Our Members
Current Members
- Current Member, Mentor Member
Pamela Valera, PhD, MSW, ACSW, NCTTP, is an Assistant Professor in the School of Public Health and also an Affiliated Faculty in the School of Social Work at Rutgers University. Dr. Valera earned her Ph.D. in Social Work from the University of South Carolina, College of Social Work. She completed a three-year postdoctoral research fellowship in human immunodeficiency virus prevention and human sexuality from Columbia University and the New York State Psychiatric Institute, and a one-year clinical fellowship in cancer health disparities from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. She has sustained several years of NIH-funded research in cancer health disparities among men with criminal justice histories at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine Department of Epidemiology and Population Health and Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. Her research focuses on developing cancer health education programs for studying cancer prevention and exploring smoking cessation interventions in marginalized populations involved in the criminal justice system.
- Current Member, Mentor Member
Joachim Sackey, PhD, MS, has been an Assistant Professor in the Department of Clinical and Preventive Nutrition Sciences at Rutgers University School of Health Professions since August 2017. Dr. Sackey has a PhD in Nutritional Epidemiology from the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University with interests in HIV and nutrition; racial and sexual minority health; and nutrition across the lifespan.
- Current Member, Mentor Member
I am the Assistant Dean for Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion and an Assistant Professor in Urban-Global Public Health at the Rutgers School of Public Health. As the Assistant Dean for DEI, I have worked with members of the RBHS community to develop the RBHS Strategic Plan and the Universitywide Diversity Strategic Plan. The Universitywide Diversity Strategic Plan became the foundation for the School’s Diversity Action Plan (DAP). In conjunction with the newly established DEI Committee, we will work to implement the DAP over the next five years in alignment with the RBHS Strategic Plan and Universitywide Diversity Strategic Plan. At RBHS, I am a member of the Chancellor’s Diversity Leadership Council which develops DEI initiatives for RBHS, and the Anti-Racism Task Force which is developing initiatives related to the curricula, the development of training and certificate programs, and continuing dialogues on race. I completed the American Association of Medical Colleges’ Healthcare Executive Diversity and Inclusion Certificate (HEDIC) Program in 2020 and the Higher Education Resource Services (HERS) Leadership Institute in 2018, both programs provided the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the importance of DEI work and a commitment to reducing racial injustices in the academy and the communities that we serve.
For over ten years, I have been a member of the Newark Community Collaborative Board (NCCB) research team that addresses substance misuse and related health disparities among justice-involved individuals in the City of Newark, NJ. As a Board, we developed and piloted Community Wise, a 15-week behavioral health intervention based on critical conscious theory. Community Wise aimed to reduce substance use frequency, HIV, HCV risk behaviors, and reoffending among individuals with substance use disorders and incarceration grounded in community-based participatory research (CBPR).
My current research focuses on several issues facing the Newark, NJ community including maternal child health issues in Black women; outcomes for men who have sustained gunshot wounds and have been patients in University Hospital’s HVIP (Hospital-Based Violence Intervention Program); and reentry challenges faced by women returning to their communities. I teach Social Determinants of Health, Public Health and Health Disparities, and Urban Health, as well as independent studies focusing on LBGTQ+ Health, interpersonal violence, and poverty and violence in urban centers.
I received my PhD in Urban Health Systems from the Rutgers School of Nursing and my MPH in Urban Health Administration from the Rutgers School of Public Health.
- Current Member, Mentor Member
Humberto Baquerizo is the Program Development Specialist, Office for Diversity and Community Engagement, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. He is currently overseeing the Northeast Regional Alliance (NERA) MedPrep Program, and MiniMed Program (Pre-Medical Honors Program), he is a member of the Community Engagement Projects and Service-Learning (CESL) Course at NJMS. Mr. Baquerizo has a Doctoral Degree in Educational Leadership from Caldwell University, an MBA from the University of Phoenix, and a BS in Engineering Science from NJIT. His research interest includes: Student Success, Grit, Resilience, and URM Pipeline initiatives.
- Current Member, Mentor Member
Dr. Javier F. Boyas is the Department Chair of Troy University’s School of Social Work and Human Services and was recently named Assistant Dean of Research for the College of Health Sciences. In these roles, he oversees academic programs, supports faculty development, and contributes to the strategic planning and administration of the department.
As Assistant Dean of Research, he focuses on promoting research initiatives, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration, and enhancing the research capabilities of faculty and students to ensure continued excellence and innovation in health sciences research endeavors. Dr. Boyas leads change by building knowledge that contributes to effective intervention and prevention approaches to reduce and eradicate health and mental health disparities among vulnerable populations, such as communities of color and child protection workers. His program of research aims to build knowledge that contributes to effective intervention and prevention approaches to reduce and ultimately eliminate health and mental health disparities among communities of color, particularly among the Latina/o/x community.
