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.
Jasmine is a member for the Help Me Grow- Central Intake and Referral team. Central Intake is responsible for processing referrals, communicating and engaging with families- along with Help Me Grow program staff members and referral sources. Our goal is to ensure we are servicing our community and families to the best of our abilities. To support families- while determining their best program fit for Home Visiting support services, Early Intervention needs and community resources across the region.
Jasmine has been a part of Help Me Grow Central Intake since April 2022. Prior to her position with Help Me Grow she worked in Non- Profit with Miami Valley Urban League and was a teacher for the Dayton Public School System. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature from Wilberforce University and a Master of Science in Education in Human Services from University of Dayton.
Jasmine was born in Chicago, Illinois but has spent most of her life in the Dayton, Ohio area. She is a proud Mother of an amazing- now six-year-old daughter; Jasmine enjoys cooking, swimming, art, photography, and travel!
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.
Molly Dargavell, BS, MA is the newest team member here at GDAHA in her role as the Health Preparedness Coordinator. She assists Mary Porter in her efforts to coordinate regional hospital preparedness and planning, foster partnerships with public health departments and public safety organizations in the region, and collaborate with other regional healthcare coalitions across the state.
Molly has nearly a decade of experience working in public health emergency preparedness and epidemiology before joining GDAHA. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Biology from Shawnee State University in Portsmouth Ohio and is a recent graduate of the Naval Postgraduate School with a Master of Arts in Security Studies.
Molly was born in Dayton and has recently moved back to the city after spending the past 16 years in Southeast Ohio
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.
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!
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.
Heidi is an Outreach Specialist with Help Me Grow, serving the communities of Miami, Darke, Shelby, and Mercer counties. She began her journey with Help Me Grow as an Outreach Specialist and later expanded her role by serving as a Home Visitor in Darke County.
Heidi brings a diverse professional background, including experience in public relations, recruitment, and outreach at the Career Center in Piqua. She also spent over 13 years as a certified special needs paraprofessional, working closely with children to support their educational and developmental needs. Throughout her career, she has been passionate about empowering both children and adults to reach their full potential.
Originally from Fort Loramie, Ohio, Heidi now resides in Russia, Ohio, with her husband Jim. They are the proud parents of two daughters, Katelynn and Victoria, and share their home with a golden retriever named Gus.
In her free time, Heidi enjoys spending time outdoors, camping, and caring for her large garden.
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.
