MEDICC Staff Directory

(Alphabetically Listed)

Diane Appelbaum, RN, FNP, MS
US Director

Ms. Appelbaum is a Family Nurse Practitioner and educator who holds a Master’s Degree in Health Education (University of Wisconsin, Madison).  She has a long history of community and international clinical health service, in rural Wisconsin, Madison, and Costa Rica.  Prior to joining MEDICC in 2001, she was Faculty Associate at the University of Wisconsin Medical School where she co-directed the “Patient, Doctor and Society” course.  She developed and taught courses on complementary medicine, cross cultural and global health, preparing medical students and residents for international elective experiences. She later served as adjunct faculty at The Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing at Emory University.  Ms. Appelbaum has conducted research and published on various aspects of the Cuban health system.  As US Director, she provides leadership for all of MEDICC’s US programs, and directs MEDICC’s Professional Bridges and Community Partnerships for Health Equity programs. 

Jeannie Barbieri-Low, MPPM
Development and Publishing Director

Ms. Barbieri-Low joined MEDICC in 2010, and is responsible for resource development and promoting the quarterly journal MEDICC Review. She brings to MEDICC 12 years of marketing, advocacy and fundraising experience in the private and social sectors. Her work in community and global health includes management positions with Global Links, SEE International, and the Children’s Health Council. She holds a Master’s Degree in Public Policy and Management from the University of Pittsburgh’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, and an undergraduate degree in public relations.

Jerrontay Foster
Finance Director

Mr. Foster joined MEDICC in September 2002, and is responsible for the fiscal integrity and budgetary management of the organization. Having earned his Bachelor of Science degree from Morris Brown College (1994), his professional work has focused on financial management, with an emphasis on non-profit accounting procedures. Prior to joining MEDICC, Mr. Foster served as Account Manager for the National Thoroughbred Racing Association for five years, where he oversaw the organization’s accounting system.

Conner Gorry, MA
Senior Editor, MEDICC Review

A native New Yorker, Ms. Gorry received a BA in Latin American Studies from New York University and an MA in International Policy from the Monterey Institute of International Studies. She joined MEDICC in 2004, and as an editor, she helped transform MEDICC Review into to a peer-reviewed journal. Ms. Gorry writes for a number of publishers, and her most recent work includes: Cuba's HIV/AIDS Strategy: An Integrated, Rights-Based Approach (Oxfam) and Asking the Right Questions: Cuba's Contribution to Global Health (forthcoming from Oxford University Press). In addition, she has written a dozen guidebooks for Lonely Planet. Her most recent publications include Hawaii: The Big Island (Lonely Planet) and Guatemala(Countryman Press).

Elena Huezo
Program Assistant

Ms. Huezo joined MEDICC in 2008. Prior to that, she worked as Placement Coordinator for Spanish-speaking early childhood education students. For the past six years, she has devoted her efforts, through a non-profit organization, to coordinating and taking part in “Bringing Hope” delegations. These delegations to El Salvador are focused on providing educational and sports materials, clothing and medication for children and community members living in rural areas. Ms. Huezo holds a BA in Humanities.

C. William Keck, MD, MPH, FACPM
Editor-in-Chief, MEDICC Review

Dr. Keck is Associate Dean and Professor Emeritus of the Department of Community Health Sciences at the Northeastern Ohio Universities Colleges of Medicine & Pharmacy, and former Director of Health for the City of Akron. He has a distinguished career in public health and teaching (see interview in Social Medicine in Practice), and has served as President of the American Public Health Association, the Council on Education for Public Health, the Ohio Public Health Association, the Association of Ohio Health Commissioners, among others, and currently chairs the Council on Linkages Between Academia and Public Health Practice. 

Board certified in Preventive Medicine/Public Health and a Fellow of the American College of Preventive Medicine, he earned his  MD from Case Western Reserve University and MPH from Harvard School of Public Health. Dr. Keck has also received the Sedgwick Memorial Medal, the American Public Health Association’s highest award. He has written extensively on public health issues and is the co-author of the seminal work Principles of Public Health Practice (Thomas Delmar Learning).

Gail A. Reed, MS
International Director
Executive Editor, MEDICC Review

A founder of MEDICC, Ms. Reed is also Co-Producer and Executive Producer of the award-winning film ¡Salud!, a feature documentary on Cuba and the quest for global health, released in January 2007. She has written on social and economic issues in Cuba for the last two decades, and has been invited to present on the Cuban health system and its global cooperation by various universities and scientific organizations, including the American Public Health Association and the Institute of Medicine (IOM). .

In the 1990s, Ms. Reed regularly contributed to Business Week magazine, and was NBC News’ first Havana-based producer-correspondent since the early 1960s. Her writings include Denial of Food and Medicine:  The Impact of the U.S. Embargo on Health and Nutrition in Cuba (1997, American Association for World Health, 300 pp.); Island in the Storm (1992, Ocean Press and the Center for Cuban Studies, 200 pp.) examining Cuba’s economic recovery strategy; and a series on women and race in Cuba with Dr. Johnnetta B. Cole.

Rachel True, MPH
Academic Program Director

Ms. True joined MEDICC in 2008, and is spearheading programs to support US medical students and graduates of the Latin American Medical School (ELAM) in Cuba.  She comes to MEDICC with a strong background in public health, her academic and professional work focusing on reproductive health, the global health workforce shortage and global health education. Prior to joining MEDICC, she was Program Director at Child Family Health International (CFHI), a non-profit organization that places health sciences students in global health education programs in Latin America, Africa and India.  Ms. True earned her MPH from Boston University in 2005 with a concentration in International Health and went on to serve as Executive Director of GHETS (Global Health through Education, Training and Service), a small non-profit organization based in Massachusetts.  While at GHETS she developed programs that facilitated South-South collaboration to develop community-based medical curricula in East Africa, training physicians to address the region’s immense health challenges.

Murlean Tucker
Marketing & Circulation Manager

Ms. Tucker joined MEDICC in 2006, where she began as a Program Assistant. In her current role as Circulation & Marketing Manager, she is responsible for printing and circulation of MEDICC Review’s print edition, and for publicity and distribution of its online edition. Ms. Tucker is a 1981 graduate of the University of Michigan–Ann Arbor, with a BA in Psychology. She comes to MEDICC with some 18 years of small business experience and an extensive background in information technologies and graphic design.

Kathleen Vickery, MA
Managing Editor, MEDICC Review

Ms. Vickery is a translator, editor, and teacher with extensive experience living and working in Latin America and diverse communities in the United States. As a translator and editor, she has specialized in women’s health topics and general health education materials. Ms. Vickery joined MEDICC in 2008, and holds a Master’s degree in Latin American Studies with a concentration in International Health and Development from Tulane University.