California HEAL Program

Born and raised in Fresno, California, Annie Chang’s passion for healthcare began in high school, where she volunteered over 200 hours at a medical center. Though she initially set out to follow in the footsteps of her sister-in-law and become a nurse, her experiences led her to public health, where she could address the root causes of health inequities and support communities through education and advocacy. 

After earning a Bachelor of Science in Health Science from Fresno State, she joined the Fresno County Department of Public Health, where she supported the Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health division, particularly Fresno County’s Perinatal Equity Initiative. Now, as a lead in the county’s doula workforce expansion project, Annie is working to replicate HealthConnect One’s Community-Based Doula program to increase access to culturally responsive birth support services in underserved communities. 

As a California HEAL Fellow, Annie looks forward to learning from a community of like-minded leaders committed to advancing health equity. She hopes to strengthen her skills and deepen her impact, particularly in expanding access to doula services for Black and Brown birthing people in Fresno. Rediscovering her “why” in public health, Annie is committed to transforming maternal and infant health outcomes by bridging gaps between hospital providers and patients in the very community that shaped her. 

Chaia Vang was born in Thailand and immigrated to Fresno, California, with her family at the age of two. Raised in the Central Valley, Chaia understands the barriers that stand between many community members from accessing quality healthcare like language, transportation, stigma, and a complex insurance system. 

Chaia is a Substance Use Navigator at Community Regional Medical Center, where she began as a substance use navigator through the California Bridge program, supporting patients struggling with addiction during hospital visits and linking them to community treatment options. Her work quickly evolved as she became a mentor for other navigators and eventually served as the Navigator Engagement Coordinator with California Bridge, helping to expand and strengthen hospital-based substance use programs across the state. 

Through these roles, Chaia has built strong partnerships with treatment providers and community organizations while continuing to advocate for patients navigating complex health and social systems. As a California HEAL Fellow, she looks forward to connecting with a community of like-minded leaders, learning from their experiences, and growing into a more effective advocate for the Central Valley communities she serves.

Delia Silva, PsyD, MA, LMFT, LPCC, LAADC, was born and raised in California’s rural San Joaquin Valley, where she witnessed firsthand the stark health disparities that impact underserved communities there. Inspired by a deep desire to become a health care professional to give back to the communities that cared for her,  Dr. Silva became a post-doctoral psychological associate (towards licensure as a clinical psychologist), licensed marriage and family therapist, licensed professional clinical counselor, and licensed advanced alcohol and drug clinician. She also holds a doctorate in clinical psychology, a master’s degree in psychology, and a bachelor’s degree in psychology. 

Across clinical, community, and integrated care settings, she has dedicated her career to trauma-informed, culturally responsive care for individuals with co-occurring mental health and substance use challenges. Her doctoral research focused on disparities in diagnosing Alzheimer’s Disease and related dementias among Latinx adults in rural areas. She wishes to continue this work to promote equity at the intersection of behavioral health and primary care. 

Grounded in the belief that healing is rooted in relationship, narrative, and community, Dr. Silva hopes to use her HEAL experience to amplify the voices of historically underserved populations and drive innovative, community-based models of care.

Jackie Moreira was born and raised in Fontana, California, just outside Riverside County, to Latinx immigrants. Through first-hand experience and years of grassroots work with low-income Latinx and Indigenous Mexican immigrant communities in Riverside, Jackie witnessed systemic barriers that have led to historically poor health outcomes in these communities. As a community engagement project coordinator, Jackie has worked on initiatives addressing childhood obesity, Indigenous mental health, and culturally tailored nutrition education. Throughout her work, Jackie focuses on empowering communities to navigate and transform the systems that shape their health. 

Through leadership roles with the Coachella Valley Free Clinic and California CareForce, Jackie advocated for free dental and vision services in rural communities, organized community-led healthcare planning efforts, and encouraged clinical institutions to recognize and address systemic biases.

Jackie joins the California HEAL Program to grow as a leader who brings together communities and institutions to deepen their ability to co-create solutions with those most impacted by health problems. Her current work with Unidas por Salud, a partnership focused on community-driven health interventions in the Eastern Coachella Valley, continues to inform her commitment to culturally responsive and community-centered care. She looks forward to bringing together her community health experience and tools she gains from the program to build health systems that center justice and dignity for all patients.

Jennifer Romo, MD, witnessed her grandmother struggle to get quality care for her breast cancer because of her lack of health literacy and English proficiency. After her grandmother passed from her cancer, Jennifer dedicated her work to ensure no patient is left behind because of those same barriers. 

Now a Spanish-speaking family medicine physician at UCSF Fresno, Jennifer often hears from patients that, for the first time, they truly understand their chronic conditions, because they can discuss their health without a language barrier. She chose family medicine because it’s a specialty that never turns anyone away and has the power to offer care that is equitable, inclusive, and deeply human. 

During residency at Valley Health Team in Fresno, Jennifer cared for communities across the Central Valley that were drastically affected by physician shortages. Jennifer became a California HEAL Fellow to deepen her understanding of how to best care for underserved communities in low-resource settings. She plans to continue to deliver compassionate care while developing her ability to drive change at the health system level. 

For Jennifer, access to healthcare is a human right. With years of service and enduring relationships in the Central Valley, she is ready to expand her impact by helping build a healthcare system where no one is left behind. 

