Health Matters: A Spotlight on the Health of Women and Girls in Fairfax County
Join the Fairfax County Commission for Women as it hosts a panel discussion on the health and well-being of women and girls in Fairfax County. Register for this free event and be part of this important conversation.
Annie Le-Hernandez is a supervisor with the Adult Behavioral Health Outpatient Program with the Community Services Board. She has been with the agency since 2010, first in Wellness and Health Promotion before moving to the BHOP in 2012. She previously provided services in the community to youth and adults and currently supervises programs that provide substance abuse and trauma services to women. Le-Hernandez is trained in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy and Trauma Recovery and Empowerment Model group work and has trained clinicians in both. She also has worked with day treatment programs for both adolescents and women and worked in inpatient settings providing assessments, counseling, and discharge planning. Le-Hernandez represents the CSB on the Fairfax County Domestic Violence Fatality Review Team.
Eileen Long-Farias has been The Women’s Center’s Education Program director since February 2015. Prior to that, she spent 17 years at the Pentagon where she provided counseling and crisis intervention services to the civilians, creating and providing numerous trainings, support groups, and workshops on a variety of subjects ranging from parenting and stress management to leadership development and team building. Eileen had the privilege of being a first responder to the needs of the Pentagon’s population during and after 9/11. In addition to working with traumatized individuals and groups, she trained and coordinated the Pentagon’s Crisis Assessment and Response Team, representing the mental health needs of the Pentagon population during drills and Pentagon police-organized exercises. Long-Farias also coordinated a teen program for the Foreign Service Youth Foundation for 10 years, which served the mental health and support needs of internationally mobile teens upon re-establishment in the U.S. Since 2006, Eileen has maintained a private practice in Fairfax, Virginia, specializing in anxiety, trauma, and mind/body therapeutic models.
Lady Nwadike, facilitator supervisor for the Public Health Youth Ambassador Program, which focuses on curriculum implementation and improvement, enjoys writing evidenced-based articles on health, research, science, and advocacy, with minority issues and interests at the forefront. She has had experience working with vulnerable communities focusing on emergency management, women’s health, communicable diseases, oncology, mental health, and health equity research. She has served as the Communications Center manager for the Fairfax County COVID-19 Response, a research assistant and program manager for the Department of Psychiatry at Medstar Georgetown University Hospital, and a community health specialist with the Division of Outreach and Engagement for Fairfax County Health Department. Nwadike has a master’s in biophysics and physiology with a concentration in integrative medicine and health sciences from Georgetown University.
Bonnie Stabile is associate dean for Student and Academic Affairs and associate professor in the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University (where she also founded and directs the Gender and Policy (GAP) Center). Her teaching repertoire in public policy and public administration includes courses on policy analysis, program evaluation, ethics, and gender. She was the 2019 recipient of the Schar School's Teaching Award. She co-authored Women, Power and Rape Culture: The Politics and Policy of Underrepresentation in 2022. Stabile served as editor-in-chief of World Medical & Health Policy, a peer reviewed academic journal published by Wiley, and has federal government experience, including acting installation coordinator of a U.S. Army post in Amberg, Germany; and program analyst for the Federal Home Loan Bank Board. Before that, she was program coordinator of the Senior Managers in Government Program at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
Melanie Akwule is founder & CEO of MINWO Inc., an economic development tech company that works with innovation ecosystems to provide culturally informed business development support. Utilizing her background in product management and data science, her company’s platform uses Artificial Intelligence to create uniquely tailored entrepreneurial experiences for the businesses within customers’ ecosystems. Since starting her technical career working for GE as a technical product manager in their Data Science Product division, Melanie has focused on unlocking value by transforming data from underutilized assets to actionable insights for her customers.
Hunter Gunn, LCSW, is the senior director of Community Health at Inova Cares for Women and Children. She is a social worker with over 25 years of experience working with myriad populations and social issues. Her specialty areas include child welfare, juvenile justice, forensics, mental health, special education, death and dying, maternal and child health, and chronic disease. She currently oversees management of the Women’s and Children’s Programs in Inova’s Community Health Service Line, which includes four women’s clinics and six children’s clinics in Northern Virginia.
As founder and CEO of SZH Consulting LLC, a management consulting firm specializing in the science and art of organizational development and effectiveness, Salima Hemani provides customized, research-driven solutions to Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, and various private and non-profit organizations to enhance their organizational health. Prior to launching SZH Consulting, Salima held senior leadership positions at global companies including Accenture, Northrop Grumman, Marriott International, and BAE Systems where she helped inform the strategic direction of talent management and organizational development functions. She has served on the board of directors for the International Coaching Federation DC and as the mentor/adviser for the Virginia Tech Executive MBA program.
Since July 2022, Jaime Hirschfeld has been director of Client Sales and Services at FlexProfessionals, where she spearheads the client-centric aspects of the business, driving business development and overseeing activities aimed at generating revenue. Prior to this role, she served as director of revenue development for a software company specializing in public libraries, contributing to community engagement, enhancing marketing impact, and optimizing fundraising initiatives. Before venturing into the software industry, she dedicated a decade to providing training, technical assistance, and grant support to community health centers and other federal grantees.
Monica Jackson is an experienced advocate for women and girls in Fairfax County. She has a background in early childhood education and has played a key role in supporting the development of educators, caregivers, and high school students. As an active Advisory Board member of the Fairfax Child Care Council and the Virginia Small Business Council, Monica has demonstrated her commitment to advocating for policies that promote the well-being of children and support small businesses in the community. She has also been invited to share her expertise with the FarmWise Committee, working to enhance access to nutritious food for families in Fairfax County.
Rida Karim serves as the student board member on the Fairfax County School Board, representing over 180,000 students. Through her position, she has dedicated herself to uplifting student voices and creating positive change in their educational experiences. Rida is passionate about empowering young people, advocating for equity, and amplifying the voices of students. Her sense of purpose lies in facilitating access to new opportunities for students, and she is dedicated to advocating continuously for progress. Rida firmly believes in the extraordinary potential within every student and pledges to work toward enabling them to make a positive impact on the world.
