2020-2021 Board

Karla Tlatelpa Prodigue was born in Mexico City and raised in Fremont, CA. She graduated from UC Berkeley in 2016 where she majored in Molecular and Cell Biology and minored in Global Poverty and Practice. During her time there, she taught a Medical Spanish course and volunteered as an interpreter, which showed her the importance of having medical professionals who share the community's language and culture. After graduating she worked as Clinic Manager at Street Level Health Project, a free clinic in Oakland that serves recently-arrived immigrants comprised largely of undocumented folks and asylum seekers from Mexico and Guatemala. This work taught her the power of community in health care and how to advocate for people who are marginalized and often excluded from essential social services. Witnessing injustices in the health care system cemented her desire to pursue medicine to use her social power to advocate for positive social change that may someday benefit her future patients and people in her community. In her spare time, Karla enjoys hiking with her dog and partner, dancing salsa and cumbia, and trying new restaurants.

Veronica Gonzalez grew up in Gardena, California and was raised by Mexican immigrant parents. She attended El Camino College before transferring to and graduated from the University of California Los Angeles in 2016, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics. She went on to complete a Post Baccalaureate Program at Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science. Being a first-generation student as well as being part of an underserved community greatly shaped her academic and career pursuits. She is interested in health advocacy for minority and immigrant communities. She is also interested in the mentorship of minority students who want to pursue careers in the medical field. Veronica has displayed a commitment to service these communities through her work as an ER medical scribe and as a camp counselor for pre-health high school students. She has also worked with underserved communities through her 3+ years of community service as a COPE Health Scholar at St. Francis Medical Center, located in Lynwood, CA. In her spare time, Veronica enjoys dancing to J Balvin, board game nights, and spending time with her family, including her lively dog, Biscuit.

Rocio grew up in Los Angeles and expressed a strong interest in medicine at a young age. She is motivated to work with underserved communities and is passionate about diversity in healthcare leadership. She is pursuing a Doctor of Medicine degree from Charles R Drew University/UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine. She is expected to graduate from medical school in 2023. Prior to attending medical school, Rocio completed the RAP Program at UCLA DGSOM in 2018. She received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology from California State University Northridge in 2014 and graduated from Grant High School in the San Fernando Valley. In college, Rocio expressed an interest in education and gained teaching experience by partnering with Peer Health Exchange and Keep Youth Doing Something. While completing her post-baccalaureate program, she worked full-time as a middle school teacher at The Valley Schools in the San Fernando Valley. This experience emphasized her interest in utilizing education to improve the health of underserved communities. From a young age, Rocio demonstrated a passion for the performing arts and continues to attend dance lessons. She is a member of Cheer Los Angeles, a non-profit organization in Culver City that raises funds and resources for LGBTQ+ communities.

Lauren Rosas grew up in Pico Rivera, CA. She graduated from Stanford University with a degree in International Relations. Soon after, she completed a Master’s degree in Education and teaching credential program at University of California, Los Angeles, focusing on urban education. While working as a high school teacher, she faced first-hand experience of health inequalities and decided to dedicate herself to working with medically underserved and historically marginalized communities. Lauren completed a post-baccalaureate program at California State University Fullerton, where she was the leader of several pre-health clubs, including the Latino Medical Student Association (LMSA). She volunteered with the Health Scholars Program, which works to improve the health and well-being of underserved patients in Orange County, where she coordinated, designed, and facilitated group medical visits to Spanish-speaking patients at two federally qualified health centers to educate patients on nutrition and wellness. As a medical student, she is a part of the medical student council and is actively involved with LMSA and the Infectious Disease Interest Group. In her spare time, Lauren likes to nap, play with her cats, and travel.

