Who We Are

Office of Community Engagement

Cancer CHE Educators

National Outreach Network Community Health Educators (NON/CHE)

UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center (HDFCCC) is currently a National Outreach Network Community Health Educators site. The NON/CHE seeks to strengthen the National Cancer Institute’s ability to develop and disseminate culturally appropriate, evidence-based cancer information and education strategies tailored to the specific needs and expectations of racially and ethnically diverse communities experiencing cancer health inequities and disparities. NON/CHE initiatives address and advance the National Cancer Advisory Board's Blue Ribbon Panel Recommendations to the Cancer Moonshot^SM. HDFCCC Office of Community Engagement houses the NON/CHE to integrate within the Cancer Center and facilitate community-academic partnerships.

• Marynieves Diaz-Mendez
  Community Health Educator-National Outreach Network
• Ching Wong
  Community Health Educator-National Outreach Network

Community Advisory Board Members

Arnold Perkins
Chair, Community Advisory Board

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Mr. Perkins served as the director of the Alameda County Public Health Department in Oakland, Calif. from 1994 to 2006. Mr. Perkins served as the director of the Alameda County Public Health Department in Oakland, Calif. from 1994 to 2006. As director, he provided leadership and management of the administrative, research, and policy activities of the department, which had a budget of $105 million and more than 600 employees. He has served on numerous boards, received many awards and recognition for his community work. Mr. Perkins remains actively engaged in local, national, and international health and social justice initiatives.

 

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Angela Sun, PhD, MPH
Co-chair, Community Advisory Board
Executive Director, Chinese Community Health Resource Center (CCHRC)
Founding CEO, Asian Alliance for Health

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Dr. Sun has served the SF Asian American community for more than 25 years and has devoted her career to improvement of health literacy through evidence-based strategies. She is Executive Director of the Chinese Community Health Resource Center (CCHRC) whose mission is to build a healthy community through culturally competent health education, community based participatory research, advocacy and mentorship. Dr. Sun is also President and Founder of the Asian Alliance for Health.

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Wilma R.  Batiste, CRC, NCPT
Board Member, San Francisco Interfaith Council
Chair,  Faith Communities Committee Chair

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Ms. Batiste is the Health Ministry Leader for Neighborhood Baptist Church in San Francisco. She retired from a career at UCSF as a Clinical Research Coordinator and phlebotomist.  She consults with numerous organizations and advocacy groups statewide and nationally on faith-based health promotion through the church, and she delivers health education to churches all over the SF Bay Area.

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Olivia Fé
Founder and Executive Director, Latina Breast Cancer Agency
Chair, SF Women’s Cancer Network

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Olivia Fé is founder and executive director of the Latina Breast Cancer Agency. (LBCA) Ms. Fè is a sixteen-year breast cancer survivor. She formed LBCA in response to the growing need for breast cancer awareness programs for underserved Latinas living in San Francisco Bay area. Ms. Fè brings extensive managerial, fundraising and program development experience to her role as executive director of LBCA. She has a background in communications including public relations, media and marketing with an emphasis on Hispanic Marketing.

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Michael Shaw
Director, Urban Male Health Initiative (UMHI) of the Alameda County Department of Public Health

Chair , Men's Health Committee
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Mr. Shaw is Director of the Urban Male Health Initiative (UMHI) of the Alameda County Department of Public Health. The UMHI is charged with reducing the premature mortality of men and boys in Alameda County by: i) developing strategies, policy recommendations, and programs that increase healthcare access and advance a continuum of care for underserved men and boys; ii) improving health outcomes for specific diseases including prostate cancer; and iii) addressing health concerns that predominantly affect men.

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Roxanna Bautista
Founder and lead, Rise Up Solutions

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Roxanna Bautista  MPH, CHES is the founder and lead of Rise Up Solutions, a consultant group dedicated to supporting leaders and organizations to transform themselves and their communities.  She is a professional coach and program management professional with extensive experience in capacity building, leadership coaching, leadership development, partnerships and relationships, program development and training and technical assistance. Previously, Mrs. Bautista held leadership roles at the Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum, a national health justice organization which influences policy, mobilizes communities, and strengthens programs and organizations to improve the health of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (AAs and NHPIs) for over 15 years. She has served on various committees focused on AA and NHPI health, cancer, diabetes, hepatitis B and tobacco control and prevention.

