Wendy Alexander, OT/L, bachelor’s in occupational therapy ’86, has spent most of her professional career working in inpatient rehab at UF Health Rehab Hospital. She has held various positions over the years, including clinical supervisor, clinical specialist (neuro-developmental treatment certified), clinical coordinator for student and new employee education, and facilitator for the brain injury support group. She has been a guest lecturer at UF’s occupational therapy, physical therapy and nursing programs and Santa Fe College nursing program.
Razan Alfakir, M.D., Au.D., Ph.D., doctorate in communication sciences and disorders ’16, is an assistant professor in the department of speech, language and hearing sciences at Auburn University, where she is responsible for providing high-quality teaching and research work for Au.D. students. Her lab is affiliated with an international research group that developed the HEAR COMMAND Tool by transferring the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health framework into a theory-supported, practically manageable concept.
Diana Rojas Alvarez, M.D., Ph.D., doctorate in epidemiology ’17, is an infectious disease epidemiologist. In 2020, she joined the Emerging Diseases and Zoonosis Unit in the Epidemic and Pandemic Preparedness Department at the World Health Organization as the global technical lead of chikungunya and Zika viruses. She co-leads the Global Arbovirus Initiative, which tackles mosquito-borne viruses with global epidemic and pandemic potential. Prior to joining WHO, she was a postdoctoral fellow in the college’s department of biostatistics.
Melani Dickenson, M.P.H., master’s in public health, environmental and global health concentration ’15, is an infection prevention clinical epidemiologist at Baptist Health in Jacksonville. She aims to prevent and control health care-associated infections, antimicrobial resistant and epidemiologically significant organisms and other adverse outcomes in the health care setting by translating research into practice. Previously, she worked at the Florida Department of Health as a healthcare associated infections epidemiologist and emerging infections disease fellow.
Vonetta Dotson, Ph.D., doctorate in clinical psychology ’06, is a professor of psychology and gerontology at Georgia State University, senior project scientist at NASA, and founder and president of CerebroFit Integrated Brain Health. She is also a fellow of the American Psychological Association’s Society for Clinical Neuropsychology. Her research and clinical activities focus on positive and negative modifiers of brain health, including the intersection of depression with cognitive and brain aging, and the impact of health disparities on brain health.
Steve Gold, J.D., M.P.H., master’s in public health, epidemiology concentration ’02, is the chief executive officer of Refresh Mental Health, the leading national outpatient mental health services company and part of the Optum family of companies. Previously, he was a co-founder and CEO of Crestview Capital Partners LLC, which owned and operated several outpatient mental health centers. Prior to Crestview, he was a co-founder, director and vice president of corporate development for RiverMend Health, a national behavioral health services company focused on addiction.
Dino Medic, P.T., D.P.T., doctorate in physical therapy ’18, is a director of clinical operations for PT Solutions, overseeing the clinical quality and patient outcomes of 20 outpatient clinics in Texas. He has developed relationships with multiple hospital partners to allow for more access to physical therapy, helped deliver continuing education courses and headed various recruiting and marketing efforts, in addition to serving as a mentor for the orthopedic residency program. He also oversees all future statewide growth in the Dallas and Austin markets.
Matthew Medley, M.H.A., FACHE, master’s in health administration ’12, serves as operations administrator for the department of gynecology and department of urology at Mayo Clinic Florida in Jacksonville. His prior positions at Mayo Clinic include operations manager for cancer services and operations administrator for the department of orthopedic surgery, where he partnered to launch the division of sports medicine. Following his UF graduation, he completed an administrative fellowship at Johns Hopkins Medicine.
Sharon Moss, Ph.D., master’s and doctorate in speech-language pathology ’85 and ’88, is the president and chief research officer at ASAE Research Foundation in Washington, D.C. She directs the association’s development, research, publication and knowledge dissemination efforts, and leads the development and implementation of a robust and multi-faceted research agenda that addresses the organization’s research needs and advances applied and scholarly knowledge in association management.
Tim Richardson, P.T., bachelor’s in physical therapy ’92, is a franchise regional consultant for Fyzical, LLC, one of the 5,000 fastest growing health companies in America. Prior to his current role, he was Fyzical’s vice president of operations, serving small business owners and helping brand their practices, grow their revenues and build value with a franchise model. He has helped the company grow to over 240 franchise locations.
Bridget Scheidler, Ed.D., OTR/L, master’s in occupational therapy ’05, is a clinical assistant professor in the Baylor University Doctor of Occupational Therapy program. She has worked with adults and older adults in a variety of settings, including skilled nursing facilities, assisted living facilities and home health, since she began practicing occupational therapy in 2006. She specializes in home modifications and is a certified aging-in-place specialist through the National Association of Home Builders.
Kai Yang, Ph.D., doctorate in biostatistics ’21, is an assistant professor in the division of biostatistics at the Medical College of Wisconsin. His major methodological research interests include spatio-temporal data analysis, statistical process control and survival analysis. His collaborative research interests are focused on infectious diseases, cancers and cardiovascular diseases.
Fleury Yelvington, M.H.A., M.B.A., master’s in health administration/master’s in business administration ’85, is the administrator of Shriners Children’s-Florida/Georgia. Through her leadership, Shriners Children’s recently formed academic and clinical affiliations with both the department of orthopaedics at UF and the University of Miami/Jackson Health System’s department of orthopedics. Previous roles include senior leadership at St. Joseph’s Hospital and BayCare (Tampa), and CEO at Ascension Health’s Carondelet-Kansas City health system and St. Mary’s of Michigan health system.
