Sharon Adler, MD, MPH, is clinical faculty at the California STD/HIV Prevention Training Center and is also an Assistant Clinical Professor at University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), in the department of Family and Community Medicine. She received her medical degree at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York and her Master of Public Health degree from the University of California at Berkeley (UCB). She completed the Family Practice Residency program at UCSF as well as the General Preventive Medicine/Public Health program run by the UCB/UCSF. Dr. Adler has worked in the STD field for 14 years including 10 years of work at the California Department of Public Health STD Control Branch. She is board certified in Preventive Medicine/Public Health and has clinical experience working in community clinics, public health clinics, indigent care free clinics in the San Francisco bay area as well as at the San Francisco STD City Clinic. In her current position Dr. Adler develops curricula and conducts and coordinates STD trainings with a focus on special populations including, Correctional, Indian Health Service, Pacific Island and Border Health providers.

Heidi Bauer, MD, MS, MPH, is the Chief of the STD Control Branch for the California Department of Public Health and Clinical Faculty for the California STD/HIV Prevention Training Center. She received her Master of Public Health and Master of Science in Health and Medical Sciences from the University of California at Berkeley and her Medical Doctorate from UCSF School of Medicine. She completed a residency in Preventive Medicine at UCSF and is board-certified by the American Board of Preventive Medicine. In her current position, she develops curricula and conducts clinical training, provides care for STD patients, and designs public health research and programs to reduce the burden of STDs in California.

Lindsey Clopp, MSPH, works with National Network of Prevention Training Centers and their clinical partners to coordinate on-site quality improvement projects to improve STD services. She also coordinates the Adolescent Sexual Health Quality Improvement Fellowship which trains public health professionals in quality improvement methodologies as they apply to clinical settings that serve adolescents.

Stephanie Cohen, MD, MPH, is the medical director of San Francisco City Clinic, the municipal STD clinic in San Francisco and an assistant professor at UCSF in the division of infectious diseases. She received her medical degree from Harvard Medical School and completed internal medicine residency and infectious diseases fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco. She completed a research fellowship in HIV prevention studies at the Center for AIDS Prevention Studies (CAPS) and has a masters in public health from the University of California, Berkeley. She provides HIV primary care at City Clinic and the VA medical center. Her research focuses on using implementation science to guide the translation of STD and HIV prevention research into clinical and public health practice. She is currently a protocol Co-Chair and site Co-Principal Investigator of The Demo Project, an NIH-funded research study assessing the delivery of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in STD and community health clinics.

Renyea Colvin, MPH, CHES, partners with the Office of Family Planning to coordinate trainings and implement specials projects designed to build the capacity of providers to deliver family planning services for Family PACT clients. She has over 10 years of experience in STD/HIV prevention research, program development, and implementation for youth both domestically and overseas. Renyea has provided training and technical assistance to agencies nationwide on multiple federally-developed tools and resources. She implemented a variety of youth development, wellness, and disease prevention programs to youth of all ages.

Linda DeSantis, M.Ed, has worked in family planning and STD/HIV prevention for over twenty years in both community and public health settings. Linda has provided training and technical assistance for community based organizations, local health departments and community planning groups and has extensive experience with evidence based program models. She has also worked extensively in Africa and in Asia providing training and TA. Linda is committed to social justices issues specifically related to improving health outcomes.

Caroline Fisher, PhD, manages federal grants and state contracts for the CAPTC. She performs both pre- and post-award services for seven cost centers and develops and manages the Center-wide budget with cost forecasting. Caroline works closely with the CAPTC’s two fiscal sponsors – Public Health Foundation Enterprises and The University of California, San Francisco—to develop budget narratives, establish and monitor subcontracts, oversee required procurement activities, and ensure compliance with federal and state award requirements. She is also the Human Resources liaison to both PHFE and UCSF on behalf of the CAPTC.

Alice Gandelman, MPH, is the Director of the California Prevention Training Center (CAPTC). She has directed the Center since 1994, and oversees five training and technical assistance centers at the CAPTC including Clinical STD Prevention Training Center, Disease Intervention Training Center, National Center for Quality Assurance, Health Department Capacity Building Assistance Center, and the Technical Assistance and Training contract for the Office of Family Planning, California Department of Healthcare Services (DHCS). Prior to directing CAPTC, Alice conducted training and capacity building services throughout the US and internationally in Africa and Asia in HIV and STD prevention and care. CAPTC’s priority populations are health practitioners who deliver preventive health services for patients and clients in a variety of public and private settings. In this capacity, Alice guides the CAPTC in the integration of community, provider, funder, and research agendas to improve capacity building assistance for health professionals in practice settings. Her current focus is on integration of social determinants of health, structural interventions, and combination prevention approaches to improve prevention outcomes among persons who are at greatest need, but with limited or no access to services. She envisions an environment where health equity exists for all and is committed to supporting health professionals to achieve that vision in their respective communities.

