Staff List, Contacts, Bios

John Eich - Director
Kevin Jacobson - Rural Communities Initiatives Program Manager
Kathryn Miller - Program Manager, Rural Hospitals & Clinics Program
Randy L. Munson - Physician Recruitment Program Manager
Sandhya Patel - Financial / Office Manager
Maria Radtke - Communications Specialist
Marsha Siik - Dentist Recruitment Program Manager 

John Eich - Director
eich@wisc.edu
(608) 261-1890

John joined the Office of Rural Health in 2005 as a Program Manager of the Rural Community Initiatives, and was appointed Director in 2006. His experience and skills are primarily in community development, population-health planning, systems analysis and design.

John came to the Office of Rural Health from southern New Mexico, where he directed a county Health Council—a public/private partnership that assessed community health and wellness needs, established priorities, then built and maintained coalitions to strategically plan and implement projects. They also served as a resource to and advocate for the county on a regional and statewide basis.

While his education is in fiction-writing and Spanish literature, his professional career has included experience in social work, advertising, carpentry, the arts and teaching. John grew up in rural Wisconsin, dividing his spare time between doing chores and hiding from them with a good book.

Kevin Jacobson - Rural Communities Initiatives Program Manager
kmjacobson2@wisc.edu
(608) 261-1888

Kevin began working for the Office of Rural Health in April 2007. His program management responsibilities include the Health Professions Loan Assistance Program, the Strong Rural Communities Initiative and the Rural Health Development Council.  Kevin also publishes a blog, Rural Community Development, where he posts information on opportunities and resources to improve capacity in rural communities, specifically around health care issues.

Before he relocated to Madison, Kevin was a Program Manager with the Syracuse University Environmental Finance Center, where he worked with rural communities in New York on a variety of environmental, public health and community development issues. Prior to that he was Payroll Manager of the University of California, Los Angeles Student Association.

Kevin has a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science with an emphasis in Public Administration from UCLA and a Master's in Public Policy from the University of Southern California.

Kathryn Miller - Program Manager, Rural Hospitals & Clinics Program
kmiller9@wisc.edu
(608) 261-1891

Kathy is the newest addition to the Office of Rural Health.  She started in September 2008, as the Rural Hospital Coordinator. 

Kathy was born and raised in Madison.  Prior to coming to the Office, Kathy was employed at Human Services in rural Green County.  Working at the Office of Rural Health truly represents the best of both worlds: being able to continue her work with rural populations and rural healthcare issues, while working in her favorite city, Madison.

Kathy graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, with majors in Psychology and Social Welfare.
 

Randy Munson - Physician Recruitment Program Manager
rlmunson@wisc.edu
(608) 261-1889

Randy is the manager of the New Physicians of Wisconsin Program of the Wisconsin Office of Rural Health. He has been recruiting physicians to Wisconsin with the Office for more than 13 years. He previously worked with Caswell-Winters & Associates, a private physician recruitment firm in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and he also served for two years as the Director of Physician Recruitment with the UW-Health Physicians Plus medical group in Madison.

Randy has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from UW-Whitewater and a Master's degree in Business Management from Cardinal Stritch University in Milwaukee.

Sandhya Patel - Financial / Office Manager
sapatel2@wisc.edu
(608) 261-1885

Sandhya joined our staff at the Wisconsin Office of Rural Health in March 2007, coming to us from the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, where she worked on databases and other information systems for seven years. Prior to that she worked in the private sector, serving as accountant, general manager and co-owner in two small businesses. She has a Bachelors degree in Economics and an Associates degree in Computer Information Systems and is originally from the state of Gujarat, India.

Maria Radtke - Communications Specialist
mlradtke@wisc.edu
(608) 261-1884

Maria joined the Wisconsin Office of Rural Health in November 2004. Currently, she maintains WORH's website and listservs, manages and does extensive research for the Rural Reporter. Maria designs promotional materials for the Office, including display posters, brochures and informative materials for individual programs. Maria has worked in the University and/or State system for over 29 yrs and brings a wealth of experience to the WORH.

Marsha Siik- Dentist Recruitment Program Manager
siik@wisc.edu
(608) 261-1887

Marsha started as an Outreach Specialist with the Wisconsin Office of Rural Health on February 1, 2005. She will focus on recruiting dentists to the rural counties of Wisconsin. Marsha brings over 6 years experience recruiting physicians and mid-level providers for Aspirus Clinics in Antigo, Medford, Merrill, Wausau, Weston, Land O Lakes, Laona, and Eagle River. Previously Marsha worked for Congressman Dave Obey for 6 years, as Outreach was also Director of Outreach at The Women's Community, Inc. in Wausau, following 9 years of classroom teaching at elementary through college levels.

Marsha has a Master's degree in Education from UW Madison and a Bachelor's degree in English and Art from Valparaiso University.