 

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Jim Bouquin, CEO
CEO, Cancer Support Community San Francisco Bay Area (CSC)

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Mr. Bouquin has served as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Cancer Support Community San Francisco Bay Area (CSC) since 2006. CSC provides comprehensive psychosocial care and integrative therapies for cancer patients, survivors and caregivers. Under Jim’s direction, CSC has become the largest provider of cancer support services in Northern California (and one of the largest in North America), serving over 2,000 people each year. Formerly, Jim was the Executive Director of New Connections, which was then Contra Costa County’s largest provider of outpatient substance abuse treatment, HIV/AIDS services, and school-based counseling. He was also Executive Director of the Contra Costa Crisis Center, providing 24-hour crisis lines, information and referral, bereavement counseling, and suicide prevention and intervention. Jim also served as President of the Arthritis Foundation, Northern California Chapter, raising funds and providing grants for research and advocacy.

Jim’s earlier career was at Stanford University, where he was Assistant Dean for Campus Affairs and director of several departments, ranging from the Disability Resource Center and the Childcare Resource Center, to Campus Concerts and Student Government. He received an A.B. with distinction in Human Biology from Stanford, and also attended the Honors Program at Santa Clara University and the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine.

 

Jim has served in a variety of leadership roles in health and human services, both locally and nationally. He has served on the board of directors of the international Cancer Support Community organization, the Center for Community Benefit Organizations, Rotary Club of Concord, the Contra Costa Human Services Alliance, United Way of the Bay Area, California Association of Postsecondary Educators of the Disabled, the Institute on Alcohol, Drugs and Disability, the President’s Committee on Employment of the Disabled, Recording for the Blind, Concord American Little League, and Monument Impact. Jim has also served on the advisory boards for the JFK University School of Professional Psychology and the Sanford Institute of Philanthropy. In his spare time, Jim enjoys playing music, a variety of sports and fitness activities, gardening, spending time with his family, and volunteering with other local community organizations. He has played and coached baseball at several levels, and currently enjoys working with the Concord Junior Giants program. He lives with his wife Yvonne in Concord, and they have three adult children, Jevana, Alyssa and Sam.

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Gloria Brown, MPA 

Co-founder, Bay Area Community Community Health Advisory Committee
Founding Chair, Faith Communities Committee (Ex-officio)
full bio >

Ms. Brown is Founder and Director of the African American Community Health Advisory Committee (AACHAC, a coalition of more than 20 churches) – a partnership with Mills-Peninsula Health Services in San Mateo County, CA. Since 1995 the AACHAC has worked with businesses, corporations, community-based organizations, health educators and the faith community to create an awareness of the major health concerns affecting African-Americans and to actively seek and promote a more healthful lifestyle. Ms. Brown is retired from a professional career with the University of California Cooperative Extension in the field of nutrition and health promotion.

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Barbara Cicerelli, MPA
Director, Cancer Navigation Program, Zuckerberg San Francisco General

full bio >

With 25 years of progressive experience in cancer advocacy and services, Ms. Cicerelli is the director of Zuckerberg San Francisco General's Cancer Navigation Program. She has spent her career working to improve the health of underserved populations. Her work has long been about addressing social, economic and political inequities. Ms. Cicerelli has been awarded the Spirit of Activism award by Breast Cancer Action, and the prestigious Hope and Spirit Award by Susan G. Komen

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Laura Coronado, MPH
Regional Language, Health Disparities and Olmstead Coordinator, US Dept of Health & Human Services, Office for Civil Rights, San Francisco

full bio >

Ms. Coronado is the Regional Language, Health Disparities and Olmstead Coordinator for the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights, San Francisco Office. She also settles cases involving potential violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Privacy and Security Rules. In addition, Ms. Coronado is a part-time professor at Chabot College educating students in microbiology.

Ysabel Duron
Founder, Latino Cancer Institute

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In 2018 Ms. Duron launched the Latino Cancer Institute, a nationwide network of Latino cancer serving agencies, to advance the priorities that address the Latino cancer burden. The Institute focuses its initiatives on developing and sharing best practices, creating collaborations with research and working on policies that address the community’s concerns.

As the Founder and past CEO of the SF Bay Area based Latinas Contra Cancer since 2003, Duron put in place a series of local programs that serve as a template for addressing the void in services for Latinos around issues of cancer. These include educational programs to raise awareness and promote early intervention, psychosocial support services and one on one navigation through the cancer experience - directed to the low-income, Spanish speaking community.

