Program Students

Savinnie Ho

Savinnie is a rising second-year medical student at the UC Berkeley-UCSF Joint Medical Program. She was born and raised in San Francisco. As a first-generation student and child of immigrants, her journey to medicine is deeply rooted in a commitment to advancing health equity and providing language-concordant, trauma-informed, and culturally sensitive care. Studying Molecular and Cellular Biology and Public Health at UC Berkeley, Savinnie was not only invested in understanding the aberrations that underlie different disease mechanisms but also recognized the desperate need for public health interventions and community empowerment to bridge the barriers to care. 

She firmly believes that in order to be an outstanding physician and patient partner, we must bring advocacy, empathy, and justice, as well as our clinical acumen, into our practice and health systems. Prior to starting medical school, she explored various roles in research, clinics, non-profits, and consultancy. She was a healthcare consultant at a life sciences firm, as well as a research assistant, where she worked on several projects at Kaiser related to COVID vaccination hesitancy and ADHD medication access. Currently, Savinnie is involved in community engagement through UCSF APAMSA and collaboration on a lifestyle medicine initiative with Asian Health Services, made possible by the Berkeley Social Impact Innovations Grant. She is also a Schweitzer Fellow, working on a service project serving monolingual Chinese speakers in San Francisco. In her free time, she enjoys running and cooking.

Melanie​ Rubalcava

Melanie is a first-generation Mexican-American raised in Riverside, CA. Her strong familial roots are in Jalisco and Guerrero, México. As the eldest daughter in an immigrant household, she grew up noticing the disparities her family members and community faced. Empowered by her father to pursue higher education, she attained her B.S. in Human Biology and a minor in Global Health from UC San Diego. While in college, she became a Spanish medical interpreter and quickly discovered her passion for bridging cultural and language barriers. Increasing representation and uplifting the Latinx community has been her “why medicine” ever since. 

After graduating, she completed her post-baccalaureate program at UCSD and worked as an OB/GYN medical scribe. After two gap years, she is currently a first-year medical student in her hometown at UC Riverside School of Medicine. Some of her greatest passions in medical school are mentoring underrepresented pre-medical students and advocating for health equity for marginalized groups. In her spare time, she loves reading, cycling, exploring new cities, and spending time with her dogs!

Jazmin Plascencia

Jazmin Plascencia is a Los Angeles native who grew up in South Los Angeles and Lynwood. She is a first-generation Mexican American and the first in her family to pursue a career in medicine. Jazmin graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles, where she earned her Bachelor of Science in Biology, and is now a medical student at Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science College of Medicine. Before starting medical school, Jazmin was involved in community-based work focused on expanding access to care. She volunteered with an organization providing free medical services to migrants at the U.S.–Mexico border and worked with women experiencing homelessness on Skid Row. As a medical scribe in a community emergency department, she saw how social determinants of health—including housing insecurity, poverty, and substance use—can shape patient outcomes. These experiences sparked her interest in emergency medicine, a field that allows her to care for patients at critical moments while addressing the broader challenges they face. 

During her free time, Jazmin enjoys practicing self-care by taking hikes with her dogs, going to the gym, and reading suspense and mystery novels! As a future physician, Jazmin hopes to advocate for improved access to healthcare and bridging health disparities in underserved communities. In addition, as a first-generation college student and first Doctor in her family, she hopes to become a mentor to other students from similar backgrounds as they navigate higher education and the pre-medical track.

Stevenson Cottiere

Born in Haiti and raised in Miami, Stevenson is a first-year medical student at Florida international University. He is the eldest of three and a first-generation college student who earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology from St. Thomas University. Raised with a strong work ethic and commitment to service from a young age, he chose a path focused on serving vulnerable populations. He went on to work at a dual diagnosis mental health facility and later as an EMT. He deepened his understanding of the challenges faced by individuals experiencing homelessness, older adults, and those living with serious mental illness, among others. As a physician, he wants to advocate for those who struggle to advocate for themselves. 

At FIU, he serves as outreach coordinator for the emergency medicine interest group and co-president of the psychiatry interest group. Outside of medicine, he enjoys nature, music, and draws on his background as a retired improv performer to stay creative and engaged.

Hebah Bahta

Hebah Bahta is a first-year medical student at Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia, PA. Raised in a Muslim Eritrean household, her identity is deeply rooted in family, faith, and a rich cultural heritage. Originally from Tempe, Arizona, Hebah earned her bachelor's degree in medical microbiology from Arizona State University. During her gap years, she worked as a medical assistant and emergency department scribe, where she developed essential clinical skills and cultivated a strong interest in emergency medicine. She later completed a master’s degree through the Drexel Pathway to Medical School program, further strengthening her academic foundation. 

