Staff

Sari Bilick

Sari leads the organizing and advocacy work at HIP and coordinates Public Health Awakened, a network of public health professionals organizing to support social justice movements and resist attacks on our communities. She is passionate about mobilizing people around the issues most important to them and bringing a social justice and equity lens into all spaces.

Sari grew up in the Bay Area and was raised on activism. When not at a protest or organizing meeting, she can be found swimming in cold bodies of water or escaping to the woods.

Lili Farhang

Lili co-directs HIP with Solange, and is responsible for advancing the mission and strategic direction of the organization. For nearly 20 years, she has visioned, developed, and implemented policy and systems change to advance health equity in the government and nonprofit sectors, and she’s feeling energized by people’s willingness to talk about race, power and the other root drivers of health. These days, Lili spends a lot of time thinking about and developing novel approaches to activate public health around social justice issues and getting the field more aligned with community organizers and advocates.

Originally from New York, Lili now lives in Oakland and is kept on her toes by her two little kids and an unhealthy obsession with good TV and the Golden State Warriors.

Megan Gaydos

Megan helps build the capacity of health departments and their staff to advance health and racial equity through training, technical assistance, and development of practice tools. Megan manages HIP’s Power-building Partnerships for Health Initiative, coordinates HIP’s development of new NACCHO MAPP assessment tools, and led the development of HIP’s Health Equity Guide resource website. Megan loves supporting work to build community power and transform inequitable systems, institutions and ourselves.

Originally from New Hampshire, with long stints in Oakland and Mexico City, Megan currently lives in Denver, CO where she tries to get outside for hikes, gardening, and community gatherings as much as possible with her partner and two kids.

Solange Gould

Solange is thrilled to have joined HIP as Co-Director with Lili, and is responsible for advancing the mission and strategic direction of the organization. She has been in public health practice for over 20 years, advancing progressive policy and systems change to improve health, equity, and sustainability with government partners, advocates and organizers, and communities most impacted. Solange is excited about the clarity and vision of the youth climate movement in naming how racism, late-stage capitalism, and the climate crisis are intertwined root causes of inequities, and inspiring a vision of a future that everyone wants to run towards.  

Solange gets joy from playing with her two teenage sons and husband, dancing, painting, gardening, reading, and laying around with her 3 cats.

Rehana Lerandeau

Rehana is a Senior Program Associate at HIP and works actively between the Capacity Building Team, the Health Instead of Punishment Program, and the Power Building Partnerships for Health initiative. Rehana brings an abolitionist lens to all areas of her work and is passionate about reimagining and creating ways of preventing and addressing harm in our communities outside of the carceral system. She believes that equitable access to health and meaningful living wage employment for all people are what truly keep us safe—not jails, prisons, and policing.

Rehana was raised in Oakland, CA and has recently relocated to Atlanta, GA. When she’s not working or organizing Rehana is most likely watching awkward comedy flicks, on a hike or in a body of water, or hanging out with/lovingly bothering her partner!

Christine Mitchell

Christine is a senior research associate with the Health Instead of Punishment program at HIP. She is committed to the work of dismantling systems of oppression and envisioning a world where the current criminal legal system is replaced with community-based and community-led responses. She is excited to partner with grassroots organizations doing liberative work on the ground and to continue researching the ways that incarceration and policing impact the health of people and communities. 

Christine was born and raised in Massachusetts and will always remain a Red Sox fan at heart. Outside of activism and baseball, Christine finds hope in making music and hanging out with her baby niece.

Martha Ockenfels-Martinez

Martha supports the research needs of community partners across the country that are advancing equity and justice. She brings her background in local and state policymaking, community organizing, and advocacy to her work at HIP. She is always excited to brainstorm upstream solutions to create access to housing, health, and education for all.

Martha lives in Oakland, and was born and raised in Minneapolis. She loves a good book, spending time with friends and family, and walking around the lake.

Melanie Newcomb

Melanie is the Operations Associate at HIP and works to manage and strengthen the internal systems that facilitate the organization’s work. She partners closely with other staff to adapt HIP’s administrative tools so that they’re simple and efficient. With a strong passion for equity and justice, she works to design systems that are both effective and equitable. She also provides general administrative assistance and support to the rest of the staff.

Concurrently with HIP, Melanie assists at Regional Asthma Management and Prevention, an organization working to reduce the burden of asthma with a focus on health equity. Outside of her work, she helps transgender individuals update their identification paperwork and speaks to nursing students about transgender issues related to healthcare. She lives in Oakland, where she can be found hiking in the hills or at home geeking out with friends and playing board games.

