Community Advisory Committee
(CAC)
Peggy Geisler, MA (CAC Chair) holds a BA in Clinical Psychology from University of Maryland and her
MA in Clinical Psychology from Salisbury University. She is the owner and senior consultant of PMG
Consulting LLC, who works with not-for-profits on infrastructure, strategic planning, and training as well as
conducts community based programs in both Maryland and Delaware. Ms. Geisler currently is the
Executive Director of the Sussex County Health Promotion Coalition. She has 20 years’ experience in the
not-for-profit field and has received numerous awards for her community based work. She currently serves
as a board member on Delaware Health Eating and Active Living, sits on the Governor’s Council on Health
Promotion and Disease Prevention, sits on the State Health Improvement Planning Committee for mental
health, is a graduate from Leadership Delaware 2012 and is a member of the United Way of Delaware
Southern Advisory Committee. Peggy also serves as Chair of the ACCEL DE-CTR Community Advisory
Committee.
Tyrone Jones (CAC Co-Chair) has been working for more than 15 years for Delawareans through the
offices of Senator Tom Carper, Metropolitan Wilmington Urban League, and most recently through Astra
Zeneca’s Community Alliances and Delaware Government and External Affairs offices. This work has been
about establishing relationships and bringing agencies together to advocate for better living circumstances
and the improvement of patient/community relationships.
Aguida Atkinson, MD FAAP is a Pediatrician in Wilmington DE with Nemours Alfred I. DuPont Hospital
for Children, and affiliations through Christiana Care Health System and St. Francis Hospital. She has
participated in research and publications focused on childhood obesity. Dr. Atkinson has served on the
Board of Directors of Children & Families First in Delaware. In addition, Dr Aguida Atkinson is on
Delaware's Oral Health Coalition and keeps the board of the American Academy of Pediatrics informed of
the latest oral health information and recommendations.
Marsha T. Horton, PhD is Interim Dean for the College of Education, Health and Public Policy at
Delaware State University. In that role, she is responsible for administrative leadership for the Departments
of Education, Nursing, Public and Allied Health Sciences and Social Work; and for the Center for Student
Advising and the Center for Health Promotions. Dr. Horton is a consultant in the areas of assessment,
accountability and public policy. Formerly, she was the Associate State Secretary of Assessments and
Accountability for the Delaware Department of Education. Dr. Horton serves on the Board of Directors for
the Delaware Foundation for Science and Mathematics Education, the DSU Early College High School and
Sweet Briar College. She was named a Living the Legacy Honoree by the National Council of Negro
Women and on two different occasions, was honored as an Outstanding Young Woman of America.
Community Advisory Committee (CAC)
Tricia Jefferson, RD LDN is Director of Healthy Living and Strategic Partnerships, for the YMCA of
Delaware. She is a licensed, Registered Dietitian, with a strong background in healthcare. In her current role
she gives oversight to the Association Healthy Living Department, helping to lead various healthy living
initiatives throughout the state including the YMCA’s Diabetes Prevention Program, Corporate Membership,
the YMCA’s Healthy Lifestyles Behavior Change program, as well many other health initiatives within
Delaware. She serves as a lead on various steering committees throughout the state, including the Counsel of
Health Promotion and Disease Prevention (beverage) committee. She also currently serves as the Media Rep
for Delaware’s Dietetic Association, and co-chairs Healthy Kids Delaware. She has been able to bring her
skills and knowledge to help the YMCA of Delaware scale evidenced-based programs statewide which has
created new partnerships within the community allowing the Y to expand and grow, serving the community in
new and innovative ways.
Richard E. Killingsworth, MPH is one of the principal architects of the active living movement that
emerged in the 1990s and changed the way public health influenced place-making to accommodate healthier
behavior and outcomes. As a result, he has consulted in over 300 communities in all 50 states; presented in
over 100 conferences; authored over 30 publications; and has collaborated with the CDC, NIH, National
Academy of Sciences, and the World Health Organization in the important role the built environment has in
public health. Mr. Killingsworth is currently the Chief of Health Promotion and Disease Prevention for the
Delaware Division of Public Health. In this capacity he administers key public health initiatives that span
issues in cancer, heart disease, diabetes, nutrition, physical activity, tobacco and WIC programs. Mr.
Killingsworth is also an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Behavioral Health and Nutrition at the
University of Delaware. He also serves as Chairman of the New Castle County Planning Board. Mr.
Killingsworth also served as the inaugural Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer for the National Foundation on Fitness,
Sports, and Nutrition. He also served as Deputy Director of Nemours Health and Prevention Services, Executive Director of the
Harvest Foundation, Program Director of the Ruth Mott Foundation; National Director of Active Living by Design, Associate
Research Professor at The University of North Carolina - School of Public Health, and a Health Scientist at the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention. He has earned multiple awards including the League of American Bicyclists highest award – the Paul Dudley
White Award - for his work to promote bicycling and physical activity; and the Cadence Cycling Foundation’s highest award – the
Maguire Award for leadership and service in advancing the mission of the Foundation. Mr. Killingsworth earned his Bachelor of
Science in Community Health Education from Indiana State University and his Masters of Public Health in Public Health Education
from Indiana University. He is also the 2015 recipient of the W.W. Patty Distinguished Alumni Award which is Indiana University
School of Public Health's oldest and highest alumni award.