Hebah’s dedication to mentorship, academic excellence, and community service is driven by her commitment to improving healthcare access for marginalized populations. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, film photography, and playing basketball.

Jessica Amezcua

Jessica is a first-generation Mexican American, born and raised in the Inland Empire region of Southern California. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Cognitive Science from the University of California, Berkeley. After graduating, she worked as a Clinical Research Coordinator for the division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco for 6.5 years where her passions for medicine and clinical research grew. As a native Spanish-speaker, Jessica worked with monolingual Spanish-speaking patients and became more aware of inequities and delays in care due to a lack of providers that spoke Spanish. These experiences, along with her family's experiences with the healthcare system, motivated her to explore the field of Emergency Medicine and become a physician that could advocate for Spanish-speaking patients in her home region of the Inland Empire, a medically underserved and largely Hispanic/Latinx population. 

Jessica completed a post-baccalaureate program at California State University, East Bay where she served as an Educational Coordinator in a student-run medical Spanish club teaching other students medical Spanish. In medical school at the University of California, Riverside School of Medicine (UCRSOM), Jessica holds leadership positions in medical Spanish and Emergency Medicine interest groups, as well as the Latino Medical Student Association chapter at UCRSOM. In her spare time, she enjoys cooking, running, traveling out of the country, and going to concerts with friends and family.

Pedro Alfonso Hernandez

Pedro Alfonso Hernandez is the proud son of immigrant parents. He grew up in both the Inland Empire (Fontana, CA) and rural Northern California (Willows, CA). His interest in emergency medicine began after helping a friend who was involved in a farm equipment-related accident. Due to limited resources, he had to rush his friend to the emergency department himself. This made him reflect on the many challenges rural areas face in accessing healthcare. Pedro began his pursuit of medicine at Butte Community College, later transferring to the University of California Davis, where he became the first graduate in his family earning a B.S. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. After graduating, he worked at a biotech startup in Sunnyvale, CA where he helped screen cancer drug pharmaceuticals. The company eventually shut down and he found himself unemployed. However, he remained resilient and amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, Pedro secured a position with UC Davis Health in the Department of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, where he conducted research on ozone-induced lung injury using non-human primate models. 

Pedro is currently pursuing his medical education at the UC Davis School of Medicine with an emphasis on rural medicine as part of the Rural-PRIME track. He also serves as a co-director of the Knights Landing Immigration Medical Examination student-run clinic, UCD representative for UC PRIME Statewide, and the Community Outreach Chair for the Latino Medical Student Association. In his free time, he enjoys working on cars and helping out on his family’s farm.

Saundra Manyitabot

Saundra is a first-year medical student at the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) in Milwaukee. She was born and raised in Cameroon and moved to the US at a young age. She is the second daughter of David and Helen Manyitabot . She received her Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing from Augusta University/Medical College of Georgia. She worked as an ER/Trauma nurse at Grady Memorial Hospital's Level 1 Trauma Center in Atlanta, GA prior to matriculating into medical school. She currently serves as Co-President of Student National Medical Association (SNMA) and White Coats for Black Lives (WC4BL) at MCW were she spearheads initiatives to enhance resources for the URM population. Her research interests include chest wall injuries, blunt-abdominal trauma, emergent and longitudinal care for trauma patients, health disparities and vulnerable populations, global emergency medicine, and disaster preparedness and response.

José​ Barrera

José is a proud native of City Heights, San Diego, CA, where he was raised by his family who immigrated from Honduras. His interests in Emergency Medicine began riding in the back of firetrucks in City Heights during his time as a Firefighter Cadet. After making the transition from an aspiring firefighter to an aspiring Emergency Medicine physician, he attended San Diego Miramar College prior to transferring to UCLA to earn his B.S. in Biophysics and a minor in Spanish, and also served as Captain for the UCLA Boxing Team for three years. After college, José worked as Research Project Manager at the La Jolla Institute for Immunology in La Jolla, CA before completing a post-baccalaureate program at the UC Davis School of Medicine. While at UC Davis, José was awarded an NIH grant to research the exposomal determinants of heart failure in CA’s Latino patient populations prior to starting medical school. Currently, he is a first-year medical student at the Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine and, as a non-traditional applicant to medical school, he is passionate about mentoring the next generation of pre-medical students through local outreach, LMSA, PremedCC, and MiMentor. During his spare time, he enjoys exploring coffee shops, boxing, and having creative outlets such as photography and writing.

