Aziz Awad
Dr. Awad was born in Egypt, fluent in Arabic, and grew up in Southern California after his parents immigrated to the United States in 1974. He graduated Magna Cum Laude from California State University, Dominguez Hills with a BS in Chemistry and earned his Doctor of Osteopathy (D.O.) Degree from Western University of Health Science, in Pomona CA. He holds two associate degrees in Business and Business Technology from Taft College, Taft CA.
Barbara Henriquez
Barbara Henriquez is African American and currently works as a Medi-Cal Peer Support Specialist for Project Return. She graduated from Yale University in New Haven, CT with a B.S. in Biology, and then went on to obtain a medical doctorate with honors from Weill Medical College. Ms. Henriquez worked as a Neuroradiologist at Staten Island University Hospital, Staten Island, NY. There, she analyzed CT and MRI imaging of the brain and spine and rendered reports to clinicians.
Brayan Preciado
Brayan Preciado holds a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Public Health from the University of California, Merced, and an Associate of Science (AS) in Medical Assisting from Fresno City College. Brayan's experience spans healthcare, community health, and research settings, including roles as a medical assistant, medical scribe, community health worker, and research assistant. In May 2024, Brayan completed a year-long fellowship with the California Pathways into Public Health Initiative, a statewide training program for underrepresented and aspiring public health professionals, led by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), and the University of California San Francisco (UCSF).
Carlos Gonzalez
Carlos Rudy Gonzalez is a first-generation college student who came to this country fleeing from El Salvador, which was amid a Civil War. Rudy will be graduating Magna Cum Laude from California State University Los Angeles, with a BS in Public Health. His dedication to working with men and women who are formally incarcerated, and justice impacted have guided his career to help make his community a safe place to live. Because he believes in second chances, he aims to be an inspiration to the youth in the hopes that they will not make mistakes that could jeopardize their lives or those of the community.
Diana Rodriguez
Diana Rodriguez is currently working as a consulting community health organizer at AltaMed. She is also a graphic designer and CCHI certified Spanish medical interpreter. Diana graduated from UCLA with a Bachelor of Science in Integrative Biology and Physiological Sciences. Her experience growing up as a first-generation immigrant from El Salvador and seeing her family and community face many systemic inequities, especially in healthcare, led to her interest in health equity and advocacy.
Imani Franklin
Imani Franklin joins the MPH HP program with a multi-year history in family support and resource development within the Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) community. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science from California State University Northridge, where she developed a strong foundation in policy analysis and advocacy. Imani currently works at the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (CHLA UCEDD) as a Family Support and Project Coordinator.
Isam NabeR
Isam Naber is a physician-researcher from Jordan with aspirations of becoming an otolaryngologist and a public health leader. He earned his MD degree from the University of Jordan and is currently working as a Visiting Assistant Project Scientist in hearing research at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. His interest in public health started after witnessing significant disparities in healthcare systems in both Jordan and the U.S., which highlighted the essential role of public health.
Joelle Morris
Joelle was born in Seattle but spent her formative years living around the world, including stints in Peru, Australia, and Puerto Rico, before settling in the United States at age 12. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of California, Santa Barbara. During her final undergraduate year, Joelle studied abroad in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, where she took a graduate seminar on international conflict recovery in Africa. While in college, Joelle began her career in hospitality, which eventually transitioned into Human Resources.
Kaleigh Morgan
Born and raised in California, Kaleigh Morgan received a Bachelor’s of Arts in Psychology from University of California, Riverside. As an undergraduate student, she worked in multidisciplinary research and volunteered with community health programs to identify mental health disparities among adolescents and young adult populations. During which, she was able to see and study the substantial impact of health disparities based on various factors such as socioeconomic status. After graduating, she worked as a Safety Specialist at Amazon, where she was able to implement projects and programs that provided employees access to mental health care and resources.
