Alissa Rankin is the Executive Director of the Finney County Committee on Aging, which includes the Finney County Senior Center and Finney County Transit. She leads a team of 30 employees dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for older adults throughout Finney County. Working closely with the Board of Directors, community partners, and local government, Alissa oversees daily operations, strategic planning, and organizational growth while serving as the primary spokesperson for the organization.

In 2026, Alissa launched a capital campaign to expand and renovate the 1970s-era senior center, sharing a vision for a modern facility that will better serve the community for decades to come. Her passion is ensuring that older adults and other vulnerable populations have access to the resources, services, and opportunities they need to thrive.

Before joining the Finney County Committee on Aging, Alissa spent more than 18 years in public health. She most recently worked with Wichita State University's Community Engagement Institute, where she helped advance Kansas' Community Health Worker workforce initiatives. She also managed chronic disease and oral health programs at the Sedgwick County Health Department and held positions with the University of Kansas School of Medicine and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.

Alissa's commitment to health equity began during a study abroad experience in Quito, Ecuador, in 2003, where she witnessed firsthand the challenges faced by underserved communities. That experience continues to shape her leadership philosophy and dedication to improving the health and well-being of all Kansans.

She earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Southwestern College in Winfield, Kansas, and a Master of Public Health from the University of Northern Colorado.

Outside of work, Alissa enjoys spending time with her family, exploring national and state parks, reading, knitting, traveling, and volunteering in her community. She believes the strongest communities are built through compassion, collaboration, and meaningful relationships.

Terri Kennedy is Ida Johnson Feaster Professor of Interprofessional Practice and Education, University of Kansas (KU) School of Nursing; Professor, Department of Population Health, KU School of Medicine; Professor Affiliate, KU School of Social Welfare and KU College of Liberal Arts and Sciences; and Strategic Consultant, Area Health Education Center and Office of Continuing Education and Professional Development with the University of Kansas Medical Center. She is Project Director and Principal Investigator, Kansas 4M Geriatrics Workforce Education Program. She previously served as Associate Dean, Office of Interprofessional Practice, Education, Policy, and Research, KU School of Nursing; BSW Program Director and Director, Office of Gerontological & Interprofessional Initiatives, Arizona State University School of Social Work; and Faculty Lead: Clinical Partnerships, Center for Advancing Interprofessional Practice, Education and Research, Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation.

Teri has 17 years’ experience serving older adults and their care partners across the care continuum. She chaired and served on the Advisory Committee for Interdisciplinary, Community-Based Linkages, HRSA, HHS, and was a Health and Aging Policy Fellow/American Political Science Association Congressional Fellow representing Senator Jeff Flake’s (R-AZ) DC Office with the Senate Special Committee on Aging. She is currently Vice-President of Public Policy, and Distinguished Scholar Fellow, National Academies of Practice and Social Work Academy; Fellow, Gerontological Society of America; and Member, Arizona Governor’s Advisory Council on Aging representing Pima County and winter visitors. Her scholarship concentrates on health and aging policy, sustainability, interprofessional academic-practice partnerships, and team science. She developed the Kennedy Model of Sustainability adopted by the National Center for Interprofessional Practice and Education, a model of Strengths-Based Interprofessional Practice and Education, and co-developed the Micro, Meso, Macro (M³): Aligning Your Nexus through a Systems Lens tool. Teri is an indie singer/songwriter, writer, and podcaster.

Tina Garetson of the KU Area Health Education Center & Kansas HOSA, was a classroom teacher in rural Missouri for 15 years before joining the KUMC Area Health Education Center in 2022 as an education coordinator.  She is currently the Health Career Promotions Program Manager and the Kansas HOSA Future Health Professionals State Advisor.  Her work focuses on workforce development, providing healthcare career exploration, leadership development, and more for the youth of Kansas.  In addition, she coordinates all aspects of Kansas HOSA which is the Career Technical Student Organization that is 100% healthcare focused.  Outside work, she is an avid crafter and video gamer, wife to a gamer husband, and mom to seven cats, a parakeet and a bearded dragon.

Tina holds bachelor’s degrees in Music and Music Education from Central Missouri State University, a Master of Science in Educational Administration from Missouri Baptist University, and an Education Specialist degree in K–6 Mathematics from the University of Central Missouri.

Karen Eppley (Ph.D., Penn State) is the Director of the Rural Education Center and an Associate Professor of Rural Education at Kansas State University. She went to a rural K-12 school, is a first-generation college graduate, and taught fifth grade in Northern Appalachia. Her researchexplores the ways in which opportunity does not manifest equally across space and asks questions about teaching and learning at the intersection of identity, rural education, and policy. She is a co-author of Why Rural Matters (2023, 2025) and edits the open access publication,the Journal of Research in Rural Education.

Hope Krebill, MSW, BSN, RN is the Assistant Director of Community Outreach and Engagement for The University of Kansas Cancer Center and serves as the Executive Director of the Masonic Cancer Alliance (MCA), the outreach network of KU Cancer Center. The MCA supports community engagement to improve access to cancer screening, clinical trials, patient programs, and professional education across the catchment area in collaboration with community hospitals. In addition, Ms. Krebill supports the KU Cancer Center – MCA Rural National Cancer Institute’s Community Oncology Research Program (NCORP) that extends clinical trials to hospitals across Kansas and western Missouri.

Ms. Krebill co-created KU Cancer Center’s PIVOT: Patient and Investigator Voices Organizing Together program, a patient research advocacy initiative to bring the patient voice into all phases of research at KU Cancer Center. Ms. Krebill facilitates KU Cancer Center’s Community Advisory Board to create bi-directional communication between KU Cancer Center and guides the selection of priorities; monitors progress and assesses the impact of our efforts on cancers in our region. To support the understanding of the catchment area, Ms. Krebill assisted in the development and maintenance of OPTIK: Organizing and Prioritizing Trends to Inform KU Cancer Center. In addition, Ms. Krebill supports efforts to extend research to primary care through Kansas Patients and Providers Engaged in Prevention Research (KPPEPR), a practice-based  research network. Ms. Krebill has extensive experience in collaborating with community partners to address regional cancer health disparities with over 25 years of combined experience in cancer control, research, program management, and evaluation of programs in populations that are underserved. She served as the Chair of the Missouri Cancer Consortium from 2018 to 2020 and co-chaired the health equity workgroup for the Kansas Cancer Partnership. She continues to serve on both Missouri and Kansas state coalition’s executive committees.

She received her Master of Social Work from the Washington University in St. Louis and Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Iowa.