Alaska Native EpiCenter: About Us

ANTHC provides the highest quality health services for Alaska Native and American Indian people at the Alaska Native Medical Center and across Alaska through training, health education, disease and injury prevention, and rural water and sewer construction.

The EpiCenter provides public health and epidemiologic services to tribal health organizations and the tribal communities they serve.

The Alaska Native Epidemiology Center (EpiCenter) is located within the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium’s (ANTHC) Community Health Services, in Anchorage, Alaska.

EpiCenter Staff

Ellen Provost
DO, MPH, MS

EpiCenter Director

Dr. Provost has served the Alaska Tribal Health System for over 25 years, and has been Director since 2005. She arrived in Bethel in 1990 to work with YKHC as a Commissioned Officer in the US Public Health Service. She is a physician specializing in Preventive Medicine and Public Health, and has an MS in Biomedical Informatics.

Carla Britton, PhD, MS

Lead Epidemiologist

Dr. Britton came to the EpiCenter in 2013 after completing a two year CDC Epidemic Intelligence Service fellowship with the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare. Carla holds an MS in Environmental Health and a PhD in Epidemiology from the University of Iowa.

Elena Roik,
MD, PhD, MPH

Cancer Surveillance Director

Dr. Roik joined the EpiCenter in 2021. She serves as the Director of the Alaska Native Tumor Registry and the Principal Investigator for the Alaska Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) Program of the National Cancer Institute. She holds an MD, an MPH, and a PhD in Epidemiology.

Diana Redwood, PhD

Senior Epidemiologist

Joining ANTHC in 2004, Dr. Redwood conducts research studies on colorectal cancer screening methods and prevention. Diana holds a PhD in Public Health, an MPH, and an MS in Nutrition.

Erin Peterson, MPH

Senior Epidemiologist

Ms. Peterson joined the EpiCenter in 2015. She specializes in chronic disease prevention, and manages the Wellness Strategies for Health (WSH) program. Erin holds an MPH.

Tim Collins, MPH, MS

Senior Epidemiologist

Mr. Collins joined the EpiCenter in 2018 as an epidemiologist supporting substance use-related initiatives. He holds an MPH in biostatistics and epidemiology from the Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, and an MS in psychology. He is a member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians.

Lowrie Ward, MPH, CPH

Senior Epidemiologist

Ms. Ward joined the EpiCenter in 2021 as a Senior Epidemiologist managing the program to develop and grow syndromic surveillance across the Alaska Tribal Health System. She holds an MPH in public health administration and a CPH.

Kristen Mitchell,
DrPH, CPH

Senior Program Manager

Dr. Mitchell joined the EpiCenter in 2015 and is currently serving as the Senior Program Manager for the Network Coordinating Center for the Tribal Epidemiology Centers’ Public Health Infrastructure Program. Kristen holds a DrPH in Public Health and an MPH.

LaRita Laktonen-Ward, MPH

Senior Program Manager

Ms. Laktonen-Ward joined the EpiCenter in 2022. She is the Senior Program Manager for the Coordinating Center for Good Health and Wellness in Indian Country (CCG). LaRita holds her MPH and earned her BS in Kinesiology with a minor in Indian Education.

Marie Jackman,
MPA, CPH

Senior Program Manager

Ms. Jackman joined the EpiCenter in 2021 and serves as the Program Manager for the Tribal Epidemiology Centers’ Public Health Infrastructure (TECPHI) Program. Marie holds a Master’s in Public Administration.

Maria Caruso, MA

Program Manager

Ms. Caruso joined the EpiCenter in 2023. Maria Supports the Tribal Epidemiology Centers Public Health Infrastructure (TECPHI) team in the department. She holds an MA in International Relations.

Diana Velez, BA

Public Health Specialist III

Ms. Velez joined the EpiCenter in 2022 as a Public Health Program Specialist III. She coordinates activities for Alaska’s IHS SASP and DVP Program grantees. Diana holds combined BBA/MBA degrees from Alaska Pacific University.

Keri Miller, MHA, CTR

Tumor Registrar II

Ms. Miller joined the Alaska Native Tumor Registry in 2020. In her role as SEER Program Manager she collects cancer information for Alaska Native people statewide, and oversees the registry’s data management system. She holds a Master’s in Health Administration, a BS in Health Promotion, and is a Certified Tumor Registrar.

Garrett Zimpelman, BA

Programmer/Analyst

Mr. Zimpelman joined the EpiCenter in 2016 as a Computer Programmer/Analyst for the Alaska Native Tumor Registry. Garrett’s duties include data management, database design and implementation, computer programming, and data analysis.

Renee Corvalan, AAS

Program Assistant I

Ms. Corvalan joined the EpiCenter in 2023. She serves as the Program Assistant for the Alaska Native Tumor Registry. She has previous experience working in radiation oncology and surgical oncology. She holds an associate’s degree in surgical technology.

Julie Morris, PhD, MA

Biostatistician

Dr. Morris grew up in Wasilla and joined the EpiCenter as a Biostatistician in 2022. Julie holds an MA and PhD in Sociology from the University of Washington. She specializes in statistics, demography, and social determinants of health research.

Annette Marley, MPH

Public Health Specialist

Ms. Marley joined the EpiCenter in 2020 as a Public Health Program Specialist III. She provides assistance in evaluation and other areas for the Wellness Strategies for Health program. Annette holds an MPH from Johns Hopkins University.

Jordan Skan, PhD, MS

Public Health Specialist III

Dr. Skan joined the EpiCenter in 2020. He provides support for the national Coordinating Center for Good Health and Wellness in Indian Country. Jordan grew up in Ketchikan, and is Tlingit. He holds an MS in Clinical Psychology and a Ph.D. in Clinical Community Psychology.