Maricar Almeda

Maricar was born in the Philippines where they spent their early childhood in De La Paz, Biñan, Laguna on the island of Luzon. Their family immigrated to the United States when they were 7 years old. As a queer, immigrant, and first generation, low income student, witnessing the barriers that exist between healthcare and their own communities has inspired them to pursue a career in medicine that aims to move justice and health equity forward for all–but especially for those who are most disadvantaged. Maricar completed their undergraduate studies at Princeton University as a Questbridge Scholar where they majored in Molecular Biology and minored in Asian American Studies. During their gap year between undergrad and matriculating into medical school, they worked as a Research Associate in a pediatrics lab at UCSF studying congenital heart disease. Now, they are a student at the Joint Medical Program where their research aims to highlight the unique experiences of Filipino immigrants in health care through ethnographic methodology. 

Maria De Los Angeles Almaraz Villanueva

Angeles was raised in Firebaugh, CA, a small farming community in the heart of the Central Valley. She is currently a first-year DACA medical student at Loyola Stritch School of Medicine in Chicago and completed her undergraduate studies at UCLA majoring in Biology and Chicanx Studies. Angeles is passionate about advocacy and working with immigrant communities. As a physician, she aspires to care for and work alongside the communities that have historically been excluded from healthcare in this country. In her free time, she enjoys doing yoga and playing tennis. She is excited to share this experience with 2024 cohort.

Jed Obra

Jed grew up in Hayward, CA and is a San Francisco Bay Area native. He is a first-generation Filipino American and older brother. He attended UC Davis for his undergrad where he pursued Physiology with a minor in Psychology and Public Health. During college, he conducted musculoskeletal research, uplifted fellow Filipinx Americans in his community, and served at the Willow Clinic, which is a free medical clinic providing medical care to the greater Sacramento community. Here, he found passions in the intersections of science, service, and advocacy and was inspired to study health equity through the lens of medicine. After graduating, he worked at the Stanford Center for Asian Health Research and Education where he conducted clinical research for Asian American health. He is currently a 2nd year medical student at the UC Berkeley-UCSF Joint Medical Program studying bias in clinical decision making for his Masters. Jed continues his advocacy at the Suitcase Clinic at UC Berkeley and teaching work as a biochemistry Graduate Student Instructor. He plays for the Cal Quadball (Quidditch) team, enjoys traveling, and strives to empower other UIM students throughout the medical education pipeline as a future physician.

Tzelzin Hernandez

Tzelzin is a first-generation Mexican American, born and raised in San Jose, California, where she grew up as the eldest of three children. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Human Biology from the University of California, Santa Cruz, before dedicating two years to working in a free clinic, igniting her passion for health equity. Currently a medical student at UCSF School of Medicine, she is dedicated to advocating for Spanish-speaking immigrant populations, focusing on addressing social and legal determinants of health, especially among pediatric patients. Outside her studies, Tzelzin actively engages in outreach to under-resourced students through programs like Bridging Admissions, Cardiac Camp, and the LMSA National Premed Mentorship Service. As a graduate of community college and first-generation college student, outreach and mentorship are issues dear to her heart. Other commitments at UCSF include serving as the admissions ambassador and treasurer of the LMSA, and as a coordinator for the Point of Care Ultrasound elective. In her leisure time, she enjoys the arts, and you can find her at the San Francisco Symphony, Ballet, and Opera!

Nicolas Hurtado Bautista

My name is Nicolas Hurtado Bautista, and I proudly identify as an Afro-Latino. I had the privilege of being born in Bogota, Colombia, and raised in Anaheim, California. Growing up with my single mother and grandparents, I was fortunate to be surrounded by my family, who instilled in me the importance of education and its transformative power. This profound belief drove my determination to attend UCLA, where I graduated in 2020 with a Major in Biology and a Minor in Chicana & Chicano Studies. As I aspired to pursue a career in medicine, I recognized the need to enhance my preparation for medical school. Thus, the following year, I undertook a postbaccalaureate program in medicine at Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science. My passion for becoming a doctor stems from a deep desire to address health disparities, practice cultural empathy, provide essential resources to uplift communities, and significantly increase the representation of Afro-Latino physicians within the medical field. I am in my first year of medical school at Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science. I am excited to embark on the path to becoming a physician, where I can utilize my knowledge, skills, and cultural awareness to impact the lives of individuals and communities positively. My dream is to inspire future generations of underrepresented students who aspire to become a doctor, showing them that they, too, can break barriers and make a significant difference in the medical world.

