Leadership Fellows

Gwyn Ashcom

Gwyn Ashcom, MPH, MCHES, has over 20 years of experience in public health working exclusively in the public sector. She currently works in tobacco prevention where she develops, implements and evaluates a jurisdiction-wide comprehensive tobacco prevention program for Washington County Public Health in Oregon. This work includes providing technical assistance and guidance for sustainable and equitable policy, systems and environmental changes to ensure tobacco and nicotine free environments.  Prior to working for the county, Ashcom worked in the department of Health Promotion at Portland State University. The focus of her work in college health involved the development of wide-ranging community level interventions aimed to influence the environment in which people live, work and learn. 

Jason Dawson

Jason Dawson, MPH, has been in the field of public health for the past 21 years addressing health disparities in communities of color. He is currently a Health Equity Strategist for the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Center for Health Equity. As a strategist for the Partnership and Collaboration unit, he works to build community partnerships that advance racial, social, economic, and environmental justice, and amplify community voices to drive decision-making and ensure accountability. He also advises on applying best health equity practices and strategies proven effective and innovative to strengthen community efforts.  A native of Los Angeles, Dawson earned his bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Morehouse College and Masters in Public Health from San Diego State University.

Renai Edwards-Malayil

Renai Edwards-Malayil, MPH, manages HIV/STI Prevention at the Detroit Health Department. She has over 20 years of experience in a range of public health areas, including HIV/STI, tuberculosis control, communicable disease surveillance, maternal/child health and refugee health. Edwards-Malayil is a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer (Honduras) and is bilingual English/Spanish. 

Adaora Ezike

Adaora Ezike, MHS, CCTP, is a public-spirited health professional with over 10 years of experience developing, implementing and analyzing population level strategies in culturally-diverse communities. Ezike serves as the Manager of the Behavioral Health Program at the City of Detroit Health Department, where she develops wellness programs, injury and overdose prevention strategies, and drives racial equity initiatives. Prior to joining the Health Department, Ezike worked in collaboration with grassroots and public organizations to address mental health, human rights, and reproductive justice issues in communities across the United States and abroad. Ezike earned her Masters from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and professional certifications in Public Health Informatics, Community-Based Public Health, Health Disparities & Health Inequality, and Health & Human Rights. 

Benjamin Grimm

Benjamin Grimm, BSN, RN, PHN, works as a public health nurse for Wright County Health and Human Services in Minnesota. In his role, he serves on the Collaborative Health Services team by providing high school students guidance on healthy relationships and resources for sexual wellness. Grimm also provides education to new parents on early childhood development and attachment. Grimm is a member of the Health Equity Action Team at Wright County Public Health that strives to incorporate health equity into the culture of the division. He received his Bachelors in Nursing from the College of St. Scholastica.

Wendy Hetherington

Wendy Hetherington, MPH, is the Chief Epidemiologist for the County of Riverside Department of Public Health and is responsible for leading the Epidemiology and Program Evaluation Branch, which includes the Health Equity Program and the Riverside Overdose Data to Action Program. She manages a team of epidemiologists and research specialists who analyze data, prepare reports and presentations, use statistics and GIS to guide program and policy development and a team of program coordinators and health education assistants who use the data to collaborate with community partners and members to improve health. She also manages the Office of Vital Records whose team is responsible for registering all births and deaths that occur in Riverside County. 

Sandra Lake

Sandra Lake, MPH, BSN, RN, is a committed and compassionate public health enthusiast, who understands its capability to transform lives and communities. She serves as the Community Services Manager and Health Equity Chair at the Ottawa County Department of Public Health in Holland, Michigan. Lake was trained as a public health nurse and prior to her current role, spent most of the past decade working with mothers and children in the maternal infant health home visiting program. She believes that holistic wellness is a human right and she’s passionate about making that a reality for everyone. You’ll often find Lake hanging with her husband, two children, and overweight golden retriever named Walter. In her spare time, she enjoys listening to podcasts or searching for Puerto Rican cuisine, which is both her favorite and a reminder of her childhood. 

