| National capital area Environmental health Association |
2023 Board of directors
President
Nicole Gragasin, REHS/RS, cpo
| Nicole Gragasin has worked as an Environmental Health Specialist II for the Fairfax County Health Department from 2013 to 2023 before transitioning to the Industry field. Originally from California, Nicole graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science in Health Sciences with an option in Community Health from California State University, Long Beach. Nicole began her career in 2013 with Fairfax County as an Environmental Health Technician for the OS&W section conducting recreational water facility inspections and private well water inspections. She soon advanced on to become an Environmental Health Specialist II where she gained further experience in food safety, hotel, and child care inspections for the Consumer Protection Program. In addition, Nicole works was part of the Plan Review team where duties include review approval of plans for new and emerging restaurants and first routine inspections. Nicole has served on multiple notable committees within the Health Department including the Active Managerial Control team, Temporary Food Establishment Committee, EH IT team, the Fairfax Co.'s HD Customer Service team and has 2 Cohort year experience with NACCHO mentoring program. Furthermore, she is an active general member with NEHA and maintains the NEHA REHS/RS credential. Nicole first became involved with NCAEHA as a general member in 2014 and gained many networks and committee experience with fellow NCAEHA members. In 2018, Nicole joined the Board of Directors as VP of Membership, serving two full terms. Simultaneously, she assumed the role of Director of Communications as the creator behind all email blasts, newsletter publications, annual reports, and advertising designs. Nicole's notable highlights with NCAEHA include the development and implementation of this new Membership Platform website which has launched January 2020, which has evolved and modernized NCAEHA's membership records, payment and financial transactions, email blasts, are more! |
VP of CommunicationsEVA RAMA & KARA HOISINGTON, MPH |
As a Northern Virginia native, Eva graduated in 2019 with a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental and Sustainability Studies with a concentration in Environmental Policy and Economics from George Mason University. Eva has worked on a number of projects throughout her college and professional career, such as: outreach for honeybee conservation initiatives, promoting the use of native plants, developing sustainability presentations and analyzing energy efficiency for multiple operating divisions, and documenting and visualizing high priority walkway restoration projects. Eva now continues her passion for education, customer service, and public service within the Consumer Protection Program as an Environmental Health Specialist II at the Fairfax County Health Department. In her free time, Eva enjoys art, thrifting, and spending time outdoors. Kara Hoisington is an Environmental Health Specialist II for the Fairfax County Health Department. Kara earned her B.S. in Community Health and M.P.H. in Health Policy from George Mason University. In her time at Mason, she was a Teaching Assistant for introductory epidemiology and an assistant coordinator for the Covid-19 vaccination clinic at Eagle Bank Arena. Kara’s first introduction to Environmental Health work was with the Arlington County Health Department as a pool inspector during summer of 2019. She currently works in the Consumer Protection Program which encompasses food, tourist, and pool inspections. Outside of work her life revolves around her dog, Miss Lucy. |
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VP of programs and professional advancementamanda Coletti, mph, rehs/rs, CPO |
| Amanda Losardo Coletti graduated from The State University of New York College at Oneonta in 2014 with a BS in Human Biology. She earned her Master of Public Health with a concentration in Epidemiology from George Mason University in 2017. Amanda started her career in environmental health working as an Environmental Technician in the Disease Carrying Insects Program (DCIP) at the Fairfax County Health Department. Amanda then interned at the United States Environmental Protection Agency and worked on a wide variety of projects, including but not limited to, pesticides, asbestos, air quality, and drinking water. After her internship, Amanda was hired as an Environmental Technician with the Onsite Sewage and Water Program at the Fairfax County Health Department. She then moved on to food inspections by working as an Environmental Health Specialist in the Food Protection Program for the Prince George's County Health Department. Amanda currently works as an Environmental Health Specialist in the Food Protection Program for the Alexandria Health Department. She has worked in many different areas of environmental health and recently earned her REHS. Amanda currently resides in Alexandria, VA and enjoys cooking and spending time with her corgi, Finn. |
