Dear Get Healthy SMC partners,

I am very excited to continue with the team as the new Health Equity Community Health planner with a focus on building public health infrastructure around community engagement. I am transitioning from my position as the Health Equity Intern with Health, Policy and Planning, where I worked on advancing equity in the healthy economy domain. During my time as an intern, I contributed to many projects including conducting analyses of model and emerging equitable governance practices that centered equity, identifying opportunities to implement inclusive procurement and hiring policies by mapping existing strategies and researching model interventions, and leading the creation of an in-language vaccine FAQ document in collaboration with local physicians and community organizations.

I have a Masters in Global Health Sciences from the University of California, San Fransico, and a strong background in equitable research among vulnerable populations, including Latinx farmworkers and migrants. The common denominator among this work has been the importance of community-informed and community-lead practices to inform equitable research, interventions, and policies. I am passionate about addressing inequities at the intersection of health, gender, race, and socio-economic status by centering community voices around decolonizing health in order to advance health equity.

I am excited to work towards creating a sustainable systemic approach to community engagement in this new position by researching and establishing a mechanism for input, feedback, partnership, shared decision-making, and connections to a diverse group of community leaders and stakeholders. I am looking forward to continuing learning and growing alongside this team. I’d like to acknowledge the importance of creating a culture of community-care among our team and the community partners as a model for the broader community and I am hopeful that this culture will help us on our way to creating a stronger and healthier community.