Contact us

Mississippi Health Advocacy Program
800 N.President St.
Jackson, MS 39202

Phone: 601.353.0845
Toll-free: 1-877-302-6427
Fax: 601.353.0329
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MHAP Staff

Roy Mitchell – Executive Director

Roy’s work with public interest advocacy goes back twenty-three years. In both urban and rural settings, Roy has staffed and supervised legal clinics for domestic violence victims, low-income housing tenants, seniors, and Medicaid and welfare recipients. Over the years, he has served as the consumer’s representative on numerous Medicaid, Human Services and Health Department committees and task forces. He has organized several statewide coalitions and initiatives and promoted the successful passage of health and welfare legislation. Roy spearheaded the Mississippi cigarette tax initiative, successfully leading a coalition described by a leading national health policy firm as the state’s largest and most diverse health policy coalition to date. Moreover, as a training fellow for the Center for Lobbying in the Public Interest (CLPI), Roy works to promote, support and protect 501(c)(3) nonprofit advocacy and lobbying by training nonprofits on legal compliance and practical skills of nonprofit lobbying. Roy’s formal education includes a law degree from the New College of California School of Law, the nation’s oldest public interest law school and a bachelor’s degree in public administration from the University of Mississippi. After graduating from law school, Roy staffed and supervised legal clinics for low-income populations in northern and southern California. His previous employers include the Legal Aid Foundation of Santa Barbara County and the San Francisco Neighborhood Legal Assistance Foundation.

Jacquelyn Agho – Program Manager

Jacquelyn has served as program manager at the Mississippi Health Advocacy Program since 2006. She has worked for the past nine years in various arenas of public health advocacy with both nonprofit health organizations and state health agencies in Mississippi and Alabama. Jacquelyn holds a bachelor’s degree in health care administration from Jackson State University and a Master of Public Health from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Tineciaa Harris - Community Organizer

Tineciaa joined the Mississippi Health Advocacy Program in 2012 as the community organizer for the Mississippi Affordable Care Act Implementation Project.  She is a graduate of The University of Southern Mississippi with her bachelors in Biological Sciences. She also has a masters in biological science from Mississippi College and a Master of Public Health from Meharry Medical College in Nashville, TN. Tineciaa has worked in public health research for over four years.

Debbie Smith – Communications Assistant

Debbie joined the Mississippi Health Advocacy Program as a communications assistant in 2011. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in speech communication from the University of Southern Mississippi. Prior to working as a communications assistant, Debbie was the coordinator for the University of Southern Mississippi Speaking Center.

Corey Wiggins – Program Manager

Corey joined the Mississippi Health Advocacy Program in 2011 to manage the Mississippi Affordable Care Act Implementation Project. Corey has worked in the U.S. Senate, the Mississippi Legislature, academia and with non-profits on diverse public health, public policy and health policy issues.  He earned a Master of Science in Public Health with an emphasis in Health Policy for the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Currently, Corey is a doctoral candidate in Health Promotion at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Health Help Staff

Keri Abernathy – Program Manager

Keri has worked in nonprofit advocacy and outreach for over ten years. Ms. Abernathy graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi with a bachelor’s degree in speech communication and is a recent graduate of Leadership Rankin. Keri joined the Mississippi Health Advocacy Program in 2002 as communications assistant. In 2010, Keri became the program manager for the Health Help for Kids program which has now evolved into Health Help. She is active in her church and community where she serves on several committees.

Tammy Bullock –  Advocate

Tammy joined the Mississippi Health Advocacy Program as a Health Help Advocate in 2011. She has over 10 years experience in determining eligibility for state programs such as Medicaid, CHIP, SNAP, and TANF. From 1994 to 2002, Tammy worked for the Rankin County Department of Human Services as an eligibility worker and was promoted to health benefits specialist in 2002 where she handled over 7,000 cases.

Traci Grubb - Community Outreach Coordinator

Traci joined the Mississippi Health Advocacy Program in 2011 as community outreach coordinator for Health Help Mississippi. She is a graduate of Mississippi State University with a bachelor’s degree in communication with an emphasis in public relations.  Before joining the organization Traci worked as a membership and marketing director for the Girl Scouts of Gulf Pines and most recently as a high school representative for the Art Institutes.