Speakers

Patrick O’Carroll, MD, MPH, FACPM, FACMI became The Task Force’s fourth President and Chief Executive Officer in October 2022. A physician and public health professional for 37 years, Dr. O’Carroll has extensive experience working across numerous public health domains including global health, epidemiology and disease surveillance, injury control, tobacco use prevention, adolescent health, disaster response and emergency management, public health information system development, bioterrorism, and epidemic control.

Lorraine Cochran-Johnson is originally from Greenville, Alabama and a twenty-two-year DeKalb County, Georgia resident. Lorraine attended Troy University where she received a B.S. degree in Political Science and Criminal Justice; a M.S. in The Administration of Criminal Justice and received an M.P.A. in Public Administration with a concentration in Economic Development and Grant Writing from Auburn University before attending John Marshall Law School. Lorraine holds a business certificate from Harvard University in Delivering Public Services: Efficiency, Equity and Quality. Lorraine has over two decades of experience in print media, mass communications, and management. A seasoned grant writer, Lorraine has developed state and federal proposals resulting in the procurement of millions in CDBG funding for state and local entities through the Auburn University Economic Development Institute.

Rebacca Arayan and Dr. Taiko Nakazawa.

Rebecca Arayan is the Executive Director of Villa International in Atlanta. Villa International is a 33-room residence founded in 1967 as a “home away from home” for international guests in Atlanta. Villa offers short-term housing for those looking for a friendly and affordable place to stay. Prior to this position she worked in the nonprofit sector as the executive director of the Georgia Radio Reading Service and as a development and grant writing consultant for local nonprofits and as the Director of Development for the Day1 radio program. She has a Master's Degree in Public Administration from Georgia State University and undergraduate degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Rebecca and her family live on-site at Villa. Her husband, Caren Arayan, is in supply train management and works at the Parts House in Stone Mountain. He is originally from Armenia (where Rebecca was stationed in the Peace Corps), and they have two teenaged children together.

 

Taiko Nakazawa is currently a student at Emory University at the Rollins School of Public Health. Dr. Nakazawa prided herself on providing whole-person healthcare to her oncology patients while also participating in extensive involvement in clinical trials at one of the top cancer centers in Japan. Her continued studies in Public Health at Emory will assist her in leveraging her medical experience for the betterment of health equity to the general public. She is specifically focusing on enhancing cancer treatment systems in low- and middle-income countries.