Health and Mobility in Post-Pandemic Community Development

Anita Jenkins is the Chief Executive Officer at Howard University Hospital in Washington DC. As a key part of Howard’s partnership with Adventist Healthcare, Jenkins is leading the transformational three-year management services agreement with Adventist as Howard University Hospital continues to provide care to its surrounding community in a culturally focused environment. She will also be guiding Howard University Hospital through its new replacement hospital project with a focus on improving patient safety, patient quality, and patient outcomes. In her over 20 years of healthcare experience and leadership, Jenkins developed expertise in hospital operations, healthcare management, and strategic planning. Prior to her role at Howard University Hospital, Anita Jenkins was president of Sycamore Medical Center near Dayton, Ohio. While there, she was responsible for daily operations of all clinical inpatient and outpatient services including nursing, rehabilitation, and patient relations. Anita Jenkins’ approach to the business side of healthcare is informed by her days as a respiratory therapist at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center where Jenkins gained first-hand experience in caring for patients with compassion. This background translates into her focus as Howard University Hospitals new CEO, working directly with staff and the DC community. Since assuming her role at Howard University Hospital at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Jenkins has focused her efforts on understanding DC’s changing landscape, and how to best serve the DC area community.

As Senior Vice President of Campus Transformation, Walter Jones leads the planning, design, and construction of the main campus of the MetroHealth System, a public healthcare system in Cleveland Ohio. He is a key driver of the MetroHealth System’s campus transformation initiative that was established in 2014 to develop an environment of excellence in care delivery, education, and research at MetroHealth. As part of his role, Jones leads over 100 employees in Construction Management, Facilities Management, Space Management, and Real Estate. In his time at MetroHealth, he has provided the strategic vision and leadership for two complex construction projects that represent the largest investment in capital work for MetroHealth within the past decade. Under Jones’ leadership, these projects that amounted to a collective $130 million were completed under budget and within the tight schedule of 18 months. Walter is an active member in his field and community. He frequently speaks on the subjects of evidence-based design, project management, sustainability, and technology for both professional and philanthropic audiences. Jones also dedicates his time to advancing his profession and supporting his community by serving as a member on numerous boards including the Healthcare Design magazine advisory board, the Institute for Patient-Centered Design, Cogence Alliance, and the Institute for Healthcare Infrastructure Research. Having received his Master’s degree in Architecture from Clemson University and his undergraduate degree in Architecture and Urban Planning from Princeton University, Jones brings his interest in the built environment and how it helps form the fabric of a community to his work in healthcare planning, design and construction. As part of the campus transformation initiative, Jones is realizing the vision of a hospital in a park that will serve neighborhoods with minimal access to greenspace and is improving MetroHealth’s presence in the surrounding neighborhood to support community access to health and wellness.

Kathryn Wylde is the President and CEO of Partnership for New York City, a nonprofit organization specializing in cultivating partnerships between government and business in New York City. The aim of the Partnership for New York City is to “build bridges between the leaders of global industries and government” to solve public challenges, create jobs and strengthen communities across the five boroughs. Key focus areas include civic engagement and corporate responsibility, education and workforce development, innovation, and transit and infrastructure. Due to her extensive experience in these fields, Wylde is internationally regarded as an expert is housing, economic development, and urban policy. Before assuming her current role, she served as the founding CEO of Partnership’s housing and investment fund affiliates where she led the development and management of affordable housing and economic development programs that drove revitalization in many of New York City’s most blighted communities. For nearly two decades, Kathryn connected an extensive network of business leaders and investors under the investment fund to drive the development of the city’s innovation economy, creating thousands of jobs and supporting entrepreneurial businesses throughout New York City. These efforts greatly contributed to the renaissance of many of the five borough’s neighborhoods and the elevation of New York City to a premier global city. As an active resident of New York City, Wylde also dedicates her time to serving on numerous advisory groups and boards including the NYC Economic Development Corporation, the Fund for Public Schools, Manhattan Institute, SEO, and the Governor’s NYC Regional Economic Development Council.

Nathaniel P. Ford is the Chief Executive of the Jacksonville Transportation Authority and former Chair of the American Public Transportation Association where he advocated for transportation policy and funding at the local, regional, and national levels. In his time with JTA, Ford has spearheaded numerous transformational programs and initiatives aimed at revamping public transit in Jacksonville. Starting in 2014, Ford led a complete redesign of all JTA bus routes to boost frequency of service, increase timeliness, and prioritize efficiency within the system. At the center of this overhaul was an emphasis on accessibility and transparency in information for passengers. This redesign included the simplifying of bus-route numbering, providing information on bus arrivals and departure online in real-time, and nearly six miles of new sidewalks with accompanying curb cuts. Prior to Jacksonville, Ford held leadership roles within America’s largest transportation authorities, including the San Francisco MTA, MARTA in Georgia, and the MTA in New York where he started as a unionized train conductor prior to working his way up to senior management level. Ford has countless years of experience and a deep interest in multimodal transportation, advocating for walkable neighborhoods, transit-oriented development, and the public private partnerships that make multimodal transportation successful. He is recognized as a thought leader in mobility as he has provided countless insights on international transportation issues throughout trade and study missions around the world. Ford’s leadership and respect within his field has resulted in him being awarded with the prestigious “Outstanding Public Transportation Manager” for 2020 by APTA and being named the “White House Champion of Change in Transportation” by the U.S. Department of Transportation due to his commitment to innovation that serves a diverse customer base.

As HDR’s East Region Health Director, Chris Bormann leads HDR’s health architecture practice in the eastern United States and is among the firm’s senior thought leaders in healthcare. Chris is a healthcare architect with over 30 years of experience in the strategic planning, design, and construction of health facilities of all kinds across the nation. He has extensive experience in planning, master planning and designing complex healthcare facilities for community and academic healthcare organizations and a particular strength for strategic master planning of integrated healthcare networks. Chris is responsible for serving clients directly and bringing HDR’s network of specialized consulting expertise to the healthcare organizations throughout the East. Chris’s formal training in healthcare architecture came after his undergraduate architectural education at Princeton University and included an extensive hospital internship while serving as a health facility planning officer in the Office of the Surgeon General in the Army, culminating in an Architectural Master’s Degree with a concentration in health. As a big picture thinker, Chris has a passion for master planning integrated health campuses and developing health-oriented environments. In response to the recent challenges of COVID-19, lately Chris has contributed his background in healthcare architecture and planning to developing and leading strategic and bio-safety design solutions for other buildings in the public realm, including transit and aviation facilities. Due to this intersection of experience, Chris has been asked to speak about applying principles of healthcare design and planning to those environments people use every day to further equitable access to healthcare.

Kim was born in Flushing, New York and come from many generations of New Yorkers. It was a culture shock when she first moved to Houston, Texas in the late 70's but can now say Y'all with the best of them. Kim graduated from the University of Houston with a BBA in Marketing and has worked in media her entire life. Kim played and coached soccer for many years and even spent a summer in England playing in tournaments. The oldest of three girls, she now has two sons (the first born Texans in her family), a husband and three male rescue dogs.