Throughout the last year, CaHPSA has made some positive changes. We have updated our constitution, mission statement, vision statement, bylaws and goals. We have also created a few new leadership positions to meet the demands of our growing alliance. With a good solid base that was built by previous students, the only place we have to go is up!

Meet the new team!

Swathi Bhuma – Northern California President
Swathi is a recent graduate from the University of California, Berkeley. She graduated with a B.A. in Molecular Cell Biology and a minor in Ethnic Studies. As an undergraduate, she was actively involved with a student run free clinic that provided health and social services to the homeless and low-income population of Alameda County. There she discovered the inequities of our current health care system and saw the need for advocating for a better healthcare system. This past year, she served as the Legislative Officer for CaHPSA. Currently she works at a local non-profit organization and hopes to go to medical school in the future.

Chris Brown – Southern California President
Chris is a current 4th year medical student at UC Irvine who recently completed his Masters in Public Health as part of UCI’s Program in Medical Education in the Latino Community (PRIME-LC). He is the founder and president of the newest CaHPSA chapter at California State University, Long Beach. He has been involved with CaHPSA and the Single Payer movement since his first year in medical school in 2007. Growing up in Southern California without health insurance coverage, he saw first hand the health inequities of the current U.S. healthcare system. Chris’ areas of interest are health disparities and underserved communities, especially Latinos in California.

Shruthi Bhuma – Northern California Legislative Officer
Shruthi recently graduated from the University of California Berkeley with a B.A in Molecular Cell Biology and a minor in Ethnic Studies. As an undergraduate, she was actively involved in advocating for homeless rights and worked at many homeless organizations in the East Bay, particularly the Suitcase Clinic (an organization that provides health and social services for homeless and low-income individuals). There she not only served as a clinic coordinator and administrative coordinator, but also discovered her passion for health care and health care reform. Last year, she served as the Northern California President CaHPSA. Currently, she works at a local non-profit, and hopes to go to medical school in the future.

Elena Vasti – Southern California Legislative Officer
Elena Vasti is a 2nd year MPH student at the UCLA School of Public Health. Her research interests surround emotional coping mechanisms in emotionally disturbed children, continuity of care models and patient follow up systems for individuals with diabetes and heart disease, and reducing maternal obesity rates in underserved areas of the California central valley. She currently serves as the Public Health Coordinator for the UCLA Mobile Clinic, Program Director for Adolescents at risk, Communication, Cinema Therapy, and Theater Program in Davis, CA, and is a Campus Academic Mentor. She loves the San Francisco Giants, farmers markets and ballet.

Jeff De La Cruz – Education and Training Officer
Jeff is a 4th year medical student at the Charles Drew University/UCLA program. He grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and attended UC Berkeley for his undergraduate degree, and subsequently worked as a junior high school science teacher for 2 years before attending medical school. His interests include healthcare reform, sports, and trying to know everything about medicine.

Beatriz Sosa Prado – External Relations and Community Outreach Officer
Beatriz is working on her thesis toward her M.S. in Health Science degree from California State University Long Beach. She plans to pursue a PhD in Public Health and develop research to influence policy, and challenge current public health practice and health systems. She also seeks to address the unique health and social issues among the Latino/a immigrant communities of Southern California. She is an activist and advocate for social justice and environmental issues.

Kelly Vitzhum – Media Officer
Kelly is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley. She spent much of her college career working at the Suitcase Clinic, a humanitarian student organization that provides health and social services to the low-income and homeless populations in the East Bay and advocates for issues relevant to those it serves. She is currently in Los Angeles working to further public health ideals by bridging the gap between the worlds of academia and mass media.

Gerardo Hernandez – Outreach and Recruitment Officer
A recent graduate from Cal State Long Beach with a Bachelors of Science in Microbiology, Gerardo Hernandez is a local from Los Angeles and a pre-medical student who wants to work with the community and confront health disparities.

Ted Xiao – Chapter Development Officer
Ted is a Sophomore at the California Institute of Technology. He is still deciding between either a major in Biology or Chemistry. He is very involved at Caltech. This is his first year with CaHPSA and he is very excited to join the team. He will be the Chapter Development Officer.

Priscilla Carranza – Community College Chapter Development Officer
Priscilla is starting her junior year at UC Riverside as a transfer student with a major in Spanish. She is very passionate about serving the minority community, specifically women, which is why she wants to specialize as an OB/GYN. She loves learning new things because she thinks it is a way to open her mind and have a better understanding of her surroundings.

Daniel Kim – Fundraising Officer
Daniel graduated from UC Berkeley with a major in Integrative Biology. He is currently a research assistant at the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab studying microtubule structures. This is his second year serving as the CaHPSA Fundraising Officer.

Megan Showalter – Northern California Lobby Day Coordinator
Originally from Nebraska, Megan is a 4th year student in biological sciences at CSU Sacramento. She is the Vice President of the AMSA chapter there and also works as a the on-site screenings coordinator for WellCall. Megan is very involved in health-related issues and hopes to attend medical school after she graduates. She acted as the NorCal Lobby Day Coordinator last year.

Victoria Flores – Southern California Lobby Day Co-Coordinator
Victoria is a UC Irvine alumna, entering her 5th year in the Single Payer movement towards claiming a financially responsible system that will improve the way Californians thrive. Victoria plans to practice medicine in the California community. She was born and raised in Southern California, and hopes to implement single payer in California, set a fine example of fiscal discipline and conservation, and then help those other great American states create a just format for health-care distribution and reimbursement.

Roy Choi – Southern California Lobby Day Co-Coordinator
Roy is a third year undergraduate student at UCLA, studying Neuroscience. He likes fine movies, music, and food, but what he really loves is the prospect of having an affordable healthcare system that will treat all human suffering without discriminating against one’s wealth.

Ann Yufa – Northern California Conference Cooridnator
Ann has been passionate about healthcare coverage for all since the day her best friend of 11 years passed away when she was 12. She loves helping people and is proud to be a part of CaHPSA.

Cindy De La Cruz – Southern California Conference Coordinator
Cindy is a second year MPH student studying at the California State University, Long Beach. Being the first in her family to graduate college, the education system has shaped her strong views in advocating for social justice issues such as promoting a quality, affordable education as well as access to health care. As a current research assistant for the Center for Health Care Innovation, she works to address these concerns through enhancing her experience in research, while developing a deeper understanding of the role that social determinants play on social and health outcomes.