The Advisory Committee is comprised of selected “Friends of HIC” within the coalition and meets monthly. The Advisory Committee makes policy, provides direction for the working teams, and oversees activities in support of HIC purposes, objectives and mission.
Please contact any Advisory Committee if you would like to present an immunization issue at a committee meeting.
Advisory Committee
Janelle Jinbo, DNP (2022-2024) – President
Janelle is a family nurse practitioner in various health settings. She is a part of the military Joint Vaccination Work Group and has worked at/with the Hawaii Department of Health. She is interested in promoting vaccinations for all ages.
Jodie Sanada (2022-2024) – Vice President
Jodie is a Public Health Nursing Supervisor at the Hawaii State Department of Health. She has also had experience working in pediatrics as a Nurse Practitioner and as a staff nurse for private entities. She works to educate communities about the importance of immunizations and how to obtain access to these services.
Lauren Ching (2022-2024) – Secretary
Lauren is a Ph.D. Candidate in the Department of Tropical Medicine at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. She is researching the mechanisms of Kawasaki Disease immunopathogenesis for identification of novel therapeutics. Lauren is the current president of the Student Immunization Initiative (2019-2020), a student-led organization which participates in science-based educational outreach of disease prevention through vaccination. The Student Immunization Initiative also seeks to empower the next generation of scientists with the tools to effectively communicate science to a broad audience.
Melissa Kahili-Heede (2022-2024) – Treasurer
Melissa is a health sciences librarian at the John A. Burns School of Medicine and a PhD candidate in the Office of Public Health Studies at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. Her research interests explore the intersection of health behaviors and health information seeking as it relates to vaccines and health literacy.
Heidi Ann Allencaster (2023-2025)
Heidi is a community & parent leader that is dedicated to helping improve the lives of local families and Keiki. She is currently working as a family navigator for Maui County partnering with families as they navigate community resources and services that can help with immediate needs and family strengthening. She is working on obtaining her Bachelor’s degree in Social work at the Thompson School of social work and Public Health. she has a passion for working with the families and the keiki of Hawaii and hopes to help empower parents to become their keiki’s # 1 advocate. Heidi believes that it is important that families have the knowledge and information they need to make informed decisions about how to keep their children healthy.
Forrest Batz, PharmD (2023-2025)
Forrest Batz, is a consulting pharmacist and public health advocate with more than 30 years experience in evidence-based, vaccine-preventable diseases and immunization education and outreach.
Eleanore Chuang, PhD (2022-2024)
After twelve years as a Biologist in laboratories at the National Institutes of Health, Eleanore moved to Honolulu to pursue a PhD in Tropical Medicine at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (UHM). Her graduate research focused on human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and human papillomavirus (HPV) co-infection. She is currently Postdoctoral Fellow at UHM with a focus on development of a vaccine against Ebola virus.
Michael Robinson (2022-2024)
Mike Robinson is the Vice President, Government Relations & Community Affairs for Hawai‘i Pacific Health (HPH) where he has served for the last 20 years. In his role, he oversees the legislative, advocacy and community engagement activities across the healthcare system. HPH is the non-profit health care system comprised of Kapi‘olani Medical Center for Women & Children, Pali Momi Medical Center, Straub Medical Center and Wilcox Medical Center on Kaua‘i.
Casandra Simonson, MD, FAAP (2024-2026)
Dr. Casandra Simonson is a Pediatrician at Mālama I Ke Ola Health Center. She earned her medical degree from University of Kansas and completed her residency in pediatrics at Louisiana State University. Her clinical interests include reducing generational trauma, parenting, transgender care, neurodivergent children and vaccinating keiki to keep our vulnerable island safe.
Hawaii Immunization Coalition 