Pioneers in Health

Ep: 53:  A rerun of one of our most popular episodes of 2025. Justin Duncan, BS, NRP, CCEMT-P, FP-C, serves as the chief executive officer for Washington County Ambulance District. Chief Duncan holds a bachelor’s degree in EMS administration and is currently a graduate student pursuing a master’s degree in organizational leadership.   Chief Duncan has a long history in EMS, serving as both a groun...

Ep. 52: Tracy Quillin joined Humanities Kansas as the director of communications in 2007 and became associate director in 2014. Tracy started her career in the museum field and was curator of education at the Johnson County Museum for eight years. Tracy holds a BA in history, art history, and history of culture from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a master’s degree in historical administra...

Ep. 51: Elliot Regenstein is a Chicago-based partner at Foresight Law + Policy. Elliot has extensive experience in state-level policy and advocacy, with a particular focus on early learning; he has also consulted with more than two dozen states on a wide range of education policy topics.  Much of his work focuses on how decision-making occurs in state education and early education systems: who is...

Ep. 50: Robert became the chief executive officer of Community Care Network of Kansas in June 2025. Throughout his career, he has focused on advancing local solutions, building strong partnerships, and championing advocacy efforts at the state, community, and local levels.   In his role at CCNK, Robert works to support the needs of clinics serving communities across Kansas, helping ensure access t...

Ep. 49: Sherman Smith is the editor in chief of Kansas Reflector, which he founded in 2020. A three-time Kansas Press Association journalist of the year, he writes about things powerful people don't want others to know. Kansas Reflector is part of States Newsroom , the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization. Listen now, and learn how Sherman is an innovative leader in Kansas.  ...

Ep. 48: Christina was recently named the interim director for the Center of Community Health and Development, a subcenter of the KU Life Span Institute. Christina has served as the assistant director at the center for six years before being named interim director; the current director retires in May.   Her deep experience at the center began when she was a student intern and member of the Kansas C...

Ep. 47: Brenda Bandy serves as the executive director of the Kansas Breastfeeding Coalition. She oversees KBC’s programs, working across sectors to build support and remove barriers for breastfeeding families.   She is an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) and former La Leche League volunteer.   In this episode, she discusses her passion for breastfeeding, the benefits of b...

Ep. 46: Jennifer Bacani McKenney, MD, FAAFP, is a family physician in her hometown of Fredonia, Kansas, a community of approximately 2,200 people. She has owned and managed her practice Fredonia Family Care alongside her father and other great colleagues since 2009. McKenney was named the 2021 Rural Health Practitioner of the Year by the National Rural Health Association and received the Early Car...

Ep. 45: Kathleen Sebelius served as the 21st secretary of the U.S. Health and Human Services from 2009-14. As HHS secretary, Sebelius was instrumental in overseeing the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. Before becoming secretary, she served as the 44th governor of Kansas from 2003-09, the second woman to hold that office. She currently serves as CEO of Sebelius Resources, LLC, as well as...

Ep. 44: Dr. Donna Ginther is the Roy A. Roberts & Regents Distinguished Professor of Economics and Director of the Institute for Policy & Social Research at the University of Kansas and a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research.   Prior to joining the University of Kansas faculty, she was a research economist and associate policy adviser in the regional group of the...

Ep. 43: The Rev. Dr. Beth Ludlum serves as vice president for strategic initiatives and executive director of The Hub for (Re)Imagining Ministry at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C.   At Wesley Theological Seminary, she has completed both a Master of Divinity and a Doctor of Ministry degree, the latter focused on the applications of human-centered design thinking for congregational f...

Ep. 42: Kari Bruffett serves as president and CEO at Kansas Health Institute. With extensive experience in national and state health policy, she has advanced efforts at KHI to support effective policymaking through new and enhanced services while continuing to ensure high-quality, objective research, education and engagement.   She previously served as KHI’s vice president for policy and led the o...

Ep. 41: Chase Blasi serves as a Kansas senator and the Senate majority leader. He is a fifth-generation Kansan who grew up in West Sedgwick County. He represents Senate District 26 in the Kansas Legislature.   He is entering his fourth year of service as a senator and his second year as senate majority leader. He became the youngest person to serve in either position.   In this episode, he discuss...