Kendall Lasane

Kendall LaSane, MPH, is a Quality Assurance Specialist at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (NYC DOHMH). He is responsible for improving data quality and supporting the overall performance of Relay, a non-fatal opioid overdose response system that operates in emergency departments across NYC. He is currently a doctoral student at the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill in the Department of Health Policy and Management, received his Master of Public Health degree from Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Anthropology from Wellesley College.

Kate McMahon

Kate McMahon, MPH, is an advocate for social justice and health equity in all policies. At the Chicago Department of Public Health, she works with community organizations and cross-government partners to embed equity in decision making across policy areas and sectors. Prior to joining the public sector, she led public health policy development, strategy, and advocacy efforts. McMahon is pursuing a Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) leadership degree at the University of Illinois Chicago School of Public Health and is a graduate of DePaul University’s Master of Public Health program.

Caroline Miller

Caroline Miller, MPH, MPA, works as the Special Initiatives Program Manager at the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (NYC DOHMH) in the Bureau of Chronic Disease Prevention. In this role, she leads efforts to build Bureau capacity to approach its work (both internal processes/operations and external programming and communications) with a racial equity and social justice. Prior to DOHMH, Miller worked at Amnesty International USA and has volunteered and consulted for community-based organizations in Tanzania, Honduras, and India focused on the health and rights of women and girls. She has a Master of Public Health and Master of Public Administration from Columbia University. She lives in New York City with her husband, daughter, and son.  

Phyusin Myint

Phyusin Myint, PhD, MPP, is a public servant, educator, and researcher with a focus on anti-racism and racial justice advocacy.  She currently serves as the Health Equity Planning and Policy Program Supervisor for Washington County Public Health. She is the President Elect and Board Director of Oregon Public Health Association. She is the Co-Chair and founding member of the Oregon Public Health Association’s Equity Committee. She has over 16 years of experience in program management and strategic planning for complex human and health related issues in higher education, government, and the non-profit sector. 

Hieu Nguyen

Hieu Nguyen, LCSW, MBA, serves as the OC Health Care Agency’s first Director of the Office of Population and Health Equity. Nguyen previously served as the Director for System of Care at Mind OC, a non-profit organization that seeks to collaboratively transform the mental health system in Orange County. Through public and private partnerships, he actively engaged community stakeholders to actualize the Be Well OC movement.    

Sardis Rodriguez

Sardis Rodriguez, Ed.D., MPA, is an Administrative Manager for the Office of Population Health & Equity and is a long-time resident of Fullerton. She previously worked with the Los Angeles County Office of Education’s Head Start and Early Learning division as a program analyst. Her work and research are grounded in justice, equity, and inclusion and driven by a passion for continuous community-led improvement. 

Natasha P. Shumpert

Natasha Pickens Shumpert, LMSW, CCM, C-ASWCM, has practiced social work for the past 16 years in governmental and nonprofit settings. She currently serves as the Social Services Coordinator with the Jefferson County Department of Health. Shumpert leads a team of licensed social workers and registered nurses who promote mental and physical wellness of clinical patients and community residents. A native of Tupelo, Mississippi, Shumpert received an MSW from the University of Alabama and advocates for underserved populations using her expertise in innovative programming, policy creation, resource development, and strategic partnerships. Driven by a passion to improve long-term health outcomes for vulnerable populations, Shumpert is committed to acquiring additional knowledge and skills to eliminate inequities in access to healthcare services.

Meher Singh

Meher Singh, MPH, is a public health researcher and advocate for health equity and racial justice. In her current role in the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, she conducts training evaluations and provides training on anti-racism in the Division of Organizational Development and Training. In her previous work in Baltimore City, she has played a critical role in supporting the anti-racist public health work in the Bureau of Maternal and Child Health. She has done work in the Punjabi-Sikh community to address anti-black racism and provided education to border patrol officers about the Sikh faith.

