CPI Research Associates

Chris Parker, Senior Research Associate, Georgia Health Policy Center
Chris Parker joined the staff of the Georgia Health Policy Center in a consultative capacity, in May 2003, to facilitate work on a cancer related project that provided support and assistance to the Central Georgia Cancer Coalition as they planned for designation as a Regional Program of Excellence (RPE). His policy interests are reflected in the projects that he continues to be engaged in at the Center. These include the strengthening families through by strengthening parental relationships, examination of select Community Health Initiatives on behalf of the Commonwealth Fund, an assessment of the public health districts in Georgia and an examination of the issues surrounding health care coverage for the Uninsured. Chris is a graduate from the Rollins School of Public Health where he completed his MPH degree, focusing in Health Policy and Management in 2001. While there he authored and presented papers looking at: Prescription Drug Benefits for the Medicare population, Improving Access for the Uninsured, and the Prescription Practices of HMO Physicians. As a trained physician, he brings a wealth of significant clinical experiences having worked with underserved communities and faith based organizations in Kingston, Jamaica.

Mary Ann Phillips, Senior Research Associate, Georgia Health Policy Center
Mary Ann Phillips has been with the Health Policy Center since its inception in 1995. She has worked on a number of projects, including conducting research for the implementation of health insurance market reforms and health plan purchasing cooperatives in Georgia; managing a statewide effort to obtain provider and consumer input for reforming the state Medicaid system; and assisting with the development of Georgia's children's health insurance program, PeachCare for Kids. Before joining the Georgia Health Policy Center, she worked for the Governor's Commission on Health Care, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Health Planning Branch of the U.S. Public Health Service.

Angie Snyder, Senior Research Associate, Georgia Health Policy Center
Angie holds a Master of Public Health degree from Tulane University and a Master of Philosophy from Yale University, where she also is a doctoral candidate in health policy with an epidemiology concentration. Angie spent more than six years as a public health adviser for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention with assignments in Long Beach, Calif., New York City and New Orleans. Her work with the CDC’s National Immunization Program in Atlanta provided valuable experience in children’s health policy and removing barriers to ensure appropriate immunizations of children from birth to two years of age.

Akilah Thomas-Ferrell, Research Associate, Georgia Health Policy Center
Akilah Thomas has been involved with the Building Strong Families Program since April 2004. She completed her Master of Public Health at Emory University in December 2000 and her Bachelors in Sociology at Clark Atlanta University in May 1999. Akilah initially began work with the Building Strong Families program by assisting in the planning stages. The purpose of this work was assuring that the chosen curriculums were adaptable to the communities that Building Strong Families planned to serve. Akilah also assisted with the development of the Building Strong Families supplemental curriculum. Currently, Akilah is the Project Director for the Georgia Building Strong Families program which is operated out of Georgia State University’s Georgia Health Policy Center. Prior to joining Building Strong Families, Akilah worked for ten years within Emory University’s School of Medicine and School of Public Health. For three of those years (2002 – 2005) she was the Senior Project Coordinator for the Centering Pregnancy Program and spent the remainder of her time at Emory working on various projects researching HIV/AIDS.

Mei Zhou, Research Associate, Georgia Health Policy Center
Zhou is a research associate at the Georgia Health Policy Center. Ms. Zhou is experienced with large data sets, especially Medicaid data analysis. The programs she has worked include the Long-Term Care Partnership project, the Evaluation of Georgia’ s Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), the Evaluation of Bridge, the Evaluation of Georgia Oral Health Prevention Program, the Member and Provider Satisfaction Surveys for Georgia Medicaid and PeachCare Claims Services, the Georgia’s Foster Care System project, the State Coverage Initiatives and Modeling Premium Support project, the CAHPS Surveys for Georgia’s PeachCare and Medicaid Programs, the Evaluation of Georgia’s Disease Management Program, and the Assessment of Metropolitan Atlanta’s Health Care Safety Net.