meet the team

Brian Archie

Brian Archie is co-chair and change agent for the Create a Healthier Niagara Falls Collaborative. He currently serves as the Chairman of the Human Rights Commission for the city of Niagara Falls, works in patient financial services at Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center and is pursuing his bachelor’s degree in Business with a focus in Project Management. Brian was born and raised in Niagara Falls, and currently lives in the North End/Highland area.

Evelyn Harris

Evelyn Harris has been actively involved in the Create a Healthier Niagara Falls Collaborative since its formation in 2009, and currently serves as co-chair and change agent. Evelyn works in the emergency department at Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center, and has served as union steward for the Hospital Council since 1979. In 2002, she became the NYS State Board of Director for the SEIU. She has also volunteered as a financial officer for the Michigan Street preservation corporation, where she played a crucial role in fundraising for the Nash House, a museum holding a treasure-trove of historical artifacts from the Niagara Movement (which later became the NAACP). In 2017, Evelyn received the Volunteer Award in Niagara Falls. She has lived in downtown Niagara Falls for nearly six decades.

Sarah Obot

Sarah Obot is co-chair, change agent and board member for Create a Healthier Niagara Falls Collaborative. A resident of the LaSalle neighborhood for 10 years, Sarah brings a passion for teaching and coaching. She serves as a Program Coordinator for maternal infant health initiatives at the Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center. Sarah has a master’s of science degree in Education.

Shelley B. Hirshberg

Shelley B. Hirshberg is an influential and active proponent for Western New York communities. She served as Executive Director of the P2 Collaborative of Western New York for more than seven years, and while there, helped establish the Create a Healthier Niagara Falls Collaborative. Today, she continues her work with the Collaborative as coach and mentor to the co-chairs and work groups, encouraging them to continue making positive change. Her extensive non-profit, leadership and community health experience includes serving as the Project Director of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Aligning Forces for Quality (AF4Q) initiative in Western New York, in which Niagara Falls was chosen as one of only 16 participating communities in the country. She also completed a fellowship program in Creating Healthier Communities at The Healthcare Forum, is a graduate of the Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership at the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Management, and completed a Leadership Coaching program at Georgetown University. Shelley is a former member of the Governance Committee of the Network for Regional Health Improvement (NRHI), and has served on the National Quality Forum’s Population Health Framework committee. She currently serves as an Ambassador Consultant for NRHI’s Health Doers Network (HDN), is on the HDN’s Advisory Council and is a coach for the University at Buffalo School of Management’s Center for Leadership and Organizational Effectiveness. Shelley earned a bachelor’s degree from Bucknell University, and a master’s degree in Health Services Administration from the University of Wisconsin’s School of Business.