Ndické Sow

Ndické, a rising second-year medical student at Drexel University College of Medicine, brings a unique perspective shaped by her upbringing in Atlanta, GA, as one of six siblings and a first-generation American to Senegalese immigrants. Having earned a BS in Neuroscience and Behavior from the University of Notre Dame, she embarked on a journey of self-discovery during two gap years. One year was dedicated to full-time work at an ophthalmology office, where she witnessed firsthand the challenges faced by the elderly population, while concurrently preparing for the MCAT. The following year, she pursued a Special Master's Program at Drexel, where she not only deepened her academic knowledge but also found love with her now-husband, also a rising second-year student at Drexel. Beyond academia, her passions extend to exploring new cities, immersing herself in diverse cultures through cuisine, and hiking. Committed to mentorship, she aspires to pave the way for future generations, particularly students of color in medicine, as she looks forward to a career in academia.

Mirdrina Dulcio

Mirdrina was born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. She's the big sister to two twin brothers, and her roots run deep in her Haitian heritage, infusing her life with rich culture and strong family values. She is a first-generation college graduate from Emory University and majored in Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology. After college, she spent a couple of years as an advanced EMT at Grady Hospital, where she experienced the raw reality of emergency medicine firsthand. She continued her pursuit of education and obtained her master’s degree in biomedical science at Drexel University. Now, she's diving into her next adventure as a first-year med student at Drexel University School of Medicine. Mirdrina is on a mission to help make healthcare more accessible and understandable for everyone. With a passion for boosting health literacy and empowering patients to speak up for themselves, she's determined to create a healthier, happier future for all. And when she's not busy saving lives and hitting the books, you can find Mirdrina out on a nature hike, kicking back with some video games, or strumming away on her ukulele.

Hector Gonzalez

Hector was raised in McFarland, CA, a small farming community nestled within the Central Valley. Prior to matriculating at Stanford Med, he spent most of his time in Southern California where he studied Public Health at USC. His curricular interests include health disparities, pediatrics, and emergency medicine.

Jared Yalung

A San Francisco Bay Area native, Jared is a first-generation Filipino American and proud to be a child of immigrants, the first in his family to attend college in the U.S., and the first in his family to become a physician. His undergraduate studies' focus on cura personalis, or care of the whole person, fueled his passion for health equity and social justice while studying nursing at the University of San Francisco. During college, he served at the student-run clinic, Mabuhay Health Center (MHC), to uplift the underserved Filipino community of SF. The consequences of health disparities seen at MHC were equally visible in the inpatient setting during his varied nursing experiences, inspiring him to pursue medicine and be better poised to optimize the health of vulnerable communities. During his post-baccalaureate program at Scripps College, Jared volunteered as an emergency medicine clinical research nurse, was awarded a Fulbright research award to the Philippines, and worked as a rapid response RN for a COVID-19 isolation unit run by the CDC and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Cesar Martinez

Cesar grew up in Fontana, California as the oldest of 3 boys in a Mexican household. His interest in medicine was influenced largely by the struggles his family went through after they came to the US in search of stability. His family stressed the importance of education and he felt so thankful for the support he was given that he looked for ways to return it to other members of his community. Cesar went to UCLA for undergrad, where he volunteered with the Venice Family Clinic and underserved elementary schools within the LA area. After graduating college in 2019, he worked as a lab manager for a lung cancer research group during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Seeing the effects of the pandemic on the Latinx community was what made him interested in exploring social determinants of health, leading him to join the UC Berkeley-UCSF Joint Medical Program (JMP) for medical school. Today, Cesar is interested in learning about medical education, substance use, care for people living with HIV, and space medicine.

Cecilia Hurtado 

Cecilia grew up in Ontario, California. A first-generation college graduate and Mexican-American, she is passionate about mentorship and community-building. At Williams College, she coordinated a service-focused orientation program, supported students through the Math and Science Resource Center, and organized to support immigrant students. Since graduating, she conducted research in cancer therapeutics and cardiac imaging modalities, completed the UCSF Postbaccalaureate Program in 2020, and worked with her community’s public health department to support Latinx and immigrant folks through COVID-19 outreach and relief efforts. Having witnessed her community and family’s distrust of the healthcare system, she is dedicated to partnering with and advocating alongside historically underserved patient communities to increase the accessibility of preventive care and novel therapies.

