Cierra manages our office and assists our President and COO. Cierra also works on special projects and plans our special events and Board of Trustees meetings.
Cierra is from Ohio and will earn a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration – Information Technology Management in October and is currently working on her master’s in Data Analytics. She has lived in the Dayton area for the past three years.
Katie Gainey-West is the Director of the Dayton Regional Pathways HUB. As the Director of the Dayton Regional Pathways HUB, Katie is responsible for the representation of the HUB model to internal and external audiences and leads its growth, sustainability, and advocacy/education. She is the main point of contact for the Care Coordination Agencies and their care coordinators to ensure at-risk children, adults, and families in Montgomery County have access to resources and the results are documented and measured. She has a passion and enthusiasm for community service, which she brings to this role as we continue to develop and grow the program.
Before taking this role with GDAHA, Katie was the Operations Manager at Ascend Innovations, where she was responsible for onboarding, managing accounts payable and receivable, and organizing community events.
Katie is originally from Greenwood, Indiana but has been a Dayton resident for five years. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Indianapolis. When she isn’t working, Katie co-hosts The Silver Screen Podcast and participates in many community theatre productions in the Dayton area. She also serves on the Associate Board at the Dayton Playhouse.
2023 was a banner year for Katie, both personally and professionally. She was honored as one of the Dayton Business Journal’s “Forty Under Forty” in May. Rupert, the family cat, was awarded Best Pet Co-worker by the Dayton Daily News in July. And most exciting of all, Katie and her husband, Argen, welcomed their son in September 2023!
Candice is the manager of our Central Intake & Referral Team for Help Me Grow. She connects families prenatally up to age three to services they need, including Early Intervention, Home Visiting, and other community resources.
Candice was born and raised in Dayton, Ohio and attended undergrad school at Central State University with a BS in Business Admin/Finance and completed my MBA at University of Phoenix. She is married to her wonderful husband Dexter and are fur parents to their Pitbull Brownie. Her hobbies include watching tons of Basketball on all levels whether in person or on television. She also enjoys watching documentaries and listening to podcasts. Her personal and professional goals include learning new skills, expanding her professional network, building stronger relationships, leading a team that achieves positive and measurable results, and reducing inefficiencies. Candice’s passion is to serve those in need with resources and alternatives to make their life a little easier.
Joy is part of our Central Intake & Referral Team for Help Me Grow. She connects families prenatally up to age three to services they need, including Early Intervention, Home Visiting, and other community resources.
Joy has been with us since April 2024. Her previous experience is with Premier Health and CareSource. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Wright State University.
Joy is a lifelong resident of the Dayton area. She has two adult daughters that she enjoys spending time with. She also enjoys movies, traveling, and her two cats.
Tif Huber holds a master’s degree from Antioch University where she studied Health Equity in Healthcare Delivery. She began serving as Director of Help Me Grow Brighter Futures at the Greater Dayton Area Hospital Association in January 2024. Prior to that, she served at Public Health – Dayton Montgomery County and the Ohio Department of Health where she managed chronic disease programming and health equity strategies focused on reducing population-level health disparities. She is passionate about supporting communities with the most barriers to health and building infrastructure, data capacity, and cross-sector partnerships to meaningfully address social determinants of health and provide support to young children and families in establishing a solid foundation for success, regardless of who they are or where they live, play, or spend their day.
Sarah Hackenbracht is the President & CEO of the Greater Dayton Area Hospital Association (GDAHA). In her role, she sets the vision and strategy for a dedicated team that the Dayton region’s hospitals, health systems, and health partners throughout 11 counties. GDAHA is an integral regional association for healthcare organizations as their dedicated convener, collaborator, and advocate. By facilitating collective action on a diverse agenda, hospital and healthcare partners work together to improve the overall health and wellbeing of the communities they serve and demonstrate the value of quality care, close to home.
As an Indiana native, Sarah is proud to consider the Dayton region her home. After receiving her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Wright State University, she began her career at the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce working on small business public policy, safety, and healthcare issues before making the transition to healthcare and GDAHA. During her early years at GDAHA, Sarah specialized in workforce, public policy, and communications for the association and completed her Master of Public Administration from the University of Dayton. In 2011, Sarah moved to Cleveland to serve as the Executive Director of the Cuyahoga Health Access Partnership (CHAP) and navigated the implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act before returning to the Dayton area to launch GDAHA’s community-wide advance care planning initiative. Sarah assumed the position of President & CEO for GDAHA in 2019 and led the GDAHA team through the Memorial Day Tornadoes and aftermath of the Oregon District tragedy. The myriad of challenges in 2019 prepared her to be at the forefront of the regional hospital response to COVID-19 in 2020.
