Trisha Richter
Category: Bios
Denise Andrade, MPA
Denise Andrade, MPA
Deputy Director, Community Health Division, Imperial County Public Health Department
County: Imperial
Denise Andrade obtained a Master’s degree in Public Administration with an Emphasis in Government and Policy from Grand Canyon University and a Bachelor’s degree in Spanish and Education from the University of California, Davis. She has worked as a public servant for the last 18 years working in local government, sixteen of which have been in Imperial County with experience in Public Health and Social Services, and two with City of Indio. Through her experience in local government, Ms. Andrade has managed diverse programs/efforts, including HIV/AIDS, Immunizations, Emergency Preparedness, Health Promotion, COVID Response, Accountable Communities for Health (ACH), Community Health Assessment/ Improvement Plan (CHA/CHIP), Equity Coalition Representative, Asthma, Pandemic Influenza, Public Health Accreditation (PHAB), EBT Issuance, Senior Center Services, and other Administrative functions such as Accounting, Procurement, and Personnel.
Ms. Andrade was born and raised in Imperial County in a Spanish speaking home with parents with limited education and limited knowledge of the medical system. Although she left her community to pursue her education, she always knew returning to where she was born and raised was a must. Her passion is to mentor those around her to succeed in a community with known limited resources. Similarly, Ms. Andrade continues volunteering her time as a community representative in efforts focused on health, primarily those that support research and efforts that enhance health literacy and health accessibility within Imperial County. As a mother of three children, she is devoted to ensuring that her community continues working on seeking opportunities that enhance the future of Imperial County and create a better path for the Spanish speaking population, the youth and the elderly.
Alejandro Amador, BS
Alejandro Amador, BS
Environmental Programs Manager, Casa Familiar
Mr. Amador is currently the Environmental Programs Manager at Casa Familiar. As the Environmental Programs Manager, Amador oversees Casa Familiar’s efforts to address social and environmental inequities within San Diego, and the unique and specific needs of the San Ysidro community. Being a life-long resident of the San Diego-Tijuana region and after joining Casa Familiar as a Community Air Monitoring Technician, Amador grew a deep understanding of the dynamic of binational air pollution. Through the key data collected by Casa Familiar’s air monitoring efforts, Amador has led and participated in different air mitigation intervention projects in the community of San Ysidro such as advocacy for accessible transportation system, educational greening workshops, advocating for the creation of a community emission reduction plan, tree planting campaigns in schools, and enhancement of public parks design. Amador has also been involved in policy advocacy efforts such as San Diego’s Parks Master Plan and the Climate Action Plan. Through this work, Amador has worked directly with the community to elevate San Ysidro’s voice and collaborated with city staff in projects and policy feedback.Lauren Wren, MS, RN, NCSN, PHN
Lauren Wren, MS, RN, NCSN, PHN
Safety & Wellness Coordinator, Imperial County Office of Education
County: Imperial
Ms. Wren is a Consulting, Credentialed School Nurse who works with the Imperial County Office of Education (ICOE) to promote school health and safety. ICOE actively promotes student and family health through its organizational priorities, which align with Ms. Wren’s professional philosophies and goals. She is passionate about addressing Social Determinants of Health and access to care in schools and actively participates in research and projects to address health disparities. Lauren is aware of the importance of addressing these disparities in the school setting to ensure students are healthy and ready to learn.
Ms. Wren has garnered profound experience in school and employee health, comprehensive health programs, as well as K-12 emergency preparedness and crisis communications. She has received several awards for excellence in non-traditional nursing and leadership. Lauren is a Nationally Certified School Nurse recognized by the NBCSN for excellence and expertise in School Health and holds a Public Health Nurse Certificate. She received a Master’s in Science with a concentration in Nursing Leadership in Healthcare Systems from San Diego State University in 2020.
Faiza Warsame
Faiza Warsame
Program Coordinator, United Women of East Africa Support Team
County: San Diego
Ms. Warsame has been with UWEAST for 7 years. UWEAST is a non-profit organization that provides services and programs for the East African Community in San Diego. She loves working with the community and helping them to voice their opinion and make a difference.Robert Vargas-Belcher, MSW, MPH
Robert Vargas-Belcher, MSW, MPH
Administrative Operations Manager
Mr. Robert Vargas-Belcher is the Administrative Operations Manager at the SDSU HealthLINK Center. In his role, he ensures the smooth operation of the Center by overseeing policies and procedures, maintaining Center-wide documents, supporting communications, and managing certain facilities. Mr. Vargas-Belcher joined the Center in 2019 as the Health Equity Associate within the Community Engagement Core. He transitioned to the Administrative Core in 2022.
Mr. Vargas-Belcher holds a Master of Social Work from the University of Washington and a Master of Public Health from SDSU.
Sara Sanders
Sara Sanders
Chief Development Officer, Innercare Administration for Innercare
Ms. Sara Sanders joined Innercare in January 2016 and is currently the Chief Development Officer for the organization. Prior to that, Ms. Sanders served as the Executive Director for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Imperial Valley for nine years. She graduated from the University of Virginia in 1999 with a degree in history and has 16 years of experience working in public administration/non-profit management and 12 years of experience working in fund development. Ms. Sanders provides administrative support on the activities occurring between Innercare and the SDSU HealthLINK Center. See Ms. Sanders’ profile for details on publications and projects.Yaritza Benitez, MPH Candidate
Yaritza Benitez, BA
Data Analytic and Measurement Coordinator, Health Data Analytics Group and the Measurement Methods Group
Ms. Yaritza Benitez coordinates the efforts of the Health Data Analytics Group and the Measurement Methods Group. She has been in her role since 2021 and has supported various researchers and their research teams in different areas such as data management, data analytics as well as support using different Electronic Data Capture (EDC) systems such as REDCap Cloud, REDCap Academics, Qualtrics, and ilumivu mEMA. Her research interests lie in understanding and reducing health disparities among minorities. Ms. Benitez graduated with her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from SDSU in 2016. She has volunteered and worked at the SDSU Research Foundation since 2014 in different projects at the Institute for Behavioral and Community Health and at South Bay Latino Research Center.
Irazu Rodriguez
Irazu Rodriguez
Evaluation Research Specialist
Irazu is the Evaluation Research Specialist on the Center’s Evaluation Team. She plays a vital role in gathering data on the Center’s evaluation metrics and assessing its impact on investigators, staff, and partners. Additionally, she contributes to developing evaluation plans and protocols, designs surveys and data collection tools, and conducts both quantitative and qualitative data analysis.
With over a decade of research experience, Irazu has specialized in participant recruitment and data collection for various projects with IBACH and HealthLINK. She previously served as the Recruitment and Evaluation Coordinator for the Boca Sana project, an oral health study conducted in San Diego and Imperial Counties. Additionally, she is a member of the Imperial County Clinical Research Network (ICCRN), where she undertakes similar responsibilities as in HealthLINK.
Irazu earned her degree in Psychology but later shifted her career focus to Public Health research after recognizing a critical need for it in her hometown of Imperial County, located two hours east of San Diego.
Aaron Tam, BSPH
Aaron Tam, BSPH
Population Health Study Coordinator, Laura Rodriguez Research Institute, FHCSD
Administrative Coordinator for FHCSD
Mr. Aaron Tam is the Study Coordinator for the Laura Rodriguez Research Institute at FHCSD. He received his bachelor’s degree in public health at the University of California, San Diego. Mr. Tam helps oversee the research projects that are conducted at FHCSD, as well as the partnership between FHCSD and the SDSU HealthLINK Center. At FHCSD, he is involved in research projects related to Hepatitis C and HIV reduction, among underserved populations in San Diego.