Family Health Section: Contacts
The Family Health Section of the Bureau of Community Health Promotion within the Division of Public Health has responsibility to improve the health of women, infants, children, teens, and families as they progress through the critical developmental milestones of life. A major emphasis of the programs in the Family Health Section involves prevention, early screening, and early intervention.
We are excited to share that we have reorganized our Family Health Section and its organizational units to help reduce siloes and organize our work based on the populations we serve rather than solely by funding.
The nature of our work and individual roles have not changed, but have been shifted to allow for greater collaboration and focus. We look forward to continuing to collaborate and helping to improve health in all of our state's communities.
Our Maternal and Child Health unit shifted to be the Maternal and Infant Health unit. We also created a Child and Adolescent health unit to focus on promoting health during as our state's children grow. Our Children and Special Health Care Needs and Reproductive Health and Family Planning units remain unchanged. Our Maternal and Infant Mortality Prevention unit has been elevated to focus on prioritizing community voice and equity across all of the section's programs and now known as the Community Health Operations unit. Similarly, we created a Data and Evaluation unit to similarly support all of our programs, including the Maternal Mortality Review Team and the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System, to name a few.
Fax number: 608-267-3824
Leah Eckstein, Family Health Section Manager, Leahm.Eckstein@dhs.wisconsin.gov
Melissa Brockie, APSW – Maternal Health Innovation Coordinator, Melissa.Brockie@dhs.wisconsin.gov
Sharon Gilbert – Home Visiting Nurse Consultant, Sharon.Gilbert@dhs.wisconsin.gov
Melissa Harris – Maternal and Child Health Equity Program Coordinator, Melissa.Harris@dhs.wisconsin.gov
Katrina Heche, MPH – Title V Block Grant Director, Katrina.Heche@dhs.wisconsin.gov
Alicia Hynek – Perinatal Nurse Consultant, Alicia.Hynek@dhs.wisconsin.gov
Terry Kruse – Maternal and Infant Health Equity Program Coordinator, Terry.Kruse@dhs.wisconsin.gov
Shawn Meyer – Maternal and Child Health Public Health Nurse Consultant, Shawn.Meyer@dhs.wisconsin.gov
Karen Morris – Maternal Mortality Review Nurse Abstractor, KarenJ.Morris@dhs.wisconsin.gov
Nikki Ripp – Maternal and Child Health Unit Supervisor, Nikki.Ripp@dhs.wisconsin.gov
Mary Rosecky – Maternal Mortality Review Nurse Abstractor, Mary.Rosecky@dhs.wisconsin.gov
Mary Wienkers, MPH – Maternal Mortality Review Coordinator, Mary.Wienkers@dhs.wisconsin.gov
Kara Benjamin, MPH – Child and Adolescent Health Unit Supervisor, Kara.Mathewson@dhs.wisconsin.gov
Erika Hagen MS, PhD – Adolescent Health Coordinator, Erika.Hagen@dhs.wisconsin.gov
Virginia Loehr – Child and Adolescent Health Consultant, Virginia.Loehr@dhs.wisconsin.gov
Heidi Massey – Title V Community Health Promotion Specialist, HeidiM.Massey@dhs.wisconsin.gov
Katie Scheuerell – Adolescent Health Fidelity Monitor, Katherine.Scheuerell@dhs.wisconsin.gov
Justine Thicke – Adolescent Health Coordinator, Justine.Thicke@dhs.wisconsin.gov
Tami Horzewski, MS, CHES – Wisconsin Newborn Screening Program Coordinator, Tami.Horzewski@dhs.wisconsin.gov
Michelle Lund, LPC – Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs (CYSHCN) Program Director, Michellem.Lund@dhs.wisconsin.gov
