PCD Staff

Brandi Baker, MBA

Production Coordinator
Contractor, Akima Data Management

Brandi Baker has been with PCD since its inception in 2003. Beginning as editorial assistant, Ms. Baker was instrumental in developing the initial manuscript submission system and creating policies for manuscript tracking, peer review, and production processes. Since 2004 she has been responsible for the journal’s production, including editorial assignments and scheduling publication dates, and special projects such as the establishment of CME credit with Medscape and translations. Before joining PCD, Brandi held management positions in television and radio, nonprofit organizations, and associations. She has a bachelor’s degree in mass media arts–broadcasting from Clark Atlanta University and a master’s degree in international business from Georgia State University.

 

Kim Bright, PMP

Information Technology Project Manager
Contractor, Akima Data Management

Kim Bright has provided technical direction to CDC journals since 2003 and joined PCD as technical lead in 2011. She oversees the technical infrastructure, production workflow, and maintenance of the PCD website and mobile applications and is responsible for the journal’s compliance with all CDC and HHS technical governance and reporting. Previously, Ms. Bright worked in the corporate sector in web development, project management, and information technology consulting. She received a bachelor’s degree in computer and information sciences from the University of Florida, and she is a certified project management professional.

 

Kate Harris, BA

Technical Editor
Contractor, Akima Data Management

Kate W. Harris has been editing documents, slides, and more at CDC since the 1990s, when her first major freelance project was editing the manual for EpiInfo Version 2. She went on to become senior editor at The Community Guide for 14 years, and was team lead in the development and publication of The Guide to Community Preventive Services: What Works to Promote Health? (Oxford University Press, 2005). She has also developed other books, including the first edition of Robert Hahn’s Anthropology in Public Health (Oxford University Press, 1999) and The Clever Sheikh of the Butana, a collection of Sudanese folktales (Interlink, 1999). Her other interests include storytelling, gardening, and keeping up with her 4 cats, who are very glad she telecommutes.

 

Chelsea Intharawan, BS

Marketing and Communications Support Services Specialist
Contractor, Akima Data Management

Chelsea Intharawan joined PCD in October 2023 as a Marketing and Communications Support Services Specialist. She started at PCD as a Health Communications Intern in the summer of 2023 while obtaining her bachelor’s degree in healthcare administration from Purdue University Global. Prior to PCD, Mrs Intharawan served on active duty in the US Navy, where she lived primarily in Japan. Afterward, she gained experience through a private healthcare organization that focused on the implementation of electronic health records and administrative processes.

 

Ivory M. Jones, MS

Editorial Assistant
Contractor, Akima Data Management

Ivory M. Jones joined the PCD team as the Editorial Assistant in November 2018. She brings more than 15 years of editorial experience with her, having previously worked full-time as a journalist and editor in Atlanta, Philadelphia, and New York City. She returned to her hometown of New Orleans in 2009 where she spent 9 years working with teenagers in the nonprofit education sector. Ms. Jones has a BA in English from Clark Atlanta University and returned to school to earn her MS in Communications from Syracuse University in 2017. She enjoys using her vast array of experience to assist in the day-to-day operations of the PCD team.

 

Shawn Jones

Software Engineer
Contractor, Akima Data Management

Shawn Jones joined the PCD team in 2015. He has more than 15 years of experience in business, marketing, and information technology in the private and public sectors. Mr. Jones uses his expertise in front-end web development to keep journal articles accessible and responsive across various digital channels and devices. Since 2008, he has volunteered as a mentor for at-risk youth as part of the 5th Ward Boys Association of Atlanta, a youth organization sponsored by the Boy Scouts of America. Mr. Jones is a founding member of the City of Stonecrest founded in 2017. He was also appointed by the Governor of Georgia to serve on the city of Stonecrest Commission prior to the city’s formation.

 

Camille Martin, RD, LD

Senior Technical Editor

Camille Martin is a senior writer–editor for PCD, where she started in 2003 as an editorial intern while obtaining her bachelor’s degree in nutrition from Georgia State University. She is a registered dietitian. Before joining PCD, Ms. Martin worked for the Ritz-Carlton and Four Seasons hotels and lived in Biarritz, France. She received certification as an editor in the life sciences from the Board of Editors in the Life Sciences in 2005 and has a bachelor’s degree in English literature and French language from the University of Georgia.

 

Susan McKeen, BA

Senior Software Engineer
Contractor, Akima Data Management

Susan McKeen has been developing software for more than 30 years. She joined the PCD team in 2005 and writes various parsing tools to support automated journal publication. Previously, she developed software for publishing medical texts and journals on hand-held devices such as tablets and telephones. Ms. McKeen is especially interested in the use of XML in data workflows and the automated production of journal-quality PDFs. She received a bachelor’s degree in computer science with a concentration in electrical engineering from the University of Maine.