Elizabeth Flores is a first-year medical student at UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine's Charles R. Drew/Program in Medical Education Leadership and Advocacy (CDU/PRIME-LA) dedicated to working with underserved communities. As an undergraduate student at UC Irvine, Ms. Flores was a coordinator for the Diabetes Self-Management and Education Program at Lestonnac Free Clinic where she was effective at building quality relationships with patients and also initiated a research project to improve patient goal accomplishment, leading to better patient control of diabetes. Ms. Flores was also twice-elected to be Co-chair for Chicanos/Latinos for Community Medicine at UC Irvine where she oversaw the creation of project MATTCH, Mentoring and Assisting Teens Through College and Health, a pipeline program dedicated to encouraging middle school students to apply to college. As a medical student, Ms. Flores has volunteered at health fairs to give back to her community. She is working with her PRIME-LA cohort to develop community partnerships to address health disparities in Los Angeles county.

Alex Valenzuela grew up in Merced. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in Human Biology from UC San Diego. The health disparities that many of his family members experienced growing up in the agricultural rich Central Valley of California served as motivation for a career in medicine so that he could serve marginalized populations. He is interested in using basic science research to find therapeutic interventions to disease that are prevalent in underserved communities. In his spare time, Alex enjoys playing video games, basketball, and training for marathons.

Cristina Valdovinos is a first year medical student in the Charles R. Drew University/UCLA Medical Education program. Raised in South Central Los Angeles, Cristina completed a BA in Human Biology at Stanford University and an MPH in Epidemiology at Columbia University. She went on to work as a clinical research coordinator at Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles for over five years. This work inspired her to pursue a career in medicine. She completed a post-bacc program at CSU East Bay to strengthen her candidacy for medical school. Cristina is undecided regarding specialty choice, but hopes to provide compassionate care as a physician in an underserved community & to use her public health and research training to improve minority participation in clinical trials.

Hi, my name is Raul Salazar and I am a first year in PRIME-LA at Charles R. Drew/UCLA. I’m originally from San Jose, CA but moved around a lot throughout the Bay Area. Both my parents immigrated from Mexico in their youth with limited opportunity. Consequently, I did not have much guidance in the education system in the US but managed to graduate high school and continue my studies at the University of California, Davis where I majored in Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior with a minor in Communication. After graduating in 2015, I continued my community work in Sacramento as a patient advocate within the emergency department, specifically assisting with mitigating barriers to care and improving healthcare access for uninsured and Medicaid patients. I revisited my education under the UC Davis Postbaccalaureate Program during 2018-2019 and then applied to medical school. My interests revolve around health policy, social justice, immigrant health, and mentorship.

Amanda Davis-Juarez is a first-year medical student in the David Geffen School of Medicine PRIME-LA program. She was born and raised in Antioch, CA (East Bay Area) and is a first-generation college student. She attended community college at Los Medanos College and later transferred to UCLA where she received a Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience and a minor in Chicano/a Studies. After graduating in 2016, Amanda worked as a Clinical Research Coordinator at Rady Children’s Hospital San Diego and was later accepted into the UC Irvine School of Medicine’s Postbaccalaureate program. After completing her postbaccalaureate studies, Amanda worked as a medical scribe at San Ysidro Health Center along the San Diego border, while she applied to medical school. Through her involvement in clinical research, community outreach, and mentorship, she developed a strong passion for health care policy, health equity, women’s health, and engaging in events that facilitate mentorship opportunities for first-generation and underrepresented college students. In her spare time, Amanda enjoys checking out local coffee shops, going to the beach, relaxing with friends, listening to Bad Bunny, and traveling with her husband.

Mia Yanez was born in Southern California (Inland Empire area) and raised in Northern California (Sacramento area). She obtained a B.S. in Human Biology from the University of Southern California and a minor in Spanish. Through her involvement volunteering at California Hospital Medical Center in Downtown Los Angeles and interning at a health advocacy organization in Sacramento, she became passionate about shaping health policy in order to address the health disparities experienced by homeless, immigrant, and low-income patients in California. She is also interested in educating the future generation of health care providers and scientists, as she was a tutor in college and continues to mentor high school and college students today. In her spare time, Mia Yanez enjoys eating whatever food Los Angeles has to offer and re-watching Disney movies.

