MEET OUR TEAM
 Susan Wentz, MD MS directs the Office of Urban Health, Urban Area Health Education Center and NetWellness programs at Case Western Reserve University (Case). She is an assistant professor of family medicine at Case and holds secondary appointments in the departments of medicine and epidemiology and biostatistics. Dr. Wentz received her M.D. degree and residency education at the University of Michigan and her M.S. degree as a Robert Wood Johnson family medicine fellow at Case. She has studied the history of science and medical education through Case’s History of Technology and Science Program.
Dr. Wentz's career has focused on medical student education, university/community partnerships, and health communications. Under her leadership the school has developed an extensive community oriented education program designed to support professional development and provide effective skills to care for diverse populations. Community based education is a cornerstone of this program. Through a broad spectrum of opportunities, students are able to nourish core values that brought them to medicine and develop knowledge and abilities for compassionate care. With a collaborative approach, Dr. Wentz has developed programs joining university and community partners to address important health concerns, with particular emphasis on underserved populations, and health disparities.
In her work with students, and with the community, a core focus of Dr. Wentz’s work has been health communications: helping people to access, understand and use health information. With students, this includes opportunities that develop knowledge and skills to communicate science effectively. Community programs emphasize making current information understandable and available for the public. She has been a leader in NetWellness (http://netwellness.org/ ), a consumer health information website, offered jointly by Case, the University of Cincinnati and Ohio State University. One of the first consumer health websites, this non-profit service, featuring faculty expertise, is in its eleventh year of operation and receives over 75 million hits a year from a world-wide audience.
Dr. Wentz was co-principal investigator of the Macy Initiative in Health Communications, a four- year initiative sponsored by the Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation. Conducted with schools of medicine at the New York University and the University of Massachusetts, the initiative was designed to integrate communications teaching throughout the medical curriculum.
 Catherine Kane is the Program Coordinator for NetWellness.org, a consumer health website that brings together medical expertise from Case, Ohio State and the University of Cincinnati. Joining the staff in January 2003, Catherine brings a fresh perspective to NetWellness with 12 years in the medical field and experience in starting and running her own non-profit organization. While not working, she enjoys redecorating her vintage 1920's apartment, cooking, and swing dancing. To contact Catherine, please e-mail.
 Marianne Shetler joined the OUH/AHEC team in August 2004 and since then has made it her mission to design quality and innovative marketing materials for the office. She has 7 years marketing experience and received her MBA in 2004. While in graduate school she realized she wanted a career in the non-profit sector and started investigating non-profits in the Cleveland area. She is excited to be part of the OUH/AHEC team and is proud of their positive contribution to the community. To contact Marianne, please e-mail.
 Diana Smith, RN, Education Program Director, Case Urban Area Health Education Center, Senior Clinical Instructor. Previous experiences include: nurse in the Department of Family Medicine at University Hospitals of Cleveland; Childbirth Educator: MetroHealth Clement Center for Family Care; School Nurse in the Copiague Schools District, Long Island, N.Y., Nursing Supervisor, Brunswick General Hospital, Amityville, N.Y; Pediatric Nursing, Kings County Hospital, Brooklyn, N.Y. Inducted into UHHS Quarter of A Century Club, 2004. Received the UHHS Clinical Nurses of Excellence Award in 1986. Special interest: working with underserved pregnant and parenting teens. Responsible for the creating and leading a Minority Teen Mothers' Group for patients in the Department of Family Medicine at UH. Childbirth Educator and doula (labor coach) for pregnant teens at the Free Clinic of Greater Cleveland. Is dedicated to bridging the gap to diversity by addressing "cross-cultural" issues in every educational experience. To contact Diana please e-mail.
 Bernie Strong, Director of Operations,
. To contact Bernie please e-mail.
A Special Thanks to Our Students!!
 Elijah Chang is a junior management major, finance concentration. He is quite succinct with words - so that is all he has to say!
 Jeremy Gdaniec is a second year Chemical Engineering student. He enjoys both chemistry and math fields. When not studying or working, he is fully dedicated to the Varsity Track And Field Team. This is his second year working in our office, and feels that his responsibilities have greatly improved his abilities in the working world!
 Jared Gregory is a psychology and sociology major at Case with an expected graduation date of May 2009. When not studying he is a book and anime fanatic!
 Diamond McPherson is a freshman at Case who enjoys her position with NetWellness because it is directly relates to her pre-med major.
 Harsha Thulasi is a sophmore and is interested in both business and chemistry. When he's not studying, he enjoys soccer and cricket!
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