CPEHN Welcomes New Staff
Over the last few months, CPEHN has added new staff in both our Oakland and Los Angeles offices! We are so happy to have them join our CPEHN team! Help us welcome them to CPEHN!
Saili Wilis joined CPEHN in October as the Program Associate. Saili Willis graduated with a B.A. in Communication and Media Studies from Saint Mary’s College of California. She is dedicated to providing program/project and administrative support to organizations that work towards social equity and improving opportunities for communities of color and marginalized groups of people.
Prior to joining CPEHN, Saili was a Senior Project Assistant and Office Manager for over five years at Public Profit, a program evaluation consulting firm. During her time at Public Profit, she was a part of a fast-paced team collecting and cleaning data, creating surveys, managing multiple tasks simultaneously, training and leading staff, and a variety of administrative duties. Saili appreciates working with a team that is able to work productively and effectively while enjoying and feeling empowered by their work.
Keerti Kanchinadam joined CPEHN in October as the Northern California Policy and Outreach Manager. Keerti holds a Master of Public Health from the University of California Berkeley and a B.A. from the University of Chicago. Keerti brings to CPEHN a range of experience in public health, policy analysis, and health equity. She is committed to holistic public health solutions that address vital community needs such as violence prevention, stable housing, and a clean environment. Prior to joining CPEHN, she worked as a Policy Analyst at the National Academy for State Health Policy in Washington D.C., promoting policies that strengthened access to care for kids in Medicaid and CHIP. Keerti also worked at the TeenScreen National Center at Columbia University helping to advance youth-centric mental healthcare in schools, primary care offices, and community-based settings.
Carolina Valle joined the CPEHN team in November as the Senior Policy Associate. Carolina holds a MSW from the University of Southern California and a B.A. in Black Studies & History from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Carolina brings a unique mix of expertise in mental health advocacy, consumer-driven policy analysis, and intensive case management experience to CPEHN. Prior to joining CPEHN, Carolina worked as the Resource Coordinator at Maternal and Child Health Access, where she was the lead advocate for high-risk pregnant and postpartum women dependent on the county mental health system. Carolina also served on the Coordinating Committee for the Los Angeles County Perinatal and Early Childhood Home Visitation Consortium. During her tenure, Carolina emerged as the regional expert on the barriers to utilization of mental health benefits for communities of color in Los Angeles County. Carolina is a graduate fellow of UC Davis’s Infant Parent Mental Health Fellowship Program.
Mihae Jung joined CPEHN in December as the Southern California Outreach and Policy Manager. Mihae received her Masters in Social Work (MSW) from the University of Washington, Seattle, and her B.A. in Film and Media Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Prior to joining CPEHN, she was an LA County Health Fellow for the Women’s Policy Institute in 2016, and the Prevention Education Manager at the Koreatown Youth Community Center (KYCC). At KYCC, she chaired regional coalitions to promote equity and health in land-use development, gaining extensive experience in coalition building, city/county-wide policy advocacy, and community engagement.
Mihae brings to CPEHN her unique background as an organizer and an educator, having worked for nearly 10 years with immigrant communities and communities of color. She is currently an Adjunct Faculty at California State University, Northridge (CSUN).