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SecretaryKendra Washington, REHS/RS, CP-FS, CPOKendra Washington is a graduate of Ohio University, with a bachelor’s degree in environmental health science, and began work as an intern with Columbus Public Health, where she worked on a project to improve outreach to Mandarin Speaking Restaurant operators. Kendra first began her professional career as a Sanitarian with the Charles County Department of Health in 2014, where she covered various duties including overseeing the Transient Non-Community water sampling program, rabies control, and food safety. From 2016 to 2020 she worked as an Environmental Health Specialist Sr. for the City of Alexandria, covering tourist lodging, aquatic health, and food safety. She currently holds a position at the Arlington County Public Health Division as An Environmental Health Specialist, working in the food safety program as the Temporary Event Lead, and as a lead risk assessor for the district. She also maintains several public health credentials, including the REHS, CP-FS, CPO, and Virginia lead risk assessor certificate. In her free time, she enjoys travelling the world, visiting museums, cycling, and learning coding to streamline database processes and procedures, and building websites. |
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TreAsurerJulia Balsley, REHS/RS |
| Julia Balsley graduated from Salisbury University in 1998 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Health. That summer she began her career as an Environmental Sanitarian with the State of Maryland for the Anne Arundel County Health Department in the Community & Housing Protection Program. In 2001 she became an Environmental Health Specialist with Arlington County's Public Health Division. In the Environmental Health Program, she performs food, hotel and water recreational facility inspections, reviews architectural plans and performs lead risk assessments of children with elevated blood lead levels. Julia first joined NCAEHA in 2000. She has served as the President, Virginia Representative, Secretary and has sat on the By-Laws, Elections & Awards Committees. She maintains NEHA's REHS/RS credential and has a Lead Risk Assessor License from the Commonwealth of Virginia. In 2015 she was presented the Jerrold M. Michael Award in recognition of her dedicated service to Environmental Health. She is currently our Past President as well as our Treasurer. |
Washington DC RepresentativeAmanda bartoAmanda Barto is originally from upstate New York and graduated from The State University of New York College at Plattsburgh in 2013. Amanda began her new career path in 2020 with the City of Alexandria Health Department where she does inspections for food safety, tourist lodging, and aquatic health. Prior to becoming an Environmental Health Specialist she was a Quality Management Specialist for The Steritech Group from 2017- 2020 and worked in the food industry 2010 to 2017. Amanda currently lives in Georgetown, DC and spends her free time baking, crocheting, reading and spending time with her dog Duckie. |
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Maryland representativeErin Miller |
| Erin Miller has been with the Alexandria Health Department since 2010, working as an Environmental Health Specialist Senior, EH Technical Specialist (DSO) and in her current role as an EH Supervisor overseeing the Food Safety Program. Erin started her EH journey with an internship with Indian Health Services in Alaska, and also worked for the Miami-Dade Health Department in Florida for 2.5 years. She earned her B.S. in Environmental Health from Western Carolina University (go Catamounts!), and her M.P.H. from Florida International University. Erin previously served on the NCAEHA Board for a few years as the Virginia Representative. She has resided in Maryland since 2013 with her husband, and has 2 kids and a dog. In her spare time, she spends time with her family and enjoys traveling. |
Virginia RepresentativeMarcella SikonMarcella Sikon graduated from William and Mary with a B.S in Kinesiology. She began her career in food safety working with a quality assurance company for 2.5 years. After that, Marcella joined the Alexandria Health Department, where she now supervises the Aquatic Health, Well, Hotel and Vector programs. She has been with AHD for 6 years now and enjoys the people and the community she works with. Prior to her career in Environmental Health, Marcella became a trained pastry chef. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her 4 kids and making funny puns. |  |
industry liaIson |
Caroline Friel
| Caroline graduated from Trinity College Dublin Ireland with a BS in Environmental Health and completed a Master’s Degree in Public Health from Temple University in Philadelphia. She started her career working as an Environmental Health Officer in the UK. A visit to family in the Philadelphia area in 1990 resulted in a position as a public health officer with the City of Philadelphia Health Department. From there she moved on to a corporate auditor with Acme Markets, followed by a Quality Control manager position in manufacturing. A further role in food safety consultancy led to a position with Wawa for the past 21 years. Caroline is part of the Quality Assurance Risk and Safety team at Wawa and is responsible for all aspects of food safety compliance. She also oversees Wawa’s internal food safety audit program. |
