/gender. Shane continues to pursue his research goals, most recently as a co-author on the Oxford Bibliographies Online article titled “Chronic Illness,” and looks forward to continuing his graduate education.
Gina DiSarro, MA, MS has worked in the field of writing, editing, communications, and research for more than twenty years in private industry, academia, and government. She has an M.A. in English, an M.S. in Information Science, and a post-graduate certificate in publishing. Gina’s work extends into various genres having created and edited numerous written works, including poetry and fiction, speeches, press releases, website content, technical instructions, and peer-reviewed academic papers. Gina has assisted AHMA with various research and writing tasks in support of their mission.
John Esposito is an American pianist/composer/drummer/producer who works on a wide array of creative music projects. His technical skills and the range of his artistic palette extend across the stylistic boundaries of the Stride Piano, Swing, Bebop, Modal and Free Music movements. He performs and lectures worldwide and is Artist-In-Residence at Bard College and also the owner/executive producer of Sunjump Records.
Ann Fantauzzi, MS Ed, is an educator, children’s author, photographer and innovator in teaching, with decades of experience in early childhood education and gifted education. Ms. Fantauzzi serves as an educational consultant to non-profit organizations in the U.S. and Uganda, collaborating on research, curriculum and infrastructure development. Organizations she works with include: Red Cross Disaster Relief, The Giving Circle – USA & Africa, AIDS Orphan Education Trust, Habitat for Humanity, and MiniChess -South Africa.
Jennifer Howard is a senior project manager for Albany Health Management Associates, Inc. Her primary professional focus has been the wellness, education and empowerment of women and girls. Her professional experience includes work with Girl Scouts of America, Emma Willard School, ELLE Magazine, and Canyon Ranch Health Resort. Jennifer holds a BA degree in English and is currently researching and writing a new publication, Arena!
Erick R. Singleman, MSME, earned BS and MS degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY, with a focus on automation system technologies. Working with Philips Electronics, he designed several, parts handling systems. Subsequently, Mr. Singleman spent eight years in the U.S. Navy’s Nuclear Propulsion Program, where he was employed by Bechtel Plant Machinery, Inc. to oversee the design and fabrication of critical reactor plant heavy equipment used on nuclear powered vessels. Mr. Singleman, has worked with Utility Systems Technologies, Inc., as the lead mechanical designer, designing devices for electrical power correction. He is also developing data collection and analysis systems in health related fields. Mr. Singleman holds two U.S. patents for electronic tap changing voltage regulators.
Amy Stiffen is Director of Case Management Services for Albany Health Management Associates, Inc., where she has worked since 2000. She is a graduate of Bradford College with a degree in marketing, and has worked in the fields of online media, healthcare and legal services.
Dylan Mulvenna earned a BS in Biomedical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY with a concentration in Data Science. Currently pursuing an M.E. degree in Industrial and Management Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Working with Edgewell Personal Care he conducted root cause analysis, and automation of metrology processes.
Inactive Associates
Monica E. Biggs, EdD is an organizational development specialist with more than 20 years of experience as a manager, teacher and consultant. She brings a solid understanding of organizational and team dynamics and is a skilled group facilitator. She combines those competences to help organizations build interdisciplinary teams that are not only high performing but also create an environment in which each person’s diversity can be effectively leveraged. She works with a variety of healthcare, corporate, university and community-based organizations to address diversity at all levels of a system and to facilitate educational experiences that examine issues of inclusion at the individual, group, team, organizational and community level. She holds an EdD in Human Resource Development from George Washington University and a MS in Human Resource Development from American University.
Edward Holohean, MS, was a research scientist skilled in project development, information dissemination, development of operational hypotheses, definitions of theoretical questions, literature review, instrument development, psychometric theory, sampling theory, exploratory and statistical data analysis, and graphical representation of quantitative data. He helds a BS degree in Experimental Psychology and a MS in Biometry and Statistics from the School of Public Health at the State University of New York at Albany. For 18 years he served the Research Foundation for Mental Hygiene and the New York State Office of Mental Health. In addition, he served as a consultant for varied academic and professional organizations. He was the author of numerous scholarly publications and an experienced speaker at academic, professional and governmental presentations and conferences.
Vicki Walker has guided Albany Health Management Associates’ public relations, marketing and research programs. She has advised numerous organizations, researchers and individuals on topics such as grant seeking, proposal writing and topic selection, as well as public policy program planning and execution. Ms. Walker spent 10 years on staff with the Chronic Fatigue and Immune Dysfunction Syndrome (CFIDS) Association of America, where she served in many capacities, including editor, research program director and grassroots advocacy program manager.