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.
Karina Cabrera
Communications Intern
Karina is working as a Communications intern for the HPP division and will assist County Health staff in researching and developing strategies to enhance communication of health and advance health equity in San Mateo County. With a bachelor’s in Communication and a masters in Intercultural Communication, Karina hopes to bring a unique lens to the health equity field and deepen the relationships San Mateo County has with their communities via social media.
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.
Angie Cavazos
Community Program Specialist
Angie supports the CalFresh Healthy Living Nutrition, Education and Obesity Prevention (NEOP) program by leading school wellness initiatives, providing schools technical assistance to create environmental policy and systemic changes in nutrition and health.
Curtis Chan
Deputy Health 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.
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.
Tamarra Jones
Public Health Chief Equity Officer / Health Policy and Planning Program Manager
Tamarra manages the Health Policy and Planning Program and will be working collaboratively with peers, colleagues, and community partners to further support strategies to build healthy, equitable communities in San Mateo County. Tamarra has a Master of Public Health in Health Promotion and Education and a Doctor of Public Health in Preventive Care from Loma Linda University, and a bachelor’s degree from University of California, Santa Cruz.
Nupoor Kulkarni
Community Health Planner
Nupoor is working on enhancement of internal organizational equity infrastructure and capacity through training, equity action plans, and cross-sectoral, intergovernmental partnerships. Nupoor comes to Health Policy and Planning (HPP) with a deep passion for and background in embedding equity in public health systems, policy, and implementation.
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
Community Health Planner
Deandra is working as the Health Equity Community Health Planner with a focus on building public health infrastructure around community engagement through the establishment of mechanisms for input, feedback, shared decision-making, and connections to a diverse group of community leaders and stakeholders. She transitioned from her position as the Health Equity Intern with HPP where she worked on advancing equity in the healthy economy domain. She brings a strong research background in public health practices and interventions among vulnerable populations.
Veena Raghavan
Management Analyst
Veena oversees the healthy schools and food systems while working to advance health equity in San Mateo County. Veena comes to Health Policy and Planning with experience leading policy and systems change initiatives to strengthen climate resilience and chronic disease prevention. Through over a decade in public health she has advanced equity-centered approaches to community engagement, policy, and data practices.
Molly Shea
Health Education Intern
As the Health Education intern, Molly supports the HPP team in developing and executing its community engagement processes, COVID-19 related communications, and other health equity focused projects. As a lifelong SMC resident, Molly is thrilled to join the HPP team, and is eager to begin working with SMC community partners on initiatives that bolster health support structures throughout the county. Molly holds a bachelor’s degree in public health from The George Washington University, and is currently pursuing a Master’s of Public Health from UC Berkeley.
Sonali Suratkar
Community Program Specialist
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.