Our Team

Senior Leadership

Onora Lien

Onora Lien is the Executive Director of the Northwest Healthcare Response Network (NWHRN), a nonprofit healthcare organization that serves as the backbone for Washington state’s healthcare system in times of crisis. Under her leadership, NWHRN has become a nationally recognized public-private partnership, bringing together hospitals, public health agencies, emergency responders, and other key stakeholders to improve disaster preparedness and response.

With more than 20 years of experience in health security, emergency management, and nonprofit leadership, Onora has worked across the government, nonprofit, and academic sectors to advance public health and disaster readiness. She provides expertise on improving healthcare and public health system capabilities for wide-ranging disasters and public health threats. Before leading NWHRN, she played a key role in building disaster preparedness and capabilities across Washington while working at Public Health – Seattle & King County.

Susan Koppelmann

Director of Preparedness and Response, is a highly respected leader in disaster planning, preparedness, and humanitarian response, with over 20 years of experience driving innovative solutions to complex community and healthcare challenges. Susan oversees comprehensive programs that enhance disaster readiness across Western Washington.

Throughout her career, Susan has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to building resilient systems and fostering collaboration among diverse partners. She is a skilled strategist, balancing business intelligence with a hands-on approach to ensure effective program implementation, capacity building, and fiscal responsibility. Under her guidance, the Network has become the backbone in Washington in healthcare system disaster preparedness.

Before joining the Network in 2016, Susan served in key leadership roles at the American Red Cross Western Washington Chapters and led regional disaster planning and response efforts, including statewide volunteer coordination as President of Washington Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (WAVOAD). Susan’s expertise spans strategic planning, partner engagement, and program development, with a proven track record of integrating community-driven approaches to meet critical healthcare and humanitarian needs.

Cheryl Gaze

Director of People Operations, oversees all aspects of internal human resources, including employee relations, employment law compliance, compensation, recruiting, performance management, and DEIB strategies in the organization. She comes to NWHRN from a position as the Director of HR at REACH, an affordable housing nonprofit organization. In that position, she developed HR strategic plans; trained managers on various HR issues, employee onboarding and interviewing techniques; administered benefit programs; and supported the development of employees through professional development and performance management.

Prior to working at REACH, Cheryl was the Human Resources and Office Manager at a Managed Service Provider company, supporting IT needs of small to medium sized businesses.  Cheryl is a people and culture professional with over 20 years of HR experience. Cheryl has her Professional in Human Resources certification through the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM).

Clinical Leadership

Vicki Sakata, MD, FAAEM, FAAP

Dr. Vicki Sakata serves as Senior Medical Advisor, leading clinical planning efforts and providing clinical inputs which inform the Network’s initiatives. Dr. Sakata is double-boarded and residency trained in General Emergency Medicine and Pediatrics as well as sub-specialty board-certified in Pediatric Emergency Medicine. She is an Associate Clinical Professor at the University of Washington, Seattle. Her disaster response experience started with her first job after residency managing a 30-bed NICU in Sialkot, Pakistan. Since then, she has worked and volunteered her medical expertise internationally and nationally. Dr. Sakata is also medical officer for WA-1 DMAT and MAC-T NDMS response teams. She received her M.D. from the University of Colorado, received Pediatric residency training at the University of Washington, and Emergency Medicine residency training at Madigan Army Medical Center.

Team

Elya Baltazar

District Manager, works with the District Team to ensure district specific planning, training and exercises is implemented in support of coalition partners. Additionally, in collaboration with the Planning and Preparedness Manager, she supports the development of comprehensive training and exercise activities throughout NWHRN’s service area. Elya is responsible for the implementation of the Network’s programs and activities and works in collaboration with the local community on initiatives. Elya joined the Network in July of 2017 from Kitsap Public Health (KPH) Emergency Preparedness and Response Department. At KPH, she created and taught preparedness curriculum, and bolstered emergency plans and procedures for her facility and community. Her previous experience also includes many years as an Emergency Medical Technician. Elya holds a BA in Disaster and Emergency Management.

Wilnie Charlot

Senior Accounting Manager, is responsible for financial compliance and all accounting and bookkeeping transactions of the organization. In addition to entering transactions and preparing monthly financial reports, she monitors cash flow and ensures compliance with organizational policies, budgetary guidelines as well as GAAP and federal contract rules and regulations. Wilnie has a Masters of Science in Accounting from Suffolk University as well as a BS in Accounting.