F. Darlene Traffanstedt

F. Darlene Traffanstedt, MD, is a Medical Director for the Jefferson County Department of Health in Birmingham, AL, leading the Family Planning program and the Health Equity and Population Health Division. She spent 14 years in the practice of General Internal Medicine before making a transition to public health in 2018. This transition was driven by a passion for working on health disparities and overdose prevention and response. Outside of work, Dr. Traffanstedt enjoys spending time with her husband and three sons, road-tripping and riding her Peloton.

Genese Turner

Genese Turner, MIPS, also known as Genny, is an advocate and conspirator for all things health and racial equity. Prior to her current position as Director of Health Equity and Strategic Partnerships with the Chicago Department of Public Health, she enjoyed over 20 years in cross-sectored multi-disciplinary careers spanning both corporate and nonprofit settings. She holds an undergraduate degree in Aircraft Engineering Technology with dual minors in Mathematics and Space Studies. She also has a master’s in International Public Service. 

Gwen Unzicker

After completing medical school at Southern Illinois University in 2005 and Family Medicine residency at Grand Rapids Family Medicine Residency in 2008, Gwen Unzicker, MD, practiced outpatient primary care in multiple clinical settings, including a Community Health Center for uninsured and under-insured patients, a Family Medicine Residency Health Center (where she also served as a core faculty member), and an employer-based primary care clinic. In primary care, one of her main roles was to help the patient make sense of competing or seemingly contradictory recommendations from other sources, including specialists, friends and family, and the internet, while also coordinating a team comprised of professionals from multiple disciplines, with different areas of expertise, but all with a common goal. Having recently transitioned from her position as a primary care physician to a new role as medical director of a county health department, Unzicker has found that though her “patient” is now the community, the team comprised of multiple departments, and the communication to a wider audience, the goal is still the same: caring for the whole patient. 

Ellie Vanasse

Ellie Vanasse, BSN, RN, PHN, is a Public Health Nurse for Wright County, Minnesota, where she leads an internal health equity action team, coordinates healthy eating and substance use prevention projects, and provides mobile clinical services to local communities. Outside of work, she spends her time creating, reading, cooking, and staying active. Vanasse grew up in western Wisconsin and received her nursing degree at the College of St. Benedict in St. Joseph, Minnesota.

Salomeh Wagaw

Salomeh Wagaw, MPH, is the first Program Director of Health Equity for Riverside County Department of Public Health. Prior to her current position, she served as an Epidemiologist with Riverside County for over 8 years focusing on incorporating data to action, highlighting disparities, uplifting health equity, and driving policy change. She has a Bachelor of Science in Biology from University of California Riverside and a Master of Public Health in Research Epidemiology from Loma Linda University. 

John Yates

John Yates, MBA, was born and raised in Harlem, NY and currently serves as the Director of Racial Equity and Social Justice at the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (NYC DOHMH) in the Office of Emergency Preparedness and Response (OEPR). In this capacity, he oversees all racial equity and social justice work for his Division which includes leading OEPR for Equity, a division-wide priority that aims to codify a racial equity lens to public health emergency planning and response. Yates received his B.A. in Sociology from DePaul University, which he used to begin his early career in anti-racism social justice. Having received his MBA from Metropolitan College of New York, Yates now incorporates a lot of organizational change social justice work. Currently working towards his J.D. from the City University of New York School of Law, Yates is eager to inform structural policy change in order to help create a healthier, happier, free world.

C. Anneta Arno

C. Anneta Arno, Ph.D., MPH, is the director of DC Health’s Office of Health Equity, Government of the District of Columbia, in Washington, D.C.

She is an experienced public health professional with a track record in the field of health equity. This includes work promoting community collaboration to transform views and perspectives related to root causes of health disparities, the integration of health equity concepts into healthcare delivery systems, and racial equity through a public health lens. Arno’s held previous roles at the Communicable Disease Prevention & Public Health Preparedness in the Kansas City, Missouri Department of Health; the Center for Health Equity in the Louisville (Kentucky) Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness; and University of Louisville School of Public Health & Information Sciences.

