Samiyah Para-Cremer Moore, Analyst
What has been your favorite project? My favorite project so far has been Crisis Standards of Care. I loved the opportunity to work with the Community Advisory Board (CAB) and collaborate with CAB to design and conduct the focus groups with consumers, providers and consumer advocates.
What is the best career lesson you’ve learned so far? For me, the best career lesson I’ve learned is to not chase COWs (crisis of the week). When problem-solving, it is important to ground solutions within the context of the long-term project goals and not let week to week challenges distract from the overall picture.
What do you do when you are not working? It can really depend! However, it often revolves around good food. I love exploring new restaurants and cooking recipes I’ve never tried before. I’m always looking for new recommendations!
Where’s your favorite place in the world? I’ve been very fortunate to travel frequently and for long periods of time. Although places like Buenos Aires and Oxford where I’ve lived will hold a special place in my heart, my favorite place in the world is always wherever my family lives.
If you could have any superpower what would it be? Teleportation would be incredible. I would love to be able to visit friends around the world instantly.
What is one food that you cannot resist? Altoids! My favorites are Peppermint and Cinnamon.
WELCOME to KHI
Theresa Freed, Director of Strategic Communication and Engagement - March 27
I’m excited to join the KHI team! Everyone I’ve met has been amazing and my list of to dos is growing daily. I thrive when I have full workload, so I think I’ll do fine here.
Outside of work, I stay busy chasing children. My husband, Larry, and I have three little ones – Bennett, 11; Emerson, 5; and Hazel, 1. We have two pets – Bacon the cat and Emily the beagle. We live in Olathe, but my husband and I were born and raised in Topeka. My father-in-law went to high school in the KHI building!
My previous public relations work includes work at the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, Kansas Department for Children and Families, Kansas Department of Aging and Disability Services and Johnson County Government. I most recently served as communications director for the National Scleroderma Foundation. Before starting a career in PR, I served as a television and print journalist for 13 years.
A couple of interesting facts from my time in news – I interviewed Conan O’Brien, appeared on a Dateline episode and jumped out of a plane twice!
Ithar Hassaballa - Senior Analyst & Strategy Team Leader - January 2023
Hello! My name is Ithar, pronounced Eethaar. My name means altruism in Arabic. My immediate family members live in the greater Kansas City area. I was born in Sudan and I am a Kansan. I’m a mother to a four-year-old girl named Jood, which means generosity in Arabic.
I love chocolate and coffee. I absolutely love to travel and I am always open to expanding my list of places to visit. Jood is going to Puerto Rico for her fourth birthday.
I recently found out that I love to speak to larger audiences. This summer, several Tanzanian TV stations interviewed me about my participation as part of the Global Humanities Institute focused on research related to chronic conditions.
My top interests include: community-based participatory research/evaluation, community engagement, health equity, community health workers, type-2 diabetes, maternal health, Ebola, and COVID-19. I’m excited to join KHI and look forward to learning and contributing together.
Sheena Schmidt, Senior Analyst - November 2022
Hello! I’m Sheena and I’m happy to be back at KHI after a few years working in local and state government. It’s exciting to see all the great work that’s been going on and I’m enjoying the new and improved facilities! I was born and raised in Atchison, Kansas, which is famous for two things. It is the birthplace of Amelia Earhart and it’s very haunted. I can tell you some ghost stories if that’s your thing.
I’ve lived in Chicago and D.C., which turned me into a bit of a foodie. I love visiting when I can and have to eat at my favorite places like Hot Chocolate (best macaroni and cheese in the world) or the Little Goat Tavern (Stephanie Izard from Top Chef is the owner). I am returning to the D.C. area for Christmas and cannot wait to have the she-crab soup at a little place in Old Town, Alexandria.
I also love to travel! My husband and I just took our first trip away from our son to go to Jamaica where we honeymooned after our wedding. We jumped off large cliffs into a “blue hole” (I included a picture after we survived one of the jumps). It was a bucket list experience!
We live in Topeka with our son, Remy, who we adopted and got to meet when he was just three hours old (I included some pictures of our first meeting and adoption day, including the cake I made to celebrate). He is truly our greatest blessing and it’s hard to remember life before him. This is most likely due to the lack of sleep we’ve been getting the last year-and-a-half, but I wouldn’t change it for the world! We love getting to watch him experience new things, taking him to the zoo and exploring our community and others in Kansas (I included a couple of recent pictures). He gets to meet some of his cousins for the first time this Christmas. Wish us luck on the plane ride!
Valentina Blanchard, Analyst - October 2022
I’m Valentina, but most people call me Val (I’m okay with either one). Most of my previous work has been in the social work & direct services area, so I’m excited to be a little more “behind-the-scenes” as an analyst here.
I was born in Russia, adopted at age 3, and raised in Buffalo, NY (Go Bills!). This year alone I’ve lived in 3 different states, so we are happy to be staying put in Kansas for a while and just bought our first house. I met my husband, Patrick, on a plane to Ireland in 2018 (very Nicholas Sparks, I know) and we legally tied the knot with our immediate families this past May. The picture is from our first date, when he drove six hours from West Point to Buffalo about a month after we met. We’ve been through several moves and a deployment since then and have rescued two dogs with VERY large personalities - Curtis (right) and Zoe (left).
While I’m a pretty adventurous person (with food, activities, etc.), I’m also a bit of an introvert, so you can find me most nights after work curled up with the dogs reading or watching something about crime. I’m a huge Harry Potter and Office nerd, and you will always find me at trivia if the topic is either of those. As a family, we love to travel, be outdoors, and try new breweries and restaurants (bonus points if they’re dog friendly!).
Kaci Cink, Research Assistant - October 2022
Hi, all! I'm Kaci Cink, I started in October as a research assistant. Before coming to KHI, I was living in Johannesburg, South Africa. In South Africa I worked for the Peace Corps as a HIV Outreach Coordinator and additionally did some consulting work on rural health clinic grants for a Forestry company.
I am currently in the process of getting my master's in public health from the University of Glasgow, Scotland. I am particularly passionate about reproductive and sexual health, food systems and monitoring and evaluation. I am living in Manhattan, where I also grew up. I love K-State, but I went to the University of Kansas for my undergraduate degree, so I am a Jayhawk fan.
Ben and I were married on Dec. 22. Ben and dog, Oz, are still living in Johannesburg. Oz will be moving to the U.S. this spring and Ben will most likely move at the end of 2023.
I love cooking and trying new foods. My top mission when I travel is to always find the best local foods and restaurants. I enjoy spending my time outdoors whether its camping, hiking, or gardening.
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