Read biographies of discussion panelists for the 2015 Healthcare Networking Forum to take place Tuesday, April 21 at Vertigo Sky Lounge, rooftop lounge of the Dana Hotel & Spa Chicago.
Discussion Panelists
Dr. Elizabeth Florez, PhD/RN, Professor of Nursing, DePaul University, Illinois Hispanic Nurses Association
Dr. Elizabeth Florez is currently an Assistant Professor at DePaul University’s School of Nursing. Prior to her academic appointment, Dr. Florez was a registered nurse for five years in a level-one surgical-trauma intensive care unit. She then went on to earn her PhD in Nursing Science from the University of Illinois at Chicago, College of Nursing. Dr. Florez’s dissertation research explored the perceptions of risk of an acute myocardial infarction and likelihood of action in response to heart attack symptoms among Mexican Americans at risk for cardiovascular disease. Her research continues to focus on health disparities for minority populations.
Beyond her academic work, Dr. Florez is an active volunteer for many organizations committed to improving the health of Latinos such as the Illinois Hispanic Nurses Association, the American Heart Association and Catholic Charities. In 2014 she was awarded the AHA Multicultural Initiative Champion Award and on April 7th she received the LaRaza Mujeres Destacadas 2015 Leadership Award in the field of health in recognition of her outstanding vision and community support.
Through her nursing background, research agenda, and community engagement, Dr. Florez has demonstrated her deep commitment to continue the fight to help minimize the health disparities that exist for racial/ethnic minorities and underserved communities.
Jose Muñoz, Chief Marketing Officer, Get Covered Illinois
As Chief Marketing Officer for Get Covered Illinois (GCI), Jose is responsible for leading marketing, advertising and public relations strategy for the State of Illinois’ Health Insurance Marketplace. His over 15 years of healthcare, marketing and public relations experience in the non-profit, corporate and government sectors, has been a key driver the behind the successful rollout of Illinois’ health insurance marketplace. The integrated marketing campaign he spearheaded has been recognized nationally for its creativity and effectiveness at reaching consumers by the White House, Advertising Age, PR Week, the Multicultural Health Marketing Conference, and others. So far this initiative has helped nearly one millions Illinoisans gain access to healthcare under the Affordable Care Act.
Prior to joining Get Covered Illinois, Jose spent 12 years working for Seguin Services Inc. overseeing various programs and advocating for the rights of children and adults with developmental disabilities in the state of Illinois. In 2007 he joined Aetna Health Insurance to help develop their local Targeted Growth Markets initiative (NC TGM), a national strategy to grow Aetna's membership in multicultural markets. While at Aetna he led the development of several business strategies, programs, products and services to improve access to health care and reduce health inequalities in under-served communities.
In 2010, Jose was appointed to serve as Deputy Commissioner for the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH). While at CDPH, Jose helped the City advance several innovative public health strategies including the development of Chicago’s first comprehensive public health agenda, Healthy Chicago, an aggressive multi-pronged strategy with a vision of making Chicago the healthiest city in America. In 2012 Jose joined New Futuro to develop and lead the launch of national Public Relations and Marketing initiative, which helped millions of Latino students in LA, Houston, New York, Miami and Chicago find the tools and resources they needed to get into college. Jose worked with New Futuro until he joined the State of Illinois in October of 2013.
The son of Mexican immigrants and a native of Chicago, Jose was the first in his family to obtain a degree from an institution of higher learning. He graduated summa cum laude, with a 4.0 GPA, from Chicago State University’s College of Business with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration.
Dr. Suzana Flores, Clinical Psychologist, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, Author - “Facehooked”
Dr. Suzana E. Flores is a clinical psychologist, Amazon best selling author of 'Facehooked: How Facebook Affects Our Emotions, Relationships, and Lives.' (Reputation Books) and aspiring television/radio psychologist.
As a national social-media expert and commentator, Dr. Flores has appeared on national and international newscasts, podcasts, radio and talk shows including Al Jazeera - The Stream, "Leiberman Live" on The Howard Stern Show, PBS, WCIU Channel - "The U," National Public Radio (NPR), "Just Jenny" Sirius XM Channel, WGN Radio Chicago, The ManCow Show, Univision Television News, Charlotte News WSOC-TV, and radio broadcasts out of Germany, U.K. and Canada.
Dr. Flores has been quoted in The Chicago Tribune, The Huffington Post, ABC.com, CBS.com, Esquire.com, Everyday Health Magazine, Mashable.com, Dame Magazine, The Nation Magazine, SheKnows.com, Vegas Seven Magazine, New Parent Magazine, Hispanic Health & Beauty Magazine, La Raza Newspaper, Newlyweds.com, Upwave.com, Mujeres Sin Censura, and Moms.me.
In her hometown of Chicago, Dr. Flores has earned a Masters in Counseling from Loyola University and a Doctorate degree in clinical psychology from Illinois School of Professional Psychology. Her new book, Facehooked, is an exploration of the psychological effect of Facebook, and social-media networks, on the way we think, communicate, interact and understand ourselves and others.
Time is running out to register. Tickets will not be sold at the door. Register today!
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