Staff
The number of OPHI staff expands and contracts depending on the size and need of current projects. The current OPHI staff are listed below:
Dr. Dalen Duitsman, Director
Dr. Duitsman received his doctorate in Health Education/Public Health and his M.S. from Indiana University located in Bloomington, Indiana. He received his dual undergraduate degrees in Health Education and Physical Education from William Paterson University in Wayne, New Jersey.
Prior to his arrival at Missouri State University in the fall of 1996, he was a Health Studies faculty at Iowa State University. During his tenure there he helped revise the Community Health Education curriculum and was instrumental in the growth of the program. At Missouri State, he implemented and administered the M.S. in Health Promotion and Wellness Management graduate program and also developed, implemented and administered the Master of Public Health program.
In February of 2001 Dr. Duitsman was appointed by the Board of Governors to serve as Director of the OPHI. In this position he has served as the principal investigator of numerous contracts and grants that have focused on solving community public health issues in Missouri. He has been successful in uniting university resources and community stakeholder resources to develop and implement targeted interventions to address community health related needs. Dr. Duitsman’s expertise also extends to creation of partnerships and coalitions. He is known in the state for his leadership on state-wide, regional, and local boards, committees and coalitions. He is the Immediate Past President of the Missouri Institute of Community Health, serves on the board of the Missouri Public Health Association, and is on the executive committee for the Transforming the Future of Public Health in Missouri initiative.
Jaci McReynolds, MHA, Associate Director-Communications and Public Health Transformation
McReynolds has worked in Missouri's public health system for more than two decades with a focus on public health system transformation, emergency preparedness and response, and improving communication and collaboration for collective impact. She was instrumental in developing Missouri's Foundational Public Health Services (MO FPHS) model and continues to support its operationalization across the state. McReynolds has a background in film and video production and television news producing. She holds a BA in Communications, a Masters in Health Administration, and is currently pursuing a doctorate in public health. She actively participates in regional, state, and national collaboratives, committees, and advisory groups. She enjoys teaching and training and serves as an adjunct instructor and guest lecturer.
Project Staff
Karen McKinnis, BS, MT, Program Director,
Missouri Health Disparities Initiative
Dr. Joseph Hulgus, Deputy Program Director
Data Analysis, Project Evaluation and HRA Development
Dr. Hulgus is responsible for the design, implementation, evaluation, and reporting for the process and outcome evaluations of the SOARHigh project. He is also the lead in developing and evaluating a new Health Risk Assessment tool for use specifically with rural youth. This will include not only the initial development but validation of the instrument as the project proceeds. Lastly, Dr. Hulgus will be designing, developing, and deploying the mental health wellness modules and components for this project.
Dr. Joseph Hulgus is a licensed psychologist and received his Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from Texas Woman’s University, Master of Public Health degree from Missouri State University (MSU) and Bachelor’s degree from Indiana State University – Evansville. He has worked with the MSU Ozarks Public Health Institute (OPHI) as research and program evaluator for the last 14 years. Dr. Hulgus is also a Professor of Counseling at Missouri State University with 30 plus years of experience working in a wide variety of contexts as a counseling psychologist, research psychologist and public health researcher.
Pam Dudley, MHA RN, Project Coordinator
Pam Dudley has worked in public health for over twenty-two years with a focus on maternal and child health, emergency response and public health accreditation.
Dudley holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Dietetics, a Master of Health Administration and is a registered nurse.
Dr. Todd Daniel, Statistician
Dr. Todd Daniel is a statistician and academic researcher with a specialization in statistical methodology and research design. He holds a Ph.D. in Organizational Psychology and most recently served as the lead evaluator of the #HealthierMO Transforming the Future of Public Health initiative. He has worked with the Ozarks Public Health Institute on projects since 2015. He has done analyses for academic, medical, and business research, served on numerous doctoral dissertation committees, and directed a research institute before starting his own statistical consulting business. He has extensive experience designing academic research projects, collecting data, analyzing data, and interpreting the results. He has published multiple academic articles in peer-reviewed journals and hosts a popular YouTube channel Research By Design about statistics.