Raised in South Gate, CA and later in the rural town of Desert Shores, CA, Jesus Pacheco has always been surrounded by communities often overlooked by the healthcare system. At the age of 15, he began to follow his family tradition of community healing by studying natural healing practices including Reiki, Biomagnetic Therapy, and message. That early passion evolved into a career in health advocacy grounded in both cultural wisdom and community engagement. 

As a bilingual Community Health Worker (CHW) with Riverside University Health System, Jesus helps patients navigate the complex healthcare system, builds trust with Spanish-speaking families, and leads outreach programs focused on chronic disease prevention, mental health, and nutrition. His deep connection with his community allows him to bridge longstanding barriers to care such as language, misinformation, and systemic mistrust. 

Jesus joined the California HEAL Fellowship to grow as a leader and deepen his impact. He believes that the role of a CHW is about building trust, fostering empowerment, and advocating for meaningful change. He’s committed to mentoring the next generation of CHWs and championing healthcare access in the rural regions of California, where disparities are greatest and resources are scarce. 

Through his fellowship, Jesus hopes to expand mobile health services, dismantle stigma around healthcare, and promote culturally rooted, people-centered care. Jesus envisions a system where no one is afraid to seek care and every community, no matter how remote, has trusted guides to health and healing. 

John “Milo” Dover, MD, was born in Harbor City and raised in the High Desert communities of Adelanto and Apple Valley, California. Growing up in places where there are high barriers to health care, Milo knew that he wanted to become a doctor–one who not only treated patients well but also helped change the systems that consistently failed them. 

He earned both his undergraduate and medical degrees at UC Riverside, where he worked closely with programs to expand access to quality, culturally competent care, and health education. He also learned Spanish to deepen his ability to care for his predominantly Spanish-speaking community and to honor his own family’s roots in Mexico. 

Now a Family Medicine physician at Riverside University Health System, Milo works with a Free Clinic to deliver free medical care and connect patients with essential resources. Milo joined the California HEAL Program to learn how to best engage local communities and support them through public health projects tailored to their needs. He finds joy in discovering new ways to connect with the people he serves, whether through mapping out community resources or learning about an up-and-coming local artist. 

At just five years old, Esmeralda Martinez’s journey into healthcare began after a hospital visit sparked a lifelong interest in healing and helping. Growing up in a family who utilized one of the only free clinics in San Diego at the time, Esmeralda understands firsthand the barriers marginalized communities face in navigating the healthcare system. As a young adult, Esmeralda continued to explore her interest in healthcare by volunteering at the UCSD Student-Run Free Clinic, where she witnessed care defined not by time limits but by compassion and dignity. Here, Esmeralda discovered social work and its power to advocate for patients beyond the exam room.

Currently pursuing a master’s in social work, Esmeralda is passionate about bridging the gap in mental health access, particularly for low-income and immigrant communities. Her goal is to become a licensed clinical social worker, offering therapy to those often left out of traditional care models while advocating for policy change that integrates mental health into broader healthcare systems.

Esmeralda joined the California HEAL Program to grow as a leader and advocate alongside a community of peers equally committed to equity. She is especially drawn to HEAL’s mission of transforming health care through service, solidarity, and structural change. In the future, Esmeralda envisions working at both the clinical and policy levels–providing direct care while helping shape a system where mental health is treated with the same urgency, accessibility, and respect as physical health.

Rosana Cobos was born and raised in Los Angeles, California growing up in the working-class city of Cudahy—a community shaped by resilience and Latinx culture. Rosana entered the workforce early, often putting the survival of her and her family ahead of school. But her want to grow her career never faded. When the COVID-19 Pandemic left her without a job, she saw a chance to invest in herself. With resources like financial aid, she returned to school, earned her AA in Human Services/Social Work, and began pursuing certification as an Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) Counselor.

Today, Rosana works on the Enhanced Care Management Team at Riverside University Health System, where she helps patients navigate the complex healthcare system and connects them to critical community and state resources. Rosana experienced firsthand the barriers that patients in SoCal face—language, access, bureaucracy—and is more compassionate and encouraging to her patients because of it. 

As a California HEAL Fellow, Rosana is eager to strengthen her interpersonal skills and build deeper, more trusting relationships with her patients. She also wants to continue to grow professionally, eventually earning a bachelor’s degree. Ultimately in her work, Rosana wants the communities she serves in Riverside County, no matter their background, to have the tools to lead healthier, more self-reliant lives.

Ruth Wang, MD is a first-generation Taiwanese American from San Diego, California, where she grew up in a multilingual immigrant household. Witnessing the health inequities in her hometown—from high rates of homelessness to the struggles faced by immigrant and border communities—inspired her to pursue a career in medicine.

She studied biology, neuroscience, and Spanish at the University of Pittsburgh, then taught high school biology in Las Vegas through Teach For America while earning her master’s in education. She went on to attend medical school at UC San Diego and completed her residency in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.

Throughout her training, Ruth pursued work aligned with her commitment to equity, including global health experiences in Mexico, South Africa, and Peru, leadership in civic engagement and voter registration projects, and advocacy for language-concordant care. She is particularly interested in tropical medicine, border health, and immigrant health.

Ruth joined the HEAL fellowship to continue serving resource-denied communities while growing as a clinician-advocate and systems-level thinker. She is especially looking forward to returning home to San Diego, working alongside interdisciplinary colleagues, and building lasting partnerships through HEAL’s immersive and justice-driven model.