Meet Our TEAM
CAson Benton md, faap
UAB Professor and ACHIA Director
Dr. Benton became a quality improvement enthusiast after seeing how QI improved care for her clinic’s patients. She attended the University of Alabama School of Medicine and completed her pediatric residency at The University of Washington in Seattle. She has been with the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Alabama at Birmingham since 1998 where she is a Professor in Academic General Pediatrics.
She has been the Director of the Alabama Child Health Improvement Alliance (ACHIA) since its inception in 2014. Dr. Benton is the recipient of the 2019 Marsha Raulerson Advocacy Award and the 2018 American Board of Pediatrics Paul V. Miles Fellowship Award for mid-career pediatricians dedicated to improving quality of health care for children.
Zachary Garmon
Zack Garmon is currently the Financial Officer for ACHIA as well as The UAB Department of Pediatrics. He is responsible for financial reporting, budgeting, forecasting, invoicing, and money management for ACHIA and the department. He started his career in UAB Accounts Payable after graduating college in 2007 and in 2010 accepted his current position in Pediatrics.
UAB, Administrative Supervisor and ACHIA Financial Officer
UAB, ACHIA Program Coordinator
Autumn SImmons
Autumn Simmons serves as the Program Coordinator for ACHIA as well as The UAB Department of Academic General Pediatrics. In her role with ACHIA, she is responsible for administrative support of the execution and development of projects and serves as a liaison between UAB and ACHIA. Autumn graduated from The University of Montevallo in 2022 and has served in her current role since 2024. She is excited to contribute to meaningful improvements in various areas of child health across the state and to further develop her experience within pediatric healthcare.
Alabama Chapter-AAP Project Coordinator
Beth johns
Beth Albright Johns has over 30 years of professional experience in a variety of health care settings and nonprofit organizations primarily working with children and youth. Most recently, Ms. Johns worked for 15 years at UAB School of Public Health in Health Policy and Organization conducting needs assessment, program evaluation, continuous quality improvement, technical assistance, education and outreach, community engagement and strategic partnerships. Throughout her career she has worked with partners like AAP to improve access to care for children and youth. She is a retired pediatric occupational therapist who specialized in behavioral health and Autism Spectrum. She also served as the Assistant Vice President, Early Childhood Initiatives and Education at United Way of Central Alabama’s Success By 6 an early childhood initiative of UWCA joining in 2008. Ms. Johns received her Master of Public Health from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) School of Public Health in 2003 in Maternal and Child Health.
Ms. Johns is an alumnus of the Birmingham cohort of 21 Robert Wood Johnson Ladder to Leadership Community Health Scholars striving to improve the health of vulnerable populations. Ms. Johns has a long history of providing leadership to community-based organizations working to improve the lives of Alabamians cradle to grave.