Miriam Garfinkel, MA, LMFT, is the e-Learning Manager for the California STD/HIV Prevention Training Center. She is a licensed mental health professional and has a private practice in San Francisco. Miriam has worked in HIV since 1989 in a variety of settings and capacities. She was employed at the UCSF AIDS Health Project for many years. Her work there ranged from direct service to program management serving HIV positive clients with multiple diagnoses at San Francisco General Hospital. She became the manager for the AIDS Health Project Training Unit in the late 90’s, supervising a team of trainers providing training and developing curriculum focused on HIV prevention. She was the lead developer on the first national Prevention with Positives training in San Francisco as part of a CDC-funded pilot program. Miriam began working with the PTC in 2007.

Chris Hall, MD, was trained in infectious diseases at University of California San Francisco (UCSF), following internal medicine residency at Harvard’s Brigham & Women’s Hospital and medical school at Johns Hopkins. He received a Masters in Management from NYU’s Wagner School of Public Service. Formerly, Chris was Policy Director for San Francisco’s Health Initiatives for Youth, following work at the National Hemophilia Foundation in New York where he was the Director of Clinical Research. He began work in HIV in 1987 at the National AIDS Network, a group based in Washington, DC, dedicated to the organizational development of AIDS service organizations in the epidemic’s early years. In addition to STD-related work, he has published in the areas of antiretroviral salvage therapy and HCV co-infection in marginally housed HIV-infected persons in San Francisco. He is adjunct assistant professor at UCSF, Medical Director of San Francisco Magnet center, and he provides primary HIV care at the East Bay AIDS Center in Berkeley and the VA Medical Center in San Francisco.

Wanda Jackson, BA, is a Partner and Program Support Service Trainer with the California STD/HIV Prevention and Disease Intervention Training center. Wanda has an extensive background in the field of STD/HIV prevention. She has worked as a Disease Intervention Specialist, Public Health Investigator and Front line Supervisor.

Wanda maintains her connection to frontline work by assisting local Disease Intervention Specialist in contacting, locating and interviewing clients to prevent the spread of STD’s and HIV.

Wanda has successfully completed the requirements of the customized web-based training and blended learning workshops given by Langevin Learning Services, Inc. and has recently completed the development of the national web-based and blended learning curriculum for Partner Service Providers-Passport to Partner Services.

Wanda is committed to providing quality skills-based partner and support services training to aid in intervening and preventing the spread of STD/HIV for healthcare professionals throughout the U.S.

Greg Mehlhaff, BA, is the Deputy Director of the California Prevention Training Center. In his 18 year tenure he has also coordinated the HIV PCRS Training Program, been the HIV/STD Liaison coordinating HIV/STD integration efforts at the CBO, local and state government levels. He is currently leading the efforts for developing an HIV Linkage to Care Course for DIS designed to use the capacity of DIS in engaging and retaining PLWHA in care. Prior to coming to the PTC he worked in the CBO setting in all areas of HIV prevention and care for 6 years, developing, implementing, evaluating and directing programs. Greg is committed to enhancing the skills of training participants which reflect the reality of their daily activities and of the people they serve. He maintains his connection to front-line work by providing HIV and STD prevention counseling and screening at a local bathhouse. Greg has worked extensively in South Africa, Uganda and Nigeria developing training courses and building capacity for training with local staff.

Ina Park, MD, MS, is the Medical Director of the California STD/HIV-Prevention Training Center and Chief of the Office of Medical and Scientific Affairs at the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) STD Control Branch. She received her Medical Degree from the University of California Los Angeles School of Medicine and her Masters of Science in Clinical Research at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health. She completed her residency in Family Medicine at Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles and a fellowship in Clinical Sexually Transmitted Diseases at CDPH and the University of California San Francisco. She is also an adjunct assistant professor at the UCSF in the department of Family and Community Medicine and provides clinical care and clinical teaching at San Francisco General Hospital.

Alberto Perez is a Trainer/TA Specialist for the Disease Intervention Services Training Center.  Alberto has over 20 years’ in the field of Public Health and has experience coordinating, developing curricula and facilitating Spanish & English-language trainings. He has been with the Training Center since 2000, and has served as a trainer for the California HIV PCRS training unit, PCRS Area Manager and as a Bilingual Behavior Interventions trainer. He has frontline experience with patients and has served as a Partner Services Provider for the Los Angeles County Sexually Transmitted Disease Program.. Alberto remains committed to enhancing the essential knowledge, skills and abilities of training participants by providing interactive, skills-based trainings that create a solid foundation in Partner Services and disease intervention.