Service to the Dayton region is a vital component of GDAHA’s mission and Sarah’s personal commitment to the community. Sarah serves on the Downtown Dayton Partnership Board of Directors, the Dayton Hoopla Local Organizing Committee, the Miami Valley Disaster Recovery Board, and the Advisory Board of the Miami Valley Urban League. She also serves on the Executive Committee of the Conference of Metropolitan Hospital Associations
Throughout her career, she has been recognized as an accomplished community leader. Sarah was honored as one of the Dayton Business Journal’s “Forty Under Forty” in 2010 and included in the Dayton Business Journal’s “Power 50” recognizing female leaders across the Dayton region for the first time in 2020. As a graduate of Leadership Dayton’s Class of 2020, Sarah is continuing to focus on building relationships that will allow her to give back to the community. She was honored to accept the “Leader of the Year” from the Leadership Dayton Alumni Association in 2022. Sarah currently serves as an Honorary Commander for Wright-Patterson Air Force Base to continue strengthening relationships between our military and civilian sectors. Most recently, she joined Wright State University’s Class of 2023 as their commencement speaker where she was awarded an honorary Doctor of Human Letters.
Sarah and her husband, Alden, welcomed their son in 2020. Becoming a mother has allowed Sarah to experience the world with a new perspective and provides more joy than she could have ever expected. Hugo, their cat, has also adapted to his furless little brother and likes having the extra set of hands to pet him while he eats.
Lisa Henderson, MHSA, is the Vice President of Health Initiatives at the Greater Dayton Area Hospital Association. She is responsible for community health efforts including the Dayton Regional Pathways HUB and the Greater Dayton Advance Care Planning Initiative’s signature project “Decide to be Heard.” She also leads GDAHA’s role in the regional community health needs assessment and subsequent implementation planning. She has responsibility for grant research, writing and development in concert with member hospitals, Ascend Innovations, and the community.
Prior to taking this role with GDAHA, spent 15 years at Dayton Children’s Hospital. She served as the executive director for Dayton Children’s Health Partners, as well as director for business development and physician relations. She has extensive experience in healthcare administration, business growth, strategic planning and operations.
Lisa has her Masters in Health Services Administration from Xavier University and serves on the board for House of Bread and volunteers with Junior League of Dayton. She has two energetic kids and a beloved labradoodle.
Marty Larson is the Chief Operating Officer for the Greater Dayton Area Hospital Association (GDAHA) and its affiliates, Greater Dayton Area Health Information Network and Southwestern Ohio Health Care Association. He is responsible for overseeing the operations including finance, assisting in strategic development and implementation, identifying emerging healthcare technology opportunities for member hospitals, relaunching SOHCA, identifying and addressing health equity opportunities in the region.
Marty has 30 years of experience in healthcare. He held leadership positions in finance, health information technology, and as an entrepreneur. He has a passion for impacting the community to address the needs in mental and behavioral health and improve health equity. Marty strives to use his work and life experiences to enhance the work of GDAHA and its community partners.
Marty received his master’s degree from Antioch University McGregor and undergraduate degree from Cedarville University. He resides in Xenia, Ohio with Sara, his wife of over 35 years. He has three kids, Lydia, Tabitha, and Noah. Marty’s daughters and their families reside in the Dayton area. Noah and his wife live in Denver. Marty has five grandkids whom he adores.
Ron Mayse is the Health Information Director for the Greater Dayton Area Hospital Association (GDAHA). He is responsible for the coordination of the Health Information Technology efforts that are going on in the Dayton/Springfield Ohio area. He has worked with teams from the area hospitals on deploying the Health Information Exchange functionality that connect data content providers, physicians and the community. He will continue to lead regional electronic healthcare data issues for GDAHA members.
Ron has 25 years of experience in health care as the owner of a Technology company servicing Health Care Facilities and Physician Practices in the Greater Dayton Area. He has been a Meaningful Use and MIPS/MACRA consultant for 12 years in the areas of workflows, security, documentation and audits. He has served on a local hospital board for 17 years dedicated to improving community healthcare.
Ron lives in the Dayton area with his wife Jennifer and daughter Trinity. He enjoys family, traveling, golf and the great outdoors.
Ariel Mertz is the Health Initiatives Grants Manager at the Greater Dayton Area Hospital Association. She is responsible for monitoring grant compliance, developing and maintaining grant budgets, and reporting on grants in support of GDAHA’s community health initiatives. Ariel also assists with invoicing for the Dayton Regional Pathways HUB.
Prior to her role with GDAHA, Ariel was a Case Manager at Homefull where she provided direct services to individuals and families at risk of homelessness. In addition to providing direct services, Ariel served as the Hospital Liaison, where she worked to connect local hospital systems with the homeless system to ensure the best care for all patients. She is excited to continue supporting the work of providing people with quality care through her work at GDAHA.
Ariel received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Northwestern University in 2021. In the summer of 2021, Ariel married her husband, Cameron, and moved to Dayton. Ariel and Cameron have since adopted a dog named Bear.
