Team

Rev. Amy Arnold was born and raised in Hamilton, OH, the daughter of public-school teachers. She attended Anderson University, double majoring in History and Christian Education. She then completed her Master of Divinity degree from Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, CA with an emphasis on Family Pastoral Care and Counseling.

Amy has been ordained with the Church of God, Anderson, Indiana since 1998.

Amy has served as a congregational Pastor, Professor of Religion but has been a Healthcare Chaplain with an emphasis on Hospice, Palliative Care and Blood Cancer for over 22 years. Amy is currently the System Manager of Spiritual Care for UC Health.

Being a retreat speaker, officiating a wedding or funeral are Amy’s other favorite parts of ministry. Her biggest honor in life is being an Aunt.

Dr. Baas is a fellowship-trained urologist who specializes in urethral reconstruction, male stress urinary incontinence, erectile dysfunction, Peyronie’s Disease, and male factor infertility. He received his fellowship training in Trauma and Genitourinary Reconstruction at Washington University in St. Louis. He completed medical school at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.

 Dr. Baas has been published several times in peer reviewed academic journals, has authored multiple textbook chapters, and presented at numerous national meetings. Dr. Baas is actively involved in research with a focus on urethral reconstruction, Peyronie’s Disease, and male sexual health.

 Dr. Baas has developed extensive experience in the new technology and skilled techniques including genitourinary reconstruction, robotic surgery, minimally invasive prostate procedures (i.e. Rezum) insertion of penile prosthesis, and the artificial urinary sphincter.

Dr. Balch has more than 22 years of executive leadership in the non-profit sector spanning multiple advocacy areas including access and affordability, health equity, prevention and early detection, and cancer research. He became the CEO of both PAF and NPAF in 2013 and has served as a member of both Boards of Directors since 2007. From 2006-2013, he served as Vice President of the Preventive Health Partnership – a national health promotion collaboration between the American Cancer Society, American Diabetes Association, and American Heart Association. Dr. Balch currently serves on dozens of selective boards, steering committees, and councils for an array of institutions. Most recently, Dr. Balch was selected as the Chair of the Global Patient Council for the American Patient Representatives Roundtable for the Professional Society for Health Economics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) after serving as the Co-Chair of the North American Patient Representatives Roundtable.

Dr. Balch recently stepped into the role of Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Clinical Pathways. He has served on the editorial board and as a contributing editor for many years and on the advisory board for the Journal of Oncology Navigation and Survivorship. He is frequently invited to peer review article submissions to various publications including the Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, Journal of Clinical Oncology, American Journal of Preventive Medicine, and the American Journal of Public Health.

He earned his PhD in 2003 from the University of California Santa Cruz, his master’s degree in 1997 from the University of Texas San Antonio; and his bachelor’s degree in 1994 from Trinity University in San Antonio.

Meredith Barteck is a Senior Communications Consultant for UC Health. She is an Emmy Award-winning storyteller with a decade of communications and public speaking experience. Using multimedia platforms, Meredith tells the stories of our academic health enterprise with a focus on celebrating employees, patients, research, and innovation. In 2024, Meredith helped the University of Cincinnati Cancer Center internally launch the UC Blood Cancer Healing Center to the 10,000+ employees of UC Health. Previously, Meredith worked as a journalist and anchor in local news across the country, including WLWT News 5 in Cincinnati. In 2025, Meredith and her team at WLWT were awarded an Emmy for their documentary focusing on sex trafficking in Cincinnati. Since transitioning from news to UC Health, which includes the hospital where she was born, she is grateful to give back to the place where her story began through this new age of healthcare communications. Meredith is honored to be with you. She is excited to learn alongside brilliant, compassionate minds and explore ways we can empower the blood cancer community.

Andrew Bazemore, MD, MPH serves as the Senior Vice President of Research and Policy for the American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM). As Senior Vice President for Research and Policy, Dr. Bazemore is responsible for managing all ABFM research functions and staff, development and implementation of an enterprise-wide strategy for research, co-directing the new ABFM Center for Professionalism and Value in Health Care in Washington DC, coordinating and developing an existing and expanding ABFM leadership/scholarship portfolio that includes ABFM Visiting Scholars & Fellowship, Pisacano Scholars & Puffer Fellowship programs, developing national and international collaborative research partnerships, and continuing to grow his own research in measures that matter for primary care, workforce & training, and access to primary health care for vulnerable populations.

Dr. Bender is a Pediatric Oncologist on the Leukemia/Lymphoma Team and Associate Director of the Cardio-Oncology Program at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.

Dr. Bender completed his medical degree and Internal Medicine-Pediatrics residency at the University of Michigan, where he also served as Chief Resident and undertook a fellowship in medical education. He completed fellowship in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, during which he also earned a Master of Science in Clinical and Translational Research through the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine.

Clinically, Dr. Bender’s focus is on caring for adolescents and young adults with hematologic malignancies, with a particular focus on Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphomas. His research centers on cardiotoxicity associated with novel therapies in pediatric oncology, along with strategies to identify childhood cancer survivors at highest risk for late-onset cardiotoxicity.

Jonathan serves as co-chair of the ACTION Network Pediatric Cardio-Oncology Workgroup and as a member of the International Cardio-Oncology Society Pediatric Task Force. Within the Children’s Oncology Group, Jonathan is a member of the Hodgkin Lymphoma Steering Committee, the Myeloid Cardiotoxicity Committee, and the steering committee for LEAP, which is a pilot project focused on revolutionizing follow-up for survivors of childhood Hodgkin lymphoma.

Dr. Rynita Bohler is a family physician; her medical education was at Wayne State University before coming to Cincinnati for her Family Medicine Residency with the University of Cincinnati.  She was a trailblazer in her subsequent palliative care fellowship, training also in oncology primary care.  She currently splits her clinical activities between oncology primary care and palliative care. Hailed by her patients for her intelligence, listening skills, and insight, she provides the utmost in care to her patients.

Dr. Childress joined Cincinnati Children’s Hospital in 2024 to serve as the Co-Director of the Comprehensive Fertility Care and Preservation Program and Fellowship Director of the Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology Fellowship Program. She completed her OB GYN residency training at Northwestern University in Chicago, followed by Fellowship in Pediatric & Adolescent Gynecology at Baylor College of Medicine/Texas Children’s Hospital. After fellowship she started the first Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology Program at Emory University and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA) in Atlanta, GA where she practice for 5 years, followed by a 2-year faculty position as Co-Director of the Fertility Program at Primary Children’s Hospital. She has been involved in various multidisciplinary clinics, including care for pelvic and anorectal malformations, bleeding disorders, bone marrow transplant survivorship and a DSD clinic throughout her career. She serves on committees and boards for various specialty societies and pediatric gynecology special interest groups, including the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, American Association of Gynecologic Laparoscopists (AAGL), Oncofertility Consortium, Pediatric Colorectal and Pelvic Learning Consortium and North American Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology (NASPAG). She currently serves as president of the NASPAG. She has academic and research interests in fertility preservation, complex differences of the reproductive tract, complex pelvic malformations, ovarian masses and minimally invasive surgery.