Speaker directory
Debra Doubek, MD, FAAFP
Session title: Welcome
Dr. Debra Doubek is a native of Belleville, Kansas. She graduated from the University of Kansas School of Medicine. Following graduation from KU, Dr. Doubek completed her internship and family practice residency also at the University of Kansas in Kansas City. Dr. Doubek moved to Manhattan and started practice in 1992. She has been married for 38 years to Tom Phillips, former Manhattan mayor and state representative.
Stephanie Suber, DO
Session title: Welcome
Dr. Stephanie Suber, founder of Family Centered Medicine, is a Board Certified Physician in Family Medicine. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Microbiology from the University of Kansas. In 2004, she graduated with her Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine from the University of Des Moines and completed her residency at Research Family Medicine in 2007. She has been practicing in Lawrence, Kansas since 2008.
Dr. Suber is currently the President for the Kansas Association of Osteopathic Medicine and has represented the Kansas Osteopaths at the AOA House of Delegates. She is an appointed member of the Executive Board for the Board of Healing Arts of Kansas. She is an active member of the Kansas Association of Osteopathic Medicine, American Academy of Family Physicians, American Osteopathic Association and Kansas Academy of Family Physicians. Dr. Suber enjoys time with her family, running, reading, and camping. She looks forward to a hot day, a good book and afternoon naps.
Dodie Wellshear
Governmental Advocacy Liaison, Kansas Academy of Family Physicians and Founding Partner, Ad Astra Government Relations
Dodie is a Topeka native and is the founding partner of Ad Astra Government Relations. She began lobbying the Kansas Legislature in 1992 in the non-profit arena, working on children’s health, human service, and state appropriations issues. In 2002, she joined a private lobbying firm where she worked on a broader range of issues – including education, the Comprehensive Transportation Plan, health care, taxes, domestic violence, and animal cruelty – and continued building key relationships on both sides of the aisle in the Legislature and across Kansas. Having broadened her expertise and honed her strategic lobbying skills, she started her own government relations business in 2006.
Dodie focuses on health care, human services, education, taxation, and state budget and appropriations issues. She is passionate about strengthening the quality of life for all Kansans and making it the best place in the nation to live and raise a family. Dodie is a graduate of the University of Kansas, with a degree in social work.
Joan Duwve, MD, MPH
Session title: KDHE address
Dr. Joan Duwve is a board-certified family physician who has worked in state and academic public health since 2008. Dr. Duwve came to Kansas in November, 2021, as a consultant on KDHE COVID-19 response before joining KDHE first as the Deputy State Health Officer, and then as Acting State Health Officer. She was appointed State Health Officer at the Kansas Department of Health and Environment by Secretary Stanek in March 2022. She continues leading the state COVID-19 testing program and works closely with KDHE staff on public health and health equity initiatives.
Before moving to Kansas, she served as the Director of Public Health for the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC), the Associate Dean for Public Health Practice at Indiana University, Indianapolis, and the Chief Medical Officer at the Indiana Department of Health. Dr. Duwve holds a Medical Doctor degree (MD) from Johns Hopkins University and a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree from the University of Michigan. She completed her residency in family medicine at St. Vincent Hospital and Health Services in Indianapolis.
April Holman, JD
Session title: KanCare Update
April Holman, JD, is the Executive Director of the Alliance for a Healthy Kansas, a nonprofit initiative to increase access to affordable health care through the expansion of eligibility to KanCare. She has spent the past two decades working to improve public policy in Kansas, starting her career as an analyst in the Kansas Legislative Research Department and moving on to hold advocacy positions in a variety of organizations. April is a licensed attorney and holds degrees from Washburn University School of Law and Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas.
Chad Johanning, MD, FAAFP
Session title: Introduction of guest legislators
Chad Johanning, MD, FAAFP of Lawrence, Kan., was the 72nd president of the Kansas Academy of Family Physicians (KAFP).
Johanning received his medical degree from the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Kansas City, Kan. in 2004. Following medical school, Johanning completed his residency at the Ascension Via Christi Family Medicine Residency program in Wichita, Kan.
