Staff

Elizabeth Freeman Lambar, MSW, MPH is currently the director of the North Carolina Farmworker Health Program, within the Office of Rural Health, NC DHHS, where she has worked since 2001. Elizabeth was previously employed working with farmworkers as a health outreach worker in North Carolina, New Jersey and Florida. Prior to working with farmworkers, she worked with Central American refugees in Tucson and with the homeless in Philadelphia and San Antonio. She received her undergraduate degree in Human Development and Social Relations at Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana and received her MSW and MPH from UNC-Chapel Hill.

Allison Lipscomb manages NCFHP’s data, compiles reports, coordinates the continuous quality improvement process, and supports the team in technical assistance and other projects. She has worked with NCFHP in different capacities since 2003, including as a graduate intern, outreach coordinator of a new voucher program site in the North Carolina mountains, and more recently as close partner while working as Special Populations Coordinator at the NC Community Health Center Association. Her background also includes being part of the founding leadership team of a new community and migrant health center, High Country Community Health. She graduated with an MPH from UNC-Chapel Hill in 2004.

Ann Watson, MSW is a Farmworker Health Operations Specialist at NCFHP. Ann provides technical assistance to farmworker health outreach programs across the state. She also coordinates outreach trainings and assists in the development and implementation of special initiatives. Prior to her current position at NCFHP, Ann directed an HIV health initiative at a national farmworker advocacy organization in Washington, DC. Ann began her career in social work and public health as a perinatal home visitor at a community health center. She worked in education for several years in rural Costa Rica before returning to her home state for graduate school. Ann is a graduate of Guilford College and received her MSW from UNC-Chapel Hill.

Gayle B Thomas, MD was trained in Family Medicine at UCLA Medical School and Santa Monica Hospital in California. She served as a chief resident at UNC Dept. of Family Medicine prior to becoming a staff physician at Carrboro Community Health Center in North Carolina. During her 22 years at the Community Health Center, she served many Latino patients. To better serve these patients, she became fluent in medical Spanish and studied Latino health care beliefs. She continued her relationship during these years with UNC Family Medicine by serving as a preceptor for medical students in the clinic and for residents in the hospital. In 2013, she left the Community Health Center and joined the UNC Family Medicine Faculty. She currently serves as both an inpatient and outpatient preceptor and as the medical director of the NC Farmworker Health Program, continuing her interests in care for the underserved and the Latino culture.

Mary Johnson Rockers, MSW, is a Farmworker Health Operations Specialist at NCFHP where she has worked in a variety of roles since 2007. Currently, Mary provides technical assistance and training to multiple farmworker health outreach programs across the state. She manages health education materials and initiatives, student placements, and protocols on pesticide reporting and mental health screening, and assists with annual trainings and special expansion initiatives. She is an advisory member of the Farmworker Advocacy Network. Mary graduated from Guilford College in 2001 with a dual degree in Spanish and Sociology and earned her Master’s in Social Work from UNC-Chapel Hill in 2008, where she studied community-based practice.

Teresa Sweeney is the Office Assistant to the Farmworker Health Program at the Office of Rural Health (ORH) in Raleigh, NC. Teresa holds a B.S. degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Management from Strayer University. Teresa provides technical and logistical support for meetings, conferences, and workshops. Other responsibilities include: accounts payable, accounts receivable, Purchasing Card Administrator (PCard), and the State Purchasing System (EProcurement).

Zoë L. Cummings, MSW, MPH is a 340B Drug Pricing Specialist at NCFHP where she has worked since 2011. Currently, Zoë provides monitoring and technical assistance to 340B program and farmworker health program grantees. She also assists with outreach trainings and with the a variety of special initiatives. Prior to working with farmworkers, she worked with inpatient residents at a treatment facility in South Carolina, people with developmental disabilities in Iowa, and adult students in Belize, Central America. After serving two years as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Belize, she earned her graduate degrees in Public Health and Social Work at the University of South Carolina.