Aja Barber

Aja Barber is a native of Texas, but has called Louisville, Kentucky home since 2016. She received her bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Master of Science in Youth Development from Texas A&M University. While in graduate school, she studied the relationship between institutional racism and trauma, which led her to Louisville and the Center for Health Equity (CHE). At CHE, Barber works with the understanding that racism can be defeated and contributes her part through building relationships to organize for a better world, coordinating special projects, and managing administrative operations.

Jannah Bierens

Jannah Bierens is a health education specialist at the Durham County Department of Public Health. As a fitness instructor and nutrition educator, she has focused on behavior change for chronic disease prevention/management for 16 years. Recently, via several trainings on institutional racism and continuous self-study, Bierens’ passion for reversing racialized health disparities is now driven by an equity lens with historical context. She now explicitly names racism as the root cause to racial/ethnic health disparities when discussing predisposition and data. Bierens holds a bachelor’s in Health Fitness from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. In addition to attaining a Master of Public Health from Benedictine University, she also received certificates in Health Policy & Management and Health Education Programming.

Heleen Dewey

Heleen Dewey has been working as a health program specialist for over 16 years. Her leadership approach and broad experience in affecting policy and environmental change make her a highly-sought after individual for numerous related committees and coalitions. Dewey currently works on active transportation policy creation/implementation and transportation demand management programming. Dewey is an enrolled member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewas Indians and Santee Sioux.

Kristie Egge

Kristie Egge is the community health planner/health promotion supervisor for the Wood County Health Department. She facilitates the Healthy People Wood County Community Health Needs Assessment and Community Health Improvement Plan focusing on Chronic Disease Prevention and Management, Mental Health & Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse, as well as Healthy Growth and Development. Egge’s work focuses on policy, system, and environmental changes at the local level. She has experience working with diverse populations and numerous community organizations including public school districts, worksites, city/county planning, and the health care industry. She received her undergraduate degree from University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire in biology and earned her Master’s in public health at Concordia University.

Isaac Grody-Patinkin

Isaac Grody-Patinkin works at the intersection of health equity and restorative practices in rural Colorado. He comes to this work through a lifelong passion for bringing together unlikely characters in the service of healing justice, and bridging divides with the tools of proximity and curiosity. Grody-Patinkin uses the lens of health equity and his role in a rural public health department to melt resistance around difficult conversations about undoing racism and other systems of inequality. He holds a bachelor’s in community education from Goddard College and is pursuing his master’s in conjunction with this leadership fellowship. He lives at 9,000 feet with his pup Osa.

Torrie T. Harris

Dr. Torrie Harris is the health and equity strategist for the New Orleans Health Department. She leads efforts to eliminate health disparities, working across government sectors with external partners and with community members to ensure health for all of New Orleans. She is a native of New Orleans, with over 18 years of experience in public health.

Marques Hogans

Marques Hogans is a public health professional currently working for the City of Milwaukee Health Department in Wisconsin. In his current role, he serves as Public Health Educator II in the Family and Community Health Division’s Men’s Health Program. Hogans also provides supports to Data You Can Use and Ubuntu Research and Evaluation, which are both evaluation agencies working to improve efforts of inner-city serving program. He holds a master’s in public health.

Wendy Kaplan

Wendy Kaplan has been working as a public health professional in Northern California for over 20 years. She currently oversees the Emergency Preparedness, Communicable Disease, Chronic Disease Prevention, and Laboratory Services units at the Butte County Public Health Department. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Health Education from Chico State University and a Master of Public Health from San Jose State University.

Sarah Katz

Sarah Katz manages the Assessment and Epidemiology Unit for the Sonoma County Department of Health Services. She has over 10 years of public health and epidemiological experience in local and state health departments, hospitals, and academic settings in California. Katz has a Master of Public Health in Epidemiology from San Diego State University and two bachelor’s degrees in interdisciplinary studies and geography from University of California, Berkeley.

