Subject Matter Expert (SME) Program

The Subject Matter Experts (SME) program is a part of a Massachusetts Department of Public Health grant funded program that supports work toward the Blueprint for Public Health Excellence. Our SMEs are experienced professionals committed to collaboration, health equity and supporting local public health professionals. Subject matter experts provide guidance and resources to support local public health (including shared services arrangements, training hubs, and local health departments).

The OLRH technical support program provides a comprehensive, collaborative approach to providing timely, high quality programmatic guidance to local public health entities. Technical Support Providers offer support with a focus on promoting racial equity and employing an equity lens to enhance the effectiveness and capacity of local public health.

Please complete the Technical Support Request Form to request technical support from our SMEs. Following the submission of this form, a Technical Support Provider will be assigned based on the type of support requested. Once matched, you will receive an email connecting you with the assigned Technical Support Provider who will coordinate the initial meeting to discuss next steps.

Patrice Barrett Patrice earned an MPH from Boston University in environmental health and their department strongly emphasizes field experience to learn all aspects of local public health. Patrice has had a variety of positions since that time at the community level emphasizing outreach, creating strong stakeholder relationships, brownfield education, reducing barriers to health equity, food insecurity, program design and management, teaching, and grant research and applications. She have been part of designing, implementing, and evaluating community health needs assessments. For the last three years, she has worked for the Barnstable County Department of Health and Environment in two roles. Conducting disease investigations for foodborne and enteric illnesses and tickborne diseases. While at Barnstable, she has also partnered with three, and soon four, health departments and many community stakeholders to work toward implementing and funding a variety of programs. Patrice’s basic philosophy of public health is that it is a very broad discipline well beyond statutory environmental requirements and citizens benefit from strengthening and creating programs for these aspects. Second, She believes in mentoring future public health professionals to help them acquire knowledge and an appreciation for the broadness of the profession. Patrice is available to help communities write local grants.

Susan Feinberg Susan Feinberg, MPH, has over 20 years’ experience in public health communication. As the longtime public information officer for the Cambridge Public Health Department, she managed media relations and crisis communication, developed communication plans and strategies, oversaw a complete website redesign, and produced print and digital content. Susan has also taught graduate courses and given trainings to public health professionals on media relations, crisis communication, organizational branding, social marketing, website redesign, and other topics. For local health departments applying for national accreditation, she has produced crisis communication plans, communication procedures, accessible communication guidelines, and a behavior change communication campaign guide. Susan can provide training and technical assistance to shared services arrangements and municipal health departments in all aspects of public health communication. She received her MPH from Boston University School of Public Health in 2003.

Laura Kittross Laura Kittross, MPH, JD has been working in local public health since moving to Berkshire County in 2006 – first as the Director of Public Health in the City of Pittsfield and, for the past 17+ years, as the Public Health Program Manager at Berkshire Regional Planning Commission (BRPC). Laura helped found the Berkshire Public Health Alliance in 2011, which has 22 member municipalities. The Alliance currently provides comprehensive Inspectional Services to 11 municipalities and Public Health Nursing to 19. Laura has also overseen projects in Public Health Emergency Preparedness, Emergency Response, Harm Reduction/Overdose Prevention, BOH Training, Youth Prevention, Climate Resilience, Community Health Planning, Age Friendly Communities and many more. She was a member of the original Special Commission on Local and Regional Health where she chaired the Workforce Standards Subcommittee. She has been a long-time member of the Coalition for Local and Regional Health (CLPH) and a board member of the Western Mass Public Health Association (WMPHA) for more than a decade.

Marc Nascarella Dr. Marc A. Nascarella is an Associate Professor of Health Science and the Director of Health Science Research at the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences in Boston, MA. Professor Nascarella is the former State Toxicologist for the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH), where he directed a team of environmental health scientists evaluating the human health impact of toxicants in food, environmental media (e.g., air, water, soil), and consumer products. He served as the Commissioner of Public Health’s designee and spokesperson on technical regulatory matters related to drinking water quality, beach water quality, harmful algal blooms, emergency response, toxics-use reduction, pesticide use/registration, and the development of regulatory standards for the retail sale of medical marijuana. As a health scientist with training in toxicology, risk assessment, and environmental epidemiology, Professor Nascarella is interested in translating basic and applied science into practical exposure-reducing interventions that improve public health. His background involves the design and implementation of regulatory policy and health studies evaluating climate and environmental exposure in people (e.g., human biomonitoring), environmental media (e.g., air, water, soil), animal and plant tissue, as well as consumer products (e.g., food, toys, cannabis, medical devices). He routinely works with students, healthcare providers, government agencies, and non-governmental/non-profit organizations to evaluate the human health risks of exposure to environmental hazards and develop context-specific solutions.