Melissa Wendland 

Director, Strategic Initiatives, Common Ground Health

Melissa facilitates multi-stakeholder commissions that address systemic challenges in the health care workforce, long-term care, and health inequities among the rural poor. She is a legislative advocate highlighting opportunities at the NYS Department of Health, Department of Education and Assembly. 

Past successes include coordinating a community-wide grant submission that awarded $26.6M to the Finger Lakes region from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation as part of the Affordable Care Act Center for Innovation, facilitating a $3.2M community-wide award to improve care transitions for high-risk Medicare beneficiaries, and designing a neighborhood-based health screening and education clinic in.

Melissa’s accomplished facilitation and interpersonal skills distinguish her as an effective leader as she develops trust and collaborative relationships among community partners.

Melissa has presented at the European Association for Communication in Healthcare, the American Association for Communication in Healthcare, the Annual Academy Health Research meeting, and conducted webinars for IPRO and Dorland Health. Her qualitative research is published in the Journal of Academic Medicine, “The Impact of a Program in Mindful Communication on Primary Care Physicians.

Evelyn Garzetta

Executive Director, Grace Latino/Immigrant Outreach (GLO/GIO)

Mrs. Garzetta is the Executive Director of Grace Latino/Immigrant Outreach (GLO/GIO) Engaging People In Change (EPIC) through Grace Episcopal Church Millbrook, in Dutchess County, NY since 2008.  She works with immigrants living in the Northeast part of Dutchess County helping them to live healthy and productive lives in their community.  As part of this effort, she also chairs the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation Latino/Immigrant Outreach Roundtable Advisory Committee. Through her GLO/GIO labors there are ESL classes in Dover, Millbrook, Millerton, Pine Plains, Pleasant Valley, and Pawling. In 2014 she was one of the honorees at LA VOZ Ten Year Anniversary ‘Fiesta Celebration’.  In 2018 she was an Honoree for the Hispanic Heritage Community Service Award. 

Evelyn is a parishioner at Grace Episcopal Church Millbrook, NY where she is on the  Vestry.  She was the Coordinator of the ‘Food of Life/Comida de Vida Food Pantry’ through its inception and for its first three years in operation. 

Prior to her career retirement in 2008, she was a Facilities Director in charge of fourteen offices throughout the country for a trade magazine publishing firm and, as such, was a member of International Facilities Managers Association (IFMA).

A devoted grandmother of ten, Evelyn and her husband, Joe, are longtime residents of Millerton, New York.