Team

Dr. Reataza is a strong advocate for health and healthcare system reform in the United States. She believes that behavioral health is an important piece of wellness and should be prioritized in public health policy and advocacy. Her experience as an immigrant from the Philippines and her background in education, medicine, research, health policy and law, and public health inform her interdisciplinary approach to advocacy for health and wellness. She is also passionate about dismantling the stigma communities face in addressing mental health. Dr. Reataza studied Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at UC Irvine, Secondary Science Education at Cal State Dominguez Hills, Medicine at UC Irvine School of Medicine, and Health Policy and Law at UCSF-UC Hastings. In 2022, she was awarded the UCSF Early Career Achievement Award. In her free time, she practices yoga and Pilates regularly, loves to cook and garden, and enjoys making art of all kinds.  Marielle has native fluency in Tagalog and speaks basic Spanish.

Vincent’s goal is to help those in need attain health equity. In the Public Health field, Vincent is well experienced, working at LACDPH, CDPH, and FASGI, a non-profit organization in Historic Filipinotown. He finds his passion in community health because he believes that with a strong foundation in the community level, Public Health can flourish organically. He was a fellow for the Statewide Pacific Islander Asian American Resource and Coordinating Center (SPARC) where he was first introduced to the world of tobacco control policy. He is a Golden Eagle through and through. He graduated from Cal State LA in 2021 and 2018 with a Master’s in Public Health specializing in Urban Populations and a Bachelor’s in Public Health respectively. Outside of the workplace, Vincent loves to go thrifting, play basketball, and do sudoku puzzles. He is an avid listener of k-pop, R&B, and indie music. A fun fact about Vincent is that though he was born and raised in Los Angeles he is a huge San Diego Padres fan and was a fan of the Chargers prior to their move here to LA.

Gabriella is an avid supporter of public health and mental health awareness. Past research of hers include the absence of wellness and mindfulness in student Activists in the Washington DC metropolitan Area. This research project sparked a passion for wellbeing and mental health prioritization, specifically in marginalized communities such as children and communities of color. She graduated from George Mason University in the spring of 2021 with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with a minor in Chinese language. After graduating, she went on to do case managing and client advocacy for a person injury law firm but then turned her sights on work that is more fulfilling. In her spare time, she enjoys visiting art museums, journaling, and practicing pilates. Her favorite genre of music is k-pop, hyperpop, and R&B. A fun fact about Gabriella is that she had collectively 17 cats growing up but then became severely allergic. Follow her on letterboxd: gabsguerrieri!

Pia is a recent graduate at CSU Long Beach, having earned a Bachelor’s degree in Health Science and Community Health Education with a minor in Human Development. In the future, she would like to go back to school to obtain a Master’s degree in epidemiology or data analytics. Moving forward, I hope to continue working in the field of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs, or LGBTQ+ sexual health.

Bel Gaines, MPH is a former intern at NAPAFASA and now serves the people as a freelance Diversity Consultant at Chorus Innovations. He has long been a champion of social justice, and seeks to reevaluate the ways in which stigma enforces racism within our own communities. When he’s not dismantling white supremacy via advocacy and online content creation, he is working on admissions packages for his doctorate in Clinical Psychology.