 

Ms. Duron is dedicated to increasing Latino engagement in genetics testing, clinical trials and other research. She serves on the Independent Review Board for the All of Us Research Program of the National Institutes of Health and is active on a committee reporting to the director of the National Human Genome Research Institute. Ms. Duron recently joined the Board of MEDA (Mission Economic Development Agency) in San Francisco which promotes economic equity and social justice through asset building and community development - a vision that aligns with her work.

 

A Hodgkin Lymphoma cancer survivor. Ms. Duron was an award winning TV news broadcaster for 43 years... inducted into the National Association of Hispanic Journalists Hall of Fame in 2009. Among other honors, the San Jose Silicon Valley Business Journal named her a Woman of Influence in 2008. She was named one of the most Influential Bay Area Latinos in 2005 by the San Francisco Hispanic Chamber. The Latino Caucus of the California Legislature honored her distinguished career with the Spirit Award in 2011. And for her work in nonprofit service after the age of 50, she won the National Encore.org Purpose Prize in 2013.

 

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Amy Alanes
Executive Director, Women’s Cancer Resource Center, Berkeley

full bio >

Amy Alanes, Executive Director, has extensive experience in operations management and fundraising, with more than two decades of experience in key management positions within community-based organizations. She previously served as the Executive Director of the Summit Bank Foundation, the Development Director of Cancer Support Community San Francisco Bay Area, Director of Administration for Community Violence Solutions, and in multiple positions with New Connections. In her spare time, Amy enjoys community organizing and volunteering, reading, and being outdoors with her family.

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Carol McGruder
Co-Chair, African American Tobacco Control Leadership Council (AATCLC)

full bio >

Ms. McGruder is a manager, activist, researcher, and writer. She is experienced in the fields of tobacco control, transnational tobacco issues, public policy, media advocacy, parent training, and community capacity building. She has served as a project director and consultant on a variety of projects including Black infant mortality, HIV-AIDS, and international citizen diplomacy. Ms. McGruder is a founding member and Co-Chairperson of the African American Tobacco Control Leadership Council (AATCLC). The AATCLC has been at the forefront of national efforts to restrict the sale of menthol and all-flavored tobacco products. In 2017, Ms. McGruder was honored by the San Francisco NAACP with a Public Community Service Award. She is a recipient of the prestigious Jefferson Award for community activism in tobacco control. In 2007, she was the American Legacy Foundation national honoree for “Community Activist of the Year.” Ms. McGruder has been the visionary and leader for The LOOP’s - Leadership Development Program (LDP) since its inception in 2015.

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Christina Rios, MPH, MSW
Senior Hospital Systems Manager, American Cancer Society

full bio >

Ms. Rios holds a dual Master’s Degree in Public Health and Social Work from Boston University. As a Senior Hospital Systems Manager at the American Cancer Society, Christina leads a team across the San Francisco Bay Area and Hawaii to engage with Commission on Cancer-accredited hospitals and increasingly partner on cancer prevention and early detection work. Prior to joining the Society, she held roles at major academic hospital institutions in the Bay Area and Boston, where she focused on project management and academic research related to cancer control and prevention of chronic diseases. Ms. Rios knowledge and skills range from working directly with patients and workforce development, to launching health technology-based pilot projects and managing large scale NIH-funded projects with multiple stakeholders.

UCSF Affiliated Faculty and Staff

These faculty are actively working won community engaged programs and projects in partnership with the community agencies in our HDFCCC network.

 Nynikka R. Palmer, DrPH, MPH
Assistant Professor of Medicine and Urology
Helen Diller Family Chair in Community Education and Outreach for Urologic Cancer
Co-lead SF CAN Prostate Cancer Task force

Galen Joseph, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology, History, and Social Medicine, UCSF

Robert Hiatt, MD, PhD
Professor, Epidemiology and Biostatistics, UCSF
Co-Leader Cancer Control Program, UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center (UCSF HDFCCC)
Associate Director, UCSF HDFCCC

Tung Nguyen, MD
Professor, Division of General Internal Medicine, UCSF
Co-Leader Cancer Control Program, UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center (UCSF HDFCCC)

 

Rena Pasick, DrPH
Co-Leader SF CAN Prostate Task Force

 

Kate Shumate, MPA,
Chief of Staff, HDFCCC

Kaya Balke,
Program Administrator, HDFCCC

Strategic Partnerships

• San Francisco Cancer Initiative (SFCAN)
• Alameda County Department of Public Health
• San Francisco Department of Public Health
• Lazarex Cancer Foundation iMPACT Program
• UCSF Cancer Resource Center