About Us

Vision & Mission

We envision a thriving, equitable society in which networks are leveraged to advance, strengthen, and transform social, economic, and political systems of all kinds for the better.

Our work is grounded in these values:

• Inclusivity: We value and depend on our partners’ valuable and diverse perspectives, knowledge, and relationships to make change
• Innovation: We are always looking for new and better ways to solve challenges.
• Impact: We pursue tangible, durable solutions.
• Action: We embrace collective action as a powerful force for change.
• Equity: In our team, engagements, and impact, overcoming systemic racism and inequities is always a core motivation.
• Persistence: To achieve the change we seek we must keep moving forward, celebrating our wins while learning from our failings.

“To achieve the impossible, it is precisely the unthinkable that must be thought.” -Tom Robbins

Board of Directors

Staff

A seasoned health policy and public health professional, Stacey leads capacity-building, technical assistance, and training offerings in support of OPEN. In this role, she draws on deep content expertise in oral health policy and programs; experience designing and delivering technical assistance to state agencies, advocates, organizers, and providers; successful leadership of multi-stakeholder learning collaboratives; and finely honed writing and editing skills.

Previously, Stacey spent a decade with the Center for Health Care Strategies (CHCS), a national health policy center, where she was director of prevention programs. In that role, she established and directed a portfolio of work focused on improving access, quality, and outcomes in oral health for Medicaid-enrolled children and adults. Prior to joining CHCS, she worked in the health communications field.

Stacey holds a master of science in organizational development and leadership from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, a master’s degree in public health from Temple University, a bachelor’s degree in communication from the University of Pennsylvania’s Annenberg School for Communication, and a bachelor’s degree in economics, with a concentration in marketing, from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.

As an Executive Coordinator, Valerie supports the Executive Director by managing schedules and maintaining communication across teams. She supports Encompass Solutions staff meetings and the work of both the Network Core Team and the Organizational Development Team. Prior to her current position, she was a research associate for Duke University in the Philadelphia Work-Family Project and a public health research assistant for Tozuda, LLC on its Traumatic Brain Injury Study in Women’s Roller Derby. She currently serves on the board of the Arriba Project, a non-profit committed to helping preserve and uphold the dignity of all human life by rebuilding communities after natural disasters, assisting communities experiencing special needs, or supporting communities experiencing social injustices, without regard to race, ethnicity, political or religious affiliation, or gender. Valerie’s family immigrated from Ecuador, where she volunteered at public health clinics in underserved indegenious communities. She earned a BS in Psychology from Drexel University and a Master of Public Health from Thomas Jefferson University with a thesis on the psychosocial effects on the children of undocumented parents.

Ifetayo’s work and interests have always focused on health and equity. From 1999 to 2020, she served as the Executive Director of United Health Organization (UHO) and Project Healthy Living in Detroit, Michigan. She has been an activist in the Healthy Cities movement and has directed several community projects focused on disease prevention, and health and wellness promotion. She supported Emory University’s “Faith-based and Community Partnerships: Reaching Vulnerable Populations” program that builds capacity in faith- and community-based organizations to reach populations at risk of influenza.  She also served as the Senior Program Manager for the Black Women’s Health Imperative, the only national organization dedicated solely to improving the health and wellness of our nation’s 21 million Black women and girls. She is a national presenter on preventive health, health disparities, influenza, and childhood obesity prevention, and currently serves on the board of the Los Angeles Care Harbor temporary dental clinic.

Grace oversees the communications and marketing strategy for Encompass Solutions and the Oral Health Progress and Equity Network. She is a results-oriented communicator committed to targeting messages and materials to oral health advocates, policymakers, and health providers, and is skilled at conveying complex information in creative ways. Before joining Encompass Solutions in 2019, Grace was President of Creative Media Solutions, Inc., a consultancy specializing in branding and social marketing for a range of private, public health, and non-profit organizations. Her work focuses on healthy behavior changes including smoking cessation, skin cancer prevention, screening for breast, cervical and colon cancers, practicing good oral hygiene, and being ready for natural and other disasters. Early in her career, she served as Communications Director for the largest public health department in Colorado, where she engaged with environmental health, nursing, and nutrition teams to promote public health efforts throughout the state. Grace has a Bachelor of Science in Biology and Bachelor of Arts in Fine Art from Pennsylvania State University, and her Master of Arts in Biomedical Communications from the University of Nebraska.

Bianca is a trained community engagement professional with experience in the corporate, health, and education sectors. She worked in senior management at a local retirement community, abroad as an English teacher curriculum developer, business development associate for a commercial interiors company in Tampa Bay, and currently supports network member engagement for the Oral Health Progress and Equity Network (OPEN). Bianca is involved in several organizations in the Tampa Bay community including DE&I Council of the St. Pete Chamber and as a board member for Tampa Connection and Leadership St. Pete. She also co-founded St. Petian Collaborative, and YEA Collective.

 Bianca is drawn to exploration, and she seeks out opportunities to further her education and experience in support of her community. She has pursued professional development in equity and inclusion, honing her skills as a facilitator in both the corporate and non-profit sectors. She is a graduate of the two-part Courageous Conversations Beyond Diversity training on race, was certified as a Courageous Conversations Affiliate Practitioner, and is a DE&I Facilitator for Inclusivity.

In her role as Director of Operations, Kate oversees the development and support of the fee-for-service work of Encompass Solutions and the creation of organizational and Network processes. Kate has been engaged in program/curricula development, stakeholder engagement, and process design in the public health and education spaces for over a decade, supporting non-profit, state, and legislative efforts in these areas. In 2015, Kate joined the OH2020 Network at the intersection of oral health and education while working at the School-Based Alliance; since 2017, Kate has worked on the OH2020 Network Support Team (NeST) as the Operations Manager, where she primarily supported the Network in developing equity resources and strategies and establishing processes for the infrastructure as it evolved into OPEN, a multi-hub action network. Kate received her BA in Sociology from North Carolina State University and her MA in Educational Analysis from the University of Pittsburgh.

In her role as Director of Network & Systems Strategy, Frances supported teams of Network members to complete a systems mapping process and led the Network to form its first ever collective impact strategy that will fundamentally change the national health system. Frances joined OPEN (formerly the OH2020 Network) in 2015 as the Oral Health Program Manager for The L.A. Trust for Children’s Health, working in the LA Unified School District to educate, screen, and connect students to a dental home. In 2017 Frances joined the OH2020 Network Support Team (NeST) as the Implementation Manager, where she began interacting with all levels of the Network to brainstorm, develop, implement, and refine resources and strategies aligned with members collective values as it evolved into OPEN, a multi-hub action network. Prior to this work, Frances served as a United States Peace Corps Volunteer in rural education development in Chadiza, Zambia. She holds a BS in Communications/Public Relations from East Carolina University, and Master of Public Health concentrated in Community Health Sciences from the University of California, Los Angeles.