Vince Milisauskas – WE-TRAC and Wisconsin Birth Defects Registry Information System Specialist, Vince.Milisauskas@dhs.wisconsin.gov
Julie Thiel, BS Pharm, PharmD – CYSHCN Unit Supervisor, Juliea.Thiel@dhs.wisconsin.gov
Mandy Quainoo – Newborn Screening Follow-through Coordinator, Amanda.Quainoo@dhs.wisconsin.gov
Elizabeth Seeliger, AuD – Wisconsin Sound Beginnings Program Director, Elizabeth.Seeliger@dhs.wisconsin.gov
Melissa Skenandore – CYSHCN Program Coordinator, Melissa.Skenandore@dhs.wisconsin.gov
Robert Steiner, MD – Newborn Screening Program Medical Director, Robert.Steiner@dhs.wisconsin.gov
Kaitlin Tolliver, MSW, LCSW – CYSHCN and Birth Defects Program Coordinator, Kaitlin.Tolliver@dhs.wisconsin.gov
Tamara Thompson – Newborn Screening Out of Hospital Coordinator, Tamara.Thompson@dhs.wisconsin.gov
Isabella Walters – UW Population Health Service Fellow, Isabella.Walters@dhs.wisconsin.gov
Ashley Dombrowicki, RN, MSN, BSN –RHFP RN Consultant, Ashley.Dombrowicki@dhs.wisconsin.gov
Mary Landry, MD – Title X Medical Director, Mary.Landry@dhs.wisconsin.gov
Chelsea Onchuck, RN – RHFP Unit Supervisor, ChelseaM.Onchuck@dhs.wisconsin.gov
Sadie Wilson, MPH – RHFP Program Coordinator, Sadie.Wilson@dhs.wisconsin.gov
Sherry Walker – RHFP Program Coordinator, Sherrys.Walker@dhs.wisconsin.gov
Jelena Debelnogich, MPH – RHFP Epidemiologist, Jelena.Debelnogich@dhs.wisconsin.gov
Meg Diedrick, MPH – Maternal Health Innovation and PRAMS Epidemiologist, Meg.Diedrick@dhs.wisconsin.gov
Mary Kusch, MPH – Title V Evaluator and Epidemiologist, State Systems Development Initiative Grant Director, Mary.Kusch@dhs.wisconsin.gov
Emily Morian-Lozano, MPH, MSW – Data and Evaluation Unit Supervisor, Emily.Morianlozano@dhs.wisconsin.gov
Melissa Olson, MS – CYSHCN and Birth Defects Epidemiologist, Melissa.Olson@dhs.wisconsin.gov
Leah Ricci – Newborn Screening Data Reporting and System Integration Specialist, Leah.Reuter@dhs.wisconsin.gov
Deirdre Sperry – Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists Fellow, Deirdre.Sperry@dhs.wisconsin.gov
Trevor Drulia – Community Health Operations Unit Supervisor, Trevor.Drulia@dhs.wisconsin.gov
Robert Fontella – Health Education and Outreach Specialist, Robert.Fontella@dhs.wisconsin.gov
Kathleen Hanson – Grant Specialist Advanced, KathleenM.Hanson@dhs.wisconsin.gov
Ashley Rogers – Grant Specialist, Ashley.Rogers@dhs.wisconsin.gov
Julia Norton, CDFT – Health Equity Coordinator, Julia.Norton@dhs.wisconsin.gov
Hannah Schmidt – Community Partnership Specialist, Hannah.Schmidt@dhs.wisconsin.gov
Resource contacts
National Maternal Mental Health Hotline
You're not alone. Becoming a new parent can be hard. It is normal to feel depressed, anxious, and overwhelmed after having a baby. It's important to remember that mental health challenges are common during this time and there is no shame in seeking help. If you would like someone to talk to, call or text the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline at 833-TLC-MAMA (833-852-6262) any time. The service is available English and Spanish.
Grief support and bereavement resources
Have you or your family been impacted by an infant loss? The Wisconsin Department of Health Services funds partners across the state so that families who lose a baby have access to grief support and bereavement resources. These partners also provide resources for those serving grieving families. The services are free and available to anyone in Wisconsin.