Patrick has over 20 years in research, implementation and evaluation of science-based HIV prevention interventions. He began his work in the field of HIV at Denver Public Health Department as a Program Coordinator of an Evidence-Based Intervention called ”Community PROMISE”. He has worked with very high-risk populations including MSM who do not identify as gay, injection drug users, sex workers and high-risk youth. He also has extensive experience in HIV Testing and Counseling and Case Management and received his CAC-II certification in addictions counseling. His work has been published in several journals and has been highlighted at numerous national and international conferences.

Importance of Promoting Health Equity and Reducing Health Disparities:

As a member of what some may call a “marginalized community”, marginalization has never been an option for me. I am part of an American community and have spent my life fighting for equality and social justice in this country. We all deserve to have access to, and receive, quality health care, regardless of our race or ethnicity, sexual orientation or socioeconomic status. The sad fact is that we don’t. I am committed to see the day when “universal health care” is not just an idea or a catch-phrase, but indeed, a reality.

As program manager of the California DIS Training Center, Denise Tafoya, MPA, oversees national program operations and provides STD/HIV partner services training and technical assistance to local and state health departments, community based organizations, and tribal nations. Her STD/HIV partner services experience is rooted in her work as a disease intervention specialist (DIS); front-line DIS supervisor; field operations manager; CDC trainer; and, manager of a national Partner Services and Program Support Training Center. Ms. Tafoya also possesses expertise in partner services curriculum development for all levels and types of clinical and non-clinical providers. She has served on several CDC working committees dedicated to revising and developing national guidelines related to partner services recommendations, internet partner services, and HIV testing in non-clinical settings. Ms. Tafoya is an associate member of the National Coalition of STD Directors and currently serves on its Partner Services Learning Collaborative.

Dominique Reminick, MA, is the Clinical Regional Coordinator for the California Prevention Training Center (CAPTC). Her lifelong commitment to serving the community led her to positions in social work, counseling, public safety, and health advocacy. After receiving her Master of Arts degree in Cognitive Science from University College Dublin in Dublin, Ireland, she joined the Curry International Tuberculosis Center at UCSF, directing logistics for TB training and technical assistance efforts throughout the western US. She played a key role in providing editorial support for materials such as the Ministry of Health Uganda National Guidelines for the Programmatic Management of Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis, 2nd Edition (2015) and Drug Resistant Tuberculosis: A Survival Guide for Clinicians, 3rd Edition (2016). In her current position, she is responsible for coordinating all clinical training and technical assistance activities in CAPTC’s assigned 5 state region (Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, and New Mexico), in the area of STD screening, diagnosis, and treatment.

Duran Rutledge has worked extensively with low-income and disadvantage populations, throughout the San Francisco, Bay Area helping to develop programs and coordinate services to reduce barriers which hinder a person’s ability to effectively access care and social services. Prior to joining the CAPTC, Duran worked for the Alameda County Public Health Department’s Office of AIDS Administration, for five years as a Ryan White Grant Administrator and served as the staff liaison to the Alameda County people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWH/A) committee. Along with his colleagues Duran is committed to enhancing TA and training opportunities that address health disparities and health inequities throughout the US to help enhance providers understanding abilities to be more impactful in addressing the needs and concerns of those living with and impacted by HIV.

Karen Scott, MD, is the STD Fellow at the University of California San Francisco, California Prevention Training Center and California Department of Public Health STD Control Branch. She obtained a medical degree from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland, Ohio. She also completed residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology, and is a board certified by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Currently, she is completing the Executive Master of Public Health in Applied Epidemiology at Emory University, Atlanta Georgia. Her background and experience include thirteen years of service, education, advocacy, program management, and leadership in health care to marginalized communities of youth, women, and girls of color in Chicago’s urban and suburban communities. In response to the persistent sexual and reproductive health disparities, she changed the trajectory of her career from direct service to individuals to population health management, epidemiology, science and policy, specifically around sexual and reproductive health, education, rights, and identities. As the STD Fellow, she is excited to the strengthen the capacity of systems, administrators, and providers to better understand the critical role of the intersectionality of race, class, sex, gender, age, and trauma – both historical and generational – in sexual and reproductive health, health behavior, and health care decision making. She hopes to integrate a “youth centered and trauma informed reproductive justice” framework into all aspects of her public health networks, training, and career development.

Deborah Wyatt-O’Neal, RN, MSN, CNS, is a Registered Nurse who has been working in the field of HIV/AIDS for over 24 years. She has worked as a Register Nurse Educator at AETC, Clinic Director, and a Director of Client Services. She is committed to her community where she provides health education at a local transitional home for women and volunteers at Juvenile Hall. In her current position she helps develop curricula and conducts trainings.