Eve Van Dommelen,
MPH, CPH

Program Evaluator

Ms. Van Dommelen joined the EpiCenter in 2021. Eve provides
support for the Tribal Epidemiology Centers’ Public Health Infrastructure’s National Coordinating Center in a variety of communication and infrastructure building activities, and supports the national evaluation of the program. She holds an MPH.

Toni Clark, BA

Public Health Specialist I

Toni Clark joined the EpiCenter in 2022, and is working on the Syndromic Surveillance Project. Toni has a BA in Economics, and is currently pursuing an MPS in Data Analytics through Penn State.

Alia Chisty, MPH

Public Health Specialist II

Ms. Chisty joined the EpiCenter in 2021. Alia is a Public Health Program Specialist II for the national Coordinating Center for Good Health and Wellness in Indian Country. She holds an MPH.

Lucy Rogers, MPH, CPH

Program Evaluator

Ms. Rogers joined the EpiCenter in 2020. Lucy is a Public Health Program Specialist II and the Program Evaluator for the national Coordinating Center for Good Health and Wellness in Indian Country. She holds a BA in English and Linguistics and an MPH in Public Health Practice.

Derek Searcy, BA, CPH

Public Health Specialist II

Mr. Searcy joined the EpiCenter in 2020 as a Public Health Program Specialist II. He holds a BA in Psychology, has a background in research, and supports data dissemination activities at the EpiCenter.

Kelsey Black, MS

Analytics Engineer

Ms. Black joined the EpiCenter in 2021. Kelsey is developing and growing Syndromic Surveillance across the Alaska Tribal Health System. She holds a BS in Mathematics and an MS in Operations Research.

Megan Ackerman, MS

Associate Health Statistician

Ms. Ackerman joined the EpiCenter in 2021 as an Associate Health Statistician. She provides data dissemination and technical assistance to the Tribal Epidemiology Centers’ Public Health Infrastructure program. Megan holds a BS in Mathematics and an MS in Demography.

Lauren Jeffries, MPH

Research Associate

Ms. Jeffries joined the EpiCenter in 2021. Lauren works on several colorectal cancer research studies. She holds an MPH from the University of Alaska.

Olivia Garrett, BA

Program Coordinator

Ms. Garrett joined the Epi Center in 2022. Olivia works with other Tribal Epidemiology Centers across the United States to support TECPHI’s National Coordinating Center. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Alaska Fairbanks and hopes to pursue a masters in public policy.

Matthew Bailey, BFA

Senior Marketing Media Specialist

Mr. Bailey joined the EpiCenter in 2015. He provides website and graphic design support for EpiCenter projects including the Network Coordinating Center (NCC) and the Coordinating Center for Good Health and Wellness in Indian Country (CCG). Matthew holds a BFA in Visual Communication with a Graphic Design emphasis.

Mishelle Kennedy,
AA, AOS

Marketing Media Specialist

Ms. Kennedy joined the EpiCenter in 2021. She provides graphic design and social media support for EpiCenter Core and TEC programs and projects. She is working on a Bachelor of Science in Marketing with Digital Marketing Specialization from Colorado State University Global.

Sadie Arneson, BBA

Health Communications Specialist

Ms. Arneson joined the EpiCenter in 2020. She provides communication strategies and partner coordination for the Wellness Strategies for Health program. She holds a BBA in Marketing.

Christie Flanagan, MPH

Program Manager

Ms. Flanagan joined the EpiCenter in 2020, after nine years with ANTHC. Christie is coordinating a randomized controlled trial for colorectal cancer screening. She holds an MPH from University of Alaska Anchorage and is currently pursuing her PhD at UAF.

Lauren Smayda, MPH

Public Health Program Specialist III

Ms. Smayda joined the EpiCenter in 2020 as the Colorectal Cancer Control Program Coordinator. She assists with increasing colorectal cancer screening in Alaska. Lauren holds an MPH from University of Alaska Anchorage.

Levi Wegner, MS

Research Associate

Mr. Wegner joined the EpiCenter in 2022. Levi will be working on a project evaluating colorectal cancer screening in the Alaska Tribal Health System using Colorectal Cancer Control Program and Alaska Native Tumor Registry data.

Daisy Karasti

Program Administrator

Ms. Karasti joined the EpiCenter in 2018. She provides administrative support to the Wellness Strategies for Health program. Daisy is a Tlingit Indian from Sitka, Alaska.

Eva Bergmann Hok

Administrative Program Manager

Ms. Bergmann Hok joined the EpiCenter in 2020. Eva serves as the administrative lead for the EpiCenter. She is Alutiiq/Sugpiaq of the Alutiiq Tribe of Old Harbor and is a Koniag shareholder.

Nicole Kiana

Senior Office Specialist

Ms. Kiana joined the EpiCenter in 2020. Nicole provides administrative support for the Colorectal Cancer Control (CRC) and other programs. She is Inupiaq Eskimo of the Tribe of Selawik and a CIRI Shareholder.

Dawn Davis

Senior Office Specialist

Ms. Davis joined the EpiCenter in 2022. Dawn provides administrative support for the    Coordinating Center for Good Health and Wellness in Indian Country (CCG) program. Dawn is Cup’ig from the Mekoryuk Tribe and a shareholder of Calista Corporation & NIMA Corporation.

Agnes Hunt

Senior Office Specialist

Ms. Hunt joined the EpiCenter in 2023. Agnes provides administrative support for NCC, TECPHI, and other programs in our department. Agnes is Yup’ik from the South Western Village of Kotlik, located in the Yukon/Kuskokwim Region and a shareholder of the Calista Corporation.