Our People
Beverly J. Larson, MPH, RN, CPHQ - Quality and Performance Improvement Consultant
Bev Larson has a record of accomplishment in public health, HMO management, and quality systems. Bev was the Director of Public Health for Polk County, WI for 21 years. She worked for Mayo Clinic's Health Tradition Health Plan HMO in La Crosse, WI for 14 years as the Director of Operations & Clinical Services with a focus on population health and quality management. Bev holds a national certification as a Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality, along with an MPH in Healthcare Management from the University of Minnesota.
Kusuma Madamala, PhD, MPH - Affiliated Consultant - Public Health Systems and Evaluation
Kusuma Madamala is an independent public health systems consultant with 15 years of experience in public health practice and research in community-based organizations, academia and non-profit settings. She has consulted with organizations such as the National Network of Public Health Institutes and the Association of State & Territorial Health Officials. She previously served as a senior scientist at the American Medical Association leading initiatives to bridge population health and clinical health services. Kusuma currently serves as an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, School of Public Health where she has taught Public Health Program Planning and Evaluation. She is a member of the Public Health Accreditation Board’s Research and Evaluation Committee, a section councilor for the Health Administration Section of the American Public Health Association and has served as a member of the Advisory Committee for AcademyHealth’s Public Health Systems Research.
Gretchen Sampson, RN, MPH - Management Consultant
Gretchen Sampson is a public health professional with over 35 years’ experience in governmental public health and human services organizational leadership. She enjoys bringing out the best in organizations by strengthening leadership, key partnerships, strategic planning and performance management. She has held leadership roles in the American Public Health Association, the Wisconsin Public Health Association and is currently serving on the Accreditation Improvement Committee and the Small Health Department Think Tank for the Public Health Accreditation Board.
Tom Sieger - Public Health Management Consultant
Tom Sieger brings many years of Environmental Public Health management experience to Gray Horse Strategies. He was a fellow in the Center for Disease Control's Public Health Leadership Institute and has held management positions in state government, public university and private industry settings. Tom has a passion for the power of prevention to promote the health and well-being of the population and is a strong advocate for Greenleaf's Servant Leadership philosophy to build stronger and more effective institutions.
Dan Stier, JD - Public Health Law Consultant
Dan Stier, J.D., is a veteran attorney and administrator with decades of experience in law offices and programs at state and federal levels. From March, 2010 until May, 2013, he was the director of the Network for Public Health Law’s National Coordinating Center, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The Network provided law and policy guidance to state, tribal, and local public health officials and others interested in protecting and improving the public’s health through law and policy. Upon leaving the Network, he established a public health law consulting business, Dan Stier, LLC.
Mr. Stier was a Senior Public Health Analyst with CDC’s Public Health Law Program from 2005-2010. He worked closely with state public health officials and attorneys, guided by the Program’s mission “to advance the public’s health through law.” Mr. Stier devoted considerable attention to multi-jurisdictional legal issues relating to public health emergency preparedness, with particular focus on issues associated with state-tribal public health collaboration. He led CDC’s initiative to strengthen the relationship between public health and the courts, and served as the Program’s liaison to CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control.
Mr. Stier has spoken frequently on public health law issues. In cooperation with state public health officials and attorneys, he developed and implemented interactive web-based legal tools for use in the practice of public health law. He has authored articles concerning interstate and international public health mutual aid agreements, tribal public health laws, the public health role of the courts, legal liability during public health emergencies, and laws relating to injury prevention.
Before joining CDC, Mr. Stier had a long and varied career in Wisconsin state government. In his most recent state position, as Chief Legal Counsel for ten years with the Department of Health and Family Services, he was closely involved with public health legal issues, including public health emergency preparedness and related revisions of Wisconsin law. Prior to his service with the Department of Health and Family Services, Mr. Stier served as an assistant attorney general in the Wisconsin Department of Justice and as the Deputy Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs. He is a member of the State Bar of Wisconsin, and is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin Law School.
Kyla Waksmonski, BS - Quality Improvement and Accreditation Consultant
In addition to her consulting duties with Gray Horse Strategies, Kyla Waksmonski is a Community Health Specialist and the Accreditation Coordinator for Oneida County Health Department, one of Wisconsin's nationally accredited health departments. Kyla has also completed the year-long Healthy Wisconsin Leadership Institute and the National Leadership Academy for the Public’s Health programs.
Dustin Young, BA, CQIA - Strategic Planning and Focus Group Consultant
Dustin Young provides strategic planning consulting services, focus group design and facilitation, and multimedia project development for Gray Horse Strategies. Dustin has considerable project communications and management experience. He graduated from Marquette University in 2008 with a degree in International Affairs and is an ASQ Certified Quality Improvement Associate. Dustin has served on the Board of Directors of the Wisconsin Public Health Association and is on the Board of Directors of Drive Clear, a Madison, Wisconsin based non-profit organization dedicated to helping the victims of drunk and impaired driving accidents.
Nancy Young, MPA - President
Nancy Young has over 30 years of leadership experience in the public and private sectors. She founded Gray Horse Consulting in 2000, and in 2016 broadened service offerings through Gray Horse Strategies. She has a passion for working with organizations that are striving to do great work with limited resources, providing "Practical Solutions for the Public Good".
