North Carolina Alliance for Healthy Communities

President - Beth Skinner, Senior Program Manager, Care Management Solutions

Beth Skinner, PharmD, RPh is Senior Program Manager, Care Management Solutions in the Payer Marketing Group at GlaxoSmithKline. In this capacity, she is team lead for the strategic development, implementation and design of customer solutions for medication adherence and respiratory disease management programs. Dr. Skinner has over eighteen years of pharmaceutical experience, including clinical trials research, sales, and disease management program development, implementation and marketing. Therapeutic area experience includes asthma, COPD, diabetes, depression, migraine, anesthesia, and STDs (HSV, HIV).

Dr. Skinner is Co-chair of the DMAA Care Continuum Alliance - Medication Adherence Work Group. She is a speaker for the CBI and Pharmaceutical Executive's 9th Annual Patient Compliance, Adherence and Persistency conference.

Dr. Skinner earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Pharmacy in 1991 and Doctor of Pharmacy degree in 1999 from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is a registered pharmacist in the State of North Carolina.

Immediate Past President - Bess Ramey, CGC Account Manager, Southeast RBU North, Primary Care

Bess is a Senior Account Manager for the Corporate and Government Customers Division of Pfizer Inc. She has responsibility for the State of North Carolina. She has more than 22 years of pharmaceutical experience including sales and management positions. Bess is a native of North Carolina and received her BA degree in Biology from Wake Forest University. Bess currently resides McLeansville, NC.

Secretary - Peggy Eidelman, RN, BSN, MHA, MBA

Peggy Fuqua Eidelman received a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in 1994. From her graduation in 1994 through 2000, she was employed by Forsyth Medical Center as a registered nurse, primarily in the Surgical Intermediate Care Unit. Since 1998, she has worked for Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina (BCBSNC), currently as a Quality Improvement Program Manager. In this role, she is responsible for developing disease specific programs for patients with certain debilitating conditions, such as: diabetes, heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, coronary artery disease, and hypertension. In 2006, while continuing her employment with BCBSNC, she graduated with a 4.0 from Pfeiffer University in North Carolina with a master's degree in business administration and a master's degree in health administration. During that time, she also traveled to and studied the healthcare system in Germany as it compared to that of the United States. Additionally while with this company, she has traveled to and explored the differing cultures in Austria, Spain, Italy, England, France, and Mexico. She has volunteered for the North Carolina Alliance for Healthy Communities for the past three years, predominantly with coordinating volunteer outreach programs with other non-profit organizations in North Carolina.

Betsy La Forge, MPH

Betsy La Forge is the Director of Healthcare Program Development and Management for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina. At BCBSNC, she has led the development of a number of award winning programs, including Healthy Lifestyle Choices, a program that has received national recognition for it’s innovative approach to obesity management and prevention.

In addition to her work with BCBSNC, Betsy also serves in several capacities to promote prevention and health promotion locally and nationally. She currently serves on the Advisory Board of the UNC Nutrition Research Institute and the Executive Board of the NC Alliance for Healthy Communities. She was a member of the NC Health and Wellness Trust Fund Commission’s Study Committee on Childhood Overweight and Obesity and served on NC Prevention Partners Board of Directors for 10 years.

She has more than 20 years of health care experience developing and managing preventive care, disease management, and quality improvement programs for hospitals, clinics, worksites and health plans. Betsy holds a masters degree in public health from UCLA and is a dietitian.

By-Laws Committee - Bess Ramey, CGC Account Manager, Southeast RBU North, Primary Care

Education Committee Chair - Gene Bucci

Communications Committee - Julie Ann (TJ) Gouveia-Pisano, BS Pharm, PharmD, BCPS

Dr. Julie Ann (TJ) Gouveia-Pisano is a Medical Outcomes Specialist with Pfizer Inc. In this role, she is responsible for the development and assessment of global patient health outcomes. She has lent her expertise and knowledge to state agencies, employer groups, major health plans, hospital systems and medical groups to develop comprehensive programs aimed at improving the overall health of North Carolinians. Dr. Gouveia-Pisano is a Board Certified Pharmacotherapy Specialist and maintains a faculty appointment with the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy and a clinical pharmacist appointment with Duke University Medical Center. Dr. Gouveia-Pisano earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Pharmacy in 1993 and Doctor of Pharmacy degree in 1995 from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She completed a Pharmacy Practice Residency at Duke University Health System in 1996. She is a registered pharmacist in the State of North Carolina.

Membership Committee - Stokes Ann Hunt, RN,BA,CPHQ

Stokes Ann Hunt is a Quality Management Consultant with Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina. She has greater than 20 years experience in healthcare quality. She has acute care, sub acute care, SNF/ICF, infection control and managed care experience. She is the past president of the North Carolina Association for HealthCare Quality and the founding president of the North Carolina Alliance for Healthy Communities. She supports her community by being an active board member of the Free Clinic of Reidsville and Rockingham County and the Annie Penn Hospital Foundation board.

Membership Committee - Peggy Fuqua Eidelman, RN, BSN, MHA, MBA

Peggy Fuqua Eidelman received a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in 1994. From her graduation in 1994 through 2000, she was employed by Forsyth Medical Center as a registered nurse, primarily in the Surgical Intermediate Care Unit. Since 1998, she has worked for Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina (BCBSNC), currently as a Quality Improvement Program Manager. In this role, she is responsible for developing disease specific programs for patients with certain debilitating conditions, such as: diabetes, heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, coronary artery disease, and hypertension. In 2006, while continuing her employment with BCBSNC, she graduated with a 4.0 from Pfeiffer University in North Carolina with a master's degree in business administration and a master's degree in health administration. During that time, she also traveled to and studied the healthcare system in Germany as it compared to that of the United States. Additionally while with this company, she has traveled to and explored the differing cultures in Austria, Spain, Italy, England, France, and Mexico. She has volunteered for the North Carolina Alliance for Healthy Communities for the past three years, predominantly with coordinating volunteer outreach programs with other non-profit organizations in North Carolina.

Initiatives Committee Co-Chair - Julie Ann (TJ) Gouveia-Pisano, BS Pharm, PharmD, BCPS

Dr. Julie Ann (TJ) Gouveia-Pisano is a Medical Outcomes Specialist with Pfizer Inc. In this role, she is responsible for the development and assessment of global patient health outcomes. She has lent her expertise and knowledge to state agencies, employer groups, major health plans, hospital systems and medical groups to develop comprehensive programs aimed at improving the overall health of North Carolinians. Dr. Gouveia-Pisano is a Board Certified Pharmacotherapy Specialist and maintains a faculty appointment with the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy and a clinical pharmacist appointment with Duke University Medical Center. Dr. Gouveia-Pisano earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Pharmacy in 1993 and Doctor of Pharmacy degree in 1995 from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She completed a Pharmacy Practice Residency at Duke University Health System in 1996. She is a registered pharmacist in the State of North Carolina.

Initiatives Committee Co-Chair - Betsy LaForge, MPH

Director, Healthcare Program Development, BCBSNC

Amy Clapp

Amy has spent her 25-year career in office management, bookkeeping and administrative positions. Since 2004, Amy has worked part-time for the North Carolina Alliance for Healthy Communities as an Administrative Assistant. She currently lives in Greensboro, NC with her husband, Alan, and three children.