About Us

Wesley J. Picciotti, MPA
Director, IHS Clinical Support Center
Wesley.Picciotti@ihs.gov

Wes Picciotti is the Director of the IHS Clinical Support Center. He is responsible for the overall management and direction of the CSC, coordinating the office’s administrative responsibilities, maintaining our national presence and mission focus. Wes holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Community Health Education and a Masters in Public Administration from James Madison University. He started his IHS career 1986 working in the IHS Scholarship Program in Rockville, Maryland, making his way to Arizona and the CSC in the fall of 1993. Wes is Mandan-Hidatsa from the Three Affiliated Tribes, New Town, North Dakota. He is an IHS 437 Scholarship recipient, has received numerous awards during his IHS career, and is a graduate of the IHS Executive Leadership Development Program. He continues to enjoy working at the Clinical Support Center, the wonderful staff that he is privileged to work with every day, and is looking forward to the challenges of tomorrow.

Cheryl Begay
Secretary
Cheryl.Begay@ihs.gov

Cheryl Begay says Yah at teeh! She is a secretary and front receptionist for the Clinical Support Center. Her duties consist of greeting people who come to the CSC, front desk phone coverage, processing of incoming and outgoing mail, updating the database of our mailing labels, assisting with travel and training/conference coordination, and general secretarial duties for the personnel of the CSC. She works closely with the alcohol program by providing program/training assistance with the annual CUSAD training, preparing binders, handouts, agendas, slide presentation set up and providing on-site assistance at the trainings. She is the contact person for the conference room reservation and set up and also works with Dr. Hooper assisting him with the processing of Tort Claims. She is a production assistant for the monthly journal, The IHS Primary Care Provider. She would like to add that she is Navajo from Coyote Canyon, New Mexico, and she has been living in the valley for the past 16 years. She has been with the Indian Health Service for 15 years and thoroughly enjoys her job. She is currently attending school in her spare time and will be graduating this summer!

Gigi Holmes
Project Coordinator
Gigi.Holmes@ihs.gov

Georgianna “Gigi” Holmes is the Project Coordinator and the lead contact for the IHS Executive Leadership Development Program. She joined CSC in 1985 as an administrative secretary. Since that time, she has assumed additional roles to support IHS Headquarters with Special Initiatives, among them serving as the CSC liaison to the IHS Scholarship Program to coordinate student conferences, the scholarship committee member meetings, and the scholarship application review meetings. Gigi has been instrumental in revamping the business operations in the Clinical Support Center and is a contributing member improving the workflow for the Office of Continuing Education. Prior to CSC, Gigi served seven years as a secretary for the Phoenix Area Title I Education Program with the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Gigi is a 2005 recipient of the Phoenix Area Director’s Award and the 2007 National IHS Director’s Award for exemplary service and outstanding support to the IHS mission and goals.

Arlene Miguel-Johnson
Budget Analyst
Arlene.Miguel@ihs.gov

Arlene Miguel-Johnson is the Budget Analyst and is responsible for a wide variety of procedural and technical duties relating to budget and fund control under supervision of the Director of Clinical Support Center and is the Property Custodial Officer. She is responsible for secure storage and inventory control of personal property. Arlene is Quechan from Fort Yuma, CA and joined CSC in August of 1984.

April Tinhorn, MS
IT Specialist
April.Tinhorn@ihs.gov

April Tinhorn is an information technology specialist for the Indian Health Service Clinical Support Center where she is improving a continuing education database application for health professionals, co-manages the Department of Health and Human Services Learning Management System (LMS) project for IHS, leads the on-site audio-visual support at CSC sponsored conferences, and ensures the CSC web presence is current. During her twelve year professional career, April has worked in both the federal and private sectors. Her technical endeavors have ranged from providing technical assistance to Department of State Embassies in Europe for the National Security Agency (NSA) to writing automation scripts for storage servers at IBM. She has five years of IHS experience, and her previous position was the web developer for the Phoenix Area IHS. Originally from Peach Springs, Arizona, and an enrolled member of the Hualapai Nation, April holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Arizona State University and a Master of Science degree from Johns Hopkins University, both in Computer Science. She is a graduate of the USDA Graduate School New Leader Program (NLP) and the IHS Executive Leadership Development Program (ELDP).

