Presenters

Jenna Hullerman Umar | Co-Author

jenna.hullerman.umar@state.mn.us;
Jenna Hullerman Umar leads short term follow-up for several conditions screened using blood spot testing, including cCMV, at the Minnesota Department of Health. She serves as the main point of contacts for specialists throughout the state who serve families completing initial follow-up testing and diagnosis after an abnormal newborn screening result. Her educational background includes a Bachelor of Arts degree in Biological/Archaeological Anthropology, and a Master of Public Health in Maternal and Child Health Epidemiology. Outside of work, Jenna enjoys reading fantasy novels, nerding out with her family on home science projects, dancing, and learning about other cultures.

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Jenna Soukup | Co-Author

jenna.soukup@state.mn.us;
Jenna Soukup is a licensed, certified genetic counselor with the Newborn Screening Program at the Minnesota Department of Health. She performs result notification to healthcare providers of abnormal newborn screening results. She received her Bachelors of Science in Biochemistry at South Dakota State University and a Masters of Science in Genetic Counseling at the University of Minnesota. In her spare time, Jenna enjoys reading, hiking, tennis, and quilting with her two cats.

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Lexie Barber | Co-Author

lexie.barber@state.mn.us;
Lexie Barber is an epidemiologist in the Longitudinal Follow-up unit at the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) focusing on congenital CMV and heritable conditions. Lexie joined the team in December 2022. Previously, she worked in the infectious disease divisions at MDH and the North Dakota Department of Health working mainly in vaccine preventable diseases. Lexie received her Bachelor of Science in microbiology at North Dakota State University and her Master of Public Health in environmental health from the University of Minnesota.

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Katherine Kass | Co-Author

Katherine.Kass@state.mn.us;
Katherine Kass is a public health program coordinator in the Longitudinal Follow-up unit focusing on congenital CMV at the Minnesota Department of Health. Katherine received her Bachelor of Arts in Biology, Society, and Environment and her Master of Public Health in public health policy and administration from the University of Minnesota.

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Melissa Raspa | Co-Author

mraspa@rti.org ;
Melissa Raspa is a Senior Scientist and Director of the GenOmics and Translational Research Center at RTI International. Much of her research focuses on children with neurodevelopmental or rare genetic disorders and their families, with an emphasis on early identification through newborn screening. Her portfolio of works includes large-scale pilot studies, natural history studies which describe the clinical phenotype of conditions and assessing the impact on families, program evaluations, and technical assistance to state public health departments. Melissa holds a BA from Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, PA and a MA and PhD from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

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Sara M. Andrews | Co-Author

sandrews@rti.org;
Sara Andrews is a public health analyst for the GenOmics and Translational Research Center at RTI International. Her expertise is in qualitative and mixed methods research. Sara has 15 years of experience in public health research and evaluation. For the past 8 years, she has supported research on newborn screening and rare conditions, with a focus on eliciting patient and caregiver perspectives to inform needs assessments, interventions, and clinical trial readiness.

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Emily Cheves | Co-Author

echeves@rti.org;
Emily Cheves is a public health analyst in the GenOmics and Translational Research Center at RTI International for about 4 years. She supports multiple projects in rare genetic disorders and newborn screening. She primarily assists in qualitative and mixed methods research with caregivers and clinicians.

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Gina Liverseed | Co-Presenter, Co-Author

gina.liverseed@state.mn.us;
Gina Liverseed is the CMV Nurse Specialist in the Children and Youth with Special Health Needs section at the Minnesota Department of Health. In this role, she is responsible for coordinating the longitudinal follow-up of children identified with congenital CMV and providing education about CMV to public and provider audiences. She holds Bachelor and Master of Nursing degrees from the University Minnesota and a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree from the University of North Dakota. Gina has over 20 years of experience working as a maternal-child health nurse and a Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner. She has a special interest in perinatal infectious disease.

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Bridget Walde | POC-Point of Contact, Primary Presenter, Author, Co-Author

bridget.walde@state.mn.us;
Bridget Walde is a Planner in the Longitudinal Follow-up Unit for the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH). She supports the work of the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention program and other projects related to long-term follow-up for children with newborn screening conditions. Bridget has over 5 years of experience in the implementation of culturally responsive programming with an emphasis in supporting children and adults with disabilities. Bridget graduated from Saint Louis University with her Master of Public Health and a concentration in maternal and child health.