Dr. Boyas’ scholarship can be found in the journals: Journal of Cancer Research and Clinical Oncology; Journal of Skin Cancer, American Journal of Men’s Health; Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine; Children & Youth Services Review, Community Mental Health Journal, and Hispanic Health Care International.
- Current Member
Rida Sohail is a recent graduate of Rutgers University-New Brunswick with a BS in Public Health from the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy. Her research interests include mental health, health disparities, reproductive health, and the relationship between health inequities, social determinants, and intersectionality. She aspires to a career combining her passion for social justice with research, enabling her to advocate for health equity. Her experiences include working with several non-profits and community-based organizations to serve those around her and make health more accessible for all.
- Current Member
Jamie Delaney is an MPH candidate at Rutgers school of public health. She earned a B.A in the humanities and minor in philosophy from Montclair State University in 2022. With a background in urban and global health and keen interest in public health research, she leverages her experiences and education to help shed light and bring a voice to the often hidden and underserved populations in her communities helping to advocate and advance social and health equity. Her research expertise lies in qualitative data, health policy, social determinants of health, mental health, substance use, and health equity.
- Current Member
Kendra Lewis, MPH, is a recent Rutgers School of Public Health graduate with a concentration in Urban Public Health and a Maternal and Child Health certificate. She is currently employed at the Rutgers School of Public Health Center for Health, Identity, Behavior, and Prevention Studies (CHIBPS). She is passionate about sexual and gender minority research and maternal and child health.
- Current Member
Diamond Joelle Cunningham, MPH, a first-generation American to Jamaican immigrant parents, is a PhD student at the Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine and a passionate racial health equity advocate. Her research focuses on promoting health for Black birthing people, specifically in the context of reproductive justice, with a particular emphasis on incarcerated and immigrant birthing individuals. Diamond employs community-driven research approaches to address the underlying social inequities that give rise to poor health outcomes in communities that have been discriminated against, marginalized, and excluded. Currently, she is studying abortion access in Louisiana, a state directly impacted by the Dobbs decision trigger ban, as part of her commitment to advancing reproductive rights and health equity.
- Current Member, Mentor Member
Nicholas Acuna, PhD, MPH, is a Postdoctoral Scientist in the Cancer Research Center for Health Equity at Cedars-Sinai. His work focuses on identifying areas and populations within Cedars-Sinai’s catchment area that are at high risk for developing cancer. Specifically, he uses a community-based participatory research approach when answering important questions to reduce health inequities in Los Angeles County. He is interested in the intersection of leveraging genetic to neighborhood-level to address health disparities using large observational cohorts. His work has been published in high-impact journals such as the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Cancer, and Annals of Behavioral Medicine. He received his BS from The College of New Jersey, MPH from Rutgers School of Public Health, and PhD in Epidemiology from the University of Southern California.
- Current Member
Sarah Malarkey is a current MPH student concentrating in epidemiology at Rutgers School of Public Health. For her undergraduate education, she attended Rutgers University- New Brunswick where she earned her B.S. in Public Health from Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy & the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences. Her research experiences have focused on breast cancer in Essex County, NJ, medication-assisted treatment in jails, smoking behaviors in the LGBT community, and colorectal cancer screening in the Newark Community. Her research interests include health disparities in minority populations, specifically cancer disparities and urban/global health. She hopes to have a career that combines her passion for social justice and science and advocate for health justice.
- Current Member
Asia Lefebre is a graduate of Rutgers University-New Brunswick as of August 2020, with a BA in the Biological Sciences and Psychology. She is currently pursuing further education to become a Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner. She has always been passionate about the ties between medicine and mental health, as well being an advocate for social justice. Asia believes that Public Health is an essential component to the well-being of communities and is striving to become a provider who integrates both Public Health and Medicine.
- Current Member
Rachel Flumo, a proud Liberian, is a graduate of Rutgers School of Public Health. She serves as the training support specialist for the Northern NJ Medication Assisted Treatment Center of Excellence, providing training for housing staff and stakeholders on best practices for working with unhoused individuals grappling with substance use disorder.
- Current Member
Sebastian Acevedo recieved his BA in Biological Sciences from Rutgers University, New Brunswick. He is currently an MD/MPH student at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School and Rutgers School of Public Health with a concentration in Urban Public Health. He hopes to build a career in medicine centered around advocacy and bridging health disparities for marginalized communities.
