Cultivating Healthcare Talent that Stays in Underserved California Communities
Jackie Moreira | Community Engagement Project Coordinator | Inland Empire, California, USA | 2025 California HEAL Fellow
In under-resourced regions, such as the Inland Empire, California, where professional development opportunities are scarce, the HEAL Program serves as a leadership multiplier embedded directly within safety-net systems.
91%
Of fellows report that HEAL helps them see themselves as leaders
“I’m passionate about changing health disparities in the Coachella Valley,” Jackie Moreira starts, adding “I’m not necessarily from this community, but I’m from the Inland Empire.” A daughter of immigrants and a Spanish-speaker, Jackie sees her own family reflected in the largely immigrant farmworker community she now serves. Jackie considers it a privilege to work with the University of California, Riverside School of Medicine and Unidas Por Salud to co-lead research among promotoras (community health workers), students, healthcare systems, and community partners that addresses the social determinants of health for Latinx and Indigenous Mexican communities. Community-engaged research that Jackie carries out has been proven to address health inequities and serves as a key strategy for chronic disease prevention.
Early in her career, Jackie wondered, “I believe that structural health inequities can be addressed, but do others?” She found that answer at HEAL.
As a fellow of the inaugural California HEAL Program, Jackie discovered a space where job hierarchy was set aside and shared purpose drove discussions. Soon, she began stepping into facilitation and leadership roles at work and HEAL. At a recent HEAL gathering, a co-fellow, Rosana Cobos, mentioned how Jackie is finding her voice as a leader. Jackie now sees it too, noting, “Her saying that out loud shows that I do have an impact and I can bring my confidence to the HEAL community and my community at large.” In fact, 91% of fellows report that HEAL helps them see themselves as leaders. Employers often report that healthcare workers, like Jackie, emerge from HEAL as leaders with stronger leadership and advocacy skills. In rural and under-resourced regions, like the Inland Empire, where place-based professional development opportunities are scarce, the HEAL Program functions as a leadership multiplier embedded directly inside safety-net systems.
80%
Of California HEAL Fellows speak Spanish
100%
Of California HEAL Fellows are from California
With renewed confidence and leadership capacity, Jackie acts as a bridge between community members, with whom she builds trusting relationships, and researchers to identify pressing health issues in the community and discuss how to address them. This includes stigmatized topics like mental health disparities among Indigenous Mexican men and lifestyle change interventions in immigrant communities. She is part of a growing workforce trained by HEAL to lead community-driven solutions for California’s most persistent health disparities.
These experiences are shaping her long-term path. Jackie now plans to apply to medical school and eventually practice social medicine. She didn’t imagine spaces where doctors were supported to make meaningful improvements in health disparities, but “HEAL has given me the vision that that is possible,” Jackie notes while talking about her work with Riverside University physicians Moazzum Bajwa and Milo Dover, both part of the California HEAL Program. Wherever that path leads, one thing is certain for Jackie: “I have a strong desire to continue working in the Coachella Valley and serve the community I see as my community. I don’t see myself working anywhere else.”