Amanda Davis

Bookkeeper, handles the organization’s day-to-day accounting operations, including bookkeeping, payroll, grant compliance, and financial reporting. Before joining NWHRN, Amanda was with the Holocaust Center for Humanity for twelve years. While at the Holocaust Center, she managed financial operations, produced financial and programmatic reports for internal and external stakeholders, supported the Development team, and served as database manager. Amanda has a BA in Religion from Pacific Lutheran University.

Erin Dufresne, MBA/HCM

Administrative Operations Manager, is responsible for leading and supporting administrative processes and systems of the organization, as well as overseeing and updating contact management processes. Erin has an extensive background providing program and administrative support to leaders in a healthcare setting, including work at The Polyclinic. She holds a MBA/HCM from the University of Phoenix, a BA in Psychology from Argosy University, and Professional Administrative Certification of Excellence from the American Society of Administrative Professionals.

Michael Halfen, MS, CEM

Operational Planning Coordinator, is responsible for leading operational planning efforts supporting the Network and our partners. Michael’s efforts focus on the review and updating of NWHRN plans, annexes, and appendices. Prior to NWHRN, Michael worked at the Washington DC Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency (HSEMA) as an Emergency Management Specialist where he helped write and maintain emergency management plans and operating procedures, ensured compliance of EMAP standards and protocols, and activated in response to Federal and District-wide incidents. Michael also has experience as a Disaster Program Manager for the American Red Cross in central Texas. Michael has a MS in Emergency Management and recently became a Certified Emergency Manager (CEM) thru the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM).

Kelly Hill

Deputy Director of Preparedness and Response, is responsible for the Network’s coalition planning, training and exercise, and volunteer development activities. She supports the development of comprehensive training and exercise activities and assists healthcare members in NWHRN’s service area to meet accreditation, licensing, and regulatory compliance standards for emergency preparedness. Since joining the NWHRN Team in Oct 2018, Kelly has served as the North District Coordinator, District Manager, and most recently the Planning and Preparedness Manager. Kelly joined NWHRN from the Northwest Region of the American Red Cross. Prior to the Red Cross, Kelly worked in animal welfare, responding to large-scale disasters and cruelty cases through the ASPCA. Kelly has experience in disaster response, operational planning, preparedness, partnership management and development, and volunteer management. Her Board experience includes work with the Humane Society of Skagit Valley and Washington Federation of Animal Care and Control Agencies.

Sierra Knutson

Coalition District Coordinator, is responsible for the implementation of NWHRN’s preparedness, response and recovery programs and activities throughout Eastern Washington. She has nearly a decade of experience in public health, including four years as the Regional Coordinator for Region 8 at Benton-Franklin Health District where she oversaw the Emergency Preparedness Program, which manages activities for the Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response (PHEPR) program. In addition, Sierra has worked with both the Walla Walla Housing Authority and the Walla Walla County Department of Community Health where she was project lead for the “Home Away Washington” initiative that was tasked with ending youth homelessness. Her Board experience includes Board Chair for American Red Cross, Central and Southeastern Washington.  Sierra has a BS in Psychology from Washington State University.

Bernardo Lactaoen

Program Administrative and Volunteer Coordinator, provides comprehensive support for the Network’s healthcare preparedness, response, and recovery initiatives. He coordinates, implements, and supports key activities within the NWHRN program team as well as leads the development and operations of NWHRN’s Volunteer Program. During the Network’s COVID-19 response, Bernardo served as Logistics Chief. Bernardo joined NWHRN in 2016 from the Northwest Region of the American Red Cross where he was the Senior Operations Assistant and Executive Coordinator.

Jennifer Lord

Planning, Training and Exercise Manager, is responsible for the development and implementation of the Network’s planning, training and exercise programs and serves as the Network’s subject matter expert in these areas. Working with other coalition staff, Jennifer ensures the Network’s preparedness plans, training and exercise programs support the Network’s planning efforts and address community needs based on partner’s varying capabilities and standards requirements. Prior to working at the Network, she was sole proprietor with Disaster Practice Consulting offering emergency preparedness planning and exercise design services. Jennifer is an adjunct professor for Thomas Jefferson University’s Emergency and Disaster Management Master’s program teaching Principles of Disaster Exercises and Drills. Jennifer brings extensive experience to her work as former consumer marketing manager, long-time EMT and hospital emergency manager for several health systems in CT and WA, including disaster responses to 9/11, H1N1, Hurricanes Irene and Sandy and COVID-19.

