Meet the authors and team behind the DES.
Our team
AUTHOR
Deborah L Plummer, PhD
Deborah L Plummer, PhD. is a nationally recognized psychologist and diversity solutions thought leader. She was formerly the Vice Chancellor/Chief Diversity Officer at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, and she remains an adjunct professor in the Department of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences at UMass Chan Medical School. Dr. Plummer has held past roles as a staff psychologist at Oberlin College, Chief Diversity Officer at Cleveland Clinic, and was the founding director of the master’s degree program in diversity management at Cleveland State University. She was named by Becker’s Hospital Review as one of the Top 15 Chief Diversity Officers to Know.
As consultant and founder of D.L. Plummer & Associates, a firm specializing in diversity management and organizational development, Dr. Plummer provided diversity assessment for corporations, including Fortune 500 companies, community mental health agencies, public and private school systems, and faith-based institutions.
AUTHOR
Jeroan Allison, MD, MS
Jeroan Allison, MD, MS. is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, where he also serves as Associate Vice Provost for Health Disparities Research. Dr. Allison’s research focuses on quality measurement, implementation science, and statistical methodology, with an emphasis on eliminating racial/ethnic disparities in medical care and health outcomes. He has more than 170 peer-reviewed publications in print or press.
AUTHOR, CURRENT DIRECTOR
Sharina Person, PhD
Sharina Person, PhD. is a Professor and Vice Chair Department of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School. She is also currently a senior faculty member in the Quantitative Methods Core which provides consultative services to UMass Chan investigators in the areas of study design, sample size, power calculations, statistical analysis plans, statistical programming, data entry and management, and project coordination. Prior to joining the faculty of UMass Chan she was Associate Professor of Medicine, Biostatistics, and Psychology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham for twelve years. Dr. Person has extensive experience and expertise in coordinating center operations and methods as well as in quality assurance, study design and methodology and the application of various statistical modeling techniques particularly in large-scale collaborative research studies. Her current research interests include statistical methodologies to understand the underlying mechanisms of health disparities.
SENIOR DATA WHISPERER
Darleen Lessard, MS
Darleen Lessard is a senior biostatistician in the Department of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School. Darleen has 26 years of experience conducting statistical analysis on a wide variety of projects. Darleen joined the DES team in 2021. She is responsible for producing our benchmark datasets and providing statistical analysis support for ad hoc reporting.
COORDINATOR EXTRAORDINAIRE
Rebecca Gigliello
Rebecca is a Health Outcomes Specialist in the Department of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School. She joined the DES team in 2021. Rebecca leads our licensing arm and handles many of our client logistics and orientation meetings.
PROGRAM MANAGER, TEAM LEAD
Elizabeth Orvek, MS, MBA
Liz Orvek is a data manager and technical project manager in the Department of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School. She is also currently a consulting member in the Quantitative Methods Core. In 2016, she was the first person to join Dr. Person’s DES team. Liz was responsible for developing the business processes that allow the team to quickly and effectively meet our customers’ needs. Her background in data management, statistical analysis, and survey design ensures that our strict quality standards are never compromised, and the integrity of the DES is preserved on every implementation.
LOGISTICS EXPERT
Marilyn Rosenberg
Marilyn is a Research Data Specialist in the Department of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School. Marilyn joined the DES team in 2018. She is the glue that keeps the DES team together and ensures all the t’s are crossed and i’s are dotted for every DES administration.