Secretariat / Staff

Michael Epp,Executive Director, Pacific Island Health Officers Association (PIHOA) – Michael Epp is the Executive Director of PIHOA and was hired in March of 2007.  Michael began his work in health care at Kokua Kalihi Valley (KKV), an urban health center in Honolulu with a large Filipino, Samoan, and Micronesian clientele, where he spent eight years focusing on program and community development.  He subsequently served for two years as president of the KKV Board of Directors.  He has also worked for the Hawai'i Primary Care Association, where for five years he assisted in the startup of five new health centers in Hawai'i, as well as Wa’ab Community Health Center in Yap State, Federated States of Micronesia and the Pacific Islands Primary Care Association for the USAPI.  He has worked as a freelance strategic planner, facilitator and grant writer.

Gregory Dever, M.D.
Human Resources for Health (HRH) Coordinator 
Dr. Dever acts as a focal point for health workforce development among the six PIHOA members with the overall objective of developing a sustainable, appropriate and skilled workforce that can meet the health care needs of USAPI communities. Dr. Dever assists PIHOA members to articulate health workforce policy and strategies.  He coordinates resources and provides technical assistance by developing regional partnerships and implementing programs with health departments, hospitals and community colleges and health centers. Dr. Dever has lived and worked in the Pacific since 1968; he is a Pediatrician and Clinical Faculty at John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii and is a past Director of Clinical Services, Belau National Hospital, Ministry of Health of Palau.  He is the current director of the Palau Area Health Education Center and is author/or PI of numerous publications and several HRSA grants related to health workforce development.

Vasiti Uluiviti, MS
Regional Laboratory Coordinator
Vasiti manages PIHOA's regional laboratory system and offers technical assistance to  hospital laboratories for the six US-affiliated Pacific Islands and to reference laboratories in Guam and Hawaii.  She has been with PIHOA since 2005 and is based in the Guam Public Health Laboratory.  She also provides training, quality assurance, and other needed technical support to clinical and reference laboratories. She holds a Master of Medical Science (Pathology) and is Board certified with the American Society of Clinical Pathology as Technologist Microbiology. Vasiti is a pacific islander from Fiji, she is currently pursuing her doctoral studies in microbiology.

Mark Durand, M.D., MPH,
QA/QI and Health Information Systems Coordinator
Dr. Durand provides technical assistance and leadership to the PIHOA in areas related to Quality Assurance/Quality Improvement and Health Information Systems. He has worked extensively in health agencies throughout the USAPI in areas such as health workforce planning and development, development of disease surveillance systems, health information systems, strategic planning for health agencies, and quality assurance program development. He is the former director of health services in Yap State in the Federated States of Micronesia, a public health administrator/ medical director in the Northern Mariana Islands, and director of the Yap Area Health Education Center and a faculty member in the University of Hawaii- John A Burns School of Medicine- Palau Area Health Education Center -Community Health residency program for physicians. Dr. Durand has authored more than 30 peer-reviewed papers related to health services in the Pacific.

Alicia Sitan, Finance Officer
Alicia is the Finance Officer for PIHOA. She previously worked as an auditor of public and nonprofit entities for the past seven years. A graduate of Gonzaga University in Washington State, Alicia grew up and was raised on the Big Island of Hawaii. In addition, Alicia has has family connections in Micronesia.

Regie Tolentino, Administrative Manager
Regie provides the overall administrative support for the organization and its members. He is also responsible for coordinating meetings and conference calls; assisting with the procurement, accounting and finance of the organization; and maintaining PIHOA's events calendar, listservs and website. Regie grew up on the Island of Maui and is a graduate of the University of Hawaii at Manoa. He is also an Air Force Veteran with years of experience in events planning, office management, and logistics.

PIHOA Secretariat Staff:

Executive Directors

Roylinne Wada  (1987-1998) 
D. William Wood  (1999)                               
Stephen Karel  (2000)                    
Robert Tucker (2002 - 2005)                    
Pete Untalan (2005) Interim
Dave Rykken (2006) Interim
Gregory Dever (2007) Interim
Michael Epp (2007 - Present)