Health Equity Research About | Page 3

Welcome to the Mayo Clinic’s Center for Health Equity and Community Engagement Research (CHCR) blog. CHCR partners with communities and works in collaboration with internal and external stakeholders to develop and execute community outreach, engagement initiatives, and health equity research to address the needs of the communities we serve.

Public blog

Community Outreach & Engagement Research Services

Mission: To build on Mayo Clinic's values to create innovative solutions that address health disparities throughout the life course, and advance the ideal of health equity, locally and globally.

Vision: To realize the ideal of transforming communities for everyone to achieve the highest possible level of wellbeing and health.

Meet the Team

The Core Equity and Engagement Team is made up of Mayo Clinic staff from the Community Outreach and Engagement Research Services that work with internal and external stakeholders to develop and execute community outreach and engagement activities, as well as health equity research activities that address the needs of communities. Our work also supports community outreach and engagement efforts for Mayo Clinic Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCATS), and Mayo Clinic Cancer Center (MCCC).

Leadership

Dr. Folakemi Odedina - Interim Co-Director

Dr. Mark L. Wieland - Interim Co-Director
Mark L. Wieland, M.D., M.P.H.

Dr. Donald Northfelt - Medical Director (Arizona)

Dr. Gerardo Colon-Otero - Medical Director (Florida)

Dr. Katherine Price - Medical Director (Midwest)

Monica Albertie - Enterprise Operations Manager

"I come from a very large family that is “doubly related." Our family began when a family of brothers married a different family of sisters that lived across the street. I have at least 100+ cousins – 21 of us travel together annually and we “group chat” regularly."

Noreen Stephenson - Site Program Manager (Florida)

"I’m a former flight attendant who has visited over 15 different countries and almost every state in the US."

Farhia Omar - Site Program Manager (Arizona)

"I speak three languages and love to hike."

Adeline Abbenyi - Site Program Manager (Midwest)

"I have lived in 4 countries."

Gio Moreno Garzon - Cancer Center Minority Accruals Program Manager

"I recently became a US Citizen and hold a dual US/Mexico citizenship."

Danielle Wright - Project Assistant (Enterprise)

"I relocated back to Minnesota from sunny Scottsdale, Arizona with my husband, son, daughter, and mom after leaving the Twin Cities 30 years ago."

Karen Brownell - Administrative Assistant (Enterprise)

"I was born and raised in Toronto, Canada. I enjoy electronic dance music and going to large scale electronic dance festivals all around the world. I taught figure skating for many years – I love the winter and snow."

Kanaaz Pereira - Marketing & Communications Specialist

"I moved to Minnesota from Charleston, S. Carolina, with my 3 children and my husband, a cardiologist at the Mayo Clinic. I recently earned the title of "MN Viking" after enduring 15 winters in Rochester...I finally smiled when the temperature climbed above zero degrees!"

Tabetha Brockman - Health Services Analyst (Enterprise)

“It was in my mid-twenties that I started my love for reading. Reading helps to clear my mind and take me to another world.”

Kiley Lantz - Sr. Research Program Coordinator (Midwest)

Personal Fact:

Dr. Manisha Salinas - Mixed Methods Researcher/Program Evaluator

Personal Fact:

Daniela Pompa - Clinical Research Coordinator (Arizona)

"I love to paint elephants as a hobby (although, I don’t know why)! I also collect teapots, but I don’t like drinking tea, and I have a dog named Coco, who thinks he's the king of the house."

Shantel Williams - Community Engagement Coordinator (Florida)

"I’ve always lived in Florida, so although I’ve seen snow I’ve never actually been in the snow!"

Idalli Cuellar - Community Engagement Coordinator (Arizona)

"I graduated with an MPH in May 2021."

Guthrie Capossela - Community Engagement Coordinator (Native American Programs)

"As I child, I lived in Supai, AZ–the last place in America that delivers mail by Pony Express–for 2 summers. Supai is the tribal headquarters for the Havasupai, and the Pony Express is necessary because the reservation is located at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. The only to reach the Havasupai Tribe is by hiking, horseback, or helicopter."

Miguel Valdez Soto - Community Engagement Coordinator (Midwest)