Charles Madden, JD MS is Executive Director of the Wilmington Hope Commission. In this role he is
responsible for working with community groups, private business and non-profit agencies, along with elected
officials and community leaders to develop solutions to reduce violence in the City of Wilmington. He holds
an MS in HR Management and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Baltimore School of Law.
Maria Matos is President and CEO of Wilmington’s Latin American Community Center. A cancer
survivor, Ms. Matos has used that battle to remind her that she has unfinished business. Her dream was to
create a school, which she did, and in the fall of 2014 La Academia Antonia Alonso, a dual-language charter
elementary school opened in Wilmington, Delaware and she’s launched a feasibility study for a capital
campaign aimed at building a preschool at the Latin American Community Center. The Center is an
institution intended to affect change in our community, our children, and their families. Maria also has begun
work on a book based upon her experiences hoping to inspire and encourage Latina girls with the story of her
successes while battling poverty, discrimination, and domestic violence. In the fall of 2014, mayor Dennis P.
Williams of Wilmington renamed a section of North Van Buren Street where the center is located to “Maria
Matos Way.”
Community Advisory Committee (CAC)
Leslie Newman is in her 7th year as CEO of Children & Families First, having served as Director of
Development for 15 year before that. She is a Commissioner for the Child Death, Near Death and Stillbirth
Commission and a member of the Delaware Early Childhood Council. In addition, Leslie is President of the
Board of the Milton & Hattie Kutz Foundation. She is also an advisor for the Youth Philanthropy Board, a
program of the DE Community Foundation and a member of the Board of Kids Count in DE.
LaVaida Owens White, MSN RN FCN has more than 40 years nursing experience in a variety of settings of
acute and long-term care, rehabilitation, home care and community health. She is currently working in the
practice setting of Faith Community Nursing, has served as parish nurse in my congregation for the past 21
years and as Coordinator for the Delaware Region Health Ministries Network, a support network for people of
faith who promote whole-person health through faith groups in the communities they serve. Ms. Owens
White is a faculty educator for the International Parish Nurse Resource Center and provides instruction for the
Foundations of Faith Community Nursing core curriculum for registered nurses and health ministries. As a
community activist and life member of the NAACP, engaged in health issues at the state and local levels of
government, she is active in several professional organizations, including leadership positions in communitybased associations. One of my current interests is in nursing research, exploring a collaborative partnership of
community and faith-based organizations in addressing childhood obesity. One characteristic of our nursing
profession is the creation of a unique body of knowledge and related skills to guide our practice. Nursing continues to evolve to meet
the needs of a changing society and, it is of necessity for nursing research to be an essential component of client care as a scientific
discipline.
Ann Phillips is Executive Director of Delaware Family Voices, Inc. and Director of the HRSA/MCHB grant
funded Family to Family Health Information Center which focuses on helping families of children with
special health care needs advocate and navigate through the health care and insurance systems. She is also
project director for the Statewide Family Network grant with a focus on the families of children with
mental/emotional or behavioral issues. Delaware Family Voices is the official state chapter for National
Family Voices; Federation of Families; and Parent to Parent USA. Ann became an advocate for persons with
disabilities 14 years ago, after her son sustained a traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injury from a motor
vehicle accident. The lack of services along with the difficulties of navigating through the system prompted
Ann to advocate first for her son and eventually for other families. In addition, Ann is currently a member of
a dozen committees and organizations all associated with care for people with disabilities and the challenges
facing their families. She freely passes on the knowledge she’s gained from studies/assessments and personal
experience through publications and interaction through state-wide programs. Ann has been recognized a number of times for her
service and dedication, the most recent being the Bayada Pediatrics’ Advocate of the Year Award.
Edward R. Sobel, DO is a retired Senior Partner, Managing Director at Family Practice Associates of
Wilmington. He is the Medical Director of the Health Care Quality Improvement Program for QID, the state
Quality Improvement Organization and for the Delaware Regional Extension Center. His areas of expertise
include clinical quality improvement, evidence based medicine, practice management and electronic medical
records system implementation. He is board certified in family practice, having earned his medical degree
from the University of Health Sciences, College of Osteopathic Medicine, in Kansas City, MO and interned at
Parkview Hospital in Philadelphia, PA. His awards include the 2001 Family Physician of the Year by the
Delaware Academy of Family Physicians. He was a finalist for the 2010 HIMSS Nicholas E. Davies Award
of Excellence for recognized excellence in the implementation and value from health information technology.
He received the 2011 Daniel A. Alvarez, MD Service Award from the Medical Society for helping to
implement over 1000 physicians on electronic medical records.