OUR TEAM
DEBRA FRASER-HOWZE
PRINCIPAL
Before launching D. Fraser Associates, Ms. Fraser-Howze was the Senior Vice President , Government and External Affairs at OraSure Technologies, a leader in the development, manufacturing and distribution of oral fluid diagnostic and collection devices and other technologies designed to detect or diagnose critical medical conditions. Ms. Fraser-Howze was charged with developing business opportunities in new markets, she worked with lawmakers to ensure resources were available to communities in need of testing, and developed external opportunities with clients, stakeholders and business partners.
While at OraSure Technologies, Ms. Fraser-Howze played a critical role in launching the Company’s OraQuick In-Home HIV Test (2012) and the OraQuick Rapid HCV Test (2010). Both innovations are the first and only such tests to be approved by U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). She was also instrumental in securing $30 million in government funding for the clinical development of the Company’s OraQuick Rapid Ebola Test (2015) and the OraQuick Rapid Zika Test (2016) – the former of which is currently being deployed in West Africa under FDA Emergency Use Authorization.
Prior to joining OraSure, Ms. Fraser-Howze served as the President/CEO of the National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS (NBLCA), an organization she founded in 1987. NBLCA conducts policy, research and advocacy on HIV and AIDS to ensure effective participation of its leadership in all policy and resource allocation decisions at the national, state and local levels of communities of African descent nationwide. NBLCA is now the largest black HIV and AIDS non-profit organization of its kind in America.
Ms. Fraser-Howze has been widely recognized for more than three decades of global leadership to communities of color regarding teenage pregnancy, social welfare, and HIV and AIDS. She advised two U.S. Presidents while serving on the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS from 1995-2001.
Fraser-Howze was the Vice Chair of the HIV Human Services Planning Council in New York City and chaired the National Institute of Heath’s Public Education Technology Committee. In 2003, she was appointed to the New York City Commission on AIDS and in 2007 to the New York State Governors Health Advisory Council. In 2009, she was the recipient of the National Medical Association’s (NMA) highest honor, Scroll of Merit, and in 2010 she was inducted into the Hunter College Hall of Fame for distinguished achievement.
CAYA LEWIS
ASSOCIATE
Ms. Lewis served as the Senior Advisor for Global Fund Africa Region from 2014 to 2017, where she managed the Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator’s (OGAC) senior-level, Geneva-based relationships with the Global Fund for Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria for African countries. OGAC has responsibility for implementing the $6 billion President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). She was an advisor to the Global AIDS Coordinator and supported PEPFAR teams to strengthen work around aligning programs and budgets and utilizing data for maximum impact.
She previously was the Deputy Coordinator for Multi-sector Responsibility and Diplomacy for the U.S. Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator, U.S. Department of State. Ms. Lewis was responsible for the multilateral and private sector engagement work for PEPFAR. She directed and managed partnership efforts with the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, the United Nations Joint Program on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS), the World Health Organization (WHO) and various foundations and private sectors partners.
From 2012 to 2014, Ms. Lewis served as the Counselor to the Secretary for Science and Public Health at the Department of Health & Human Services. In this role, she provided advice to the HHS Secretary on a range of public health and science issues and helped to develop and lead Administration initiatives related to programs administered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Health Resources and Services Administration, Indian Health Service, National Institutes of Health, and the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health. Prior to assuming this position in the Obama Administration, Ms. Lewis was the Chief of Staff for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). As Chief of Staff, she served as primary advisor to the CMS Administrator and as a liaison between the Administrator, CMS staff, the United States Department of Health and Human Services, and The White House.
Ms. Lewis currently serves as the Program Director for the Global Health Consortium in Lusaka, Zambia for Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
She graduated from Spelman College and from the University of Michigan School of Public Health with a Masters of Public Health degree.
SIMONE MEEKS
ASSOCIATE
Ms. Meeks is an Assistant Commissioner with NYS Homes and Community Renewal where she oversees the Rent Control and Emergency Tenant Protection Act (ETPA) Bureau. Additionally, she remains a student of management trends, communications methods, and public health. And she unofficially functions as Health Advisor and a writer for the 5th Congressional District’s U.S. Representative. Ms. Meeks advocates for improved health outcomes, maintains linkages with area hospital administrators, college administrators, advocates and political clubs in Queens and Bronx counties. Simone is also a member of the Congressional Club, the Democratic Spouses Forum, the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Congressional Families for Cancer Prevention, and the Dialogues for Peace and Understanding hosted by various Embassies in Washington, D.C. Meeks was selected and completed the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy’s NYS Leadership Institute, holds a Master of Science from The New School (Urban Policy Analysis and Management), a Bachelor of Arts (English and Media Studies) from Fordham University, and is a former Fellow of the Center for Women in Government. She is married and worships at The Greater Allen Cathedral of NY where the Rev. Drs. Floyd and Elaine Flake co-pastor.
RON TICHO
ASSOCIATE
Ron Ticho is President of Advance MarCom Strategies, LLC and has more than 25 years of strategic marketing and communications experience in the areas of healthcare, life sciences, technology, and higher education. He most recently served as the Vice President of Corporate Strategy and External Affairs for Coordinated Health, a privately-owned specialty hospital and health network . Prior to joining Coordinated Health, Mr. Ticho served for over a decade on the executive management team at OraSure Technologies, a publicly-traded medical diagnostics company, where he led corporate communications and strategic marketing. During his tenure the Company grew revenues over 35% and launched several new products. Prior to his tenure at OraSure, Mr. Ticho spent nearly 15 years at Lehigh University in a variety of capacities. As the head of University Relations, he reported directly to the President and served as the institution’s first chief marketing and communications officer. Mr. Ticho serves on the board of the Miller Keystone Blood Center, the United Way Cabinet, and the Parkland Education Foundation.
DALE DIRKS
ASSOCIATE
Dale P. Dirks is the President of the Health and Medicine Counsel of Washington, a government relations firm that specializes in health policy. He is the Washington Representative for the Association of Minority Health Professions Schools, known as AMHPS. AMHPS is comprised of the 12 historically black medical, dental, pharmacy, and veterinary schools in the country. In his capacity working with AMHPS for nearly 30 years, Mr. Dirks has worked to develop the Minority Centers of Excellence Program at HRSA, the Research Centers at Minority Institutions Program at NIH, the recently established National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities at NIH, and other federal programs focused on improving the health status of minorities in this country. More recently, Mr. Dirks has begun to work with the National Council on Diversity in Health Professions. NCDHP is a consortium of health professions institutions which has been formed to revitalize annual funding for the Minority Centers of Excellence Program (COE) and the Health Careers Opportunity Program (HCOP).