 

Lesli Mitchell, MA

Managing Editor

Lesli Mitchell has been managing editor of PCD since its inception in 2003. She worked with Lynne Wilcox, MD, MPH, PCD’s founding editor, to develop the journal’s editorial policies, production processes, and publication website. She has contributed to several initiatives at CDC, including CDC’s first editorial summit, developed by Christine Casey, MD, deputy editor of Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, which brought together editors from JAMA, BMJ, Annals of Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic Proceedings, and other journals to advance public health globally through digital publishing. Before coming to CDC, Ms. Mitchell managed online publications for several institutions, including Emory University, Morehouse College, Georgia State University, and Georgia Institute of Technology. She is the author of The Ultimate Grad School Survival Guide, a Peterson’s reference guide, and Party Train, a book for children with speech and language delays. She has a bachelor’s degree in English and philosophy from Emory University and a master’s degree in English from Georgia State University.

 

Melissa Newton, BS, CCPH

Senior Marketing and Communications Specialist
Contractor, Akima Data Management

Melissa Newton is responsible for PCD’s marketing and communications. She started her career as a reporter for the Gwinnett Daily Post, covering a range of topics from general community news to health and wellness. Mrs. Newton’s passion for public health led her to work in health marketing, and she joined the PCD team in 2012. She particularly enjoys transforming research findings into content that is easily sharable and useable among health professionals, academics, and the general public. Mrs. Newton has a bachelor’s degree from Berry College in Rome, Georgia, and in 2017 was designated a Certified Communicator in Public Health by the National Public Health Information Coalition.

 

Rosemarie Perrin

Technical Writer–Editor
Contractor, Akima Data Management

Rosemarie Perrin has 40 years of experience in technical and medical writing and editing. She wrote AARP’s Living Well With Diabetes, edited the first edition of Oxford Press’s Psychiatry in Primary Care, and has been an editor at Preventing Chronic Disease for 10 years. Ms. Perrin was formerly director of professional education publications for the national office of the American Cancer Society. In another life she wrote about wilderness recreation and was author of The Explorer’s Guide to Lost and Buried Treasure and coauthor of the first edition of The Explorer’s Source Book.

 

Sasha Ruiz, BBA

Health Communications Specialist

Sasha Ruiz, who joined PCD in 2004, oversees the editorial office, monitors the journal’s manuscript submission and peer review activities, and identifies opportunities for improving the quality of the journal’s publication practices. She also works on special projects, including the creation of training curricula and tools for authors and peer reviewers. Ms. Ruiz received a CDC & ATSDR Honor Award for Excellence in Leadership in 2014. She served as the acting managing editor for Public Health Reports from December 2015 to June 2016. She received a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a concentration in marketing from Georgia Gwinnett College, where she now serves on the college’s alumni board.

 

Robin Sloan, MA

Technical Editor
Contractor, Akima Data Management

Robin Sloan joined PCD as a technical editor in May 2019. She began her CDC career in health communication in 2004 and has worked across the agency in several centers and roles. She is pleased to have found work that she enjoys the most, honing her editing skills and translating science. Earlier in her career, she wrote grants and managed programs for nonprofit organizations and Emory University. Ms. Sloan has a bachelor’s degree in communication science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a master’s degree in human communication and social influence from Georgia State University. In 2015, she was awarded certification as a Communicator of Public Health from the National Public Health Information Coalition.

 

Martin Steib

Multimedia Specialist
Contractor, Akima Data Management

Martin Steib joined PCD in September 2019 as a Multimedia Specialist, bringing more than 2 decades of experience in design, illustration, animation, video, and audio to the team. Mr Steib started his career originally in the UK music industry before relocating to Chicago to be involved in the burgeoning IPTV world in the early 2000s. His family now enjoys the warmer climate of Atlanta along with the ever-growing diverse culture of art, theatre, and music.

 

Ellen Taratus, MS

Senior Technical Editor
Contractor, Akima Data Management

Ellen Taratus is senior technical editor at PCD, contracted through Akima Data Management. Ms. Taratus has been with PCD since March 2003 and served as editorial team lead until 2006. As team lead, she designed details of the production schedule and helped to establish editorial policy. Before coming to PCD, Ms. Taratus was a communications specialist at fundraising consulting firms and public relations firms in Atlanta, Los Angeles, and New York. She has a BA in English from Dartmouth College and an MS in biology from Georgia Tech.

 

Caran Wilbanks, BA

Lead Technical Writer–Editor

Ms. Wilbanks has been with PCD since 2007, when she joined the staff as lead writer–editor. Ms. Wilbanks works with the editorial team on the review and production of articles for publication and works with the technical team on resolving production issues and developing new processes to make production flow smoothly. She has spent her career in publications, starting as a reporter for several small Georgia newspapers, where she won awards for writing. Ms. Wilbanks came to CDC in 1989 as a writer–editor for the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report and was briefly the managing editor of the weekly publication. She worked as a technical editor for the US Surgeon General’s reports on smoking and health before joining the PCD staff. She received a bachelor’s degree in English and journalism from Tift College.