Building the Bridge to Better Public Health
and Emergency Management
Proceedings of the 9th Annual Tribal
Public Health Preparedness Conference

Joe Finkbonner
Executive Director, Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board

John Erickson
Special Assistant, Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response
Washington State Department of Health

Lynda Zambrano
Executive Director, Northwest Tribal Emergency Management Council

John Scott
President, Center for Public Service Communications

August 29, 2012

COMMENTS

"Presentations provided great content and presenters were a pleasure to listen to. Appreciate the learning opportunity."

JOE FINKBONNER

Prior to his current position as the Executive Director of Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board (NPAIHB), Joe was the Director of the Northwest Tribal Epidemiology Center (The EpiCenter) at the NPAIHB. The EpiCenter is one of 12 epidemiology centers nationally that focuses specifically on American Indian/Alaska Native health status. Joe began his work in Indian health for the Lummi Tribe as the Health Director/CEO and was very active at State and Federal levels in his efforts to heighten the awareness of disparities of the AI/AN population and to assist with focusing action toward improving the health status through policy development. Joe's efforts were through his membership on the Washington State Board of Health, participation in the Washington Public Health Improvement Plan, and miscellaneous workgroups for the Indian Health Service. Joe recently was selected as a member of the Public Health Accreditation Board.

Joe began his work in health care delivery as a pharmacist at Providence Medical Center in Seattle and Overlake Medical Center in Bellevue. Joe holds a Masters of Health Administration and a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy both from the University of Washington. Joe is a member of Lummi Nation in NW Washington. Joe is a member of the clinical faculty at the University of Washington and Oregon Health & Sciences University.

JOHN ERICKSON

John Erickson is a Special Assistant to the Secretary of the Washington State Department of Health and Director of the Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response program. In this role he coordinates the overall agency work on emergency preparedness and response. He also administers the cooperative CDC and ASPR agreements. As such he is involved in all aspects of natural, biological, chemical and radiological emergency planning with Washington State's hospitals, local public health agencies, tribal and other federal, state and local partners.

Prior to this he was the director of the Department's Division of Radiation Protection. John joined the Washington program in 1982 as an environmental health physicist. He moved up through the ranks within the Division becoming the director in 1996. John received his training at the University of California at Los Angeles and the University of Washington. He holds an MS degree in nuclear chemistry.

LYNDA ZAMBRANO

Lynda Zambrano is currently the Executive Director of the Northwest Tribal Emergency Management Council and the Interim Executive Director of the National Tribal Emergency Management Council. Lynda began her career in public safety in 1993, working with the Snohomish County Sheriff's Department. She has since then worked as the Administrator of the Tulalip Health Clinic, Executive Director of Health and Human Services for the Snoqualmie Tribe, and Health Director for the Lower Elwha Tribe. Lynda also served as the Director of Emergency Management for the Tulalip Tribes and the Lower Elwha Tribe.

Lynda is an accomplished grants writer and has helped to bring several million dollars into the Washington State Tribes for the promotion and development of Emergency Management and Homeland Security Programs. In the past year, Lynda has received the prestigious recognition of the United States Department of the Interior, Office of the Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs, OHSES for outstanding performance and lasting contributions and will be inducted into the International Women in Emergency Management’s Hall of Fame later this year at the International Association of Emergency Management Annual Conference. However, if asked, Lynda will tell you that her greatest accomplishment is her marriage with Rick Zambrano and raising the family that they share.

JOHN SCOTT

Mr. Scott founded and directs the Center for Public Service Communications whose mission is to provide guidance and expertise to individuals, communities and public sector organizations in the specialized field of applying telecommunications and information technologies to reduce health disparities, to improve health services to underserved and disenfranchised individuals and communities and to improve the collection and sharing of scientific, technical and community knowledge to reduce human vulnerability to natural hazards.

Mr. Scott has worked for many years on disaster risk reduction programs with the United Nations internationally and within the United States. Mr. Scott’s International working experience includes the Americas, Africa, South East Asia, the Caribbean, China, Western Europe, the Pacific and the former Soviet Union. Mr. Scott is an enrolled member of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska and also serves on the EIIP Board of Directors.