SPHIS Alumni Fellows

Matt Rhodes2024 Alumni Fellow: Matt Rhodes, MPH 

Matt Rhodes received his Master of Public Health in 2015 from the University of Louisville. Rhodes received his Bachelor of Science in Public Health and Sociology from the University of the Cumberlands (formerly Cumberland College) in Williamsburg, Kentucky. He has also received leadership training from the CDC’s Environmental Public Health Leadership Institute and the Kentucky Public Health Leadership Institute at the University of Kentucky.

Rhodes is the Director of Public Health for the Oldham County Health Department. He previously served as Director of Operations for Louisville Metro Public Health and Wellness until retiring from the department in 2020. Rhodes began his career in public health at Louisville Metro Public Health and Wellness in 1996 as an Environmental Health Specialist. He progressed through management roles and was appointed Deputy Director in 2008. He held this position until becoming Director of Operations in 2017. Rhodes formerly held a position as Adjunct Faculty at the University of Louisville. Additionally, he served as Football Coach at Cumberland College from 1992-1995.

Rhodes serves in many volunteer leadership roles including Legislative Co-Chair for the Kentucky Health Departments Association, board member for Hope Health Clinic and Rotary in LaGrange, KY. He was recently appointed to serve on the KY Fish & Wildlife Commission. Matt was Chair of the Kentucky Registered Sanitarians Examining Committee from 2010-2018 and served as President for the Kentucky Environmental Health Association in 2006. Rhodes received the Trail Blazer Award from the Kentucky Health Departments Association in 2023 and the Elbert “Al” Austin Career Achievement Award from the Kentucky Public Health Association in 2020. He continues to mentor public health students in their capstone and practicum experiences.

Matt and his wife, Kelli, reside in Oldham County, on the family farm.

The school will honor Matt Rhodes at an Alumni Fellow Celebration on Thurs., Oct. 24. Faculty, staff, students, alumni, and community partners are invited. Learn more.

2023 Alumni Fellow: Kimberly H. Mascaro, MPH

Kimberly Mascaro headshotThe UofL School of Public Health and Information Sciences selected Kimberly H. Mascaro as the recipient of the 2023 Alumni Fellow award. Mascaro received her Master of Public Health (MPH) in 2013 from UofL SPHIS and has worked in healthcare for 30 years.

“Kimberly Mascaro is an exceptional graduate who is profoundly committed to the university and the Louisville community. We are excited to honor her and recognize her achievements at this year’s Alumni Awards,” said SPHIS interim dean, Dr. Paul McKinney.

Since 2007, Mascaro has been an integral part of Confluent Health, serving as the Chief Marketing Officer before her current position as the Executive Vice President, Innovations. In this role, she helps employers, payers, and physician groups improve outcomes by connecting their employees and patients with advanced musculoskeletal experts, cutting-edge technologies, and efficient omnichannel pathways.

While Mascaro was a student in the MPH program, she worked on a capstone project that evolved into ChooseWell Communities, a non-profit organization that equips Louisville families in early recovery with access to affordable housing and community supports through their children's fifth birthday. As a co-founder and Chairperson of the Board, she continues to be deeply involved in ChooseWell's mission.

Throughout her career, Mascaro has held key roles in various healthcare settings with a focus on developing and implementing growth and health promotion strategies that serve local communities and remove barriers to access healthcare. Mascaro served Director of Regional Business Development for Jewish Hospital Healthcare Service and Vice President of Strategic Marketing for KORT. She was also a consultant at Doerr & Maddox Project Solutions, a start-up healthcare consulting company, and senior consultant with Three Diamonds Consulting, LLC.

Mascaro is actively engaged in mentoring women in their careers and providing leadership in various sectors. She is an esteemed member of the SPHIS Community Advisory Board. In 2020, Mascaro was recognized by Louisville Business First as part of the publication’s annual Enterprising Women program.

Residing in Prospect, Kentucky, Mascaro lives with her husband Joe, who is an oral surgeon and a graduate of the UofL School of Dentistry. They have six children and are excitedly anticipating the arrival of their ninth grandchild.

