Archives: Our Team
Eliseo J. Pérez-Stable, MD
Eliseo J. Pérez-Stable, MD, is Professor of Medicine and Chief of the Division of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine and Director of the Medical Effectiveness Research Center for Diverse Populations at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) School of Medicine. He is a native of Cuba and has degrees from the University of Miami (BA and MD). He trained in primary care general internal medicine at UCSF, and completed a research fellowship before being appointed Assistant Professor in July 1983. He practices continuity general internal medicine following a panel of about 200 patients and teaches residents and students in both inpatient and outpatient settings. Dr. Pérez-Stable’s research has focused on health and health care disparities by race and ethnicity in the areas of tobacco use and cessation, cancer control and aging. He has special expertise in development of risk factor reduction interventions for Latinos.
Jennie McLaurin, MD, MPH
Jennie McLaurin, MD, MPH, is a Specialist in Child and Migrant Health, Bioethics for Migrant Clinicians Network, with 30 years of experience in migrant and community health. She is a board-certified pediatrician with a master in public health and in bioethics and has worked at the local, state, and national levels. Her career includes work as an outreach worker, physician, clinic medical director, state medical director of migrant health, and federal consultant and program planner on a variety of topics related to health disparities, social determinants of health, child health, cultural competency and Patient-Centered Medical Homes. She has authored, edited, and reviewed a number of journal publications, books, monographs, and abstracts on migrant health care. Her teaching experience includes graduate level course development and frequent lectures in university and public settings. Dr. McLaurin worked in North Carolina for most of her clinical career but has lived in Ferndale, WA, for the past twelve years and works across the nation with Migrant Clinicians Network and as a HRSA consultant.
Luis Ricardo Fraga, PhD
Luis Ricardo Fraga, PhD, is Associate Vice Provost for Faculty Advancement, Russell F. Stark University Professor, Director of the Diversity Research Institute, and Professor of Political Science at the University of Washington (UW). He works directly with the Provost, deans, and department chairs to develop strategies of outreach, assessment, recruitment, and retention to build an inclusive faculty at the UW. He has authored and co-authored five books including Latinos in the New Millennium: an Almanac of Opinion, Behavior, and Policy Preferences (Cambridge 2012) and Latino Lives in America: Making It Home (Temple 2010). He has also published extensively in journals and edited volumes. In 2011, President Barack Obama appointed him to the President’s Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanics. He was also named one of the “100 Influentials” by Hispanic Business magazine that year. The Fulcrum Foundation named him one of the “Champions of Catholic Education” in 2012. He is currently working on another co-authored book entitled Invisible No More: Latino Identities in American Politics.
Mary L. (Nora) Disis, MD
Mary L. (Nora) Disis, MD, is the Athena Distinguished Professor of Breast Cancer Research, Associate Dean for Translational Health Sciences in the University of Washington (UW) School of Medicine, Professor of Medicine and Adjunct Professor of Pathology and Obstetrics and Gynecology at UW, and a Member of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. She is the Director of the Institute of Translational Health Science and the Center for Translational Medicine in Women’s Health at UW. Dr. Disis is an expert in breast and ovarian cancer immunology and translational research. Her research interest is in the discovery of new molecular immunologic targets in breast and ovarian cancer for the development of vaccine and cellular therapy for the treatment and prevention of those malignancies. In addition, her group evaluates the use of the immune system to aid in the diagnosis of cancer and develops novel assays and approaches to quantitate and characterize human immunity. She holds several patents in the field of targeted cancer therapy and cancer diagnostics. Dr. Disis is a member of Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society, the American Society of Clinical Investigation, and the Association of American Physicians. She is the Deputy Editor for the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
Federico Cruz-Uribe, MD, MPH
Federico Cruz-Uribe, MD, MPH, has had a 25-year career in public health. He has managed public health departments in four states at the local and state levels. Most recently, Dr. Cruz-Uribe was the director of the Tacoma/Pierce County Health Department for 15 years (1992-2007). From 2008 to 2013, he and his wife established and ran a diabetes control project in southern Nicaragua. For the last 12 months, Dr. Cruz-Uribe has been working as the Vice President of Clinical Affairs for Sea Mar Community Health Centers based in Seattle. His current projects involve developing specialty care services and a care management system for Sea Mar.
Sam Byrd
Sam Byrd currently serves as the director of the Centro de Comunidad y Justicia, a nonprofit community-based organization. Since 1996, Centro has worked to achieve social, educational, and economic justice for Latinos in Idaho. Mr. Byrd has more than 30 years of experience in working with a variety of public and private sector organizations. He speaks English and Spanish fluently, is a dynamic public speaker, adept at strategic planning and an expert in diversity issues. Mr. Byrd has been the recipient of a number of awards including the Larry G. Selland Humanitarian Award by the Boise State University Women’s Center, the national Howard Swearer Humanitarian Award by the Campus Compact, the University of Idaho President’s Medallion and the Distinguished Leadership in Human Rights award by Hewlett-Packard.
Maria Benavides, MEd
Maria Benavides, MEd, is the Director of Outreach for the Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic. She is bilingual, bicultural, and has over 20 years of experience working in healthcare in the Yakima Valley. She has experience in program implementation, working with federal, state, and private grants, and has vast knowledge in collaborating with social service agencies, school districts, and institutions of higher education. Ms. Benavides received her Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration and Master of Education in Program Administration degrees from Heritage University in Toppenish, WA.
Mayra E. Alvarez, MHA
Mayra E. Alvarez, MHA, is the Associate Director for the Office of Minority Health (OMH) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services(HHS). As an OMH senior staff member, Ms. Alvarez is leading the coordination of OMH’s work related to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), community health workers and promotores de salud, and language access, as well as serving as the Project Director of OMH’s Center for Linguistic and Cultural Competency in Health Care. Previously, Ms. Alvarez served as Director of Public Health Policy in the Office of Health Reform at HHS where she was responsible for coordinated and timely implementation of the public health, prevention, and health care workforce policy provisions in the ACA. Previously, Ms. Alvarez served as a Legislative Assistant for Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), the Majority Whip of the U.S. Senate, where she advised the Senator and helped develop his legislative agenda on health issues. Before that, she served as a Legislative Assistant for then-Congresswoman Hilda L. Solis, the chair of the Health Task Force for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. Ms. Alvarez began her work in Washington D.C. as a David A. Winston Health Policy Fellow in the office of then-Senator Barack Obama. She completed her graduate education at the School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and her undergraduate education at the University of California at Berkeley. She is originally from outside San Diego, CA.
Bertha Lopez
Senior Director of Community Health Planning and Development, Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital
Bertha Lopez, MBA, was appointed the director at Children’s Village in 2017. She was previously senior director of Community Health Planning and Development at Virginia Mason Memorial. Ms. Lopez has a master’s degree from the University of Washington’s Foster School of Business. She brings over 10 years of experience in health advocacy and work that aims to reduce health disparities. Children’s Village is a regional integrated center for children with special health care needs and their families, with multiple service providers all under one roof. The comprehensive family-centered organization aims to meet each child’s need for individualized care with over 30 different kinds of specialized services. There are medical specialty clinics, developmental evaluations and collaborative diagnostic clinics, dental services, occupational, physical and speech therapy, mental health counseling, education services, behavioral intervention and nurse home visiting programs. The Village also offers a comprehensive parent and family support program called Parent to Parent, which serves families from birth through life in the Yakima Valley.