Dora Bradley, MPH, RN
Director, Office of Continuing Education
Theodora.Bradley@ihs.gov

CAPT Dora R. Bradley is the Director of the Office of Continuing Education at the IHS Clinical Support Center national program overseeing the professional continuing education support for a variety of clinical disciplines agency-wide, including Tribal and Urban facilities and programs with similar educational interests and missions. Dora is a member of the Navajo Nation originally from Chinle, Arizona. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing from Arizona State University and a Masters of Public Health degree in Health Administration and Policy from the University of Arizona. Since 1987, Dora has worked for the Indian Health Service at various locations throughout Arizona: Chinle, Whiteriver, Sacaton, and Phoenix. She is an IHS 437 Scholarship recipient beginning her career with the COSTEP program, and later as a Pediatric, Medical-Surgical, Clinical, and Quality Improvement Nurse serving various tribes and communities. Dora is a Captain with the U.S. Public Health Service. She is an active member of several professional associations including the Commissioned Officers Association, the American Indian/Alaska Native Commissioned Officers Advisory Committee, the National Nursing Staff Development Organization, the Native American Nurses Association, and the Arizona State University Native American Alumni Chapter. She is a graduate of the IHS Executive Leadership Development Program.

Tamara Bahe
Secretary
Tamara.Bahe@ihs.gov

Tamara R. Bahe is the Secretary for the Office of Continuing Education in the IHS Clinical Support Center. She works closely with the CSC Educators and field CE coordinators to process continuing education certificates. Tamara came from the private sector where she established strong networks of contacts in the water drilling industry, as well as the grant and public school systems. The scope of her experience spans virtually all aspects of sales, marketing and logistics, as well as team building and leadership, technology implementation, and operation administration. Tamara is from the Navajo Nation originally from Chinle, Arizona.

Erma Casuse, CDA
Dental Assistant Educator
Erma.Casuse@ihs.gov

Erma J. Casuse is a Certified Dental Assistant (CDA) and is the Coordinator of Dental Assisting Education for the IHS Division of Oral Health. She develops and presents clinical and managerial continuing education courses for assistants, hygienists, and dentist in IHS, Tribal, and Urban dental programs.

E.Y. Hooper
Agency Risk Manager
Edward.Hooper@ihs.gov

EY Hooper is a family medicine physician who has served in the IHS for 33 years, the first thirty as a commissioned officer, and more recently as a civil servant. He has had the privilege of working at CSC for the past 20 years and currently is tasked with Risk Management-related activities for IHS headquarters at CSC half-time, as well as providing outpatient clinical care at PIMC the remainder of the week.

Lisa Palucci, MSN, RN
Nurse Educator
Lisa.Palucci@ihs.gov

As the Nurse Educator for the Office of Continuing Education at the IHS Clinical Support Center, LCDR Lisa Palucci is charged with overseeing and facilitating accreditation for continuing nursing education nationally to IHS, Tribal, and Urban programs and facilities. Originally from Gallup, New Mexico and a member of the Navajo Nation, she holds her BSN degree from Arizona State University and an MSN degree from the University of Phoenix. LCDR Palucci is an IHS 437 and Section 112 Scholarship alum and has worked in the IHS since 1998. She has gained her nursing experience in IHS as well as the private sector which includes: pediatrics, pediatric emergency, pediatric burn/trauma, neonatal intensive care- Level II, newborn nursery, pediatric/geriatric long term care, and public health nursing. Lisa is the current President-elect of the National Alaska Native American Indian Nurses Association, an Executive Board Member of the National Coalition of Ethnic Minority Nurses Association and an active member in the IHS National Nurse Leadership Council. She is also the Administrative Affairs Commander for the USPHS Phoenix Area Honor Guard.

John Saari, MD
Medical Educator
John.Saari@ihs.gov

Dr. Saari has worked for the Indian Health Service for more than 34 years as a physician (family practice and geriatrics) and medical educator. He is responsible for maintaining the accreditation status of the Clinical Support Center and overseeing the sponsorship process for continuing medical education activities supported by CSC. He is the editor of The IHS Primary Care Provider.

Sandra Sorrell
Program Assistant
Sandra.Sorrell@ihs.gov

Sandra is Dine and grew up in Window Rock, Arizona, the capitol of the Navajo Nation. She is currently pursuing an undergraduate degree in Interdisciplinary Studies with a concentration in Organizational Studies at Arizona State University. Ms. Sorrell has experience in the private sector in retail services and architectural administration, as well as 8 years experience with the Phoenix Area Indian Health Service. Since 2004, Ms. Sorrell has been an integral part of the CSC team as the Program Assistant and the main point of contact for the Office of Continuing Education where she performs a wide-range of administrative responsibilities working closely with the CSC Educators and IHS, Tribal, and Urban healthcare professionals nationwide.

Edward Stein, PharmD, MPH
Pharmacy Educator
Edward.Stein@ihs.gov

CDR Ed Stein is a pharmacist who has served in the U.S. Public Health Service for over 14 years, all of them in the Indian Health Service. He began his IHS career at the Cibecue Health Center, moved to the Whiteriver Indian Hospital, and is currently the Pharmacist Educator at the IHS Clinical Support Center. His current duties are focused on the recruitment of pharmacists for IHS. CDR Stein received his Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Creighton University, completed a residency in Ambulatory Care Pharmacy, and holds a Masters of Public Health from the University of Massachusetts. His areas of interest include pharmacy practice, rural health care, and health care disparities.