2019-2020 COE Ambassadors
The Student Ambassador Program is a leadership opportunity for students to serve and represent the Women’s Health, Gender and Empowerment (WHGE) COE among the student population and larger community. Specific roles of Student Ambassadors include identifying and raising awareness about events related to WHGE on campus and in the community, participating in monthly tele-meetings, working with COE Faculty Ambassadors on campus and supporting COE programs to address campus-based sexual assault and dating violence.
Clea Stammler
UC San Diego
Global Health major
Clea's main career interest focuses on women’s health care and empowerment across the world. She is a volunteer at UC San Diego’s Hospital and is a strong advocate and leader in combating sexual assault on campus through prevention, education, awareness, and survivor support. Clea advocates for all women to have equal and quality health care, and to be empowered, strong, and leading women.
Manya Balachander
UC Santa Cruz
Double major in Psychology and Community Studies
Manya is passionate about increasing access to health and empowerment for women from all backgrounds, and my research on homeless women's access to health care services in Santa Cruz County has been to starting point to explore ways that increase empowerment for all women.
Bri-Ann Hernandez
UCLA
Masters of Public Health
Bri-Ann is the Thinking Gender Conference Coordinator for UCLA Center for the Study of Women, with a thematic focus on sexual violence as structural violence: feminist visions of transformative justice. She is a research fellow for an international feminist magazine called Ms. Bri-Ann is a first generation college and graduate student with aims to strengthen women's reproductive and sexual autonomy and access to family planning services.
Colette Kirkpatrick
UC San Diego
Double major in Global Health and Communications
Colette is VP of the Students for Global Health Events Committee which plans quarterly symposiums that bring in experts to discuss various global health issues. Founder and President of Gift of Life at UC San Diego, which finds matches for patients with blood cancer through swab drives and awareness campaigns. Conducted interviews at Madre Asunta shelter to gather ethnographic data about the experiences of asylum seeking women and children
Sara Guevara-Plunkett
UC Davis
Global Disease Biology major
Sara strives to promote the health and the empowerment of women, particularly in the Latina Community. During a Tuberculosis epidemic in Córdoba, Argentina, Sara created patient charts and comforted children and their families at the Hospital Pediátrico del Niño Jesús. She undergoes research on Kaposi Sarcoma at UCD Medical Center in the Izumiya lab. She has been accepted for publication as a second author in the Journal of Virology and presented internationally at the International Herpesvirus Workshop.
Verania Valdez
UC Berkeley
Public Health major
Verania is one of the leads of Muxeres Activas En Letras y Cambios Sociales where she empowers womxn in her community and demystifies higher education. Currently, she is conducting research with her colleagues in the Latinx community about sexual violence and sexual harassment with the help of a social norms grant they were awarded this year. Upon completing her undergrad, Verania aspires to receive her masters/PhD in Public Health to continue doing research and aiding larger populations of womxn through her work. After, Verania hopes to receive her MD and be an obstetrician-gynecologist. Her current research interests are centered around the effects of environmental racism on womxn’s reproductive health in under resourced communities.
Soraya Raji
UC Merced
Molecular and Cell Biology major, Psychology minor
Soraya is President of Pre-Health Society at UC Merced. She is an ambassador for Queen V, a female-powered, millennial focused health and wellness company dedicated to cultivating a community of empowered women. Soraya conducted molecular biology of cancer research and studied medical and translational bioinformatics with the Rosetta Institute of Biomedical Research. Future career goals include becoming a Neurosurgeon.
Mary Nguyen
UC San Diego
Double major in General Biology and Public Health
Mary participates in clinical research in reproductive medicine to help better diagnosis pregnancy complications and serving as a resident assistant for Empowerment House at Thurgood Marshall College. Assistant Director of Administration for the Pathmaker Internship with Palomar Health and Immunology Intern and Takeda San Diego focussing on IBD research. Interested in how access to quality healthcare can affect gender disparities in health.
Irene Guzman
UC Merced
Public Health major
Irene participated in CFHI’s global health study abroad program in Oaxaca, Mexico. Her practicum included working alongside healthcare professionals and educating local populations about chronic conditions and preventative cancer measures. Service project involvement included breastfeeding and postpartum care for mothers in Oaxaca, as well as planning a children’s books fundraiser for RIF. Irene is passionate in global health inequities and women’s sexual and reproductive health. Her future plans include pursing a nursing career working with vulnerable populations.
Diamond Coleman
UC San Francisco
Masters of Global Health Sciences
Diamond learned about public health systems and the organization of healthcare in Gaborone, Botswana through shadowing clinics and talking with Ministry of Health officials. She identified vulnerable populations in Gaborone and addressed health disparities through discussions and developing an intervention over the course of five months that focused on prenatal care. Diamond developed ethical and evidence-based policy opinions by looking at public health care through a Dutch lens in Amsterdam.
Jacqueline Partida
UC Merced
Psychology major, Public Health minor
Jacqueline is passionate about bringing health and gender equity. During her time aboard, she created a project at CEJUM, a facility in Mexico that provides resources to women who suffered from violence. She currently continues to support her local Valley Crisis Center. Jacqueline is a leader in Active Minds and strives to destigmized mental health.