Kimberly Juarez grew up in South Central Los Angeles. She made her way to Syracuse University in Upstate New York where she obtained a BS in Nutrition Science, a BA in Spanish Language, Literature, and Culture, and a minor in Chemistry. As a first generation student she witnessed her parents struggle to obtain consistent and adequate health care. Her experiences as a daughter of Guatemalan immigrants inspired her to pursue a career in medicine and to always make the most of an opportunity to learn. She is passionate about working with underserved communities and hopes to continue involvement in research throughout her career. In 2017 she participated in the Harvard Catalyst Clinical Research Program where she worked on a project that assessed sexual health risks of sexual minority women. After college she was a research coordinator for the Malnutrition, Diet, and Racial Disparities in Chronic Kidney Disease Study at the UC Irvine Department of Nephrology for 2 years. She is currently exploring research in issues impacting undocumented populations and hopes to hone in on her research interest. In her spare time, she enjoys attending concerts, watching cooking shows and not making anything, and going on hikes around Los Angeles.

Wendy Cervantes De Leon grew up in the Hollywood community of Los Angeles, CA. She earned a B.A. in Psychology and Minor in Global Studies from UCLA, where she solidified her interest in medicine after having witnessed first-hand the socioeconomic, cultural, and linguistic disparities that directly impacted her family and surrounding community growing up. Wendy has demonstrated her commitment to working in underserved communities and addressing health disparities through student leadership and community involvement in organizations such as Chicanos/Latinos for Community Medicine at UCLA and the Harbor-UCLA Summer Urban Health Fellowship. Upon graduating, Wendy earned the UCLA Chancellor’s Service Award for her work organizing community health fairs across medically underserved areas of Los Angeles and Tecate, Mexico. She also volunteered as a Spanish translator at Venice Family Clinic (VFC), a federally qualified health center in West Los Angeles and worked full-time as an Electronic Medical Records (EMR) Trainer at VFC, where she trained physicians and medical students on the clinic’s workflow and EMR system. In her spare time, Wendy enjoys planning her next road trips and travel adventures.

Juan Ramirez grew up in South Los Angeles, CA and was raised by Mexican immigrant parents. He graduated from the University of Southern California in 2016, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Global Health. Coming from an underserved community himself, Juan made it one of his core missions to address the inequity his community faces. He displayed this commitment by volunteering in the emergency department at LAC+USC County Hospital and serving as the Director of Family Relationship in Kicks for Kids. After graduating from college, Juan became part of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles as a research assistant. Through this opportunity, he worked with an interdisciplinary team in researching infant resiliency to adversity in children from underserved areas. He also worked alongside pediatric gastroenterologists and psychologists in addressing GI diseases and behaviors in children with autism. Juan is currently a medical student at the Charles R. Drew University/UCLA Medical Education Program. He plans to continue his passion in promoting health equity for the South Los Angeles community. He is also passionate in promoting higher education for inner-city students. In his free time, Juan enjoys reading a good historical fiction novel and exploring new restaurants with family and friends. He also enjoys traveling and experiencing different cultures.

A first-year medical student, Alberto Romo Valenzuela has displayed a passion and commitment to serve underserved communities. In 2001, Alberto immigrated to the United States at the age of 8. As an undocumented individual, he served as an advocate and a translator for his parents during physician visits. He directly experienced the lack of access and inability to pay for healthcare access that at-risk communities face. Alberto graduated from the University of California, Berkeley where he earned a BA in Public Health. As an undergraduate, he served as publicity officer for Chican@s/Latin@s in Health Education, where he provided monthly health education to day laborers in Berkeley. After graduating, he worked at Good Samaritan Family Resource Center where he resolved or provided referrals to immigrant communities facing homelessness, evictions or difficult divorces. As a member of the UCLA PRIME-Leadership and Advocacy program, Alberto aims to advocate for and address the health disparities that disadvantaged communities face throughout California and the United States. He will rotate through clinical clerkships and participate in research projects that serve underserved communities. He plans on earning a Masters in Public Health to supplement his understanding of health disparities.