- Current Member
Karin Alexa Palomino graduated from Rutgers University-New Brunswick with a Bachelor of Science in Public Health. She has engaged in community-based research and community outreach throughout her college career. Currently, Karin is a Mental Health Awareness Training Coordinator at Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center. Karin facilitates the Adult and Youth Mental Health First Aid training for school staff, community leaders, and other personnel who work with children in the Essex County area. The training Karin facilitates aims to teach individuals how to identify, understand, and respond to signs of addiction and mental health challenges. She hopes to continue advocating for mental wellbeing, especially for children and minority communities, along with focusing on research through a public health lens.
- Current Member
Daina Potter is a graduate of the Rutgers School of Public Health, receiving her Master of Public Health in Urban Public Health in 2023. She is a Data Analyst for the Community Health Justice Lab and Rutgers University New Jersey Medical School.
Her current scope of work includes Mental Health and First Aid among Correctional Police Officers, the impact of food insecurity on older long-term survivors of HIV, and incorporating evidence-based Medicated Assisted Treatment in county jails.
Daina’s research is driven by a deep passion for understanding and addressing health disparities. Her focus is on gastrointestinal (GI) conditions, particularly among African American/Black Male Immigrants. She aims to empower these individuals to navigate their GI conditions, viewing their health from a strength perspective. Her ultimate goal is to improve their healthcare by structuring it around resilience and the desire to be healthy.
Her career goal is to obtain a Medical Degree. She hopes to bridge the gap between marginalized communities and medical institutions by fostering community partnerships and trust and, ultimately, closing the widening gap in healthcare access.
- Current Member
Tajrian Amad is an MPH student in Epidemiology at Rutgers School of Public Health. She earned her B.S. in Public Health and a certificate in Health Disparities from Rutgers University – Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy. Her research interests include health disparities in minority and immigrant populations, social determinants of health, mental health, infectious disease, and cancer epidemiology. Upon completing her MPH program, she hopes to explore further and unravel the complex relationship between social determinants and health outcomes through research.
- Current Member
Clement is the Academic Detailer and Clinical Pharmacist Specialist at the Northern NJ Medication-Assisted Treatment Center of Excellence, based at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. In his role, Clement provides consultative support to healthcare professionals by offering mentoring and education. He conducts needs assessments and develops solutions to enhance providers’ knowledge and application of evidence-based care.
Clement plays a significant role in sharing evidence-based knowledge on substance use disorders through live webinars, conferences, and institutional presentations. He is actively involved in research and quality improvement initiatives to improve the quality of care in various healthcare settings across the state.
The Northern NJ Medication-Assisted Treatment Centers of Excellence (NNJ-MATrx-COE) was established in 2019 by the New Jersey Department of Human Services as part of a comprehensive statewide initiative to combat the substance use crisis. The NNJ-MATrx-COE, hosted by Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, operates two centers in Northern and Southern NJ. These centers are dedicated to integrating addiction medicine into the care provided by designated Office-Based Addiction Treatment (OBAT) Medicaid providers, with a focus on increasing access to medication treatment and recovery support services for individuals with substance use disorders.
- Current Member
Aladeen Eewshah is finishing his undergraduate degree at Seton Hall University in New Jersey. Driven by his diverse upbringing, Aladeen is passionate about addressing health inequities among underserved populations in his community. During his undergraduate career, he worked on projects focusing on food chemistry, extending shelf life at Seton Hall, and addressing food insecurity in his community at Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine.
His commitment to continuous learning fuels his aspiration to become a physician. Fluent in Arabic, Aladeen aims to connect with and advocate for marginalized communities with research interests in food insecurity, hidden health disparities, and culturally competent care.
- Current Member
Nariah McKnight is a dual-degree MSW/MPH student at Rutgers University. Her research interests include women’s health, children and adolescents, and the impact of social determinants of health in minoritized communities. Nariah’s career goal is to bridge the gap between Social Work and Public Health, pushing her towards a multidisciplinary approach in implementing treatment and community-engaged research.
Alumni Members
- Alumni Member
David Carmona is a Research Scientist at the Office of Health Care Quality and Informatics in the New Jersey Department of Health, supporting the Health Equity Quality Improvement Team. He holds a Master’s in Public Health with a concentration in Epidemiology from the Rutgers School of Public Health. With three years of experience analyzing and visualizing community outreach and program-specific datasets, David’s previous role within the COVID-19 Community Corps (CCC) under the New Jersey Department of Health was vital in reducing vaccine hesitancy among community members through data-informed outreach.
David is dedicated to improving health outcomes for minority and marginalized populations and continually seeks and explores new opportunities to enhance the well-being of underserved and marginalized communities.
