Board of Directors

Marjorie Wilson, LMSW, MPH - President

Marjorie is the co-founder and Executive Director of Idaho Harm Reduction Project, a community-based organization serving the needs of people who use drugs in Idaho. Marjorie learned about Harm Reduction while in graduate school at the University of Washington, where she volunteered with a syringe service program and conducted her thesis research on "Safe Consumption Spaces and Drug User Preferences." Marjorie is also a returned Peace Corps volunteer and completed an AmeriCorps VISTA year of service with the Idaho Foodbank, both of which were influential experiences in pursuing public health as her career."

Charlene Cariou, MHS, CHES^®, CPH -  Immediate Past President

 Charlene Cariou is the Community Health Program Manager with Southwest District Health. She is passionate about improving community health through evidence-based interventions and improving public health workforce capacity.  Charlene received her Master of Health Science degree, with an emphasis in Health Promotion, and a Graduate Certificate in Health Services Leadership in 2012 from Boise State University. She maintains her Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES) and is Certified in Public Health (CPH). Charlene is also an active member of the American Public Health Association (APHA), currently serving as an elected member of the Executive Board. 

Ellen Schafer, PhD, MPH, MCHES ^® - Secretary          

Ellen is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Community and Environmental Health at Boise State University. Ellen teaches classes in public health, health education and promotion, and maternal child health. Her research objective is to understand the mechanisms by which social context, social support, and social network influences are associated with health behaviors, especially infant feeding and care. Ellen has also worked in statewide tobacco prevention in New York and college health in Mississippi.

Conrad Colby, PhD, RRT - Treasurer

Conrad is Emeritus Professor of Respiratory Therapy and adjunct faculty in the Department of Biology at Boise State University, teaching Human Anatomy and Physiology lab and ethics. Con is employed as a Respiratory Therapist at St. Luke's Health System.

Tara Fouts, MHS

Tara Fouts works in the Applied Research Division at St. Luke’s Health System on the suicide prevention trial. Previously, she has worked primarily in opioid overdose and Substance Use Disorder prevention as a Senior Health Education Specialist. Tara completed the Master of Health Science degree with an emphasis in Health Promotion at Boise State University in December 2019.

Ryan Lindsay, PhD, MPH - Affiliate Representative to APHA Governing Council

Ryan is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Community and Public Health at Idaho State University.  At ISU, he teaches courses in research methods, epidemiology, and US & Global Health systems in the Master of Public Health program from the ISU-Meridian campus.  His research interests are in tobacco, infectious disease, and the convergence of the two. He enjoys the opportunity he has to associate with the public health community statewide through IPHA.  Ryan has been involved in IPHA since 2014 and APHA since 2008 and supports efforts to enhance and develop the public health workforce, especially community health workers, in Idaho. 

Sarah Ridinger

Sarah Ridinger has been contributing to the healthcare industry since 1996 and has over 17 years of health care experience. She served (2000-2009) as a U.S. Navy Hospital Corpsman where she provided care at Portsmouth Medical Center, Naval Hospital Yokosuka Japan, and the Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 40. After being honorably discharged, she earned a degree in Health Science from Boise State University (BSU) and a master’s in health administration at Missouri State University. In 2013, Ms. Ridinger began working for the health center community. During this time, she worked in direct patient care and a variety of administrative roles at Jordan Valley Community Health Center (JVCHC) in Missouri. She worked as the Director of Quality and Care Management, where she provided clinic and quality oversight as well as implemented special projects related to compliance, quality, grants, and overall risk management. In this role, she was responsible for policies and procedures, grant management, incident reporting, patient satisfaction surveys, accreditation surveys (including Joint Commission, AAAHC and HRSA) and contract management. In 2018 returned to Idaho to pursue a degree at BSU in Public Policy and Administration, which is currently in progress. She also began working in her current position, a Quality Improvement Project Manager for the Idaho Primary Care Association (IPCA). In this role, she provides support and quality improvement services for community health centers across the state of Idaho, as well as managing private and Federal grant programs focusing on the integration of oral health services and the social determinants of health. 

Gregory Munson

Samantha Kenney

Lee'Erin Brooks

Taylor Neher