2022 Alumni Fellow: Duke Appiah, PhD, MPH

Duke AppiahDr. Duke Appiah earned his Master of Public Health in 2009 and his Ph.D. in Epidemiology in 2013 from the University of Louisville. He received the Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service award as a National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute postdoctoral fellow in cardiovascular epidemiology at the University of Minnesota from 2013-2016. Dr. Appiah received a Bachelor of Science in Optometry from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Ghana in 2005.

Dr. Appiah is an Associate Professor at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in the Department of Public Health at the School of Population and Public Health. He serves as the director of the Master of Public Health program.

In 2020, Dr. Appiah was awarded the Trudy Bush Fellowship for Cardiovascular Disease Research in Women’s Health by the American Heart Association, and had honorable mention for the Nabuo Maeda International Research Award from the American Public Health Association. Dr. Appiah was appointed by Texas governor Greg Abbott to serve on the Task Force on Infectious Disease Preparedness and Response. He placed first in the 12th Annual Women’s Research Conference in Minnesota. Dr. Appiah received the Outstanding Teacher of the Year award in the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences in 2018, 2020 and 2022. In 2017, he received the Clinical and Translational Research Award at the Gender Specific Medicine & Women's Health Symposium.

Dr. Appiah published over 50 peer-reviewed articles in high impact medical and epidemiological journals like JAMA, with some of his work spotlighted in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, the journal with the highest impact factor in the world.. He shows leadership in serving on a host of committees and chaired the Admissions and Curriculum and Student Affairs Committees. Dr. Appiah has also served on the Technical Standards and Accommodations Committee.

2021 Alumni Fellow: Douglas Lorenz, PhD

Doug Lorenz Dr. Douglas J. Lorenz was named the 2021 School of Public Health & Information Sciences Alumni Fellow. He received Bachelor of Science in Mathematics in 1999; his Master of Arts in Mathematics in 2001; Master of Science in Public Health in Biostatics Decision Science in 2002; and his Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics in 2011, all from the University of Louisville. As a student, he was a member of Pi Mu Epsilon and a 4-year letter winner and captain of the baseball team. He is an elected member of Delta Omega, Pi Beta Chapter. He received University of Louisville Graduate Dean’s Citations in 2002 and 2011 and a Hohman Fellowship in the University of Louisville Department of Mathematics in 2006.

Dr. Lorenz is an Associate Professor at the University of Louisville. He received the 2014 University of Louisville "Top 4" Faculty Favorite and a University of Louisville Faculty Favorite each year from 2014 through 2019. Dr. Lorenz joined the Department of Bioinformatics and Biostatistics in 2003, as a Statistician with the Statistical Consulting Center. After completing his Doctorate in Applied and Industrial Mathematics, he joined the faculty in the Fall of 2011.

His primary research collaboration is with the Pediatric Emergency Division at Northwestern University and Lurie Children's Hospital in which he provides biostatistical support to faculty, fellows, residents, and attendings with their research. Notable projects include identifying discriminating characteristics of abused children in the pediatric emergency setting and decision rules for pneumonia severity. His methodological research primarily focuses on methods for clustered data under informative cluster size and informative within-cluster covariate distributions. He also has an interest in the areas of survival analysis and multistate models. Previously, Dr. Lorenz conducted collaborative research with Dr. Susan Harkema in spinal cord injury rehabilitation.

Doug and his wife, Melissa, also a University of Louisville graduate, reside with their four children in the Louisville area.

Watch a Q&A to learn more about our 2021 Alumni Fellow. This virtual event followed an interview format so attendees can learn more about Dr. Lorenz's experiences and achievements since graduation.

Past Alumni Fellows

  • 2020 - Jennifer Forristal, PhD, MPH '15, '12
  • 2019 - Lewatis McNeal , PhD, MPH '16
  • 2018 - Avonne Conner, PhD, MPH '07, '11
  • 2017 - Natasha DeJarnett, PhD, MPH, '13, '09
  • 2016 - Matthew R. Groenewold, PhD, MSPH, NREMT '08, '02
  • 2015 - Therese Hughes, PhD, '07

Stay connected TwitterFacebook LinkedIn YouTubeInstagram