Importance of Promoting Health Equity and Reducing Health Disparities: Providing capacity building and technical  assistance to health providers and others in my local community allows me to both increase awareness of the various social determinates that contribute to health disparities; and empowering persons to  develop strategies to improve health disparities in their communities.

Stacy Vogan, MPH, CHES, has developed and delivered numerous curricula and professional trainings in both domestic and international settings encompassing such topics as monitoring and evaluation, group facilitation, behavioral theories, and counseling, testing and referral. She has provided individual consulting with community based organizations and international agencies focusing her energies around building capacity in monitoring and evaluation, behavioral strategies, community development and social mobilization. Stacy approaches her work with a strong belief in developing sustainable practices and skills that build from the strengths inherent in an individual, agency and/or community. She has worked overseas in East Africa in both community development and HIV/AIDS prevention and care as well as domestically with Native American communities and Community Based Organizations among others. She has worked with the CA STD/HIV PTC since 1996.

Tim Vincent, MS, has worked in the field of HIV for over 25 years in both direct service provision with clients and in developing educational opportunities for providers. He is currently the manager of the national capacity building assistance program at The California Prevention Training Center. The program, funded through CDC, provides training, technical assistance and resources to state and local health departments to improve the practice of HIV prevention and care throughout the country. He has worked as a licensed mental health clinician, social worker, case manager and HIV test counselor in the past and more recently has developed nationally recognized curriculum for providers on a variety of innovative topics to promote health equity. He has led the development of trainings on social determinants of health, responding to stigma, strength-based counseling approaches, cultural sensitivity for gay, bi and other MSM, and working with HIV-positive clients. He has worked in South Africa on projects to support the engagement of HIV-positive community members into care through the building of support group leaders. He has served on statewide community planning groups, consulted with CDC on the development of national curriculum on linkage to care strategies, and has developed and conducted training of trainers in order to nationally diffuse some of the training initiatives he created. Due to his experience in the field, he is asked to speak regularly at national conferences.

Promoting Health Equity: Reducing Health Disparities

It is extremely important to me to do work that promotes social justice and improve health outcomes to communities that I identify with and have been a part of for most of my life. The passion, creativity, and intelligence it takes to make meaningful change in this area inspires me daily. The chasm that continues to exist between those that can successfully engage in systems of care and prevention and those that cannot, clearly points to the need for structural changes and a critical examination of the root causes. Larger factors such as racism, homophobia, HIV-related stigma, gender-equity, educational attainment, access to healthcare need to be the focus of our work. Having the opportunity to work with providers of service in a deep and meaningful to deconstruct these factors and build strategies to respond to them to promote health equity is a tremendous privilege.

Michelle Cai, BA, is the Program Analyst for the Capacity Building Assistance (CBA) and Clinical programs at the California Prevention Training Center (CAPTC).  She received her Bachelor’s degree in Public Health from the University of California, Berkeley. Her background includes working overseas in China, Nicaragua, and Honduras with rural communities where she focused on improving infrastructure, sanitation, and community health education. At the CAPTC Michelle assists with coordinating CBA and Clinical trainings and technical assistance nationally, ensures compliance with CDC and CARDEA regulations, and provides technical support for participants with issues concerning trainings and technical assistance.

Catalina is the Webmaster at the California Prevention Training Center.  An erstwhile science educator and marine biology enthusiast, Catalina is passionate about science and public health communication.  She enjoys highlighting the great work of her colleagues on the CAPTC blog, as well as adapting our website to meet the changing needs of all the CAPTC’s programs.  Currently she is also collaborating with the Family PACT team to create web suites about birth control methods for potential FPACT clients and assessing FPACT materials for accessibility.  

Julie Stoltey, MD, MPH, is a Public Health Medical Officer at the California Department of Public Health in the STD Control Branch, clinical faculty at the California STD/HIV Prevention and Training Center, and Assistant Clinical Professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases at UCSF. She received her medical degree from Stanford University School of Medicine and her Master of Public Health from the University of California, Berkeley. She completed Internal Medicine training at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, and Infectious Diseases fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco. She is board-certified in Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases, and she attends on the Infectious Disease service at the San Francisco VA Medical Center.

Michael Policar, MD, MPH, currently serves as a the Principal Investigator for the Family PACT program.  He is a Clinical Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences at the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine. From 2005 through 2014, he was Medical Director of UCSF Program Support and Evaluation for the Family PACT Program, the family planning and STI program operated by the California State Office of Family Planning. He currently serves on expert advisory panels of the Centers for Disease Control and the U.S. Office of Population Affairs that are engaged in developing national clinical practice guidelines for contraceptive management. Dr. Policar received his MD degree at the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine and completed his residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the UCLA School of Medicine.  Subsequently he received a Master of Public Health degree in Health Services Management from UCLA School of Public Health.