Our History
Transtria, a woman-owned enterprise, was created in July 2005 through the leadership of Dr. Laura Brennan Ramirez and her colleagues, Julie Claus and Tonie Covelli. Before Transtria was formed, these colleagues worked together providing quality services through Inneval, LLC formed in 1999 (dissolved in August 2005 through mutual consent of its founders). Dr. Brennan Ramirez was formerly the co-founder and principal of Inneval. Collectively, these two companies have served a client base of federal and state government agencies (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services), foundations (Minnesota Blue Cross Blue Shield, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation), universities (Saint Louis University School of Public Health), and community-based organizations (Whole Kids Outreach, Bootheel Heart Health Coalitions) for over eleven years.

Our Mission
Transtria’s mission is to translate evidence to enhance public health decision-making; transfer skills to sustain public health research and practice efforts; and transform health through policy, environmental, economic and social change.

Our Staff
Laura K. Brennan Ramirez, PhD, MPH is President and Chief Executive Officer of Transtria and an assistant professor of Behavioral Science and Health Education in the Department of Community Health at Saint Louis University School of Public Health. For the past ten years, she has participated in designing and evaluating community-based initiatives, conducting community-based participatory approaches to intervention and research, developing and communicating health messages, creating evidence-based intervention strategies, and performing needs assessment through surveys, interviews and focus groups. She has participated in multiple projects nationally and in the state of Missouri to facilitate discussions among practitioners (health, transportation, urban planning, parks and recreation, community planning), researchers, providers, community members and advocacy groups to assist them in planning efforts to address social, economic and environmental influences on health. Dr. Brennan Ramirez has published 16 peer reviewed articles studying behaviors and health and she is a co-author on Tailoring health messages: Customizing communication with computer technology. She participates on the Board of the Alliance for the Status of Missouri Women, Citizens for Modern Transit and the Missouri Family Health Council. She enjoys spending time with her family (husband Richard Ramirez and 9 year-old son Noah Ramirez), traveling, jogging and playing volleyball.

Julie M. Claus, MPH (née Bender) is Chief Operating Officer of Transtria. She received a BS in Health Science with a focus on Community Health and a minor in Psychology from Truman State University. She continued her studies of community and public health by completing her Master of Public Health degree at Saint Louis University School of Public Health with a focus on Behavioral Science and Health Education. Julie has published 4 peer-reviewed journal articles and has presented her work to local, state and national audiences. She is currently responsible for company, staff and project oversight and management along with development of reports, manuscripts and presentations, grant writing and external communications with partners, clients and funders. Julie volunteers at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Des Peres, Missouri as Secretary of the Health Committee, as a member of the Bread Ministry and as an instrumentalist and accompanist of the Music Ministry. She participates as Secretary/Treasurer of the Board of Directors for the Faith-based Health Care Initiative. She enjoys eating out, playing the piano and spending time with her husband, Matthew.

Jessi Erickson, MPH is a Project Manager at Transtria. She has completed her Master of Public Health degree at Saint Louis University School of Public Health with a concentration in Behavioral Science and Health Education. She graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a degree in Biological Science and minors in Chemistry and Anthropology. During her time at Transtria, she has worked on several projects, including Intervention MICA and is the project manager for an evaluation grant sponsored through the National Library of Medicine. Through her experience at Transtria, she has developed many research and communication skills in a number of public health topics. Her activities at Transtria include, conducting literature reviews, developing web content, managing specific project operations, and coordinating staff development activities. Jessi loves to travel and has been many places around the United States, eight countries in Europe, and Japan.

Melissa Hall is a Project Manager at Transtria and graduate student at Saint Louis University School of Public Health with a concentration in Epidemiology. She has a BA in Biology from Transylvania University. While pursuing her undergraduate degree, Melissa served as coordinator of an environmentally-focused student volunteer group and held a variety of leadership positions in other volunteer organizations. In 2004, she traveled to the Philippines to assist in conducting an environmental health survey. She is currently managing three projects, including an evaluation of the Active Living by Design initiative. Her primary responsibilities include conducting interviews and focus groups, traveling to grantee sites, qualitative and quantitative data analysis, writing case summary reports, developing web content, managing staff and project operations, and assisting with grant writing. In her free time, Melissa enjoys traveling, hiking, and running in half-marathons.

