2025 | 17th Annual • Virtual | October 27
Speakers 2025
Barry D Weiss, MD is a professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Arizona College of Medicine.
Dr Weiss has been involved in health literacy and patient-physician communication for much of his career. His writings on these topics have been published in the New England Journal of Medicine, Journal of the American Medical Association, and many other journals and books.
He has been a health literacy consultant to the Institute of Medicine, American College of Physicians, American Medical Association, National Cancer Institute, Joint Commission, American Academy of Family Physicians, and other institutions and organizations.
He wrote a portion of the Institute of Medicine’s report on health literacy and a chapter in the American Medical Association’s health literacy textbook. He led development of the widely-used Newest Vital Sign health literacy screening instrument and was co-author of AHRQ’s Health Literacy Universal Precautions Toolkit.
Carolyn Cutilli, PhD, RN advocates for family members of those with OCD. As a board member, Carolyn is the chair of the Philadelphia 1 Million Steps for OCD Walk and has participated in a panel discussion for family members. She plans topics for a support group of parents who have adult children with OCD. Professionally, Carolyn is an adjunct college professor and patient education specialist/researcher striving to have all health information easily accessed and understood.
Karen Komondor, Founder & President, Health Literacy 360, LLC, is a nationally recognized health literacy leader with more than 20 years of experience advancing health literacy, health equity, and clear communication across healthcare systems and communities. She is the founder and president of Health Literacy 360, LLC, providing customized consulting, presentations, and training nationwide.
With over four decades in healthcare, Karen brings expertise in clinical nursing, hospital leadership, and organizational development. As former Director of the Health Literacy Institute at St. Vincent Charity Medical Center in Cleveland, she led award-winning initiatives that improved patient safety, education, and outcomes through system-wide health literacy practices.
She currently serves as President of the U.S. Health Literacy Association and has held leadership roles with multiple national and regional organizations. Known for her compassionate, actionable approach, Karen is dedicated to empowering healthcare professionals and patients alike through compassionate, clear, and actionable communication.
Professor Diane Levin-Zamir is Director of the National Department of Health Education and Promotion of Clalit, Israel’s largest health service organization, and Associate Professor of Health Promotion in the School of Public Health in University of Haifa Diane teaches at Tel Aviv and Hebrew Universities’ Schools of Public Health as well. Diane is a summa cum laude graduate of Tufts University in Boston, and earned a MPH and PhD from the Braun School of Public Health of Hadassah Hospital and Hebrew University Faculty of Medicine in Jerusalem. Diane specializes in action research in health promotion in community primary care, hospital and media settings, in media health literacy, measuring health literacy, and was the principal investigator of the Israel National Health Literacy Survey and is Research Co-Chair for the WHO Action Network on Measuring Population and Organizational health Literacy (M-POHL). Diane has fulfilled a number of leadership roles in International Union of Health Education and Promotion, is founder of the IUHPE Global Working Group on Health Literacy, and is Associate Editor of the Global Health Promotion Journal, IUHPE’s flagship journal. Diane is the appointed Chair of the WHO Europe Technical Advisory Group on Behavioral and Cultural Insights.
Dulce Olivera
Orkan Okan‘s field of research is health literacy. His focus is on interdisciplinary research on health literacy in childhood and adolescence, especially regarding schools and further educational contexts. Prof. Okan also links health literacy research with contemporary societal issues and challenges such as digitalization, media and infodemiology.
Prof. Okan studied educational science with a focus on teacher training at the University of Duisburg-Essen. He received his doctorate in 2020 from Bielefeld University, while his thesis focused on health literacy in childhood and adolescence (summa cum laude). He has been a professor of health literacy at TUM since 2021. Prof. Okan is vice president of the International Health Literacy Association, editor of the International Handbook of Health Literacy, and co-founder and coordinator of the Global Covid-Health Literacy Network.
Gillian Rowlands is the Training Lead for the NIHR ARC North East and Cumbria. She is also a practicing GP and Professor of General Practice at Newcastle University.
Dr. Tetine Sentell is Professor of Public Health at the University of Hawaiʻi Mānoa. She researches how community strengths can achieve public health goals, how social networks can build health literacy, and how narrative perspectives coupled with public health surveillance systems analyses and health services research can illuminate meaningful pathways to address health inequities. This work informs collaboration and action to build health equity in Hawai’i, the Pacific, and around the world.
Chris Trudeau is a law professor and plain-language advocate, and has dedicated his professional life to making difficult information easy to understand for people from all walks of life. Trudeau’s research focuses on gathering empirical data that helps determine best practices for clearly explaining difficult health and legal topics.
Mr. Trudeau is an Associate Professor at the University of Detroit Mercy Law School. He is a self-described “health-literacy lawyer,” who is the first lawyer to be appointed to the National Academy of Science, Engineering, and Medicine’s Roundtable of Health Literacy. Trudeau also has extensive experience working with clinical trials regulations. He has served on the FDA’s Risk Communication Advisory Committee and served as the Director of Regulatory Knowledge & Support at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. He is also on the Board Member of HLM and of the USHLA.
Dr. Teresa Wagner graduated with a Doctorate in Public Health from the UNT Health Fort Worth, where she is an Associate Professor in the College of Public Health, Department of Health Administration and Health Policy. She also serves as the Director of the UNT Health Texas State Certified Community Health Worker Training Center. She’s cross-appointed in both the College of Nursing and the College of Health Professions.
Dr. Wagner is a registered and licensed dietitian certified in Public Health, Patient Safety, Lifestyle Medicine, Health Coaching, and as a certified Community Health Worker (CHW) Instructor. She has delivered multiple programs, speaking engagements, and trainings on health literacy issues. She teaches Patient Safety, Health Coaching, Nutrition, and Health Literacy. Her research focuses on facilitating communication for both personal and organizational health literacy to improve health outcomes and population health.
Dulce Maria Nascimento do Ó PhD in Public Health (Health Literacy Research), National School of Public Health, Nova University Lisbon and MSC in Public Health and a specialization in Communitarian Nursing. Certified Project Management Associate IPMA
Nurse coordinator of the Department of projects and Studies in Portuguese Diabetes Association, APDP
Coordinator of the Diabetes Education Study Groups, of the Portuguese Society of Diabetology in Portugal.
Experience in health education, scientific communication and ethical procedures. Diabetes nurse educator with experience in Public health and in Diabetes research.