Cempa Community Care’s mission is to champion healthy communities by providing affordable, compassionate, and high-quality care through advancing comprehensive support services and person-centered best practices. Meet the team of providers that make it possible.
Dr. Shannon Burger is the CEO of Cempa Community Care, a federally qualified health center and infectious disease specialty practice based in East Tennessee. Over the past nine years, she has led Cempa Community Care through significant transformations, enhancing financial stability and fostering a culture of innovation and growth. Under her leadership, the organization has achieved remarkable milestones, redefining the standards of community health care provision. One of her most cherished accomplishments is the expansion of various service lines to address the diverse needs of the community. Initiatives under her tenure include launching the organization’s first community pharmacy, establishing a walk-in clinic in partnership with Metropolitan Ministries, opening a new dental clinic, and introducing Cempa’s Mobile Clinic. These efforts have significantly broadened access to comprehensive health care services and have earned the organization numerous awards and accolades.
Her dedication to advocating for health centers and their patients earned her the 2023 Kathy Wood-Dobbins Executive Leadership Award from the Tennessee Primary Care Association. Cempa Community Care has garnered notable recognitions, including the 2023 Latino Community Champion Award from La Paz Chattanooga, the 2023 Champions of Health Care Group Diversity & Inclusion Award from Edge Magazine, and the 2022 Non-profit of the Year Award from the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce. Additionally, the organization was honored with the Organizational Excellence Award from the Tennessee Primary Care Association in 2021 and the Governor’s Award of Excellence from Gov. Bill Lee in 2020, among other accolades. Notably, Cempa was recognized as one of Chattanooga’s Best Places to Work by Edge Magazine in 2022 and as one of the Best Places to Work in Tennessee by Best Companies Group in 2025.
She serves on local, regional, and national boards. She leverages these platforms to educate on compliance and public policy while also providing mentorship and training opportunities nationwide. She presides over the board of directors for the Ryan White Clinics for 340B Access, chairs the governmental and nonprofit committee for the Tennessee Society of CPAs, and holds a board position with the Tennessee Primary Care Association. She earned a Doctor of Science in Health Administration from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She also holds an MBA, is a Certified Public Accountant, and is a graduate of the Leadership Tennessee Signature Program.
Dr. James Sizemore, MD, MPH, a Chattanooga native and Baylor School graduate, received his BS in Psychology from Duke University and his MD from the University of Tennessee. Following medical school, Dr. Sizemore completed an internal medicine internship and residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. His professional education culminated with an Infectious Diseases fellowship at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, during which he also earned his Master of Science in Public Health. He joined the faculty at UAB, both practicing and teaching medicine, before returning to Chattanooga in 2005. Dr. Sizemore is a partner in The ID Group and former Chief of Staff at Erlanger. Since 1998, Dr. Sizemore has worked extensively with HIV-positive individuals in Baltimore, Birmingham, and Chattanooga, and he has served as the Chief Medical Officer at Cempa Community Care since 2005.
Robert Morris serves as Chief of Staff to the CEO at Cempa Community Care, where he drives organizational alignment, strategic execution, and a mission-driven culture. Since joining Cempa as a Senior Strategic Advisor in June 2025, he has played a pivotal role in shaping the organization’s future-ready structure, advancing leadership development, and guiding operational transformation.
Robert brings more than 25 years of leadership experience across healthcare, aerospace and defense, utilities, and nonprofit sectors. His career includes senior roles at the Tennessee Valley Authority, where he served as Senior Strategic Advisor, Director of Communications Operations, and Senior Manager of Nuclear Materials, as well as Vice President of Program Management & Supply Chain at AAR Corporation. Throughout his career, he has built a reputation for translating strategy into execution, leading large-scale transformations, and fostering inclusive, high-performing cultures.
Deeply committed to service, Robert has dedicated his leadership beyond the workplace. He served as Chair of Cempa’s Board of Directors from 2019 to 2025, and has held leadership positions with the American Red Cross, Thrive Alabama, and the City of Huntsville’s Human Relations Commission. He is also a graduate of Leadership Chattanooga and currently serves as President-Elect of the Leadership Chattanooga Alumni Association.
Morris earned an Executive Bachelor of Business degree from Faulkner University and has completed executive leadership programs with the Tennessee Valley Authority and the Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce.
Guided by his personal why—to approach each day with empathy, curiosity, and purpose, cultivating a culture where genuine belonging fuels excellence and empowers everyone to thrive—Robert lives out the Cempa values as a compass for every decision, action, and interaction. Compassion means meeting people with empathy, seeing them fully as they are. Empowerment provides patients and staff with the tools to thrive and grow. Excellence pushes the organization to raise the bar every day. Integrity calls leaders to do the right thing, even when it is difficult. Unity reminds everyone that Cempa is strongest when it stands together. These values are not slogans—they are lived commitments to the community and to every person Robert encounters.
Jamie Barbeauld, CPA, received her Bachelor’s in Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She is a Certified Public Accountant in the State of Tennessee. After college graduation, Jamie worked at a regional accounting firm in as an auditor for several years, working on public company and non-profit audits, as well as audits of employee benefit plans. Before joining Cempa, Jamie served as a financial services consultant for non-profits in several different disciplines, as well as small businesses. Jamie is knowledgeable in the areas of financial reporting, grant compliance and internal control functions, as well as budgeting and financial analysis. Over the course of her career Jamie has managed many government grants ranging from local to federal awards.
Robert Morris serves as Chief of Staff to the CEO at Cempa Community Care, where he drives organizational alignment, strategic execution, and a mission-driven culture. Since joining Cempa as a Senior Strategic Advisor in June 2025, he has played a pivotal role in shaping the organization’s future-ready structure, advancing leadership development, and guiding operational transformation.
Robert brings more than 25 years of leadership experience across healthcare, aerospace and defense, utilities, and nonprofit sectors. His career includes senior roles at the Tennessee Valley Authority, where he served as Senior Strategic Advisor, Director of Communications Operations, and Senior Manager of Nuclear Materials, as well as Vice President of Program Management & Supply Chain at AAR Corporation. Throughout his career, he has built a reputation for translating strategy into execution, leading large-scale transformations, and fostering inclusive, high-performing cultures.
Deeply committed to service, Robert has dedicated his leadership beyond the workplace. He served as Chair of Cempa’s Board of Directors from 2019 to 2025, and has held leadership positions with the American Red Cross, Thrive Alabama, and the City of Huntsville’s Human Relations Commission. He is also a graduate of Leadership Chattanooga and currently serves as President-Elect of the Leadership Chattanooga Alumni Association.
Morris earned an Executive Bachelor of Business degree from Faulkner University and has completed executive leadership programs with the Tennessee Valley Authority and the Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce.
Guided by his personal why—to approach each day with empathy, curiosity, and purpose, cultivating a culture where genuine belonging fuels excellence and empowers everyone to thrive—Robert lives out the Cempa values as a compass for every decision, action, and interaction. Compassion means meeting people with empathy, seeing them fully as they are. Empowerment provides patients and staff with the tools to thrive and grow. Excellence pushes the organization to raise the bar every day. Integrity calls leaders to do the right thing, even when it is difficult. Unity reminds everyone that Cempa is strongest when it stands together. These values are not slogans—they are lived commitments to the community and to every person Robert encounters.