Amber Akemi Piatt

Amber leads HIP’s Health Instead of Punishment Program. Originally trained in clinical psychology, violence prevention, and public health, she now works with grassroots groups and coalitions on successful campaigns to curb United States militarism, incarceration, and police violence. Her commitment to taking action in solidarity with those who have been most harmed by carceral systems guides her work.

Amber grew up in Reseda, California, and currently lives in Oakland. When she’s not fighting for social justice, she can be found dancing, hiking, or petting the nearest dog.

Sukhdip Purewal Boparai

As Research Project Director, Sukh conducts and elevates rigorous research to advance health equity, with a commitment to true community collaboration. Sukh is especially passionate about addressing racial and economic injustices impacting youth and families — she believes that research is a powerful mechanism to advance change.

Sukh is native to the Bay Area. For fun, she enjoys progressing on her bucket list, baking desserts, photography, and traveling with her husband.

Nikki Ramsy

Nikki is currently an undergraduate student at the University of Southern California and will be starting a Master’s program in Public Policy later this year. As a History major, she is particularly excited about marrying larger historical frameworks with on-the-ground communications work. After witnessing harm in her own community, Nikki is especially interested in making mental health services more accessible and de-stigmatized within the larger public health landscape — including bridging the perceived gap between physical and mental health.

Nikki was born in Ohio and now lives in Orange County — although she still identifies with her Midwestern roots — where she enjoys spending time with her very loud family (including her cat Moxie), watching Steven Universe, and soaking in balmy golden hours.

Jamie Sarfeh

Jamie leads communications at HIP. She is passionate about the power of language to build collective action, and brings her background in organizing and strategic communications to work towards a vision of health equity rooted in liberation. She believes that the messages and stories we tell structure the world around us, and are powerful tools that can shift our material realities.

Originally from the east coast, Jamie now lives in Oakland where she spends her time organizing with the Arab Resource and Organizing Center, surfing in the ice cold pacific, and dancing whenever possible.

Sophia (Sophie) Simon-Ortiz

Sophie works on organizing and advocacy at HIP and helps coordinate Public Health Awakened. She is passionately dedicated to building the organizing and advocacy power of public health workers across the country and to bridging health justice work with other social justice movements. She believes that all justice and equity work is ultimately about community health, and that all community health work should be rooted in justice and equity. With a “past life” in radio production and oral history recording, Sophie is particularly passionate about harnessing the power of self-determined community storytelling.

Proudly born and raised in the Bay Area, Sophie has family roots from the Southwest to the Midwest to Puerto Rico. Besides all of the above, Sophie finds joy in dancing, hiking, running, and catching up with family and friends far and wide.

Ana Téllez

Ana leads the Capacity Building Program. Ana has over a decade of experience in workforce development for public health organizations. She brings a deep knowledge in the design of blended learning curricula to address complex public health issues. She is passionate about using participatory design, clear communication principles, and the human experience to advance racial justice and belonging.

Ana is originally from Mexico City, with a Midwest twist — she now lives and plays in Berkeley with her spouse, 2 kids, and her mom.

Shannon Tracey

Shannon oversees organizational development, human resources, and finance for HIP, to support the health of staff and the organization overall. She brings nearly two decades of experience working throughout California as a grassroots organizer, coalition builder, fundraiser, and communicator. She is passionate about advancing justice and sustainability in the world through internal systems and practices that reflect HIP’s values and commitment to equity.

Shannon lives with her husband and 2 daughters in Oakland, except when they’re camping, or visiting family in New England or Germany. She loves sharing her favorite things about California with her family: mountains, year-round outdoor swimming, avocados, and activism.

Stephani Tyrance

Stephani designs and manages HIP’s national capacity-building Leadership Institute for individuals working on health equity in local health departments. As a member of the capacity building team, she also facilitates workshops and provides technical assistance to public health organizations seeking to center equity in their practice. Over the last 18 years Stephani has been focused on advancing racial justice practices and supporting communities of color.
 
Stephani lives with her husband and seven-year-old in Florida. They are a sports loving family that cheer on the Carolina Tar Heels, the Philadelphia Eagles and now the Jacksonville Jaguars. Stephani also enjoys spending time at the beach, hitting the trails, game nights and blerd culture, and serving her community.

Raina Wellman

Raina is a masters in public health candidate at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health with a certificate in Infectious Disease Epidemiology and a focus on health communications. She received a BFA with honors from the Rhode Island School of Design in Graphic Design with a concentration in Scientific Inquiry. Raina is passionate about addressing social determinants of health, centering health equity, and collaborating with community members to reach lasting solutions. She aims to utilize her communications skill-set and knowledge in health promotion theory to make complicated subject matter clear and accessible.

Currently based in New York City, Raina enjoys brewing iced teas, the luxury of ferries as public transit, visiting community green spaces, and learning new things in museums.