Division of Community Health Staff

UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh's Division of Community Health staff is a diverse and multidisciplinary team of professionals who strive to understand the needs in our communities, and to work in partnership with others to improve health equity and health outcomes, and elevate quality of life for all children and families.

Elizabeth Miller, MD, PhD

Dr. Elizabeth Miller is the Medical Director of Community and Population Health and the Division Director of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. She is a Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Graduate School of Public Health, and Clinical and Translational Science Institute. She also serves as the Medical Director of Shuman Juvenile Detention Center, 412 Youth Zone (a drop-in center for youth who are aging out of foster care and are unstably housed) and the Scientific Director of the Children’s Community Health Collaborative. Dr. Miller enjoys traveling with her family, fencing, and reading in her spare time.

Anne Marie Kuchera, MS, MA, RD, LPC

Anne Marie is the Director of Community Health for UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. Her career has focused on the application of evidence-based methods to understand and elicit change in support of health, equity, and wellbeing. Her current responsibilities include identifying health needs in the community and integrating services between community-based and hospital systems that address these needs, with particular attention to the social, behavioral, and environmental factors that influence health. Ms. Kuchera’s clinical background includes working with young people who experienced significant weight challenges. Anne Marie serves on Boards of Directors for Grow Pittsburgh and the Midwife Center for Birth and Women’s Health. Her favorite day is spent in the outdoors, hiking or biking in a local park with her family.

Sarojini (Selvi) Ramaswamy, MBA, MPA

Selvi, is currently a Senior Business Analyst in the Division of Community Health at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. She has been working in this division for almost 20 years in various capacities. Her academic qualifications include Bachelor of Science in computer science, Master’s in Business Administration, and Master’s in Public Administration. Her responsibilities are diverse. She manages budgets, contracts and grants, and works with the leadership and the foundation on various projects. In her free time, she enjoys gardening, yoga and taking long walks.

Charlotte Byrd, BS, Org Dev., FDLC

Charlotte is the Senior Manager for UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh Family Care Connection program. Charlotte has management oversight for the six centers located in Braddock, Rankin, Turtle Creek, Lawrenceville, Mt Oliver and Penn Hills. These six centers are part of Allegheny County’s 28 Family Support Network, a collaboration between Allegheny County Department of Human Services and nine lead agencies of which UPMC Children’s is one. Family Support is a movement with parents sharing the responsibility of keeping centers accountable in providing services in which they feel are needed in the communities in which they work, live and play. Charlotte’s favorite past-time is traveling, learning about different cultures, and meeting new people.

Kristi Burry, MPH, CHES, CPH

Kristi serves as the Manager of Health and Prevention for the Community Health Division at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. In this role, she oversees implementation of the Healthy Schools, Healthy Out-of-School Time, and Healthy Early Childhood programs focused on creating healthier environments that support children’s health through implementation of health-supportive policies and best practices. Through these programs, Kristi helps school staff, out-of-school time providers, and early childcare teachers connect with local and national resources to support their goals. Her favorite part of her job is helping staff bring their ideas to fruition. Outside of work, Kristi enjoys spending time with her family, running, and trying new recipes.

Jodi Krall, PhD

Jodi is a member of UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh’s Community Health Division where she leads initiatives to promote health equity and well-being of children and families, particularly by strengthening policy, practice, and partnerships. She also works with the University of Pittsburgh Diabetes Institute addressing barriers to optimal diabetes care through system changes and application of strategies to promote informed health decisions. Dr. Krall is an investigator on several studies and quality improvement projects in the areas of health promotion and chronic disease prevention and treatment. She received her Ph.D. in Nutritional Sciences from The Pennsylvania State University and completed a research assistantship with the Pennsylvania Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program – Education (SNAP-Ed).