Xavier Lofton

Xavier Lofton is the project coordinator for Hydrate Philly – a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation funded partnership between the Philadelphia Department of Public Health, Philadelphia Parks and Recreation, and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. This project is aimed at improving the access and appeal of drinking water in recreation centers through installing new bottle-filling water fountain stations in the city’s lower-income communities. Prior to joining the Department of Public Health, he spent five years with Parks and Recreation. Xavier’s work is rooted in his belief that access to quality drinking water and healthy eating options should not be defined by the zip code in which a person lives. He received a bachelor’s in public relations from Hofstra University.

Michael Magaña

Michael Magaña is the health education program manager at the Calaveras County Public Health, a rural health department located in the Eastern Foothills of the Sierras of California. Among his many interests is a passion to address rural health equity and well-being. Magaña received a Bachelor of Science in Molecular and Cell Biology from California State University, Fresno and a Master of Public Health from Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Alyssa Mouton

Alyssa Mouton is a health education supervisor with Gaston County Department of Health and Human Services in North Carolina. She is passionate about building “win-win” partnerships to promote health equity through a Health in All Policies lens. Mouton earned her Bachelor of Arts in Social Relations from James Madison College at Michigan State University, and received master’s degrees in public health and public policy from the University of Michigan.

Stephanie Nathan

Stephanie Nathan is a public health professional who’s passionate about promoting health equity. After graduating from Loma Linda University with a Master of Public Health in Health Policy, Nathan served as a public health program manager for Merced County Department of Public Health overseeing chronic disease prevention efforts. She is now in Madera County as the assistant director for Madera County Public Health.

Rowena Pineda

Rowena Pineda is a program manager at the Spokane Regional Health District (SRHD) where she oversees Neighborhoods Matter, a community-based program that focuses on the prevention of family and community violence. Prior to joining SRHD, Rowena was the executive director of the Idaho Community Action Network (ICAN) in Boise, ID, a community-based organization working on racial, economic, and social justice issues. She has extensive experience in community organizing for the Center for Third World Organizing (CTWO) in Oakland, CA; Parent Voices in San Francisco, CA; and Northwest Federation of Community Organizations (now People’s Action) in Seattle, WA. Pineda was also selected for a one-year fellowship with The San Francisco Foundation and as a program associate in Child Welfare for the Stuart Foundation.

Maria Sarabia

Maria Sarabia serves as Ramsey County’s first health equity officer at the Saint Paul – Ramsey County Public Health Department. She leads efforts to deconstruct organizational barriers and advance racial and health equity to improve outcomes for all people in Ramsey County. Her work includes developing and implementing a comprehensive countywide equity plan. Sarabia has worked as a public servant in various levels of government for the past 10 years, having overseen policy development and programming in Medicaid eligibility, public health, and civil rights. She began her career as a social services practitioner focused on wrap around service, workforce development, and positive youth development. She holds a bachelor’s in inner cities studies from Northeastern Illinois University and a master’s in social service administration from the University of Chicago.

Kristynn J. Sullivan

Kristynn Sullivan became an epidemiologist and the accreditation coordinator of the Merced County Department of Public Health, in California’s Central Valley, immediately after finishing her doctorate in Quantitative Psychology at the University of California, Merced in 2015. She works on both communicable and chronic disease projects, as well as local equity initiatives and collaborations with local substance abuse prevention programs. Sullivan grew up in the D.C. metro area, and received her bachelor’s in psychology at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, VA.

Oliviah Walker

Oliviah Walker is a senior policy analyst with the Multnomah County Health Department, where she contributes to health and racial equity work in partnership with community, organizations, and local government across diverse projects and initiatives. Her particular interests span the intersections of youth work, maternal child health, and urban native and tribal health equity. She is a citizen of the Meskwaki Nation with close ties to the Portland and Minneapolis Native communities. Walker spends all her free time hiking wherever the trail takes her.