André​ Ailoje

Born in Luanda, Angola, Andre spent his formative years in Beijing, China, and he continues to speak Mandarin to stay connected to Chinese culture. Andre has previously worked in pediatric clinical research as a Research Data Associate for NYU Medical, supporting The NYU Children's Health and Environment Study and World Trade Center Study. Andre graduated from City College of New York with a Bachelor of Science in Biology with honors and received his Master's Degree in Medical Health Sciences from Touro University. Andre is currently a medical student attending Touro University California. He is passionate about promoting a culture of compassion in the healthcare field. Andre's research interests also include addressing the various impediments to institutionalizing modern equitable healthcare. 

Maricarmen Marroquin

Maricarmen Marroquin likes to go by Mari, which sounds just like Mario but without the O. She comes from a family of 6, with 3 younger brothers all of whom she is pretty close to. She is married now and has a lovely husband and chihuahua which she adores. She graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a degree in Public Relations but decided to pivot a couple of years ago toward medicine. She is now a student at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley as a medical student. She loves her new educational career and could not think of anything else she would rather be doing.

Andrea Ramirez

Andrea Ramirez is a rising second-year medical student at Michigan State University College of Human Medicine. She was born in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, then immigrated to Northern California with her mother at the age of 10. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Biopsychology from University of California, Santa Barbara and stayed in Santa Barbara for a year afterwards to gain clinical experience as a medical assistant. In that role, she noticed the strong influence of insurance status on patient care, and she became interested in the economics of healthcare. This led her to obtain a Master of Business and Science degree at Keck Graduate Institute before applying to medical school. Andrea is currently serving on the executive board of MSU CHM’s Latino Medical Student Association and First Generation in Medicine chapters.

Coral Caceres

Coral is a first-generation medical student from New Jersey. Her passion for medicine began as a child while growing up in the Dominican Republic, where she was often exposed to the complexities of healthcare, illness, and accessibility. After graduating from Rutgers University-Newark amid the pandemic (2020), she worked as a Patient Care Technician in various departments, including the Emergency Room. Through this role, she acquired a solid foundation of clinical knowledge, although the highlight of her experience was the intimate patient-care interactions. The following year, she completed a master’s degree from Drexel’s Pathway to Medical School program (DPMS) and was accepted at Drexel University College of Medicine. As a current M1 (rising M2), Coral is a Teaching Assistant for the DPMS program—providing mentorship and academic support to the next generation. Additionally, she is the co-president of the Latino Medical Student Association chapter on her campus. Her goals lie in supporting the underserved Latinx populations in Philadelphia and advocating for representation and inclusion within the college of medicine. Furthermore, Coral is passionate about sexual and reproductive education. Regardless of which path in medicine she ultimately pursues, she dreams of being an educator amongst at-risk communities who lack the means of protection and education and need a trusting professional to confide in.

Julianna Lebron-Echandy

Julianna is joining our program from the University of Maryland School of Medicine. During her early childhood, she grew up in Puerto Rico before moving to MD along with her parents and younger sister. She graduated from Northeastern University in 2019 with a major in Behavioral Neuroscience. During her time at Northeastern she worked in the Emergency Department, as a technician, which motivated her to pursue a career in medicine. Her passion for community health started by volunteering with the organization Global Brigades, a non-profit organization aimed at partnering with under resourced communities to help them become self-sustainable. As a physician, Julianna hopes to care for marginalized communities and those afflicted by disasters.

Jazmine Noles

Jazmine was born and raised in Detroit, MI; a city constantly recovering from one tragedy to another. It was her environment around her that sparked a constant sense of urgency to be a part of a solution to at least one of the worlds many obstacles. Jazmine attended Michigan State University (MSU) where she obtained a B.S in Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience. She also served as the President of the student organization, Black Women’s Leadership Committee. In her role, she was able to help promote the unity of the minority, woman-identifying individuals from prospective students, current students, to faculty and staff. Jazmine is now a first year at MSU’s college of Osteopathic medicine. There she is involved with the Michigan Osteopathic Association as a Political Action Committee liaison as well as a past President for the Student National Medical Association. Promoting diversity, equity and inclusion along her medical school journey has always been an additional bonus as she strides towards being one step closer to her life’s dream. Jazmine will become an Emergency Medicine physician by training but eventually will have her own clinic where she believes she can help minimize the health disparities seen predominantly by minorities by creating a clinic curated for them.

Leonardo García Martínez

Leo Garcia (he/him/his) is a first-year medical student at UCSF. He was born in Bogotá, Colombia and raised in Houston, TX. Leo studied Sociology with a Secondary in Chemistry at Harvard University. His deep commitment to tearing down healthcare barriers, immigration advocacy, and anti-oppressive work draws him to Emergency Medicine and this summer opportunity.  Commitments at UCSF include serving as the coordinator for the UCSF Human Rights Collaborative Pediatric Clinic, a team member at the Acute Care Innovation Center, a member of the Anti-Oppressive Curriculum Student Collaborative, a lead coordinator for the Medical Spanish Lunch Talks elective, and Clínica Martín-Baro volunteer.