- Alumni Member
Nivedita Nambrath is a Research Associate at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. She graduated from Wellesley College in 2023 with a major in Biochemistry and a minor in Economics. Her current research relates to understanding the genetic mechanisms underlying type 2 diabetes and obesity. She is interested in chronic disease and understanding the social and environmental determinants of health among medically underserved populations. She hopes to build a career combining her interests in biomedicine, public health, and social justice.
- Alumni Member
Nadia Smith received her BS degree in public health and certificate in health disparities from Rutgers University-New Brunswick. Her research interests include maternal health, cancer disparities, and the relationship between health inequities, social determinants, and intersectionality.
- Alumni Member
Jessica Plaha received her Master’s in Biomedical Sciences at Rutgers University School of Graduate Studies. Her research interests include health disparities among medically underserved populations, particularly within racial and ethnic minority groups and low-income urban communities. She is an aspiring physician, and her goal is to achieve a career that intersects medicine, public health, and social justice.
- Alumni Member
Lashida Barnes received her MPH degree from the Rutgers University School of Public Health with a concentration in Urban Public Health. She received her BA in Spanish Language and Literature from Temple University. She has worked in corrections, healthcare, and social services to promote better lifestyle choices and all-around health. Lashida has experience working with individuals from diverse backgrounds throughout the continuum of care in clinical settings with a clinical team’s collaboration to ensure patient wellbeing. Her research interests include maternal and child health, wellness, and identifying the needs and problems of marginalized populations.
- Alumni Member
Madelyn Owens received her MPH/MSW degree from the Rutgers School of Public Health and School of Social Work, concentrating on LGBTQ+ Health and Violence Against Women and Children. She attended Covenant College, earning a BA in Biblical and Theological Studies. She has over a decade of experience providing direct service care to a diverse set of populations, including rural communities in Southern Appalachia, people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and families with gender-expansive children. Her research interests include health disparities in marginalized populations, clinical interventions for gender dysphoria in adolescent populations, and racial equity education for people who are white. She is specifically interested in interventions that address the impacts of minority stress on mental health. She hopes to pursue a career that combines her passion for quality clinical care with her interest in policy interventions.
- Alumni Member
Kimberly Pierre holds a Master of Public Health in Urban Public Health and a certificate in Population Health from Rutgers University, the State University of New Jersey. She is the recipient of the Bernard D. Goldstein Award for academic excellence. Ms. Pierre is a public health professional with experts in health promotion, community outreach, health education, and research. Her research interests include minority health disparities, health equity research, health education, sexual and reproductive health, women’s health, and maternal and child health. Ms. Pierre identifies strongly with her Haitian heritage. She is a first-generation graduate who is motivated and determined to improve the health of marginalized communities by implementing programs that provide access to healthcare services.
Mentor Members
- Current Member, Mentor Member
Pamela Valera, PhD, MSW, ACSW, NCTTP, is an Assistant Professor in the School of Public Health and also an Affiliated Faculty in the School of Social Work at Rutgers University. Dr. Valera earned her Ph.D. in Social Work from the University of South Carolina, College of Social Work. She completed a three-year postdoctoral research fellowship in human immunodeficiency virus prevention and human sexuality from Columbia University and the New York State Psychiatric Institute, and a one-year clinical fellowship in cancer health disparities from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. She has sustained several years of NIH-funded research in cancer health disparities among men with criminal justice histories at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine Department of Epidemiology and Population Health and Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. Her research focuses on developing cancer health education programs for studying cancer prevention and exploring smoking cessation interventions in marginalized populations involved in the criminal justice system.
- Current Member, Mentor Member
Joachim Sackey, PhD, MS, has been an Assistant Professor in the Department of Clinical and Preventive Nutrition Sciences at Rutgers University School of Health Professions since August 2017. Dr. Sackey has a PhD in Nutritional Epidemiology from the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University with interests in HIV and nutrition; racial and sexual minority health; and nutrition across the lifespan.
- Current Member, Mentor Member
I am the Assistant Dean for Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion and an Assistant Professor in Urban-Global Public Health at the Rutgers School of Public Health. As the Assistant Dean for DEI, I have worked with members of the RBHS community to develop the RBHS Strategic Plan and the Universitywide Diversity Strategic Plan. The Universitywide Diversity Strategic Plan became the foundation for the School’s Diversity Action Plan (DAP). In conjunction with the newly established DEI Committee, we will work to implement the DAP over the next five years in alignment with the RBHS Strategic Plan and Universitywide Diversity Strategic Plan. At RBHS, I am a member of the Chancellor’s Diversity Leadership Council which develops DEI initiatives for RBHS, and the Anti-Racism Task Force which is developing initiatives related to the curricula, the development of training and certificate programs, and continuing dialogues on race. I completed the American Association of Medical Colleges’ Healthcare Executive Diversity and Inclusion Certificate (HEDIC) Program in 2020 and the Higher Education Resource Services (HERS) Leadership Institute in 2018, both programs provided the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the importance of DEI work and a commitment to reducing racial injustices in the academy and the communities that we serve.
