Meet Our Staff
Meet Our Staff
Get Healthy San Mateo County is supported by Health Policy and Planning division staff at San Mateo County Health.
Gloria Cahuich-González
Nutrition and Education Policy Specialist
Gloria supports the CalFresh Healthy Living Program by leading the San Mateo County Park Rx (prescription) program, and the Champion Provider Fellowship. She works with providers, parks and public land partners to create healthy environments that promote healthy lifestyles by focusing on safe spaces to be physically active, in addition to addressing inequities in access to nature in the county’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)-eligible communities.
Curtis Chan
Deputy Health Officer/ Public Health Equity Officer
Curtis Chan serves as the Deputy Health Officer for San Mateo County. With over two decades of experience in public health and medicine, he has worked closely with community members to develop and implement many policies that improve racial and social health equity and is acting as interim Public Health Equity Officer until a permanent staff is hired for that position.
Elena Hernandez
Healthy and Resilient Communities Intern
Elena works on the Extreme Heat Task Force as an intern for HPP. She currently is a dual-degree student at UCLA majoring in both Public Health and Urban Planning. She has experience with geospatial data research and placed-based initiatives. Elena hopes to bridge her knowledge of public health practices and climate resiliency planning to reduce health inequities.
Melissa Ibarra
Community Health Planner
Melissa Ibarra is a work out of class Community Health Planner with Health Policy and Planning where she will be serving as a Schools Liaison to support safe in-person learning. She will be coordinating the Safe Schools for All Initiative, which aims to enhance the partnership between San Mateo County Health and the San Mateo County Office of Education to ensure the safe return to schools for all students and school communities. Melissa comes to HPP from the Communicable Diseases Control Program where she led case and outbreak investigations on a variety of diseases, including COVID-19.
Darryl Lampkin
Health Equity Management Analyst
Darryl is working with federal, state, local partners, and key community stakeholders to focus on applying an equity lens to local COVID-19 pandemic efforts. He has over 25 years of experience addressing health equity within the public health arena as an advocate, consumer, and public health professional. Darryl utilizes his foundational roots in community engagement and mobilization to bridge gaps between diverse communities.
Mai Le
Community Health Planner
Mai Le is a new Community Health Planner with Health Policy and Planning. Mai joins HPP from First 5 San Mateo County, where she co-led the Trauma- and Resiliency-Informed Systems Initiative for family-serving systems across the county and helped advance the agency’s racial equity efforts. Mai has a Master’s in Public Health and over 10 years of experience in promoting more culturally and linguistically responsive health policies and practices.
Deandra Lee
Health Equity Intern
Deandra is working on researching and documenting emerging governance practices and strategies that center health and racial equity to foster equitable COVID-19 recovery. Deandra is a recent graduate from UCSF with a Masters’s degree in Global Health Sciences. She brings a strong research background in non-communicable diseases and mental health among immigrant and migrant populations. She is passionate about addressing inequities at the intersection of health, gender, race, and economic status.
Tania Perez
Senior Community Health Planner
Tania is supporting the health equity work including the COVID-19 pandemic response and recovery. She has a background in health equity in behavioral health and has worked alongside communities to advocate for resources that increase access to historically marginalized groups. She is passionate about racial equity, system change and centering community voices in decision making.
Erika Rincón
Community Health Planner
Erika supports Get Healthy SMC Healthy Economy efforts and the Community Collaboration for Children’s Success (CCCS) initiative. With a focus in workforce development and transportation justice, Erika brings over 10 years of experience working to advance equity and access to opportunity for low-income people of color in California. She holds wide-ranging experience in coalition and capacity building, policy advocacy, community-based planning, education outreach, technical assistance, and research.
Belén Seara
Health Policy and Planning Program Management Analyst
Belen will temporarily oversee the efforts of the Health Policy and Planning program until a permanent manager and public health equity officer is hired in the coming months. She also leads the Healthy Housing, Civic Empowerment and Health and Climate Change and Health work. Belén has over ten years of experience promoting equity through multi-sectoral partnerships, community-based research, policy advocacy, community organizing, nonprofit management, and leadership development.
Sonali Suratkar
Community Health Planner
Sonali supports the CalFresh Healthy Living Program by leading the Healthy Retail and Safe Routes to School Programs. She works closely with small markets in low income neighborhoods to improve healthy food access, and collaborates with schools and the Office of Education to promote safe and active transportation for students. With her 10 years of experience in public health and program evaluation, she assists with the evaluation of projects and serves as Co-Chair for Bay Area Nutrition and Physical Activity Collaborative (BANPAC).
Rosa Torpis
Program Coordinator
Rosa coordinates Get Healthy’s social media, website, and e-communications content. She also coordinates outreach and recruitment, as well as the onboarding processes for Get Healthy’s internship program. She supports land use and transportation strategy by tracking local planning, assisting community partners applying for funding, and tracking opportunities to integrate health in other public policy arenas.
Justin Watkins
Senior Community Health Planner
Justin leads Get Healthy’s Healthy Schools and Healthy Food work. He co-chairs the School Wellness Alliance Advisory Group in partnership with staff from the San Mateo County Office of Education, which works with school districts throughout San Mateo County to create safe and supportive environments for students, staff, and parents. Most recently focusing on the implementation of Restorative Justice Practices in schools. Justin also supports the San Mateo Food System Alliance and oversees Health Policy and Planning’s food-related projects.