Ashley Wheeler-Bell

Ashley Wheeler-Bell works as an operations coordinator at Denver Public Health. She is committed to eliminating health disparities, to diversifying the workforce at all levels and working towards making society a better place for everyone. Ashley enjoys reading, meditating, having meaningful relationships and cooking inspired dishes for her family. She is currently working towards achieving a master’s degree in Healthcare Administration and looks forward to intertwining the lessons learned from Health Equity Awakened into her leadership style.

Meileen Acosta

Meileen has been an epidemiologist for 13 years and joined Solano Public Health in 2012.  Her awareness for equity stemmed from her exposure as a child to her father’s work in a small town in the Philippines and her passion for equity grew during graduate school.  When she’s not being an epidemiologist or an advocate of equity, Meileen enjoys baking (and eating!) and loves to travel.

Katie Balderas

Katie started as the new Office of Equity Manager for the City of Long Beach Department of Health & Human Services in January 2017. She previously worked for the Los Angeles County Public Health Department where she served as a Social Determinants of Health Policy Analyst and drove policy efforts around healthy housing, collaborated with other LA County departments to create an Equity Scorecard and participated in Government Alliance for Race and Equity trainings. She also served as a health educator for Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health Programs and a policy liaison for the Tobacco Control & Prevention Program. Katie has a Bachelor’s in Psychology and Master’s in Public Health, both from California State University, Long Beach.

Nicki Britten

Nicki Britten is the Health Officer of the Berrien County Health Department in Benton Harbor, MI where she has served in a variety of roles there since she began her work in local public health in 2009. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Sciences from Western Michigan University and a Master’s of Public Health in Epidemiology from Yale University. Throughout her career, she has had a particular focus on health equity, obesity prevention, and food access.

Manuel Carmona

Manuel Carmona manages the Administration and Finance Division for the City of Pasadena Public Health Department including administration of the fiscal operation and coordinating departmental human resource functions. He received his Bachelor of Science in Community and Regional Development from UC Davis and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Southern California. Manuel was raised in an unincorporated area of Los Angeles County where he attended public schools and attributes his passion for improving communities and serving others to his experience growing up in an underserved community. He is a 2017 alumnus of Leadership Pasadena and a Fellow with the New Leaders Council, a development institute for progressive political entrepreneurs.

Debbie Edokpolo

Debbie Edokpolo is the Deputy Health Officer at the Ingham County Health Department. She is a 28 year public health professional, serving at the local governmental level. Among her many interests is a passion for health equity, social justice and the impact of those issues on adults and children of color in her community.

Martha Friedman

Martha Friedman is the Refugee Health and Health Equity Coordinator at the Vermont Department of Health. In this capacity she oversees the refugee health program in Vermont and leads the Office of Health Equity as it supports the Department in integrating an equity approach in its work. She previously managed Vermont’s oral health program and worked on health promotion activities at community health centers in Boston. Martha received a Master’s in Public Health focusing on social and behavioral health and health communications from Boston University and a bachelor’s degree from Oberlin College.

Rujuta Gaonkar

Rujuta Gaonkar has been living and working in the Pacific Northwest for the past 17 years, conducting research and developing, managing and evaluating programs in the public health field, always focused on the intersection between public health and social justice. Rujuta has worked at the Multnomah County Health Department (MCHD) between 2009-2017, where she has managed the Health Equity Initiative at MCHD as well as County work for a disparities-focused, community-led Community Health Improvement Plan (CHIP). She is also the devoted mother to an imaginative and spirited 7 year old.

Sarah Grosshuesch

Sarah Grosshuesch has over 7 years of experience in Public Health administration. She most recently became the Public Health Director for Wright County, Minnesota after 6 years in Wisconsin.  She is excited about the opportunities the new position brings for further exploration of health equity in a changing rural landscape. She holds a Masters of Public Health with a certificate in Maternal and Child Health Leadership. Sarah and her family live in Wright County, spending their free time settling in and developing new relationships.