Beverly Triana-Tremain, PhD, CLSSGB
Dr. Beverly Triana-Tremain or Bev has at least 35 years of public health teaching, evaluation/research, and consulting experience. She received her bachelor’s degree from Texas A&M University-Commerce, master’s degree in Exercise Science/Exercise Physiology from Texas Woman’s University, and her doctorate from Texas Woman’s University in Health Studies. Her background and skill set blends theoretical and practical approaches in Evaluation, Epidemiology, and Quality Improvement Processes.
She is a fellow in the National Public Health Leadership Institute and in 2006 established Public Health Consulting, LLC to assist agencies in improving the public health system. Dr. Tremain has a green belt in Lean Six Sigma.
She has been the evaluator or quality improvement consultant on grants received from Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration, and Health Resources and Services Administration for nonprofit, state and local health departments.
From 2012 to 2024, she served as an Epidemiologist with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration’s (SAMHSA)’s Prevention Technology Transfer Center (PTTC). In this role, she served nine states and tribal nations with increasing the use of data in decision making, data literacy, and epidemiological thinking.
She recently completed writing a textbook with SAGE Publications titled, Evaluation Time: A Practical Guide for Evaluation. Her passion is helping organizations slow down and understand the processes that promote authentic and quality strategies to improve the public’s health. Her proudest achievement is her husband Jack and her three boys, Hunter, Hayden, and Holden.
Kunti Bentley, MA, Program Coordinator Sexual Violence Prevention and Response
Kunti Bentley has 15 years of experience working in higher education and nonprofit agencies mobilizing assets to address campus and community needs. Kunti most recently served Missouri State University as Director of Project HEAL, a sexual violence prevention (SVP) and response program. With a passion for cultural development and inclusive education, Kunti centers her work on the critical need for developing educational programs from an intersectional lens. Focusing on cultural responsiveness, cultural sensitivity, and cultural relevance, she advocates for utilizing a multi-disciplinary, community centered approach to reduce harm and affect change. She holds Masters of Arts in Communication- Nonprofit Management and a BA in Global Studies.
Research Fellows
Dr. Maxwell A Barffour
Dr. Barffour received his PhD in International Health from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. He has MPH with a Epidemiology concentration from Missouri State University in Springfield, Missouri. His BS in Biochemistry and Nutrition was received from the University of Ghana.
After obtaining his PhD in International Health, and before arriving at Missouri State University, Dr. Barffour was at the University of California Davis in Davis, California for a Postdoctoral Research Fellowship. He has received many awards and honors including the 2015 Young Scientist Participant from Nobel Laureates Meeting, the DSM Doctoral Research Fellowship from Johns Hopkins University in 2014, the Federik Bang Immunology Research Award from Johns Hopkins University in 2012, and others.
At Missouri State, Dr. Barffour has taught courses such as Epidemiology, Clinical and Experimental Study Designs, Biostatistics in Health Science, Health Behavior, and Public Health Field Experience. His expertise as a global health epidemiologist is in maternal and child health research and programming. His research primarily involves community based clinical trials and programs designed to address the adverse effects of micronutrient deficiencies or overdose on infections, inflammation, anemia, and physical or neurocognitive growth and sleep outcomes. His research is implemented across several countries including Laos, Zambia, Ghana, India and the United States. Many of Dr. Barffour's studies and clinical trials have been published.
Graduate Assistants
Pooja Gummalla
Pooja Gummalla holds a bachelor's and master's degree in microbiology. With over a year of experience as a Junior Executive in Quality Management Systems, Pooja Gummalla managed tasks such as SOP changes, Deviations and change controls. Currently, I am working as a Graduate Assistant at OPHI, further honing skills in research and development while supporting academic and operational functions.