About Us

Board of Directors (Volunteers)

President: Jay Wolfson, DrPH, JD, Tampa

Jay Wolfson is the Distinguished Service Professor of Public Health and Medicine and the Associate Vice President for Health Law, Policy and Safety at the University of South Florida in Tampa. He is a leader in Florida’s attempt to develop an electronic health network and a member of the governing board of the Health Professions Education Consortium of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. He directs the federally designated Suncoast Center for Patient Safety at USF and is co-director of the Consortium for Law and Medicine for USF and Stetson College of Law. Dr. Wolfson became nationally known while serving as guardian ad litem for Terry Schiavo, reporting to the governor and courts. He holds a doctorate in public health from the University of Texas, a law degree from Stetson, a master’s degree in public health from Indiana University, a master’s degree in history from New York University and a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Illinois. He was a Senior Fulbright Scholar at the University of Tokyo Medical School, a Faculty Scholar to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and a W.K. Kellogg Fellow in health care finance.

Vice President: Lisa Portelli, Winter Park

Lisa Portelli, a program director at Winter Park Health Foundation, serves as statewide coordinator for the Florida Health Policy Center, the collaborative that provided startup funds for Florida Health News. A journalism graduate of the University of Wisconsin, Ms. Portelli earned a master’s in public administration from University of Central Florida and led several housing programs for the homeless and jobless before joining the foundation in 2002. Ms. Portelli has served on the Governor's Commission on Homelessness and was founding chairman of Healing the Children of Florida Inc. A member of numerous non-profit boards, Ms. Portelli was awarded the Celebration of Leadership-Tribute to Outstanding Women award in 1997.

Secretary/Treasurer: Kim Walsh-Childers, PhD, Gainesville

A professor in the Department of Journalism at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Dr. Walsh-Childers is a graduate of the University of Missouri-Columbia and earned her Ph.D. at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her research focuses on print media news coverage of health issues, mass media effects on individual health and health policy and the relationship between content and adolescent sexual beliefs and behavior. She teaches journalism ethics, news-writing, a graduate seminar in mass media and health and magazine feature writing. She is an active member of the Association of Health Care Journalists.

Immediate Past President: Paula Hays, Gulfport

From 1984 until 2001, Paula Hays was chief executive officer of Boley Centers for Behavioral Health Care. Boley is the largest residential and rehabilitation program for persons with psychiatric and emotional problems in the southeastern US, with a yearly operating budget of over $10 million and campuses providing day services and programs for vocational training and juvenile justice. Ms. Hays, who holds a masters of science degree in communication disorders from USF and extra study in exceptional child education, now teaches courses in ethics and administration of not-for-profits in the Program for Experienced Learners at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg. She is a volunteer for the Tampa Bay SPCA and avid photographer.

Amy Dean, West Palm Beach

Amy Dean, Vice President of Policy & Workforce Programs for Palm Healthcare Foundation Inc. in West Palm Beach, is responsible for the foundation’s nursing workforce initiatives, including the Healthcare Workforce Partnership community collaboration, and its health policy and advocacy efforts. Prior to joining the nonprofit sector in 2001, she worked in real estate finance and investment banking in Chicago; Sydney, Australia; New York City; and Miami. Ms. Dean is a member of several local and national health and social services organizations. She has a master of business administration from the University of Chicago, a bachelor's degree in business from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a bachelor's degree in health services from Florida Atlantic University.

Philip Galewitz, West Palm Beach

Philip Galewitz has been a health writer for The Palm Beach Post for eight years and is a board member and newsletter editor for the Association of Health Care Journalists. In 2004-05, he was a Kaiser Family Foundation Media Fellow and spent the year researching and writing about community solutions for the uninsured. Mr. Galewitz was a national heath writer with The Associated Press and worked as a health writer for The Patriot-News in Harrisburg, Pa. He has contributed to several national magazines and won a number of awards for his work. He has a bachelor's degree in health planning and administration and a master's in public administration with an emphasis in health policy, both from Pennsylvania State University.