Tom Barrett announces appointees to a newly created board to oversee troubled Health Department

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett is appointing nine people to a newly created board intended to provide citizen oversight of the embattled Milwaukee Health Department, his office announced Tuesday.

The Common Council voted in February to establish the board.

The Health Department struggled for months after revelations that it had failed to provide services for the families of children with lead poisoning, or at least failed to document its efforts. Troubles with the agency's family planning and cancer screening programs also came to light.

The board is appointed by Barrett and approved by the Common Council. The appointments are on the agenda for Thursday's meeting of the Public Safety and Health Committee.

The appointees will advise on health department policy and "advocate for sound public health practices that improve health outcomes for all Milwaukeeans," according to a statement from Barrett's office.

Barrett appointed: 

• Ald. Chantia Lewis, who was the lead sponsor of the legislation creating the board.

• Ruthie Burich-Weatherly, a public health advocate with more than 10 years of experience in direct service and communication for HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted infection prevention. She has worked for the city's Health Department, the AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin and the Minnesota AIDS Project. 

• Caroline Gomez-Tom, the newly named director of patient and community engagement at Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers. 

• Bria Grant, executive director of the nonprofit UniteMKE, which supports and trains community health workers.

• Julia Means, a parish and community health nurse at Ascension Columbia St. Mary's Hospital, who created the Blanket of Love program to offer support and education to new and expectant mothers.

• LaNelle Ramey, director of black and Latino male achievement for Milwaukee Public Schools, who has also worked at Safe & Sound, the YMCA and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee.

• Marylyn Ranta, associate chief medical officer at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin, where she focuses on social determinants of health and effective vaccine policy. She has worked in public health and private practice. 

• Ericka Sinclair, CEO of the Greater Milwaukee Center for Health and Wellness, which offers primary health care and focuses on vulnerable populations that often face barriers to accessing health care.

• Wujie Zhang, an associate professor of biomolecular engineering at the Milwaukee School of Engineering and advocate for health equity for LGBTQ+ people and other marginalized groups.

Contact Alison Dirr at 414-224-2383 or adirr@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter @AlisonDirr.