Ling Zeng
Ling was born and raised in the Guangdong province of China. She later worked as a preschool teacher in Beijing. Ling is a first-generation college graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Dental Hygiene from West Los Angeles College, graduating Summa Cum Laude. Through volunteering at community oral health events, she recognized the disparities faced by low-income communities. As a registered dental hygienist, one of her missions is to address the oral health disparities affecting underserved populations.
Ma’ayan Epstein
Ma’ayan Epstein is a California native who graduated with the highest honors from the University of California Los Angeles Honors College in 2021, with a Bachelor of Science in Human Biology and Society and a concentration in Bioethics. Ma’ayan currently works as a clinical research manager at Olive View UCLA Medical Center, where she develops clinical trials to address the mental health disparities among minority communities in a medically underserved area. Ma’ayan works with pediatric patients in the psychiatric emergency room and foster care primary care clinic to offer research and clinical initiatives to support patients facing financial barriers to healthcare.
Michael Chuong
Michael Chuong is 1st generation Asian American and is currently working in the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health as a Health Officer. He worked as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) for about five years before returning to school to pursue a career in Public Health, with the emphasis and goal of preventing illness and injury. He graduated from the University of California, Irvine with a bachelor’s degree in public health science. Mr. Chuong is pursuing a master’s degree in public health to further enhance his ability to help make a difference to a larger community with the emphasis on understanding policy and how it affects the population.
Neha Loganda
Neha Loganda is a South Indian American who was born and raised in Southern California. She graduated from the University of California, Riverside with a bachelor’s in public policy with an emphasis in health and social policy in 2021. As an undergraduate student, Neha knew she always wanted to work in healthcare. However, this decision was solidified when she worked in the UCR Healthy Campus Initiative, a network to promote the health and well-being of staff, faculty, and students. Neha found her passion within holistic wellness here and decided to continue this area of work upon graduation.
Nicolle Gudino
Nicolle graduated from San Francisco State University and received a B.A. in Cinema with a minor in Critical Social Thought. She began working with non-profit social and environmental impact film festivals while completing her studies. This intersection between the creative and powerful medium of film storytelling and the well-being of humanity is where her passions aligned. Recognizing her strengths in being a producer, creative, and support system for artists and individuals guided her toward wanting to positively impact communities and the environment this way.
Perla Martinez Medina
Perla Medina was born into a family of Mexican immigrants. In 2016 she became the first in her family to earn a bachelor’s degree, graduating from California State University, Long Beach with a major in Health sciences and an emphasis in School Health Education. Two years later she earned a single subject teaching credential from her alma mater, after graduating Perla spent three years working as an educator for Planned Parenthood California Central Coast. There, she had the privilege of providing comprehensive sexual health and reproductive services education to people of all ages across Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties.
Pricela Garcia
Pricela Garcia is a first-generation Latina graduate from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) where she earned her BA in Chicanx Studies. She is currently an Education Specialist with Planned Parenthood, where she provides sexual health education, mental health, and substance abuse services to high school students across the city of Los Angeles. As a native of South-Central Los Angeles, Pricela has always been passionate about the different risk factors that affect the health of underrepresented communities.
Shai Tanner
Shai Tanner is a first-generation college graduate, born in Los Angeles, California, and raised in the Inland Empire. She graduated from California State University, Long Beach with a B.S. in Molecular Cell Biology and Physiology. With 5+ years of healthcare experience working in various clinical settings, Shai takes pride in prioritizing patient-centered care through health education, practice transformation, and quality improvement. She believes both patients and providers should be equally educated on the definition of quality care. Her passion for maternal health, women’s health, and reproductive rights emerged from her assignment as an AmeriCorps Health Fellow during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Shivani Mahuvakar
Shivani Mahuvakar grew up in the East Bay and received her B.A. in Molecular and Cell Biology with an emphasis in immunology and infectious diseases from UC Berkeley in 2019. During her undergraduate studies, she was introduced to research on the social determinants of health, and this experience sparked her interest in public health. For the past 4.5 years, she was the lead clinical research coordinator for the Division of Pediatric Neurosurgery at UCSF.