RERUN - Pioneers in Health Episode 16, January 23, 2025 – Courtney Younglove, MD, FOMA, FACOG, DABOM Dr. Younglove understands the battle with obesity.  She began her struggles with excess weight in adolescence.  Prior to getting her degree in Obesity Medicine, she gained and lost the same forty pounds at least twenty times.  She is also a busy single mother of three boys and understands how tempt...

Ep. 39: Janet Stanek is the Secretary of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE), appointed by Governor Laura Kelly. KDHE has three divisions, including Health, Environment, and Health Care Finance, which includes the Medicaid program (KanCare) and the State Employee Health Benefits Plan, where Stanek previously served as the Director.   Stanek holds a graduate certificate in popula...

Ep. 38: Mark Fleury, Ph. D. is a policy principal for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), where he has worked since 2013. He specializes in research, drug development, and regulatory policies along with other science and technology related projects.   He has worked on reform of diagnostic testing oversight, drug shortages, helped lead a coalition in 2016 that authored a la...

Ep. 37: Jodi Schmidt serves as the executive director of the Care Collaborative at the University of Kansas Health System. The Care Collaborative is a patient safety organization dedicated to delivering high-quality clinical care to improve the health of people living in rural Kansas communities. Founded in 2014 and accredited by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the collaborative is...

Ep. 36: Corey Scurlock, MD, MBA, is the founder and CEO of Equum Medical. Dr. Scurlock is an Intensive Care Specialist with a deep background in acute care telemedicine, starting his first program in 2011. As the CEO and founder of Equum, Dr. Scurlock has grown it from its original singular hospital and service capabilities to over 100 hospitals with a footprint of purpose-built, digitally enabled...

Ep. 35: Ryan Lester, MPH, serves as Vice President, Education, Health of the Public and Science at the American Academy of Family Physicians. He previously served as the bureau chief of health promotion at the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as a leadership coach and adjunct professor at Washburn University for population health. He has a ba...

Ep. 34: John McDonough is a professor of public health practice at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and a former Massachusetts legislator. Between 2008 and 2010, he served as a senior advisor on national health reform to the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. During that time, he worked on the development and passage of the Affordable Care Act. Between 200...

Ep. 33: Eva Stahl is the vice president of public policy and program management at Undue Medical Debt. Eva oversees development and implementation of Undue Medical Debt’s policy work and programming, including beneficiary insights, community engagement and government initiatives.  Prior to Undue, Eva was a leader in the health advocacy community for over a decade. During her tenure, she collaborat...

Ep. 32: Mark McCormick is a New York Times bestselling author, award-winning journalist, advocate and consultant. He served as the first-ever executive director of the Kansas Black Leadership Council (KBLC) in 2024-25. The statewide organization was established 10 years ago to advance meaningful change for Black or African Americans living in Kansas. KBLC works to empower Black communities through...

Ep. 31: Mike Perry is a partner and co-founder of PerryUndem, a nonpartisan, public opinion research firm. Before co-founding PerryUndem in 2013, Mike was a partner for 16 years at the national polling firm Lake Research Partners.  Through public opinion research, Mike seeks to bring the voice of those most affected by today’s issues into the policymaking process. He works mainly with nonprofit or...

Ep. 30: Karen L. Weis, PhD, RNC-OB, FAAN, is a decorated U.S. Air Force veteran and noted researcher who serves as the dean of KU Medical Center’s School of Nursing-Salina Campus, as well as the associate director of research for the Kansas Center for Rural Health. She also holds the Christine A. Hartley Rural Nursing Professorship. She is a native of the Salina area, working with and focusing on...

Ep. 29: Johnathan Sublet is the founder and executive director of SENT Inc. in Topeka. He is a visionary leader with a wealth of experience in driving community-focused initiatives and organizational growth.  As executive director of SENT Inc., he has been instrumental in guiding the organization through critical transitions. Under his leadership, SENT is on track to see a projected $2.5 million i...