Jeremiah Douchee

Jeremiah Douchee is a rising second-year medical student at Columbia University’s Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. Born and raised on Chicago’s Southside, “JD” credits his passion for community-centered care to the people centered values instilled in his childhood. He took these lessons to Dartmouth College, where he majored in Black Studies, participated in the Afro-American Society, and captained the varsity football team. Since completing his undergraduate studies, Jeremiah returned to his hometown where he served as an EMT-B. While there, he completed a postbaccalaureate program at Northwestern University and supported mutual aid efforts in his community.

Héctor Martínez

Hector Martinez was born in Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico and moved with his immediate family to Calexico, CA at the age of 13. He majored in Industrial Engineering at Centro de Enseñanza Técnica y Superior and worked in the engineering field for 2 years. His journey in the medical field began in 2016 when he became an elected official in Calexico, CA. Hector spent 5 years as a Board Director of Heffernan Memorial Healthcare District serving his community. Within those 5 years, he spent the last 3 as a Scribe and Spanish Translator in the Emergency Department of El Centro Regional Medical Center. During this time, he completed a Post Baccalaureate Premedical Program at UC San Diego. He is currently Co-President of Emergency Medicine Interest Group and a T.A. of Medical Spanish at Western University of Health Sciences. He is currently researching with a team of physicians from UCSD and ECRMC the effectiveness of Monoclonal Antibody (Sotrovimab) treatment for patients infected with COVID-19. Additionally, Hector will be the first physician in his big family. He hopes to set a good example to young adults of Latino backgrounds and get them interested in becoming physicians.

Cheyenne Tate

Cheyenne was born and raised in Walnut, CA. She attended Loyola Marymount University for undergrad. There, she volunteered at Venice Family Clinic as a clinician’s assistant for several years. After graduating from undergrad, she became a behavioral therapist, working with children who have special needs. Realizing there was a great need of physicians who are comfortable, willing and able to help children with disabilities in an emergency setting, she decided to continue with her journey to medical school. Now, Cheyenne is a rising OMS2 at Western University where she continues her work with vulnerable populations. As current president of White Coats for Black Lives (WC4BL), president of Black Students United, and vice president of Student National Medical Association (SNMA), Cheyenne continues to serve her community. Her efforts include co-hosting a diabetes clinic to educate young people and their parents on how to prevent diabetes and other chronic illnesses that plague Black and Brown communities. She engages in professional talks to educate her peers, faculty, and staff at WesternU on diversity, equity, and inclusion in the medical field. She also partnered with a local church to run a vaccine clinic in which over 100 community members were able to get vaccinated with their first shot during the height of the second wave of the pandemic. Cheyenne plans on continuing to serve underserved neighborhoods as a future emergency physician.

Tyler Duvernay

Tyler Duvernay is a medical student at University of California, Irvine School of Medicine and a Leadership Education to Advance Diversity-African, Black, and Caribbean Scholar. She is a Los Angeles native and attended University of Nevada, Reno for her undergraduate education, receiving a B.S. in Biology. Tyler has committed her academic extracurriculars to serving underrepresented populations through volunteer work on Skid Row, leadership on the Student National Medical Association Board, and leadership on the Harm Reduction Interest Group Board.

Leopoldo Bello-Luna

Leo Bello-Luna is a first-generation student at Medical College of Wisconsin. He was born in Veracruz, Mexico and moved to San Diego, CA when he was twelve. He graduated from UCLA in 2019 and worked as a Lab manager for a UCLA laboratory researching the mechanisms that shape the earliest neuronal circuits to form during development. Leo dedicated much of his time as the Department Director for COPE Health Scholar program site at California Hospital Medical Center, a non-profit level II trauma center located close to Downtown Los Angeles. While in medical school, he is working alongside Sixteenth Street Community Health Centers to provide housing to HIV patients who are currently facing housing insecurity, evictions, and homelessness. He is also working with Dr. Christopher Davis to pass legislation that will secure funding to support the implementation of Stop the Bleed programs in Wisconsin. Additionally, he started the STB MCW that is trained to teach STB independently. Leo dedicates his time volunteering at a local homeless shelter on Wednesday evenings. His goal is to open a free clinic in his hometown to provide medical attention and education to families who are unable to receive these resources.

