VNPC Governance Structure
The work of the Virginia Neonatal Perinatal Collaborative is guided by a balanced governance structure that includes multiple groups. The VNPC Board of Directors is comprised of vested supporters involved in the care of those who are pregnant, those who are parenting, and their infants up to their first birthday. Individuals serving on the VNPC Board of Directors select and manage VNPC Leadership as well as vote on decisions that ultimately guide the strategic direction of the state PQC.
VNPC Board of Directors
Adrienne Tyler Fegans
Adrienne Tyler Fegans is the Deputy Director of Programs and Operations at the Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS). She has been with DMAS since 2000 and provides strategic planning and development of agency initiatives, and executive level oversight and direction in implementing multiple complex projects and professional teams to meet the agency’s strategic goals related the delivery of services to Medicaid and CHIP members. She oversees the divisions that handle healthcare services (managed care, dental, maternal and child health), program operations (provider enrollment, claims processing, transportation), and program integrity (provider and recipient audit).
Prior to joining DMAS, she worked for the state Governor’s Employment and Training Department (GETD) as the policy director and also the director of the state council. At the GETD, she directed teams that successfully designed and implemented programs including the Summer Youth Institute, Private Sector Mentorship Program, Opportunity Knocks Youth Corp, and the Cities in Schools Dropout Prevention program.
Adrienne received her BA from Yale University and is a member of the 2022 CHCS Medicaid Pathways Leadership Program; she was also a 2012 participant at the Medicaid Integrity Institute Faculty Development Seminar; 2005 Member of Commonwealth Management Institute; and 1994 Graduate of the Virginia Collaborative Leaders Program.
Designee: Maryssa Sadler
Barbara Snapp, DNP, NNP-BC
Dr. Snapp is employed as a neonatal nurse practitioner by the Children’s National Health System at Mary Washington Hospital in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Dr. Snapp currently serves on the National Association of Neonatal Nurses Neonatal Nurse Practitioner Advanced Practice Council. Her commitment to nursing scholarship and quality care is evidenced by her many publications, leadership in multicenter, collaborative quality improvement teams, and her work with national organizations on developing quality metrics for neonatology. Dr. Snapp collaborates closely with her colleagues to assure that high quality evidence based care is provided to infants and families.
Jennifer Blue
Luis Figueroa
Luis is a dedicated labor and delivery nurse at St. Francis Medical Center, where he holds a Master’s Degree in nursing with a focus on leadership in healthcare systems from Grand Canyon University. He serves as the Virginia section chairperson for the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetrics, and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN) and is a member of the board of directors for the Virginia Neonatal, Perinatal Collaborative (VNPC).
Before embarking on his nursing career, Luis served for eight years in the United States Marine Corps, achieving the rank of Sergeant. He is passionate about the critical role nurses play in supporting birthing individuals across Virginia and is dedicated to ensuring that every birthing person can safely deliver their baby, regardless of race, social background, educational status, or gender identity. Luis is actively involved in several AWHONN committees, including the Accountability, Belonging, and Culture committee, and is a founder and co-chair of the Veterans, Department of Defense, and Military Spouse special interest group.
Verneeta Williams, MD
Dr. Williams went to medical school at the Virginia Commonwealth University and then matriculated to the Family Medicine program at the Lancaster General Hospital in Lancaster Pennsylvania. Following completion of my Family medicine residency, Dr. Williams completed a two-year Obstetrical fellowship at the University of Tennessee in Memphis, in which she was able to perform cesarean sections and vaginal deliveries as a family medicine attending.
For the past twenty five years, Dr. Williams has been an Associate Director and Faculty member at the Riverside Family Medicine Residency Program. Dr. Williams is also a Board Member of the Virginia Academy of Family Physicians and currently serves on its Executive Board. Dr. Williams is active in the Hampton Roads Community and has participated in video presentations and community gatherings surrounding primary care screening for breast cancer and colon cancer. Dr. Williams serves on the Institutional Review Board at Riverside and has been on the Foundation Board and Maternity Care Medicine QPC Boards. Dr. Williams is extremely active in her church community, where she has served as the director of the United Nations Kids’ Church (UKidz) for over two years and the music department. Dr. Williams also plays the harp and is honored to be the mother of two extraordinarily gifts and lovable young men, Noah and Daniel Williams.
Lauren Kozlowski
Designee: Jen MacDonald
Elle Schnetzler
Dr. Elle is a dynamic strategist and change catalyst with over twenty years of leadership across the military and healthcare sectors. Rising to the rank of Colonel in the U.S. Army, she brings strategic prowess to her role as the owner of BirthCare & Women’s Health, a pioneering midwifery practice and freestanding birth center established in 1987.
With an unwavering dedication to diversity, she founded Midwifery In Color, an organization championing inclusivity in her profession. Armed with a Doctor of Midwifery, a Master of Science in Midwifery, and a Bachelor of Science in Biology, Elle’s journey epitomizes an unyielding pursuit of excellence.
Evelyn A O Aboagye, MD MPH FAAP
Dr. Aboagye has demonstrated a strong commitment to advancing health equity and community engagement throughout her career. Before joining UVA, she spent over a decade in Missouri, providing comprehensive pediatric care while serving in various pediatric leadership roles, on child health- related committees, and the board of the Missouri Chapter of the AAP. Her advocacy work at both state and national levels reflects her dedication to ensuring that all children receive equitable care, particularly those in underserved communities.
Dr. Aboagye is deeply invested in addressing health disparities in maternal and child health. Currently she is working on community engagement with breastfeeding providers in the Blue Ridge Health District to improve breastfeeding outcomes through breastfeeding education and support. Her passion for community engagement extends internationally, as she collaborates with local health systems and community stakeholders in Ghana to build capacity through medical education and global health initiatives.