Sarah Betsworth is a Project Manager at Transtria, and will be completing her Master of Public Health degree at Saint Louis University School of Public Health with concentrations in Behavioral Science/Health Education and Epidemiology in May 2008. She graduated from Truman State University with a B.S. in Business Administration, concentration in Marketing, and a minor in Equine Science. While at the Saint Louis University, Sarah was the project manager for a health communications grant that partnered with the National Cancer Institute to increase calls to their Cancer Information Service. In addition, she worked on a project focused on increasing cancer coverage in Black newspapers. Prior to graduate school, Sarah was an Income Development Manager for the American Cancer Society. Sarah currently works on a project at Transtria that is identifying and accelerating the translation of replicable, evidence-based environmental and policy change interventions that address childhood obesity. In her free time, Sarah enjoys spending time with her family and friends, and Cubs baseball!

Laura Runnels is a Project Manager at Transtria. She is pursuing an MPH with a concentration in Behavioral Science and Health Education at SLU. Before moving to St Louis, Laura lived in southern Mississippi. She received a BA in American Studies with a concentration in History from Yale University. While there, she managed a community center for homeless citizens of New Haven and chaired an organization placing volunteer teaching assistants in a public elementary school. Her work experiences include substance abuse outreach and case management on Skid Row in Los Angeles and chronic disease self-management research at The L.A. Free Clinic. Laura's public health interests include chronic condition prevention, childhood and adolescent health, and rural health. Laura enjoys browsing at antique malls, doing crossword puzzles, and playing Wii tennis.

Rob Holtzmann is the Director of Information Technology providing Transtria with the technical edge needed to ensure, security, integrity, collection and reporting of research data. Rob has over 18 years of experience in the technology industry dating back to his time in the United States Air Force. After leaving the Armed Forces, he focused his attention on the corporate world, developing Intranet, Extranet, and Client-Server applications for eleven different Fortune 500 companies including, Peabody Coal, Anheuser-Busch, Hewlett-Packard, Ford Motor Company, Warner Brothers, A.G. Edwards, General American, and NASCAR. In the academic arena, Rob developed tracking and reporting systems for Washington University's Department of Surgery and Department of Orthopedic Surgery. A graduate of the University of Maryland, Rob brings a combination of education and real-world experience complemented with a strong work ethic and focus to all Transtria projects. Away from Transtria, Rob devotes his time to his wife, Tracy, sons, Hunter and Brooks and a houseload of cats and dogs.

Nicholas White is a Project Assistant at Transtria. A native of St. Louis, Nick went to Saint Louis University for his undergraduate work where he earned a degree in business administration with a concentration in economics. He is now a second year student at the Saint Louis University School of Public Health with concentrations in epidemiology and biostatistics. His previous public health research experience includes statistical analysis of a worksite wellness intervention conducted by Washington University in Saint Louis. Nick’s primary public health interests lie in infectious disease and cancer epidemiology and he hopes to have a career researching one of these areas in the future. In his spare time he enjoys playing softball and hockey and is a big St. Louis Blues and Cardinals fan.

Yolonda Lahren is a Project Assistant at Transtria. She is pursuing her MPH in Health Policy at Saint Louis University School of Public Health. Yolonda received her BS in Biology at the University of Portland. While in Portland, she served as a Peer Health Educator and worked at local area hospitals assisting emergency room physicians. She also spent a summer in New York City where she learned about health disparities among the underserved in the United States health care system and volunteered at pediatric clinics in the Bronx. Yolonda loves playing soccer, running with her dog and enjoying the outdoors. She also is anxiously awaiting her upcoming wedding in May.