Heather Anderson, MPH

Heather is Community Health’s Program Manager for Outreach, Education and Training where she serves as a key liaison in building strong working relationships between clinical and community entities. Ms. Anderson works with the Allegheny County Family Support Network implementing initiatives related to healthy eating and active living, develops and implements community oriented learning opportunities for pediatric residents, and leads the hospital's educational webinar series for community-based health professionals. Her background includes overseeing a research lab working with adolescents and young adults. She is deeply invested in supporting the local community. In her free time, she enjoys gardening and working with her hands to create household items.

Danielle Thum, MS, RYT

Danielle serves as Health & Prevention Program Manager of UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh’s Family Care Connection centers. Working with families and staff in the centers, she has gained an intimate knowledge of the specific daily struggles families in our region are facing to access health care services and meet basic health needs. Danielle works alongside the dedicated Community Health team to integrate family input, co-create meaningful health and prevention programming and address social determinants of health. Outside of work, Danielle enjoys running, yoga, reading, music, and community volunteering focused on children and animals.

Christina Hoffman, MSPC, NCC

Christina received her Bachelor's of Science in Social Work in 2009 and her Master’s Degree in Professional Counseling at Carlow University in 2013. She obtained her National Certified Counselor certification in status in November 2016 and continues to work toward obtaining her license through ongoing clinical supervision. She has utilized her clinical skills to work with adults, children, and families with various needs and abilities within diverse settings; She has experience providing families with Family Focused Solutions Based Services, individual Drug and Alcohol Counseling, as well as Behavioral Supports to both adults and individuals with behavioral health needs. Outside of work, Christina can be found spending her time exploring local events and new spaces within the area, caring for her one-to-many plants, traveling, and spending time with her family.

John M. Burwell, AA, BA, FDC

John Burwell is the Community Program Specialist/Fatherhood/Adult Education at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. He is currently the chairperson of the Father’s Collaborative of Southwestern Pennsylvania. He coordinates with multiple service providers, internal and external to the organization to identify and address community health and safety concerns and communicates information to all responsible parties. He also is responsible for all the Fatherhood Programs at the 6 Family Care Connection centers. Outside of UPMC Children's, John enjoys teaching music education at The Center for Urban Biblical Ministry, weightlifting, cooking and being involved in his local community council.

Corliss Gunn-Ray BA

Corliss is the Health and Prevention Community Program Specialist for the Division of Community Health at UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. In her role, she works directly with schools and community partners to create healthier environments for youth and school administration by implementing policies and best practices related to improving health outcomes. Corliss brings a wealth of experience in program development that holistically engages parents, caregivers, and schools to become a catalyst of change for long-term impact. She is a champion of growing supportive systems for schools to ensure all students have the opportunity to learn, grow and develop into healthy and successful members of society. In her free time, Corliss enjoys reading, theater, and art.

Abby Carpenter, MPH, MSW, LSW

Abby is the Clinical-Community Connections Program Manager for UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh's Division of Community Health. With a passion for public health and social justice, she strives to expand and support health systems that value the social health of patients. Abby focuses on facilitating stronger relationships between providers and community organizations in an effort to better connect families with supportive resources to help meet basic needs. She provides education and training around the impact of food insecurity on child health, while also supporting the implementation of evidence-based approaches to identifying and addressing household food insecurity. Abby spends her personal time attending concerts, exploring new places, and finding television shows worthy of her attention.

Lilly Saitz

Lilly is the National Health Corps Member serving in the Division of Community Health as the Community Health and Prevention Coordinator. During her service year, Lilly works with schools, out-of-school time providers, and early childhood centers to create healthier environments that support children’s health. Through these programs, she provides technical assistance and training to implement health supportive best practices, connects sites with local and national resources, and provides health education to youth. Lilly also collaborates with the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy to develop the Parks Rx program, an initiative aimed at increasing access to outdoor spaces and the amount of time children and families spend outside. Her favorite part of her role is learning about the intricate ways community partners and resources come together to build healthy, supportive, and protective environments for children to thrive in. Outside of her service, Lilly loves to bike, hike, and write, experiment with new recipes, and explore new places in Pittsburgh and beyond.