The Center for Patient Partnerships

Directors

Martha "Meg" Gaines

Martha "Meg" Gaines, founder and director of the Center, was called to advocacy work after her own experience with illness. In 1994, Meg was diagnosed with ovarian cancer which ultimately spread to her liver. In early 1995, a doctor told her to "go home and think about the quality, not the quantity" of her remaining days. Her children were toddlers at the time. But Meg did not go home and die. She went on an odyssey around the United States and found the surgeon who would save her life.

Once she was in remission, Meg returned to her job at the law school and, in 1998, was named Assistant Dean for Student and Academic Affairs. But Meg soon felt called to a new career. Mindful of the role her education and resources played in her survival, Meg decided to commit her professional energies to helping other patients facing life threatening and serious chronic illnesses get the care they need. In September 2000, she and several colleagues founded the Center.

Meg received her undergraduate degree in religion from Vassar College in 1977 and graduated cum laude from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1983. Following her graduation, she served as a law clerk in Arizona and as a trial attorney for the Milwaukee office of the State Public Defender. In 1987, she returned to the Remington Center at the University of Wisconsin Law School to teach. She earned her post-graduate Master of Laws degree in 1993 from the University of Wisconsin.

Sarah Davis

Sarah Davis assists in the day-to-day operations of the Center for Patient Partnerships, working with Director Meg Gaines to carry out the center's mission, manage the center's finances and plan for the program's growth. Sarah oversees the center's health advocacy clinical and co-teaches the Health Care Rights and Responsiblities course and the Consumer Health course (for information on these courses, see our Graduate courses page). Sarah also works with the Center's Director of Evaluation and Policy to advance health care system change. Sarah serves on the UW's Interprofessional Health Committee and is active in interdisciplinary educational reform efforts.

Sarah is an attorney by training and a specialist in public/nonprofit management and health policy.

Sarah graduated cum laude from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 2002. Concurrently, she obtained a master's degree from the La Follette School of Public Affairs, during which she staffed the Dane County/Madison Joint Public Health Advisory Committee, working towards the unification of the county and city public health departments. She received her bachelor's degree from Wesleyan University's interdisciplinary Science in Society Program in 1994.

Mary Michaud

Mary Davis Michaud is the Center's Director of Evaluation and Policy. Her responsibilities include program design and evaluation, strategic planning, grant writing, board development and health policy issues. For the past four years, Mary consulted with a variety of health-related organizations in program evaluation and planning, group facilitation, and qualitative research.

Previously, Mary managed a statewide training program for public health workers through the University of Wisconsin - Cooperative Extension. She has also worked in health services research, educational design, education program management, and graduate medical education. She brings experience designing instruments to measure health care performance from the consumer perspective.

Mary completed a Bachelor's degree in Political Science at the University of Wisconsin - Madison (1990) and a Master's Degree in Public Policy with a Certificate in Health Administration at the University of Chicago (1995).

Patient Advocates

Pete Daly

Pete Daly advocates for patients at the center through his direct experience as a cancer patient and continuing client of the center. In September 2002 he faced Stage III Melanoma, the most deadly form of skin cancer. Through the help of the center, he built his medical and support teams, entered a long lasting clinical trial at the National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute (NIH/NCI), and learned to proactively address his health care. Not long after his diagnosis and receiving "as his life depended upon it" direction from Director Meg Gaines, Pete began working at the Center by directly assisting other patients and supervising professional degree students.

In his cancer journey, Pete has faced multiple recurrences, each time leaning upon his local medical team at the University of Wisconsin Comprehensive Cancer Center, the clinical researchers at NIH/NCI, and the support of the center, friends and family. Pete and his wife, Nancy, have two children, Sam and Mary, and family is central to his wellbeing. Prior to his involvement with the center, Pete worked for 28 years as manager of a local private engineering practice and as a consultant.

Ann Haase Kehl

Ann Haase Kehl has worked as a community mental health nurse, psychotherapist, patient advocate, undergraduate advisor and educator in clinic, hospital and university settings. She holds a bachelor's degree in nursing and a master's degree in psychology with a counseling emphasis.

