Staff

Dr. Duitsman received his doctorate in health education/public health and his master's degree from Indiana University located in Bloomington, Indiana. He received 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 MS in Health Promotion and Wellness Management graduate program and also developed, implemented and administered the Master of Public Health program.

In February 2001, Dr. Duitsman was appointed by the Board of Governors to serve as Director of 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 served on the executive committee for the Transforming the Future of Public Health in Missouri initiative.

McReynolds has worked in Missouri's public health system since 2002 with a focus on emergency preparedness and response, communication and public health system transformation. She is passionate about rural health, health literacy and trust-building through communication. McReynolds was instrumental in developing Missouri's Foundational Public Health Services (MO FPHS) model and continues to support its operationalization across the state. She has a background in film and video production and television news producing. She holds a BA in Communications from the Master's University and a master's in health administration from Webster University. She is currently pursuing a doctorate in public health at University of Nebraska Medical Center with an emphasis in emergency preparedness. McReynolds actively participates in regional, state and national collaboratives, committees and advisory groups. She enjoys teaching and training and regularly serves as an adjunct instructor and guest lecturer.

Traci Nash facilitates the Community Focus program at OPHI. She began working on the Community Focus Report team in 2021 as a graduate research assistant and was instrumental in helping design the new model that transitions the biennial report to a full-time program. Today, she leads the day-to-day work of Community Focus, a regional community indicators initiative with more than 20 years of history, helping ensure local data tells the story of the community.

Nash holds a BS in Communication and an MS in Interdisciplinary Studies from Missouri State University, where she also earned an undergraduate certificate in conflict and dispute resolution. Her academic foundation in communication and conflict management supports her dialogic approach to balance data and narrative. With a strong commitment to making complex information accessible and actionable, Nash leads efforts that help partners interpret local data, identify priority areas and establish measurable objectives for community change.

Nash's work reflects a deep belief in the power of partnership, thoughtful communication and strategic use of data to strengthen community well-being and support collective progress across the Ozarks region.

 

Selina is a dedicated professional with a bachelor's degree in biology from the University of Missouri and a Master of Public Health from Missouri State University. Her diverse experience includes working with vulnerable communities and serving in various roles. She has been a career counselor with the Lake Area Boys and Girls Club, a coach for individuals with intellectual and physical disabilities at Goodwill of Iowa City, a program coordinator for Substance Misuse and Overdose Prevention with the Area Substance Abuse Council and an epidemiologist for the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services. This diversity of experience has equipped her with a broad understanding of public health issues and a unique perspective on community service.

Sarah is a senior marketing major at Missouri State University with a focus in advertising and promotion. She currently serves as a marketing specialist for OPHI, where she combines creativity, data and determination to bring campaigns to life.

Dr. Triana-Tremain 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.

Thoyaja Keerthipati is a recent Master of Public Health graduate from Missouri State University with a strong background in clinical practice and community health. She holds a bachelor’s degree in dental surgery and brings three years of experience as a dentist in India. In 2025, she contributed to several accreditation-related projects at OPHI, supporting local health departments in Missouri in improving capacity and performance. Driven by a commitment to health equity, she is passionate about addressing disparities in community health and advancing research in chronic disease epidemiology. Her skills include mixed-method data collection, analyzation, advancing population health through care gap closure, grant writing, quality improvement and converting data into actionable insights that inform better policies.

Dr. Hulgus is a licensed psychologist and received his PhD 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 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+ years of experience working in a wide variety of contexts as a counseling psychologist, research psychologist and public health researcher. He was responsible for the design, implementation, evaluation and reporting for the process and outcome evaluations of the SOARHigh project. He also played a lead role in developing and evaluating a new Health Risk Assessment tool for use specifically with rural youth.

Dr. Daniel is a statistician and academic researcher with a specialization in statistical methodology and research design. He holds a PhD 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 OPHI 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.