For over ten years, I have been a member of the Newark Community Collaborative Board (NCCB) research team that addresses substance misuse and related health disparities among justice-involved individuals in the City of Newark, NJ. As a Board, we developed and piloted Community Wise, a 15-week behavioral health intervention based on critical conscious theory. Community Wise aimed to reduce substance use frequency, HIV, HCV risk behaviors, and reoffending among individuals with substance use disorders and incarceration grounded in community-based participatory research (CBPR).
My current research focuses on several issues facing the Newark, NJ community including maternal child health issues in Black women; outcomes for men who have sustained gunshot wounds and have been patients in University Hospital’s HVIP (Hospital-Based Violence Intervention Program); and reentry challenges faced by women returning to their communities. I teach Social Determinants of Health, Public Health and Health Disparities, and Urban Health, as well as independent studies focusing on LBGTQ+ Health, interpersonal violence, and poverty and violence in urban centers.
I received my PhD in Urban Health Systems from the Rutgers School of Nursing and my MPH in Urban Health Administration from the Rutgers School of Public Health.
- Current Member, Mentor Member
Humberto Baquerizo is the Program Development Specialist, Office for Diversity and Community Engagement, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. He is currently overseeing the Northeast Regional Alliance (NERA) MedPrep Program, and MiniMed Program (Pre-Medical Honors Program), he is a member of the Community Engagement Projects and Service-Learning (CESL) Course at NJMS. Mr. Baquerizo has a Doctoral Degree in Educational Leadership from Caldwell University, an MBA from the University of Phoenix, and a BS in Engineering Science from NJIT. His research interest includes: Student Success, Grit, Resilience, and URM Pipeline initiatives.
- Current Member, Mentor Member
Dr. Javier F. Boyas is the Department Chair of Troy University’s School of Social Work and Human Services and was recently named Assistant Dean of Research for the College of Health Sciences. In these roles, he oversees academic programs, supports faculty development, and contributes to the strategic planning and administration of the department.
As Assistant Dean of Research, he focuses on promoting research initiatives, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration, and enhancing the research capabilities of faculty and students to ensure continued excellence and innovation in health sciences research endeavors. Dr. Boyas leads change by building knowledge that contributes to effective intervention and prevention approaches to reduce and eradicate health and mental health disparities among vulnerable populations, such as communities of color and child protection workers. His program of research aims to build knowledge that contributes to effective intervention and prevention approaches to reduce and ultimately eliminate health and mental health disparities among communities of color, particularly among the Latina/o/x community.
Dr. Boyas’ scholarship can be found in the journals: Journal of Cancer Research and Clinical Oncology; Journal of Skin Cancer, American Journal of Men’s Health; Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine; Children & Youth Services Review, Community Mental Health Journal, and Hispanic Health Care International.
- Current Member, Mentor Member
Nicholas Acuna, PhD, MPH, is a Postdoctoral Scientist in the Cancer Research Center for Health Equity at Cedars-Sinai. His work focuses on identifying areas and populations within Cedars-Sinai’s catchment area that are at high risk for developing cancer. Specifically, he uses a community-based participatory research approach when answering important questions to reduce health inequities in Los Angeles County. He is interested in the intersection of leveraging genetic to neighborhood-level to address health disparities using large observational cohorts. His work has been published in high-impact journals such as the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Cancer, and Annals of Behavioral Medicine. He received his BS from The College of New Jersey, MPH from Rutgers School of Public Health, and PhD in Epidemiology from the University of Southern California.
Advocate Members
- Advocate Member
Ramon is a returning citizen and has been home for 16 years. Upon release to the community, he landed a job opportunity where he has been a staff member at the Center for Court Innovation for 14 years at one of the center’s projects, the Bronx Community Solutions. Ramon is a member of the Bronx Reentry Task Force and facilitates a Reentry Anonymous support group modeled after Alcohol Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous
- Advocate Member
Woodrow is a returning citizen who left the New York State system for the last time in 2003. He served for 13 years. Woodrow is married with four kids. He has worked with Dr. Pamela Valera as a research assistant promoting cancer education and smoking cessation treatment in New York state prisons. Woodrow is also a member of the only Reentry Anonymous group in New York City.