Dr. Aboagye holds a medical degree from the University of Ghana Medical School. She completed her residency at Akron Children’s Hospital in Ohio and earned a Master of Public Health from Johns Hopkins University.
Caitlin S. Pedati MD, MPH, FAAP
Dr. Caitlin Pedati is the Director of the Virginia Beach Department of Public Health. She earned her Medical Doctorate and Master of Public Health with a focus on epidemiology from The George Washington University and completed a pediatric residency with a Certificate in Global Child Health at Children’s National Hospital in Washington D.C. She started her public health career with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the Epidemic Intelligence Service, joined the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services as a medical epidemiologist and then served as the Medical Director and State Epidemiologist for the Iowa Department of Public Health prior to coming to Virginia. Dr. Pedati has several peer-reviewed publications in basic science HIV research, clinical pediatrics, and public health. She has served as a contributing member of the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists and the American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Epidemiology, Public Health and Evidence. She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, and a member of the Gold Humanism Honor Society in Medicine and the Delta Omega Honorary Society in Public Health. She has a particular interest in the development of novel partnerships and innovative approaches to strengthen public health infrastructure and better support the public health workforce in their mission to protect and improve the health of our communities.
Designee: Laurie Shaw
Makunda Abdul-Mbacke, MD
Dr. Abdul-Mbacke is a practicing Obstetrician-Gynecologist in rural Southwestern Virginia. She is the founder and CEO of Piedmont Preferred Women’s Healthcare. The practice opened in 2007 and now operates in Ridgeway VA. She is an Attending Physician at UNC Rockingham Hospital. Dr. Abdul-Mbacke serves on the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology Committee on Government Affairs.
Dr. Abdul-Mbacke earned her undergraduate and medical degrees at Yale University. She completed a Masters in Public Health with a concentration in Maternal Child Health from Harvard University. Dr. Abdul-Mbacke completed her residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.
Dr. Abdul-Mbacke has dedicated her professional career to the improvement of women’s health and health equity. She has served as a thought leader in Virginia state government. Her contributions include providing expert advice in strategic sessions on Rural and Maternal Health with the Governor and U.S. Senators in Virginia and speaking at the Governor’s press conference announcing the expansion of Medicaid to cover pregnant people a year after delivery.
Serving the women and families of rural Virginia and North Carolina brings Dr. Abdul-Mbacke great joy. She is deeply committed to addressing the increasing rates of maternal morbidity and mortality in low resource communities. As part of that commitment, she started Arise Women’s Health Institute in 2021 to provide access to resources to help all women achieve a healthy pregnancy. Its mission is to decrease maternal mortality and morbidity and to equip women with the skills to advocate for themselves, their families and their communities.
ARISE is proposing to develop a new initiative to engage community maternity health workers who will work with birthing people throughout their pregnancy and for 4 months postpartum.
This technology and service-based initiative will be guided by the social determinants of health to provide equitable access to high quality services to all families, regardless of zip code.
Community maternity health workers will deliver services to clients, using proprietary software to determine the amount, frequency, and type of services. The initiative is also intended to strengthen women’s self-efficacy and advocacy to ensure optimal outcomes for birthing people and their babies.
Mary Brandenburg
Mary Brandenburg has served as the Director of Population Health for the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association (VHHA) Foundation since July 2022. In this role, she supports Virgnia hospitals through a variety of learning collaboratives and works with hospital leaders to advance sustainable population health and health equity programming across the Commonwealth. She is passionate about improving the quality and systems of care for all Virginians, with a particular focus on chronic disease management and maternal and child health. Prior to joining VHHA, Mary served as the Director of Population Health Operations at Augusta Health and was the operational lead for Augusta Care Partners, an Accountable Care Organization in Augusta County. Mary earned her undergraduate degrees in Sociology and German from Guilford College. She has more than 10 years’ experience working in Virginia hospitals and serves on the Board of Directors of the Community Action Partnership of Staunton, Augusta, and Waynesboro (CAPSAW).
Harry Gewanter, MD
Harry L Gewanter, MD, FAAP, MACR is a Richmond, VA semi-retired pediatric rheumatologist. A graduate of Duke University and the Wayne State University School of Medicine, he completed his training at the University of Rochester/Strong Memorial Hospital where he remained until moving to Richmond. He has practiced in a variety of settings including private pediatric practices, public clinics as well as community, university and pediatric specialty hospitals.
Throughout his career Dr. Gewanter has always advocated for children, families and people with disabilities and this has become his prime focus since retiring from clinical practice. He has been a member and held leadership positions in a variety of national, state and local committees and organizations, both professional, patient and community based and is the immediate former
President of the Medical Society of Virginia. With two colleagues he founded Medical Home Plus, Inc, a nonprofit organization dedicated to connecting families of children with any chronic or disabling condition with appropriate information, services and support and serves as its Medical Director.
He and his wife, Cynthia, have four adult children, some of whom have chronic issues. His personal and professional experiences fuel his passion for improving the lives of all individuals with varying abilities.
Mary Kate Bowser, DNP, MS, RN
Mary Kate Bowser began working as the nurse manager for the Roanoke and Alleghany Health Districts in 2021. She started a career with the Virginia Department of Health in 2006 as a health educator. While working with the public health nurses she was inspired to seek a career in nursing. Before returning to public health, she cared for mothers and babies in the acute care setting.
Bowser earned a Master of Public Health Education from James Madison University in 2005, a Master of Nursing from Loyola University in 2014 and a Doctor of Nursing Practice from Eastern Mennonite University in 2020. Public health nursing is her passion, allowing her to identify and address root causes of population health concerns.
VNPC Board Documents
VNPC Board of Directors Position Descriptions (coming soon)
January 22, 2024 Meeting Minutes (coming soon)