Helene Miles

Helene (pronounced Huh-lay-nuh) Miles was raised in Venice, California where she grew up speaking both English and Norwegian. Inspired by her parents', her dad as a firefighter and her mom as a movement therapist, Helene became interested in the intersection of emergency medicine and the art of healing. Helene became an ocean lifeguard at Venice Beach right high school and has continued this work each summer. She completed her undergraduate degree in Anthropology with a concentration in Global Health and the Environment at Washington University in St. Louis. At WashU, Helene continued her first-responder work by becoming an EMT and volunteering with her university’s Emergency Support Team. She spent her gap year working as a ski patroller at Copper Mountain in Colorado, and then matriculated at UCSF in August 2021 as part of the Program in Medical Education for the Urban Underserved (PRIME-US). At UCSF, Helene is involved with the Anti-Oppressive Curriculum Initiative, The Repair Project, and serves as the Community Engagement chair on SNMA. This summer, Helene will be joining UCSF AMEND, the prison radio program Uncuffed, and KALW radio station in San Francisco to immerse California prison radio staff in the Norwegian Correctional Service to learn about the public health approach that Norway takes to prisons, and to explore ways to bring trusted health information into prisons through radio.

Trinidad Alcalá-Arcos

Trinidad Alcalá-Arcos is a proud immigrant from Mexico, the first in her family to attain a postsecondary education at UC Davis and now the first to pursue a doctorate degree. Upon graduating from college, she took a few gap years to explore unique opportunities including working for Google, doing addiction medicine research, doing social work with individuals experiencing homelessness, sitting on advisory panels for COVID-19 clinical trials as a patient advocate, and more. She also completed a Post-Baccalaureate program at UC Irvine, where she is now a rising MS2 in the Program for Medical Education for the Latinx Community. She hopes to use her experiences of overcoming systematic and personal barriers as a DACA student to pave the way for future generations so that they, too, can achieve their dreams and remind themselves that if others can do it, so can they. Trini is also passionate about promoting physician representation in communities of color and using medicine as a vehicle for social justice to achieve health equity. One of her current projects is Radio Santa Ana, working together with other members of her PRIME-LC cohort to promote health education and disseminate culturally and linguistically appropriate public health information for the community members of Santa Ana, an important step in addressing health disparities in vulnerable populations.

Lizbeth Alvarez

Lizbeth is an MS2 at the University of California Davis School of Medicine. In addition, she is an officer for the student-run free clinic Bayanihan, Sierra Sacramento Valley Medical Society (SSVS) class representative, AAMC co-representative and National Latino Medical Student Association Publications Chair. She previously worked to decrease the kidney transplant shortage and disparities at the Terasaki Research Institute. Prior to joining the Terasaki Research Institute, Lizbeth worked in the office of Senator Kamala D. Harris as the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute Graduate Legislative Health Fellow. In this role, she advised the Senator on health, women’s rights, education, social welfare programs, LGBTQ rights and environmental justice. Lizbeth also wrote legislation addressing environmental justice inequities among communities of color and initial strategy documents on how to address the opioid abuse epidemic. Lizbeth earned a Master’s in Public Health from The George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health and graduated with her Bachelor of Science in Biology and Bachelor of Arts in Healthcare Policy from Mount Saint Mary’s University.

Scholarly Project: Factors influencing the use of patient restraints in the ED

Yeni Belachew

Yeni is a first-generation Ethiopian American born and raised in Oakland, California. Her passion for health equity sparked through a combination of her upbringing in Oakland and exposure to the dismal healthcare system in Ethiopia. She attended UC Davis and graduated with a degree in neurobiology, physiology, and behavior. During college, Yeni was involved in a student-run clinic primarily focused on dismantling barriers to healthcare services within the Black community. Post-graduation, she worked as a patient coordinator at a non-profit organization in East Oakland, focused on eliminating health disparities within the Black community by providing whole-person care, navigation, and behavioral health care services.

Scholarly Project: Covid vaccine access among underserved populations

Daisy Brambila

Daisy was born and raised in Oakland, CA to immigrant parents from Jalisco, Mexico. She majored in Neuroscience and Dance at Pitzer College and studied abroad in Costa Rica to learn about their healthcare system. After graduating in 2018, Daisy spent two years investigating how pesticides alter neuronal synaptic transmission at UCLA and volunteering as a clinic assistant and Spanish interpreter at Venice Family Clinic in LA and at Refugee Health Alliance in Tijuana, MX. She is interested in the intersection of health and social justice and is currently volunteering with Clinica Martin Baro in SF and mentoring pre-med students through LMSA and MiMentor.

