andrew henreid
Mr. Henreid is employed with the Department of Medicine, Research at Cedars-Sinai as an associate in the Health Services Research division. Working across varying phases of quantitative and qualitative investigation; he oversees subject recruitment and observation in Cedars-Sinai's Emergency Department, including design and composition of scientific publications for various projects centered around diagnostic processes, clinical QI, information science, digital health, cognition, and machine intelligence.
aneesh gupta
Dr. Aneesh Gupta is an OB/GYN who completed his residency training at both Drexel University/Hahnemann University Hospital as well as Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. He graduated from the University of Queensland School of Medicine in Brisbane, Australia, and finished his undergraduate studies at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. Dr. Gupta is thrilled to be joining UCLA for his Family Planning Fellowship. Within the field of Family Planning, he has a strong interest in abortion deserts, telemedicine, and self-managed abortions.
aneida SHAKYA
Aneida Shakya was a military dependant who traveled with her family in the states and was eventually raised on the island of Guam. She is half African American and Thai and is currently practicing nursing in an isolated hardship rural area at Yosemite National Park in California. Aneida holds a B.S. in Nursing and a B.A. in Marketing from the University of Guam. She is an inter-service transfer from the United States Air Force (USAF) and commissioned to the United States Public Health Service (USPHS) as a Lieutenant (0-3) on September 2018, at which time she is assigned to Yosemite Medical Clinic. Her primary focus is providing clinical ambulatory nursing services and urgent care to Yosemite National Park residents and visitors. She is also currently working with Mariposa Public Health County performing COVID-19 tests to symptomatic patients and educating the community to control the spread of the virus.
asha vitatoe
Asha Vitatoe is an Oakland native. She completed her B.A. in African American Studies at Emory University and has worked for non-profit organizations serving youth and young adults from underserved communities and communities of color in Atlanta and Oakland for the past 13 years. Asha is currently the director of Mentoring in Medicine & Science, a health pipeline program based in Oakland with a mission to diversify the health workforce and improve health outcomes for underserved communities. Asha enjoys spending time with her two young sons who keep her very,very busy but very happy.
briana fountain
Briana Fountain is a Senior Product Manager at Blue Zones Project. Blue Zones Project is a community-level transformation initiative that engages policy makers, employers, schools, restaurants, grocery stores, and individuals to make permanent or semi-permanent changes to their policies and environments that make healthy choices easier. Briana joined Blue Zones Project in 2013, working on the training team to develop curriculum for colleagues and community members. From there, she’s played a key role in expanding Blue Zones Project from 19 communities in 2013 to 51 communities across North America in 2020. In her current role, Briana consults with project teams to develop their implementation strategy, manage project plans, and ensure projects meet targeted deadlines and deliverables.
gerri shaftel Constant
Gerri Shaftel Constant is Medical & Special Projects Producer for CBS-2 News Los Angeles where she covers Medicine, Education, and sometimes, The Arts . Over more than 20 years working in Television News, Gerri has been awarded 16 Los Angeles Area Emmy Awards and several other honors for her reporting. In a nutshell, she is a pursuer of excellence who enjoys telling stories about people and discoveries. Gerri is an Alum of the Annenberg Health Journalism Fellowship at USC, and holds a BA in Journalism, Magna Cum Laude, from California State University, Northridge. Gerri currently serves on the Board of the Los Angeles Press Club, is a former Governor of the Television Academy and a current member of the Association of Health Care Journalists.
itzel duran
Itzel Duran was born in Mexico and moved to the Bay Area at the age of 7. She received her undergraduate public health degree from the University of California, Berkeley. As a first-generation college graduate, she has learned the importance of hard work and perseverance and hopes to share those learnings with her nieces, nephews and future children. Currently, Itzel is working as the regional Project Manager for Vaccines for Children program with Kaiser Permanente. In this role, she works closely with California Department of Public Health and Kaiser Permanente service areas. Her current role and her role at the Clinica de La Raza, have taught her the importance of working to serve the community and their health needs.
jae canas
Jae Canas is currently a Senior Administrative Analyst with the Los Angeles County (LAC) Department of Mental Health (DMH) and the UCLA Public Partnership for Wellbeing (PPFW), and a member of the DMH Strike Team led by Gita Murthy Consulting. In that capacity, he brings an academic, direct service, and lived experience lens to initiatives designed to meet the needs of the most vulnerable and marginalized people in Los Angeles County. As a former youth under the supervision of the LAC Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) and prior resident at MacLaren Hall, Jae is inspired by his lived experience to transform systems of care and cocreate innovative strategies that improve the wellbeing of children and youth. Jae holds a bachelor’s degree in Anthropology and Minor in Disability Studies from UCLA.
jalen carter
Jalen Carter is from Altadena, CA. She earned her B.S from Duke University with a Major in Neuroscience and Minor in Chemistry. While at Duke, she conducted neuroscience research that focused on the elucidation of epigenetic mechanisms of neural plasticity and memory formation. She was awarded a BIOCORE scholarship, an NIH Initiative for Maximizing Student Development (IMSD) award, which funded her extensive research. Currently, she works at the regional offices of Southern California Permanente Group (SCPMG) acting as a liaison between local and senior leadership to advance staff education, policy, and technology for the Ambulatory Clinical Services and Front Office Operations departments.
jasmine ayoubi
Jasmine Ayoubi grew up in Irvine, CA and received her BS in Pharmaceutical Chemistry from the University of California, Davis. While she was enrolled at UC Davis, she tutored students in microbiology, conducted chemistry education research, and spent time as a biochemistry researcher at Academia Sinica in Taiwan. She now works at AbbVie, Inc. in the Regulatory Affairs department and supports international drug and device registrations and renewals. Jasmine likes spending her free time outdoors; hiking, camping, or enjoying some ice cream.