She holds an MS degree in Disaster Medicine and Management and a Graduate Certificate in Business Continuity through Philadelphia University (now Thomas Jefferson University.) Jennifer is a Certified Emergency Manager (CEM) with the International Association of Emergency Managers and a Master Exercise Practitioner (MEP) through FEMA’s National Emergency Management Institute.

Rodney Martin

Business Systems Administrator, is responsible for leading the implementation and maintenance of NWHRN’s computing environment, information technology systems, business systems and software. Rodney has years of experience as an IT professional, working as network administrator, cloud engineer and fraud and cybersecurity analyst. Before joining NWHRN, Rodney was a System Administrator for Isomedia, where he was responsible for their Azure/AWS/GCC accounts, system maintenance, and designing & migrating client environments to Azure 365. His prior experience includes work as Technical Program Manager for Amazon Web Services in which he launched a new Cape Town South Africa support site for AWS. He also has experience implementing HIPAA’s IT structure requirements for a healthcare provider. Rodney has an Associate’s Degree in Information Technology.

Meagan McCoy

Coalition Workforce Readiness Coordinator, works on continuity and improvement to NWHRN’s response capabilities, focusing on preparedness activities related to NWHRN’s response. She engages and works closely with external partners, such as healthcare organizations, public health, emergency management and EMS, to ensure that NWHRN’s capabilities align with their response needs. Prior to joining NWHRN, Meagan worked as a Training and Exercise Coordinator with Idaho North Central District Public Health where she partnered with the local healthcare coalition, emergency managers, hospitals, and other organizations. Meagan has served in the U.S. Airforce in the role of Maintenance Production Management, where she planned and scheduled all maintenance on $1.2B in national assets vital to the security and defense of the United States. Meagan has a MS in Emergency and Disaster Management from the American Military University, Charles Town, West Virginia.

Stacy Parizek

Response Operations Manager who currently leads the response operations team to develop and maintain NWHRN response capabilities and plans, essential elements of information (EEI), situational awareness, and readiness strategies to support healthcare systems response. Stacy joined NWHRN in 2020, working in the Situational Support Unit to support the long COVID-19 response, including overseeing an evolution of our data collection, reporting capabilities and situational awareness processes. He transitioned into a Response Operations Coordinator role before becoming a manager. Stacy has more than two decades of experience in Fire and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) as the former Director of Operations for Olympic Ambulance and volunteer Firefighter/Emergency Medical Technician with two different fire agencies. Stacy has also served as an integral member of several pivotal groups throughout his career including the Medical Officers Group for Kitsap County Emergency Medical Services, Vice President of the Long-Term Care Alliance, Fire Service Advisory Committee for Olympic College, and Kitsap County’s EMS Protocol Committee in 2015 and 2019. He also participated in Mass Casualty Incident and Infectious Disease planning workgroups and helped to plan exercises involving local, state and federal agencies. Stacy holds a BA from Western Washington University with an emphasis in Mental Health and Industrial Organizational Psychology.

Kelly Sunagel

North District Coordinator, is responsible for the implementation of NWHRN’s preparedness, response and recovery programs and activities throughout North District. Kelly joined NWHRN from almost 10 years at the NW Region of American Red Cross (ARC). Her most recent position there was as Regional Senior Engagement Specialist, where she supervised the volunteers who screen, place, and onboard all new volunteers for the NW Region, which included Washington State, part of Idaho and part of Oregon. Her work at ARC included several deployments both locally and nationally. In her different roles she helped build up the volunteer structures, bolster retention, foster culture and ensure resources and assets were available for partners. Separately, she has spent time investing in military families as a WA Army National Guard Family Readiness Group lead. She has a great passion for serving those around her and being part of the community and preparedness. Kelly has a BS from Central Washington University.

Kara Welchel

WATrac and EEI Program Coordinator, assists the Network and statewide partners as the WATrac Administrator. Kara also performs vital operations support such as situational data gathering and report preparations. Prior to becoming a staff member, Kara was a volunteer with the Network assisting the COVID-19 response logistics team. Kara’s work experience includes Administrative Assistant for an engineering consulting firm, Marketing and Administrative Coordinator for The NOAH Center, Visual Co-Manager for Forever 21, Logistics Associate for Gap, and Finance Administrative Assistant for Habitat for Humanity.