After completing his residency training in 2007, he moved to his hometown of Atchison, Kan. where he practiced as a family physician for seven years. He was the founding board member of the Atchison Community Health Clinic (2008-2015). In 2014, Johanning moved to Lawrence, Kan. where he has practiced as family physician at Lawrence Family Practice Center since 2014. He is also an Aledade-Kansas ACO member.
Johanning is a Kansas board-certified family physician, certified in Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS), Neonatal Resuscitation Program (NRP), and Advanced Life Support in Obstetrics (ALSO). He has earned the Degree of Fellow by the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP). Fellows of the AAFP are recognized as champions of family medicine. His professional interests include adult and pediatric care; wellness and immunizations; obstetrics; and endoscopy.
Erin Locke, MD
Session title: Introduction of guest legislators
Erin Locke, MD, MPH, received her combined medical and public health degrees from the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita. She completed her residency at Tacoma Family Medicine in Tacoma, WA. She lives in Topeka where she practices at Midland Care in the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly. She serves as the Shawnee County health officer and the medical director for the family planning program in the local health department.
Dr. Locke has certificates in climate change and health (Yale School of Public Health) and in health administration (KUSOM-Kansas City). Her professional interests include health equity, environmental health, and the prevention of disease.
Representative Brenda Landwehr (R-Wichita, District 105)
Session title: Legislator Q&A
Kansas House Rep. Brenda Landwehr is a Republican representing the state’s 104th district. Landwehr was first elected as State Representative for the 91st District in 1994. Born and raised and a 36-year homeowner in the area, Brenda graduated from Wichita North High Graduate in 1973. She has been married for 42 years to David Landwehr and has three sons — David, Mark, and John — and seven grandchildren. , Brenda has been an active community member and business owner (LT Care Solutions, Inc.) since 1977 with her husband David.
Senator Cindy Holscher (D-Overland Park, District 8)
Session title: Legislator Q&A
Kansas Sen. Cindy Holscher is a Democrat representing the state’s 8th district. Cindy was elected to her first term as a State Representative in 2016 and has spent her time in Topeka fighting for fully-funded public schools, access to affordable healthcare, domestic violence reform, and commonsense policies that keep Kansas moving forward. As a 20-year resident of Johnson County and mother of three, Cindy is passionate about investing in the future of our community.
Tara Mays
Session title: Telehealth legislative update
Tara Mays is Vice President of State Legislative Relations for the Kansas Hospital Association. Tara started with KHA in 2020 but comes with a wealth of policy development experience. At the Rural Electric Cooperatives, she successfully lobbied policymakers, agencies, and communities for long-term, sustainable energy policies to keep energy affordable in rural areas of Kansas. In addition, through her work with statewide transportation advocacy organizations, she worked on the development and implementation of past comprehensive 10-year Transportation Programs such as T-WORKS and the Eisenhower Legacy Program.
Since joining KHA, Tara has been a part of the advocacy team for the Rural Emergency Hospital designation. The REH designation gives rural hospitals the ability to combine the services of a clinic and a critical access hospital. Tara has also been crucial in advocating for the protection of frontline healthcare workers and the sustainability of telehealth in Kansas. Tara lives in Topeka and graduated from Washburn University. She is married to Aaron Mays and is the mother to two boys, Winston, 14, and Truman, 11.
Geovannie Gone, LMAC, MS
Session title: IKC address
Geovannie Gone serves as the Executive Director of the Immunize Kansas Coalition. Gone oversees the development and implementation of coalition and statewide immunization strategies, new business initiatives, addresses Vaccine Equity, and related objectives. She provides oversight of Government grant programs and other enabling services of the corporation. She thrives in finding ways to innovate and strategize plans to increase Vaccine rates to reduce vaccine-preventable diseases. With over 15 years of healthcare experience, Gone is a graduate of Fort Hays Graduate School and has a master’s degree in Public Health. She is also a licensed Nutritionist and a Licensed Addictions Counselor.