DaveDavid A. Voepel

Dave Voepel, AHCA CEO since 2018. Dave has a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science from the University of Illinois. He is a Certified Association Executive (CAE) in the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) and is a registered lobbyist. Dave is the lead resource and program Director of the disaster Ready EPIC grant.

KathleenKathleen Collins Pagels

Kathleen Collins Pagels is the President of KCP Pagels & Associates, a consulting firm providing solutions to long-term care companies across the country. Kathleen was the Executive Director of the Arizona Health Care Association from 2002-2018. Kathleen has worked in the field of aging for more than 40 years. Kathleen has a MSW degree from the University of Michigan and a post-graduate certification in gerontology. She is also the author of a book titled Understanding Medicaid Managed Care… A Beginner’s Guide for Long Term Care Leaders, published in 2019. Kathleen was the founder of the Disaster Ready program and has a passion for emergency preparedness in the long-term care sector. She currently serves as the Program Coordinator of the Disaster Ready EPIC grant. 

GilGil Damiani

Gil Damiani is a retired Assistant Fire Chief from the City of Mesa (AZ), where he spent more than 30 years. Gil served in multiple capacities including the fire department’s Public Information Officer, Assistant Chief of Operations, Assistant Chief of Training and Emergency Medical Services, as well as the last five years of his career as the Emergency Management Coordinator for the City of Mesa. Gil has been working with the Arizona Health Care Association since December of 2016 as a Disaster Ready consultant. Gil is currently a State Certified Adjunct Instructor for the Arizona Department of Emergency Management teaching courses on the Incident Command System across Arizona. As a consultant to the Disaster Ready EPIC Program, Gil provides leadership and technical assistance in emergency preparedness.

DerrickDerrick A. Denis

Derrick A. Denis is Vice President of Indoor Environmental Quality for Clark Seif Clark, Inc., a national environmental consulting firm. As a practitioner, inventor, author and educator, Derrick has provided professional environmental health and safety, industrial hygiene, infection control and indoor environmental quality services for over 27 years domestically and abroad. Derrick is an inventor of Sewer Gas Solutions, a product that prevents sewer gas infiltration into structures by inhibiting the evaporation of water from plumbing traps. As a respected impartial expert, Derrick has testified in numerous legal matters. He holds a B.S. degree in Environmental Science and various certifications and accreditations, including CIEC, CEOP, CIAQP and CAC. Derrick is a consultant with the Disaster Ready EPIC Program and leads the industrial hygiene component.

KrystenKrysten Dobson

Krysten Dobson grew up in the skilled nursing profession, starting at the age of five, helping her mom who was a nursing home administrator. She grew to be an active part of a management team, guiding facilities throughout Arizona. Krysten joined the Arizona Health Care Association in September 2009 and since then her role has developed into the Director of Member Services. She is responsible for membership recruitment and development and the management of special projects including the Disaster Ready grant, as well as the Arizona Health Care Foundation. Krysten also has oversight of the Association’s social media and member advocacy efforts and plays a key role in fundraising and sponsorship. Krysten serves as the administrative lead in the Disaster Ready EPIC Program.

KayKay Huff

Kay joined the Arizona Health Care Association in June 2018 as the Director of Quality and Regulatory Services. Formerly, Kay was the Team Leader of Training for the Bureau of Long Term Care with the Arizona Department of Health Services for 13 years and two years as a Federal and State Licensing Surveyor. Kay’s responsibilities included conducting re-certification surveys and training team leaders and surveyors on regulatory changes and new survey processes. Kay is an RN with more than 20 years of experience in long term care. She has served in many capacities such as Director of Nursing, Assistant Director of Nursing and Minimum Data Set Coordinator. Kay provides clinical and regulatory support to the Disaster Ready EPIC Program.

BuffyBuffy Lloyd-Krejci

Buffy Lloyd-Krejci, DrPH, MS, CIC, is the Chief Executive Officer of IPCWELL. She completed her bachelor’s degree from Arizona State University in Applied Mathematics, her Master’s degree in Biomedical informatics and most recently completed her Doctorate of Public Health with a specialization in Epidemiology from Capella university, focusing her research on infectious disease surveillance reporting in long-term care. Buffy has 20-plus years of healthcare experience with expertise in quality improvement and Healthcare-Associated Infections surveillance, statistical analysis, education, and training. She is Board Certified in Infection Prevention and Control and was the 2019 President for the Arizona Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) state chapter. As a consultant to the Disaster Ready EPIC Program, Buffy provides clinical and regulatory leadership in infection control.

Stan SzpytekStan Szpytek

Stan Szpytek is President of Fire and Life Safety, Inc., and is the Life Safety/Disaster Planning Consultant for the Arizona Health Care Association. Fire and Life Safety, Inc., is a consulting firm that provides life safety, loss control, risk management and emergency preparedness programs to providers of all types, with special focus on healthcare facilities and senior services. Stan is a former deputy fire chief and was a fire marshal with a Chicago-area fire department. Having served the community for 26 years, he retired honorably in 2003. He is also the Life Safety Consultant for the California Association of Health Facilities and works with many other long-term care providers and associations across the country. Stan provides emergency management leadership as a consultant to the Disaster Ready EPIC Program.