Advocacy = raising your voice about issues that matter to you
When you speak about what your community health center means to you, you are an advocate. Here at Sun River Health Advocacy we believe that your opinion matters.
That’s why Sun River Health Advocacy is working to connect you with resources to Raise Your Voice.
Did you know that Sun River Health is a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC)? This means each year we receive grant money from the government. The National and State Budgets are essential to us because they affect the services that we can offer.
For example, public programs like Medicaid pay Sun River Health for the health care services we provide to our patients. Without this funding, we could not offer services to people who are most in need.
Unfortunately, not everyone sees funding for FQHCs as essential.
That’s where you come in.
When you raise your voice, you let your elected officials know that Sun River Health and community health centers matter.
Sun River Health Advocacy will give you the tools and information you need to empower your community and become active in the decisions that impact your health, your neighborhoods, and your life. Together, we can find solutions that work.
Meet the Team
Anne
Anne Kauffman Nolon, MPH has provided vision and leadership to Sun River Health as Chief Executive Officer for over 40 years. She is responsible for guiding the growth and development of one of the largest networks of community health centers in New York State from a single primary care site in Peekskill to a network of over 40 directly operated Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) throughout the Hudson Valley, New York City, and Long Island; additional health centers through sub-recipient agreements, including health centers serving the developmentally disabled; mobile health center vans; and a regional migrant voucher program serving an 11-county agricultural region in southeastern New York State. Mrs. Nolon was named a Geiger Gibson Distinguished Visitor in Community Health Policy at the George Washington School of Public Health and Health Services where she focused on health care policy for improving access to care for migrant and seasonal farmworkers, and was also appointed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services to the National Advisory Council on Migrant Health for four years. She has been a member of the CHCANYS Board of Directors since the organization’s inception and now serves as Chair of the Fundraising Committee. Among her many awards and honors, she was inducted into the NACHC Grassroots Advocacy Hall of Fame in 2015. Mrs. Nolon received her Master’s Degree in Public Health from Columbia University and her Bachelor of Science in Health Policy and Planning from the Pennsylvania State University.
Joao
Joao is the Director of Government Affairs and Advocacy at Sun River Health, managing local, federal, and state-level interactions with elected officials throughout the Hudson Valley and Long Island. Joao first came to Sun River Health as one of its many uninsured patients, later joining the organization as an Outreach and Enrollment Community Health Worker, enrolling patients, and community members into the various insurance programs available through the New York State of Health insurance exchange created by the Affordable Care Act. Joao went on to coordinate the ACA insurance enrollment organization-wide before joining the U.S. Army as a Combat Medic Specialist, where he was stationed at Ft. Meade, Maryland. After fulfilling his active-duty contract, Joao returned to New York and Sun River Health. Having seen firsthand the contrasting worlds of those without insurance and the all-inclusive benefits afforded military members, Joao became passionate in bridging that gap and providing health care for all. It is with that ethos that Joao advocates for Sun River Health, its patients, and the community at large. Joao received his master’s degree in Health Administration from Fordham University and currently serves in the New York National Guard JFHQ-Medical Detachment.
James
James Shuford is Project Manager of Migrant Health at Sun River Health. In addition to supporting the organization’s farmworker health care programming, James works with the Community Health Center Association of New York State in building a collaborative workgroup of organizations providing farmworker health care services throughout the state. James also advocates nationally for farmworker health as a member of the AgAccess 2020 taskforce, and has presented to the National Advisory Council on Migrant Health. In addition to his work increasing access to care for agricultural workers, he also works with the Sun River Health Advocacy team to organize events with elected officials in the Hudson Valley, and is a trained Advocate through the Advocacy Institute. James received his master’s degree in socio-cultural anthropology from the University at Albany, SUNY.