Noorhan Amani
UC San Diego
Human Biology major, Global Health minor
Noorhan is an intern for a free clinic that serves under-privileged populations in Tijuana, Mexico. She is involved in initiatives, such as Girl Up (a UN Foundation campaign), that empower adolescent girls and women in developing nations around the globe. Noorhan is a board member of the Students for Global Health student organization at UCSD.
Annjelika Slate
UC Santa Barbara
Psychological and Brain Sciences major
Annjelika works with a local domestic violence nonprofit to create and sustain educational programs that teach the public about signs and prevention methods surrounding multiple forms of abuse. She researches oral contraception and the effects of these exogenous gonadal hormones on brain structure and function. Annjelika is passionate about changing the culture surrounding sexual assault and violence across college and other educational campuses.
Sydney Adams
UC Merced
Public Health major
Through the Nicotine and Cannabis Policy Center, Sydney gets the opportunity to connect with people from all counties within the San Joaquin Valley and assist in collecting data. This research team works to encourage better policies regarding nicotine and cannabis use in California. Sydney currently works as a student laboratory assistant for the biology lab courses offered on campus. Her duty is to ensure students have the materials they need in order to have a successful lab experiment. Sydney is interested in finding better ways to advocate for women's health and gender equality so I can contribute to making the world a better place in the future.
Sunny Lin
UC San Francisco
Masters of Global Health Sciences
Sunny envisions a world where everyone has access to safe, respected, and empowering sexual and reproductive health services. She serves as a counselor and advocate for intimate partner violence survivors. Sunny aims to pursue a career that contributes to gender and health equity.
Bharathi Chinnakotla
UC Berkeley
Molecular and Cell Biology major
Bharathi is conducting research, from 5 different countries (El Salvador, Nepal, Vietnam, Indian, and Ecuador), focusing on the associations between socioeconomic status and poor oral health care practices of children and mothers. She volunteers at local women's shelter, providing meals, support, and resources to address poverty and foster empowerment. Bharathi is interested in women's health on the global level and reducing gender disparities in the health care system.
Madeleine Tremblay
UC Santa Barbara
Double major in Global Studies and Chinese
Madeleine is a research assistant studying the implementation of mental health practices in low-income, ethnic minority communities; other research interests include social determinants of health and mental health legislation. She is a Mental Health Peer at UCSB Counseling & Psychological Services promoting mental health awareness, providing drop-in counseling services, and conducting outreach with student groups. Madeleine is a volunteer with Doctors Without Walls-Santa Barbara Street Medicine working to connect homeless individuals to medical services.
Victoria Nguyen
UC Berkeley
Masters of Public Health, Maternal, Child & Adolescent Health
Victoria hopes to address gaps in preconception and pregnancy care, particularly in women’s decision-making around building their families. She is interested in the ethical landscape of reproductive technologies, informed by past experience as a patient coordinator in a fertility clinic. Victoria's capstone examines the relationship between cannabis use and reproductive outcomes in young adults.
Rebecca Astatke
UC Berkeley
Masters of Public Health - Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health with a Global Health Focus
Rebecca is a Foreign Language and Area Studies scholar focused on Africa and the Amharic language with a broader interest in the Global South. Rebecca has worked as a peer leader trained in mental health, violence prevention, and Title IX and a co-lead on the Committee for Sexual Assault Prevention and Fraternity Mentorship to address sexual violence on her undergraduate college campus. She is currently working on two research projects in Boston: health services for Native American women due to high prevalence of sexual violence; and postpartum health of women diagnosed with placenta accreta. As a Women Rise intern, she is currently piloting and developing a psychosocial and educational program with and for refugee women who are survivors of gender-based violence in various countries including South Sudan, Somalia, Myanmar, Iraq and Nigeria.
Catthi Ly
UC Irvine
Double major in Human Biology and Anthropology
Catthi is a research assistant studying the potential genetic etiology of normal pressure hydrocephalus. She is an outreach manager for GHREAT at UCI and currently leading project involving children with cerebral palsy in Vietnam. Catthi is interested in the social factors that influence health and illness.
Ifunanya Okezie
UC Merced
Public Health major
Ifunanya is an Associate Vice Chancellor and Dean of Students Advisory Board member this year addressing students issues in the community. She is an independent study research intern for a semester where she will learn how to develop authentic community collaborations with hard-to-reach cultural populations and develop strategies to reduce health disparities. Ifunanya's career goal is to become a physician for women and children and advocate for women in low income countries.
Ikran Ibrahim
UC San Diego
Biochemistry and Cellular Biology, Art History and Political Science double minor
Ikrans past research has varied from heart stem cell studies to gene editing in cyanobacteria using CRISPr Cas9. Currently she is working in a lab that focuses on climate change and how aerosols from the ocean can impact our troposphere. She hopes to one day obtain her MD-PhD. With the goal of working hands-on with patients as well as developing ways to counter the high death toll of Black women in the maternity wards.
