Board of Directors:

Chair: Marek Calhoun
Vice-Chair: VACANT
Secretary: Joe Kyle
Treasurer: Reeshemah Mckelvey

Executive Director: Terri Jowers, CCHW

 Meet the SCCHWA Board of Directors:

Joe Kyle- Board Secretary

Organization: Consultant 

Term: 12/2021- 12/2024

Region: Foothills

Joe Kyle has over 35 years’ experience working in the public health field. In the United States, he served as Assistant Director of the Jasper Newton County Health Department in east Texas for two years and held a variety of positions at the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control during his 23+ years working for the state of South Carolina. Some of his responsibilities while in South Carolina included establishing the first ever Office of Performance Management (emphasis on data driven decision making and quality improvement in the Department), and serving as the Director of the Bureau of Community Health and Chronic Disease Prevention, which had a budget over twenty million dollars, delivering chronic disease prevention services to the residents of the state. Overseas, Joe Kyle worked in Paraguay, where he served as a Peace Corps Volunteer for three years and Volunteer Technical Trainer in Environmental Sanitation for two years. Separately, Joe was also the Health Associate Peace Corps Director in Honduras for five years, and the Associate Director for Peace Corps in El Salvador from 1993 to 1996.

In addition to having experience in organizational performance management, quality improvement and strategic planning, Joe Kyle has been an active participant in public health accreditation in collaboration with the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB). Since accreditation began, Joe has been the Team Chair on behalf of PHAB in reviewing the documentation and conducting site visits for two state health departments, three local health departments, and served as a site visit team member for two other state health departments. Joe also served on two expert panels convened by PHAB (Equivalency workgroup and Centralized States think tank) and served as the Accreditation Coordinator for three years for the South Carolina Department of Health, as it prepared for accreditation. Currently, Joe is providing consultation to the National Association of Public Health Statistics and Information Systems and its 57 jurisdictional members across the country, as the jurisdictions participate in the PHAB Vital Records/Health Statistics Accreditation program.

Joe Kyle has a BS in Sociology from the University of Oregon (1979) and an MPH from the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston (1986).

Darin Thomas – Board Member

Organization: Prisma Health Upstate

Term: 11/2020- 12/2023

Region: Pee Dee

Darin Thomas is a Licensed Social Worker who works with low income communities to achieve optimal health. Darin believes that all people in every community deserve the right to health access and opportunities for a healthy lifestyle. Darin has worked with several populations in a variety of settings. Darin’s background as a Social Worker has led him to work as an in-patient psychotherapist, in-patient Medical Social Worker, Emergency Room Social Worker, and most recently as the Neighborhood Health Partners Social Worker – a pilot study paired with Community Paramedics. His current role as a Program Development Manager at Prisma Health-Upstate gives him the opportunity to be the instructor to the newly hired Community Health Workers.

Marek Calhoun 

Organization: CareSouth Carolina 

Term: 12-22-12-25

Region: Pee Dee

Marek Calhoun resides of Darlington, SC and has lived in Darlington County since 2001. Marek currently
serves as the Director of Social and Community Services for CareSouth Carolina’s Community Health
Services Division. CareSouth Carolina is a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) in the Pee Dee
Region of South Carolina. Marek received his B.A. in Psychology and Criminology from Coker University.
He later received an M.A. degree in Community Mental Counseling from Webster University and a M.S.
degree in Administration of Justice and Security from the University of Phoenix.  Marek
is currently serving as Director of Social and Community Services. Marek serves on several
boards and advisory councils to include the Advisory Council for both the New Beginnings Transitional
Women’s Shelter and South Carolina Agricultural Worker Health Program. In addition, Marek serves on
the Board of Directors for the Darlington County Habitat for Humanities, Chesterfield County First Steps
and South Carolina Community Health Worker Association. Marek is a South Carolina Community Health
Workers Ambassadors with the Community Health Worker Institute. Marek is also a Behavioral
Interventionist, working closely with children and families to provide behavior modification,
psychosocial rehabilitation and family support services. Marek is a diehard football fan and enjoys
cheering on the Las Vegas Raiders. Marek enjoys cooking and spending time with his family especially
his wife Eutashia who were recently married in May 2019 and his son Messiah who affectionately goes
by the nick name “Bubba.”
When ask what drive and motivates him, Marek says “I want to make a difference in the lives of people,
that’s what drives me every day; knowing that CareSouth Carolina, my team and I have touched and
made a difference in the lives of those in the community we serve.”

Ana Cossio

Organization: Pasos Central Office 

Term: 11/2020- 12/2023

Region: Sandhills

Originally from Cuba, Ana Cossio came to the United States 13 years ago with her husband and 8 year old son. Upon learning a new language and how to navigate new and often challenging health and social service systems, Ana now uses her experiences to connect with and support other Latino immigrants that are facing similar challenges. Ana holds an educational degree from Cuba with a concentration in Biology, and was a professor there for 10 years. Ana has earned the SC Community Health Worker (CHW) certificate, and is currently obtaining her Masters of Social Work at the University of South Carolina. Passionate about serving others and advocating for the rights of underserved communities, Ana has been an integral member of the PASOs team since 2009. Ana is the former PASOs Midlands Coordinator, and recently has been promoted to the statewide Training Manager position at the PASOs Central Office. The Training Manager works to help PASOs achieve its mission of Latino leadership development by providing high quality training to PASOs’ Community Health Workers. Another part of her goals includes the expansion of PASOs’ CHW training program in order to offer the training to other organizations. Ana has helped train over 50 Promotores (CHWs in Spanish).

William Garrett

Organization: Tidelands Health

Term: 11/2021- 12/2024

Region: Pee Dee