Sarah De Guia
As chief executive officer, Sarah de Guia oversees development and implementation of ChangeLab Solutions’ long-term goals, priorities, strategies, and budget. She is committed to applying her legal expertise and leadership experience to advancing equitable laws and policies that ensure healthy lives for all.
Before joining ChangeLab Solutions, Sarah worked at the California Pan-Ethnic Health Network (CPEHN), first as director of government affairs and then as executive director. Sarah developed and implemented CPEHN’s policy, community partnership, and research goals. She also expanded the organization through creation of a Southern California office and increasing the number of permanent staff members in Sacramento. Sarah’s accomplishments during her tenure at CPEHN include passage of more than a dozen legislative bills to further health equity; critical administrative policy wins to incorporate health equity into land use and planning regulations; and improving the quality of health care for immigrants, patients with limited English proficiency, and communities of color.
She has authored many publications on the health of communities of color in California, oral health disparities, mental health, and Latino health. Prior to working at CPEHN, Sarah was a health program director at Latino Issues Forum and a legislative analyst at the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund. Sarah sits on the advisory committee for the Office of Health Equity at the California Department of Public Health. She earned her law degree from Santa Clara University School of Law and her bachelor’s degree in ethnic studies from the University of California, Berkeley.
Aaron Gardner
Aaron Gardner is an epidemiologist and program evaluator for the Epidemiology & Program Evaluation Branch of the Riverside County Department of Public Health (DOPH). Aaron's 20 years of social science and epidemiological research experience includes 14 years investigating infectious and chronic disease in Riverside County with a focus on social epidemiology. His past research have included novel substance abuse treatment models for gay and bisexual men and African Americans. In the last decade, his research focus has shifted to health equity and the the social and environmental determinants of health and its impact on the chronic and communicable disease burden and life expectancy in minority populations and women. Aaron is on the forefront in research and policy development in his local health department coordinating the development, implementation, and evaluation of an innovative public health workforce training series and producing many of the county's first health reports on specific populations including the LGBT and transgender community.
Simran Kaur
Simran Kaur is Director for the Center for Community Health at Valley Children's Healthcare, focused on improving the health and wellness of children in the Central Valley where they live, learn and play. She currently serves on the Fresno County Commission on the Status of Women. Previously, Simran was the Western Region Director for the Sikh Coalition, the nation's largest Sikh civil rights organization. In 2012, she led efforts to pass the California Workplace Religious Freedom Act, now the nation's strongest protection against religious discrimination in the workplace. In the past, Simran has served on the Board of Directors for The Women's Building, a women-led community space and has served as the Affirmative Action Officer on the Board of Directors for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Northern California. She is an active member of the Sikh American community in California and her work was published in "Her Name is Kaur" an anthology of stories about Sikh American women.
Jo Ann Julien
Jo Ann Julien leads the Office of Health Equity within Public Health Services, Health and Human Services Agency for the County of San Diego. She is also on the Center of Excellence for Health Promotion and Health Equity led by the University of California, San Diego.
Jo-Ann's public health career spans 20 years, starting at the Public Health Agency of Canada and Health Canada, the Canadian equivalent of the Centers for Disease Control, Food and Drug Administration, and the National Institutes of Health. Jo-Ann has worked in the area of cultural diversity and human rights at the federal level helping to create inclusive institutions.
Jo-Ann speaks French, and holds a B.A. in Communications and a Master's in Education, specializing in Counseling. She is trained in mental health first aid, risk communication, facilitation, deliberative dialogue, regulatory affairs, and public policy and is certified with the International Association of Public Participation. She will make an excellent addition to the Office of Health Equity Advisory Committee.
Kismet Baldwin
Kismet Baldwin, MD, recently transitioned to a new position of Deputy Health Officer of Sonoma County Public Health. She continues to strive to provide leadership in a broad array of programs and services to protect, promote, and improve the health and well being of county residents. Her dedication to public health started with her experiences as a neonatologist, where she saw first-hand the devastating effects that health inequity can have on a community; that dedication has been cemented by further experiences as a health officer. With a vision that all communities in Sonoma County will be healthy, safe, equitable, and thriving, Dr. Baldwin and the public health staff are dedicated to removing barriers and addressing the root causes of health inequity. Sonoma County Public Health works with colleagues across all sectors -- traditional and non-traditional community partners; private and public entities; with other county agencies and within their own -- to improve the social, economic, and physical conditions that have shortened our more impoverished residents' life-spans.
Yvette McShan
Yvette McShan is the Chief Operating Officer of Victorious Black Women, an organization she co-founded with a simple but powerful idea back in 2009 that the path towards healing lies in the ability of black women sharing their stories with one another. Her expertise lies in promoting life skills, mentoring, and substance abuse counseling, and she in strong advocate for individuals and communities facing incarceration and re-entry, addiction, and mental illness.
Lisa Folberg
Lisa Folberg is the President and CEO of the California Academy of Family Physicians. She has expertise in health policy, including health system reform and financing, designing and implementing public health programs, physician practice and ethnic physician organizations, coalition building, health care workforce development, and non-profit administration.
Valentine Antony
Valentine Antony is a First Nations (Mohawk) native living in San Francisco. He is the Research and Evaluation Coordinator for the California Consortium for Urban Indian Health (CCUIH). As part of his work at CCUIH, Valentine is an evaluator for the GONA Cross Site Study funded by California Office of Health Equity (OHE), California Reducing Disparities Project (CRDP) involving 5 Urban Indian Health Program members. Valentine also serves as an evaluator for the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) funded Tribal MAT initiative which works with Urban Indian and Tribal partners across California on a program evaluation and data collection efforts with community members and medical providers. He continues to work in collaboration with AIAN health agencies, tribal agencies and statewide partnerships to develop innovative solutions to addressing the health needs of American Indian communities in California. Valentine graduated with distinction from the University of New Mexico with an MS degree in Public Administration and an MS degree in Community & Regional Planning.
Ana Gonzalez-Seda
Ana González Seda, MPH is the Director Programs for the San Diego/Imperial Valley Chapter for the Alzheimer's Association. Under Ana's leadership, she oversees the education, social engagement diversity and inclusion for the chapter focusing on senior health, people living with Alzheimer's and their care partners. Ana has worked in the non-profit health sector for leading organizations in San Diego for over 25 years focusing on engaging communities of color. Ana sits on community boards which support quality affordable housing and livable neighborhoods, foster economic self-sufficiency and stimulate investment. As well as engaging communities of color to participate in translational research through University based educational institutions. Ana most recently, became a fellow for the Hispanas Organized for Political Equality (HOPE) under the Leadership Institute- established to train Latina leaders in leadership and advocacy skills enabling to create fundamental change within their communities statewide. Ana is bi-cultural, bi-racial raised in San Diego. She received her Bachelor's Degree in Sociology from San Diego State University and earned a Master's Degree in Public Health with an emphasis in Health Services Administration. Ana recently received a certification in Project Management from the University of Redlands. In her free time, Ana enjoys spending time with her vivacious seven-year old son, Christian and husband, residing in San Diego.