Her work's common theme revolves around her interest in health psychology. Ann was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis almost 30 years ago and continues to learn about the art of living in the present, while never giving up hope of improved future health outcomes. Having had support to expect the best, while also preparing for the worst, Ann knows firsthand the immense relief and antidote for isolation that comes from both receiving and providing health advocacy. She serves on several boards for agencies and initiatives aimed at extending access for those with disabilities.

Ann and her husband, Michael, will soon be trainers for a service dog puppy. In her spare time Ann loves studying Spanish, music, gardening, being outdoors, and, when able, taking longs walks on the beach or in the woods.

Suzanne Lee

Suzanne Lee is the staff physician at the Center for Patient Partnerships. Her areas of expertise include helping clients understand confusing diagnoses and their ramifications; researching the medical literature to assist patients in making evidence-based treatment choices; interfacing with the medical community to improve patient/physician communication; and, her favorite, searching for clinical trials.

Suzanne graduated with a bachelor's degree in art history from Mount Holyoke College, and a medical degree from Wayne State University. Her post-graduate training includes a pediatric internship, followed by residency training in adult psychiatry at Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago, where she won the Michael Reese Medical Staff Award in recognition of "professional competence and a warm and humane attitude toward patients and their families." While at Michael Reese, Suzanne implemented a psychiatric screening program for all pediatric oncology in-patients. She has additional fellowship training in child and adolescent psychiatry at the University of Chicago. She has also worked in hospital consultation-liaison psychiatry and community mental health psychiatry.

Advocacy has been a way of life for Suzanne's family. Her mother, a cancer survivor and life-long community activist, is the president of the board for a non-profit agency serving at-risk youth. Suzanne's father, a physician and survivor of advanced prostate cancer, assertively advocated that he be treated with novel therapies and has dedicated the latter part of his career to the cryosurgical treatment of prostate cancer. He is also an outspoken advocate for the screening and early diagnosis of prostate cancer.

Suzanne's most personal effort navigating our complex medical system was advocating for her own son, who was having medical problems and facing developmental disabilities. Married to a physician, and counting many medical doctors among her family and friends, Suzanne is able to draw knowledge from a vast array of specialists.

Aphra Mednick

Aphra Mednick oversees the Center's intake process, coordinates case management, and provides supervision and training to student advocates in patient-focused care. Aphra received her Masters in Social Work from Smith College in 1998 and has worked as a professional social worker for nearly ten years. She has worked in medical social work at the National Institutes Health in Bethesda, Maryland, and at Meriter Hospital in Madison, Wisconsin.

Prior to joining the Center, Aphra worked as the Health Care Project Coordinator at the Wisconsin Coalition Against Domestic Violence, where she headed a project aimed at improving the response of Wisconsin's health care system to victims of domestic abuse, including training for healthcare professionals and domestic violence advocates. Aphra has also worked as the coordinator for a transitional living program for domestic abuse survivors and as a clinician in community mental health.

Administrative Support

Jennifer Weber

As Lead Administrative Specialist, Jennifer is responsible for managing the day-to-day administrative operation of the Center, conducting intake interviews with potential clients, assisting with patient advocacy casework, and taking on special projects, such as tracking budget expenses and reporting grant information.

Jennifer is currently working towards completion of a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science. After completing her degree, Jennifer plans to pursue a career working for a non-profit or in public policy.

In her spare time, Jennifer enjoys staying active by running and by biking with a local women's cycling club. She has volunteered for the Breast Cancer Recovery Foundation, the East Madison Community Center Kid's Bicycle Safety program and for many local athletic events, including Ironman Wisconsin and Madison Race for the Cure.

Aaron Ponce

Aaron provides executive level support to the Director and CPP staff by performing duties related to the Center's daily operations, such as conducting initial interviews of potential clients and communicating these patients' concerns to the CPP advocacy coordinator. Aaron is also responsible for special Center projects, such as the management of CPP courses, and outreach to the Spanish-speaking community.

Before attending UW Law School, Aaron was an intern at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda as an interpreter/translator, taught English as a foreign language in Hitachiota City, Japan, and completed a Master's degree in linguistics at the University of Texas at Austin. He enjoys spending time with his wirehaired fox terrier Lola.

Want to Help?

As the Center for Patient Partnerships grows, you can help educate, advocate and innovate to make health systems more consumer-centered. Though we do not charge for our advocacy services, we welcome contributions to the Center. Please join the mission by contributing!

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