Kiran Joshi

Dr. Kiran Joshi currently serves as Senior Medical Officer at the Cook County Department of Public Health (CCDPH), where he oversees the department’s Emergency Preparedness, Chronic Disease, and Epidemiology units. Since joining CCDPH, Dr. Joshi has been responsible for supervising the development of WePlan 2020, the community health assessment and improvement plan for suburban Cook County, developing an infrastructure for clinical community linkages in the Cook County Health and Hospitals System, and has provided leadership in the agency response to communicable disease outbreaks. Dr. Joshi is also currently an Assistant Professor of Clinical Family Medicine at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

Sabrina Lakhani

Sabrina Lakhani currently serves as the Special Assistant to the Deputy Commissioner in the Office of Emergency Preparedness and Response (OEPR) at the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH). In this capacity, she oversees all racial equity and social justice work for her Division which includes launching and leading OEPR for Equity, a division-wide priority that aims to codify a racial equity lens to public health emergency planning and response. Previous to this role, Sabrina worked at the Children’s Aid Society, managing non-profit programs aimed at advancing financial empowerment in targeted high-needs NYC neighborhoods. She holds her Masters of Public Policy and Administration from the London School of Economics and dual Bachelors of Arts in Political Science and Women’s Studies from the University of Florida.

Javier Lopez

Javier William Lopez is the Assistant Commissioner for the Bureau of Systems Partnerships within the Center for Health Equity, a division of the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Javier’s work focuses on bringing together non-traditional partners to assist with the necessary systemic deconstruction and analysis needed to appropriately address racial health equity. Providing a consistent racial and social justice voice within the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Javier is considered one of the leading New York City voices in the health equity movement. Before his work at the Center for Health Equity, Javier worked in and out of government identifying new mechanisms, revenue streams and talking points that directly address injustices that have negatively impacted communities of color.

Elsa Mendoza Jimenez

Elsa Mendoza Jimenez is the Director of the Monterey County Health Department, an organization with an annual budget of about $257 million and 1,100 employees. She is a Monterey County native who is dedicated to improving the population’s health through upstream approaches so that every person has an opportunity to achieve their fullest potential. Elsa M. Jimenez earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Santa Clara University and a Master of Public Health degree from San Jose State University.

Tram Quang Nguyen

Tram Quang Nguyen coordinates housing and economic policy work with the Place Matters initiative of Alameda County Public Health Department. Before joining ACPHD, Tram worked with the California Reinvestment Coalition on housing policy, economic and asset building policy, financial system reform and addressing the subprime mortgage crisis. She began her career as a journalist, and was the editor of ColorLines, a national newsmagazine about race and social justice. Tram holds a Master’s in Public Policy from UC Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy.

Heather Jue Northover

Heather Jue Northover is the Acting Chief of Staff for the Chief Deputy Director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. Prior to her current appointment, she served as Special Assistant to the Director, following several appointments within the Division of HIV & STD Programs. Ms. Northover has a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of California, Los Angeles and a Master of Public Health in community health from New York University.

Alia Stevenson

Alia Stevenson has a lifelong commitment to equity, challenging systems that perpetuate inequities, and a real life understanding of culturally diverse communities through her personal experience as a woman of color.  With her skills in leadership and training, commitment to learning and growth, and her positive relationships with community agencies and leaders, Alia is passionate about, advancing health and racial equity in government and in community. Alia has a Master’s Degree in Rehabilitation Counseling Psychology, a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, and a School Counseling Certification from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Currently Alia is a Public Health Supervisor in the Policy, Planning, and Evaluation Division at Public Health Madison & Dane County, a founding member of the Public Health Madison & Dane County’s Health and Racial Equity Team, and part of the leadership team of Dane County’s Racial Equity and Social Justice Initiative.