Scholarly Project: Post-covid quality of life among previously hospitalized patients

Jonathan Palacios

Jonathan is a first-generation student. He was born and raised in Orange County, California. Jonathan graduated from UC Riverside and completed an informal post-baccalaureate at UCLA. He obtained his master's degree at Western University of Health Sciences, Pomona & is currently a rising second-year medical student (WesternU-COMP). Jonathan also received his EMT State License back in 2012 and has been working in the Emergency Department since then. As a future physician, Jonathan’s goal is to bring diversity to healthcare and harness his bilingualism and multiculturalism to reach out to the people in his community to provide them with the best possible care.

Scholarly Project: Geographic variations in covid vaccine hesitancy

Domonique Patterson

Domonique was born and raised in Los Angeles, CA and attended UCLA for undergrad. She is currently a rising MS2 at the UCSD School of Medicine and is also a part of the PRIME-Health Equity program. Domonique is looking forward to a career as a physician (potentially in emergency medicine) that focuses on improving health disparities and policy to benefit minority communities.

Scholarly Project: Developing a social risk screening dashboard in the ED

Laura Ponce

Laura is a resilient first-generation Latina born in Mexico and raised in South Central Los Angeles. As a daughter of immigrants and an immigrant herself, she experienced first-hand the inequities and systemic racism that plagued her family and her community. Laura graduated from Cal State Long Beach in 2011, pursued a post bacc at Cal State Los Angeles in 2014, and completed her master’s degree at Western University of Health Sciences. Currently, she is a second-year medical student at Western University of Health Sciences. She was fortunate to work in the research field and non-profit industry during her path to medical school. Laura’s passions include advocating for social and racial equity as well as supporting BIPOC students in acquiring higher education. Laura’s career goals include opening up her own community clinic that provides free/low-cost medical services with a non-profit branch to support her community with free resources to continue to thrive.

Scholarly Project: Impact of covid on hate crimes against Asian Americans

Gustavo Porto

Gus is a rising second-year medical student at Frank H. Netter School of Medicine. He and his family are originally from Rio, Brazil but he was raised in the states since he was a 1-year-old. He grew up as an undocumented student until DACA was put into place, which allowed him to pursue a higher education and work toward his dreams. Gus completed his bachelor's degree in Allied Health Sciences at the University of Connecticut, and then took a gap year prior to starting medical school. During that year, he spent his time primarily working in the field as an EMT and tech in his local hospital's ED. Gus currently loves every aspect of medicine but finds himself drawn specifically to more complex and acute patients, which has led him to consider a career in emergency medicine with a fellowship in either resuscitation or critical care medicine. Regardless of specialty, his goal is to be in a position where he can address the disparities some populations face and either provide access to care for underserved patient populations or provide guidance to underrepresented students.

Scholarly Project: Opioid overdose considerations in cardiac arrest protocols

Frank Tavarez

From an early age, Frank knew he wanted to be a doctor. Having volunteered at the local emergency department and at community healthcare clinics enhanced his desire to pursue the field of medicine. Frank was born in New York City, to parents that immigrated from the Dominican Republic, and he spent part of his life living in Washington Heights. During middle school, his mother and siblings moved to Connecticut, where he currently resides. Frank graduated with his Bachelor of Science from Southern Connecticut State University and completed a Public Health program at the University of Connecticut. During that time, he decided to serve as a volunteer for organizations that focus on helping minority communities, such as being a tutor at New Haven Reads. Additionally, Frank worked in Waterbury, CT as a pharmacy technician and as a certified nurse aide for the elderly. Currently, Frank is a medical student at Frank H. Netter M.D. School of Medicine at Quinnipiac University. He is interested in health advocacy and policy and addressing the social determinants of health of underserved populations.

Scholarly Project: ED use and quality of care among patients with sickle cell disease

John Wong-Castillo

John is a Bay Area native and a master of moving about 20 miles at a time. John grew up in Union City, completed his BA in Public Health at UC Berkeley, and paid the Bay Bridge toll to study medicine at UCSF. During undergrad, John became an EMT and was an executive in the Berkeley Medical Reserve Corps (BMRC)—a volunteer-based, federally deployable responder unit of EMT-Bs on the UC Berkeley campus. Since that experience, he has admired the breadth of knowledge and acuity of conditions in Emergency Medicine. Stepping into the ED with a fresh set of boots, John is excited to get in-person exposure to the specialty. In his professional career, John serves as a research consultant for Rx4good where he thinks through organizational challenges within the patient advocacy landscape. He is also interested in exploring the business side of medicine to improve community wellness and patient health.

Scholarly Project: Disparities in care for low English proficiency patients in the ED