June Smith is a Project Assistant at Transtria. June is currently pursuing her MPH at Saint Louis University. June completed her undergraduate degree at University of Missouri St. Louis with a Bachelor’s in Biology. During her time at UMSL she worked with the student health center to promote health education. She also served at the Area 5 Student Advisory Committee member for the BACCHUS network, and national Peer Education Network for undergraduate students. These undergrad experiences are what brought her to public health. June’s peak areas of interest in public health are with cancer, and chronic disease prevention. June is a huge Cardinals baseball fan. She and her boyfriend met outside the old Busch Stadium waiting in line to get tickets to the 2004 World Series. June enjoys spending time with her family and friends, playing with her adorable cat, and going out for good food!

Kathryn Coniglio is a Project Assistant at Transtria. Katie is currently in her second year in the MPH program at SLU with concentrations in epidemiology and biostatistics. Katie grew up in Rochester, NY where her family still lives and received her undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame where she majored in pre-medicine and psychology. Katie has enjoyed studying and working in public health because it involves creative thinking, working with interesting people, and helping others in an important way. Katie is planning to attend law school in the Fall. In her spare time, Katie enjoys hanging out with friends, reading, skiing, yoga, and babysitting.

Anna Kiyo Alexandrov is a Project Assistant at Transtria. Anna is a junior pursuing a B.S. in Health Informatics and Information Management with a minor in Biology and a concentration in Pre-med studies at Saint Louis University. At SLU, she is actively involved with several student organizations of which some are Alpha Phi Omega (a national service fraternity), National Society of Collegiate Scholars, Asian Students in Action, and SLU Crew Rowing Club. To cultivate her passions for helping others and for traveling internationally, Anna founded an organization on SLU's campus known as SLU Global Medical Brigades, a group whose main objective is to travel overseas to remote villages and provide free health care services. Additionally, as part of her COVE internship, she volunteered and shadowed doctors in the St. Anthony's Medical Center's Emergency Department.  In her spare time, she enjoys attending concerts, volunteering, and traveling.

Tammy Grimm is a Project Assistant at Transtria. Originally from Chicago, he is currently completing his MPH degree with a concentration in Behavioral Sciences and Health Education at Saint Louis University. Tim received his BS degree in Psychology from Illinois State University and soon began working for the University of Illinois at Chicago conducting research studies in the areas of smoking cessation and weight management. Tim’s public health interests lie in affective disorders and how they can lead to substance abuse, while also looking at the mechanisms that can lead to changing that behavior. In his free time, Tim enjoys spending time with his wife Angie, mountain biking, playing football and hockey, as well as playing his guitar.

Tim McNeil is an intern at Transtria. Originally from Chicago, he is currently completing his MPH degree with a concentration in Behavioral Sciences and Health Education at Saint Louis University. Tim received his BS degree in Psychology from Illinois State University and soon began working for the University of Illinois at Chicago conducting research studies in the areas of smoking cessation and weight management. Tim’s public health interests lie in affective disorders and how they can lead to substance abuse, while also looking at the mechanisms that can lead to changing that behavior. In his free time, Tim enjoys spending time with his wife Angie, mountain biking, playing football and hockey, as well as playing his guitar.

Allison Sweet is an intern at Transtria. Originally from Springfield, Illinois, she received her Bachelors Degree in Community Health Education at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Allison is now finishing up her Master’s in Public Health at Saint Louis University concentrating in Behavioral Science and Epidemiology. Allison is a Research Assistant at the Health Communications Research Laboratory at SLU. She recently got engaged and has plans to be married October 11, 2008. Her fiancé, Ryan, is a car salesman at Behlmann GMC Pontiac and Buick. In her spare time she enjoys playing soccer and all other sports, cooking, road trips, and shopping (when money permits).

Catherine Rodemyer is an intern at Transtria. She is completing her MPH degree with a concentration in Health Policy at Saint Louis University. Catherine received her BS degree in Political Science from Miami University and her JD from Saint Louis University School of Law. Catherine is a member of Alpha Delta Pi, a national sorority with philanthropic connections to the Ronald McDonald House. An internship with the St. Louis City Public Defender Office sparked her interest in disparity issues. Catherine is also interested in consumer protection, chronic disease, preventative care, and constitutional law. In her spare time she enjoys traveling, bowling, running, playing the piano and spending time with friends.