Evonda Thomas-Smith

Mrs. Thomas-Smith currently serves as the Director of the Evanston Department of Health and Human Services, one of only 4 certified municipal health departments in Illinois. which she joined in 2005. She has been an executive Public Health Administrator and Public Health Nurse leader for over 25 years. The mission of the Evanston Health & Human Services Department is to protect, preserve, and promote wellness for people who live, work, and play in Evanston through creative and sustainable partnerships. Successful solicitations and alliances assisted in opening the first public private collaborative and established a federally qualified health center for Evanston Illinois.  Having earned bachelor degrees in Community Health, and Nursing before pursuing a Master’s Degree in Nursing at Governor’s State University in University Park, Illinois. She is currently working to complete a doctorate in public health at Walden University.

Justin Watkins

Justin Watkins is a community health planner for the San Mateo County Health System’s Health Policy and Planning Unit. His passion for public health is rooted in working to address the social determinants of health, specifically focusing on the interrelationship between educational attainment and health outcomes across the life course. Justin works with community partners, local school districts, and local government agencies to implement policies and programs that ensure all students have the opportunity to succeed both in and out of school.  Equity is the underlying core value that he brings to both his personal and professional life. Justin received his Master’s in Public Health from University of California Berkeley and a Bachelor’s of Arts in Environmental Studies from University of California Santa Cruz.

Carolyn White

Carolyn White has been with the Kansas City (Missouri) Health Department for 5 years and is the Assistant Program Manager for the Environmental Public Health Program. She also serves as the chair for the Department’s Health Equity Committee. She earned her Masters of Public Health from Missouri State University in Springfield, MO

Jacques Colon

Jacques Colon has served as the Health Equity Coordinator for the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department for the past three years, where he leads their Health Equity Initiative. This role includes leading the health department’s internal 10-person Health Equity Implementation Team, which is charged with improving the structures, processes, and practices of the health department in order to eliminate health inequities in Pierce County, WA. Prior to working for the health department, his professional experience includes five years at the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) working on Environmental Health and Climate Change as well as leading their Health Equity cross-cutting team. Prior to working for NACCHO, Jacques was a middle-school science teacher in Miami with Teach for America. Jacques received his MS in Environmental Sciences and Policy from the Johns Hopkins University and a BS in Biological Anthropology and Anatomy from Duke University. Jacques is also a Health Equity Awakened Guide for current Leadership Fellows.

Sarah Hernandez

Sarah Hernandez, MPH is the Director of Policy in the Office of Health Equity at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. In this role, she implements a health in all policies approach to design and communicate strategies for addressing the complex social factors that influence equity and justice.

SaraT (ST) Mayer

SaraT (ST) Mayer is the Chief Program Officer at Code for America, where she lead’s the organization’s impact in Safety and Justice, Economic Development and Healthy Communities. She is also a proud Human Impact Partners Board Member.

Gregory C. Townsend

Gregory is a Health Service Administrator at the Jefferson County Department of Health in Birmingham, Alabama. Gregory has been employed with the agency for 22.5 years. Gregory currently works on special projects in the Quality Improvement Decision Support division. Gregory is a participant in the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Culture of Health Leaders program. This three-year fellowship provides cross-sector leadership development based on evidence, informed by experience, and grounded in principles of equity and social justice.

Andrew Warlen

Andrew Warlen is the Health Director for the City of Independence, Missouri, Health Department and has worked in Public Health for 23 years.  Prior to his appointment as Health Director in January 2015, Warlen served in various management positions within the Independence Health Department since his City employment began in May 2001. Previous experience includes work with the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services as an Epidemiology Specialist, and with the City of Kansas City, Missouri, Health Department as a Public Health Specialist.

Andy Wessel

Andy Wessel is a Community Health Planner with the Douglas County Health Department in Omaha. After coordinating a $5.7 million Communities Putting Prevention to Work (CPPW) grant and leading multiple Health Impact Assessments, Andy is currently working on improving public participation in decision-making and building the capacity for the Douglas County Health Department to serve in chief health strategist role. He helps facilitate the work of both an internal Health Equity Team and an external cohort of local health equity champions called Common Quill.