Our Team
Matt Whitman
Executive Director
Matt Whitman has served as the Director of RHI since 2013. Under Matt’s leadership, RHI has expanded and transitioned from CACTC, a drug prevention coalition, to RHI, a broad public health agency with focus areas including drug prevention, literacy and youth development. Prior to joining RHI, Matt served two terms in the AmeriCorps at the Broome County Office for the Aging and SUNY Cortland’s Institute for Civic Engagement. He graduated from Binghamton University in 2010 with a B.A. in History. Matt is a member of the Cortland Rotary Club where he has served on the Board, as Vice President, and Club President from 2021-2022.
Sara Watrous
Project Director
Sara Watrous works as the Project Director overseeing the HEALing Communities Study (HCS) initiative for Cortland County. She previously worked at Tompkins Cortland Community College as the Alcohol & Drug Prevention Coordinator and before that worked at RHI as the Program Coordinator, focusing on substance use prevention and youth development. She is passionate about working with partners to enhance existing services and fill gaps while striving to ensure that those who struggle with substance use can access the services they need. Sara has a B.A. in International Relations and an M.A. in Political Science. She is also part of the Rural Health Innovation Program through the University of California, Berkeley, and is pursuing her Masters in Public Health.
Aster Ripley Parrott
In May of 2022, Aster started with RHI as Community Engagement Coordinator for the HEALing Communities Study. Since that project ended in spring of 2024, its work has included grant writing, data communication and report design, and product management for the various tools, portals, and other public health products RHI supports. In 2019, Aster earned its M.A. from Cornell University where they studied how different kinds of evidence get used in drug policy debates. It also regularly taught undergraduate writing courses about science, technology, and inequality. They have also earned a Chemical Dependency Counseling Certificate from Tompkins Cortland Community College, an M.S. from Drexel University, and a B.A. from Vassar College.
Claudia Kolts
Graphic Designer
Claudia Kolts works at RHI as the Graphic Designer. She started with minimalist icons that has now expanded into full illustrations, animations and videos. She loves developing and learning new design skills to meet the ever growing needs and challenges of RHI. Claudia graduated from Tompkins Cortland Community College with an A.S. degree in New Media which emphasized design with emerging technology. In her free time she also enjoys character design and dreams of writing graphic novels. She lives in Cortland NY with her 4 precious bunnies and turtle.
Summer Barrows
Epidemiologist
Summer Barrows is an Epidemiologist at CACTC, with the primary assignment being the Youth Survey Data. Before joining RHI, they worked as an Infection Preventionist at Groton Community Health Care Center. There, they provided disease surveillance and Infection control programming to an 80-bed facility. Summer earned their MPH in 2019 from SUNY Upstate Medical University as well as Syracuse University. They currently live in the Auburn area with their partner and too many cats.
Nicole Carter
Epidemiologist
Nicole Carter works at RHI as an Epidemiologist. She has worked for two years at the agency primarily on overdose prevention, but will be expanding into other areas such as mental health and housing. She graduated with her B.S. in Public Health, followed by her Master's degree in Public Health in May 2022, from Syracuse University. Prior to attending SU, she grew up in Binghamton NY.
Haile Cutter
Mental Health Awareness Training Coordinator
Haile Cutter works as the Mental Health Awareness Training Coordinator, bringing important trainings to the Cortland community such as Youth Mental Health First Aid for people working with or around children and adolescents, Crisis Intervention Training for law enforcement and first responders, and SafeTALK for anyone who wants to learn how to recognize the warning signs of suicide and how to help. Haile earned his B.S. from SUNY Cortland in Community Health with a concentration in College Health Promotion and Stress Prevention in 2021. Prior to working at RHI, he worked at the Cortland County Health Department in Partnership Development. Haile serves as a Co-Chair for the SPEAK UP Cortland Suicide Prevention Coalition. He lives in Ithaca with his partner where they enjoy gaming, karaoke, and playing in Ithaca’s community soccer leagues.
Join Our Team
View current job postings or just send us your resume to keep in mind for future opportunities!
Our Board
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Joe Cortese
Chair
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Mark Webster
Vice Char
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Diane Wheaton
Treasurer
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Marie Walsh
Secretary
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Kathy Fitzgerald
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Cathy Bischoff