Bev Larson has a record of accomplishment in public health, HMO management, and quality systems. Bev was the Director of Public Health for Polk County, WI for 21 years. She worked for Mayo Clinic's Health Tradition Health Plan HMO in La Crosse, WI for 14 years as the Director of Operations & Clinical Services with a focus on population health and quality management. Bev holds a national certification as a Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality, along with an MPH in Healthcare Management from the University of Minnesota.
Kusuma Madamala, PhD, MPH - Affiliated Consultant - Public Health Systems and Evaluation
Kusuma Madamala is an independent public health systems consultant with 15 years of experience in public health practice and research in community-based organizations, academia and non-profit settings. She has consulted with organizations such as the National Network of Public Health Institutes and the Association of State & Territorial Health Officials. She previously served as a senior scientist at the American Medical Association leading initiatives to bridge population health and clinical health services. Kusuma currently serves as an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, School of Public Health where she has taught Public Health Program Planning and Evaluation. She is a member of the Public Health Accreditation Board’s Research and Evaluation Committee, a section councilor for the Health Administration Section of the American Public Health Association and has served as a member of the Advisory Committee for AcademyHealth’s Public Health Systems Research.
Gretchen Sampson, RN, MPH - Management Consultant
Gretchen Sampson is a public health professional with over 35 years’ experience in governmental public health and human services organizational leadership. She enjoys bringing out the best in organizations by strengthening leadership, key partnerships, strategic planning and performance management. She has held leadership roles in the American Public Health Association, the Wisconsin Public Health Association and is currently serving on the Accreditation Improvement Committee and the Small Health Department Think Tank for the Public Health Accreditation Board.
Tom Sieger - Public Health Management Consultant
Tom Sieger brings many years of Environmental Public Health management experience to Gray Horse Strategies. He was a fellow in the Center for Disease Control's Public Health Leadership Institute and has held management positions in state government, public university and private industry settings. Tom has a passion for the power of prevention to promote the health and well-being of the population and is a strong advocate for Greenleaf's Servant Leadership philosophy to build stronger and more effective institutions.
Dan Stier, JD - Public Health Law Consultant
Dan Stier, J.D., is a veteran attorney and administrator with decades of experience in law offices and programs at state and federal levels. From March, 2010 until May, 2013, he was the director of the Network for Public Health Law’s National Coordinating Center, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The Network provided law and policy guidance to state, tribal, and local public health officials and others interested in protecting and improving the public’s health through law and policy. Upon leaving the Network, he established a public health law consulting business, Dan Stier, LLC.
Mr. Stier was a Senior Public Health Analyst with CDC’s Public Health Law Program from 2005-2010. He worked closely with state public health officials and attorneys, guided by the Program’s mission “to advance the public’s health through law.” Mr. Stier devoted considerable attention to multi-jurisdictional legal issues relating to public health emergency preparedness, with particular focus on issues associated with state-tribal public health collaboration. He led CDC’s initiative to strengthen the relationship between public health and the courts, and served as the Program’s liaison to CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control.
Mr. Stier has spoken frequently on public health law issues. In cooperation with state public health officials and attorneys, he developed and implemented interactive web-based legal tools for use in the practice of public health law. He has authored articles concerning interstate and international public health mutual aid agreements, tribal public health laws, the public health role of the courts, legal liability during public health emergencies, and laws relating to injury prevention.
Before joining CDC, Mr. Stier had a long and varied career in Wisconsin state government. In his most recent state position, as Chief Legal Counsel for ten years with the Department of Health and Family Services, he was closely involved with public health legal issues, including public health emergency preparedness and related revisions of Wisconsin law. Prior to his service with the Department of Health and Family Services, Mr. Stier served as an assistant attorney general in the Wisconsin Department of Justice and as the Deputy Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs. He is a member of the State Bar of Wisconsin, and is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin Law School.
Kyla Waksmonski, BS - Quality Improvement and Accreditation Consultant
In addition to her consulting duties with Gray Horse Strategies, Kyla Waksmonski is a Community Health Specialist and the Accreditation Coordinator for Oneida County Health Department, one of Wisconsin's nationally accredited health departments. Kyla has also completed the year-long Healthy Wisconsin Leadership Institute and the National Leadership Academy for the Public’s Health programs.
Dustin Young, BA, CQIA - Strategic Planning and Focus Group Consultant
Dustin Young provides strategic planning consulting services, focus group design and facilitation, and multimedia project development for Gray Horse Strategies. Dustin has considerable project communications and management experience. He graduated from Marquette University in 2008 with a degree in International Affairs and is an ASQ Certified Quality Improvement Associate. Dustin has served on the Board of Directors of the Wisconsin Public Health Association and is on the Board of Directors of Drive Clear, a Madison, Wisconsin based non-profit organization dedicated to helping the victims of drunk and impaired driving accidents.
Nancy Young, MPA - President
Nancy Young has over 30 years of leadership experience in the public and private sectors. She founded Gray Horse Consulting in 2000, and in 2016 broadened service offerings through Gray Horse Strategies. She has a passion for working with organizations that are striving to do great work with limited resources, providing "Practical Solutions for the Public Good".