jessica vargas
Dr. Jessica Vargas is a first year Pediatric Dental Resident at the UCLA School of Dentistry. She was born in Los Angeles, but Plainfield, IL has been her home since she was 8 years old. She graduated with honors from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign with a B.S. in Community Health, with a concentration in Health Education and Promotion. She then went on to receive her Doctorate of Dental Surgery (D.D.S.) from Marquette University in Milwaukee, WI.
katie graveline
Katherine (Katie) Graveline RN, BSN is currently working as a Community Health Nurse at QueensCare Health & Faith Partnership. She graduated Summa Cum Laude from Oregon State University with a degree in Human Development & Family Sciences prior to obtaining her nursing degree at Oregon Health & Sciences University. She has three years of experience working as a cardiac nurse both in the inpatient and outpatient realm, treating patients with a variety of cardiovascular conditions and comorbidities. Katie has a passion for patient education and disease prevention; she hopes to use her career to promote cardiovascular wellness among at-risk populations.
meagan echevarria
Meagan Echevarria is currently a clinical research assistant in the department of Outcomes Research at City of Hope. Prior to joining City of Hope, Meagan received her bachelor’s degree in Exercise Biology from the University of California, Davis. During her undergraduate studies she gained an interest in applied exercise interventions, which led her to intern for a cardiac rehabilitation clinic where she guided patients through prescribed exercise regimens. Eager to explore the role of exercise testing in research, she went to work for Dr. Saro Armenian at City of Hope, who was utilizing exercise testing as a mechanism to evaluate cardiovascular disease in stem cell transplant survivors.
nichol randall
Ms. Randall studied health sciences and obtained her B.S. degree at Cal State East Bay where her concentration of emphasis was community health, government policy, and environmental health. After obtaining her undergrad degree, she went on to work as a research finance analyst for the Center for AIDS Prevention Studies (CAPS), Division of Prevention Sciences, Department of Medicine, at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). In this role she manages a multi-million dollar research portfolio for community-based and global intervention research projects, largely sponsored by the National Institutes of Health. She also has extensive experience with proposal development for health-related contracts and grants.
Noe galvan
Dr. Noe Galvan is originally from Boise, Idaho. He is a graduate of the University of Idaho where he majored in Animal and Veterinary Sciences and Microbiology. During this time, he researched prion diseases and completed a 2-year fellowship at the National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, GA working as a laboratory epidemiology researcher. Continuing his passion for Veterinary Medicine, he attended the University of Wisconsin, School of Veterinary Medicine and obtained his Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine degree.
raheem habib
Raheem Habib is a Medical Device sales representative at Abbott Vascular who strives for knowledge and growth in the healthcare industry. Raheem’s interest in public health began when he interned as a research assistant for a public health study. He then began working as a peer health educator for his college’s health department. Now, Mr. Habib is a graduate of the University of California, San Diego with a Bachelor of Science degree in Public Health and is seeking an influential role with competitive and challenging organizations to help fight health disparities within Black and under-served communities.
samantha chang
Samantha Chang is a second generation Chinese-American whose parents immigrated from Taiwan. She is currently working as a Financial Analyst for the research department at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. Samantha graduated from the University of California, Riverside with a BS in Business and a minor in Art History. After a short-lived career in art, she ultimately found her true calling working in healthcare. Inspired by the compassionate care and tenacity of physicians, researchers, and her colleagues, Samantha decided to pursue a Master’s in Public Health. She enjoys spending her free time hanging out with family and friends, traveling, and eating out.
sandra garcia
Sandra is a Los Angeles native who graduated with a B.A. in International Development Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles. Since graduating she has volunteered at Peace Over Violence as a Counselor Advocate assisting survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence. She currently works as a Research Associate at the Evaluation & Training Institute (ETI), a non-profit research consulting firm specializing in early education. At ETI, Sandra specializes in qualitative research, while also being skilled at running descriptive statistics, data analysis, instrument development, and report writing.
sonia packer
Sonia is a Registered Dental Hygienist in the state of California. She has practiced dental hygiene in several comprehensive-based public health clinics throughout Los Angeles. As a preventive specialist, her clinical practice consists of educating patients on optimal oral health and total body wellness. Sonia graduated with Honors from Cerritos College earning her AA in Dental Hygiene. Subsequently, she completed her undergraduate degree at Foothill College and graduated Highest Honors with a BS in Dental Hygiene. During her coursework, her focus shifted from dental hygiene to public health and community outreach programs. Ms. Packer aims to research and implement community-based healthcare programs focusing on pediatrics and maternal health.
Teresa Perez
Teresa Perez is a native Angeleno who received her Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Science and Policy from California State University, Long Beach. Teresa’s interests in environmental justice and public health began as a CivicSpark AmeriCorps Fellow for the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (DPH). She has worked on several DPH programs to bring health services to underserved communities across LA County. She currently works for GRID Alternatives, a solar non-profit whose mission it is to build community-powered solutions to advance economic and environmental justice through renewable energy.
yadira hernandez
Yadira Hernandez graduated with her Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from California Baptist University in Riverside, CA. She currently works night shift on the Medical Unit at CHOC Children’s, where she serves as a member of the Clinical Practice Council and MD to RN Communication Committees, tackling current issues and implementing new practices for improved outcomes, including patient and staff satisfaction. Yadira is also a preceptor and mentor to new graduate nurses and new hires, two of her favorite roles at CHOC. One of her proudest moments was being voted “Little Miss Sunshine: Brightest Smile” by her coworkers, as she is passionate about the patients and families she serves alongside her team.