Speakers

Rebekah Pratt, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, the Program of Health Disparities Research, and co-Associate Director of Community Outreach and Engagement at the Masonic Cancer Center at the University of Minnesota. She trained as a Community Psychologist in New Zealand and obtained her PhD in Population Health Science at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. Her work focuses on addressing disparities preventative health, including cancer prevention, screening, and community-engaged research. She is co-lead of the Community Engagement Core for C2DREAM, which focuses on deepening approaches to community engagement. 

Antony Stately, PhD, (Ojibwe/Oneida) -  received his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from California School of Professional Psychology at Alliant International University in 1997. He is currently the Executive Officer and President for the Native American Community Clinic in south Minneapolis, which provides primary care, dental care, and behavioral health services to the Twin Cities Native American community. He formerly worked as the Director of Behavioral Health Programs at the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community in Prior Lake, MN. He has served as a consultant and advisor to the CDC, HRSA, SAMHSA, the Native American AIDS Prevention Center (NAAPC), the US-Mexico Border Health Association (PAHO/WHO), and numerous NGOs and non-profits delivering health services to tribal and indigenous communities nationally and internationally 

Yasamin Graff, MPH -  is a graduate of the University of Minnesota School of Public Health with a Master of Public Health in Community Health Promotion and a minor in Health Equity. After graduating, she worked for the Minnesota Department of Health and provided COVID-19 public health information to Minnesotans, their families, and businesses. Yasamin is currently a Community Engagement Specialist for the Program in Health Disparities Research and the Community Engagement Core for the Center for Chronic Disease Reduction and Equity Promotion Across Minnesota (C2DREAM). 

Hannah BlueDog - Crow, Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate, -  is a graduate of the University of Minnesota Duluth with a Bachelors of Arts in Communications and Journalism. She was in Television news after graduating college in 2016. A News Editor position for the Carver County Newspaper in Waconia, Minnesota moved her to the Twin Cities soon after. She moved into the role of Social Media Manager for Betty Crocker, General Mills in 2018. Hannah came to C2DREAM for the position of Communications Coordinator in 2022, from the Minnesota Department of Transportation Public Affairs Office.  In her free time, Hannah freelance writes for The Circle Newspaper, South Minneapolis. In the time of the 2020 riots, Hannah found her passion for community organizing and organized several community donation drives and meals. Now, her and her family are preparing to welcome their son, Sept, 2023!

LaPrincess C. Brewer, M.D., M.P.H., FACC - Dr. Brewer is a Consultant in the Division of Preventive Cardiology within the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, as well as Assistant Professor of Medicine at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.   She has a primary research focus in developing strategies to reduce and ultimately eliminate cardiovascular disease health disparities in racial and ethnic minority populations and in underserved communities through health promotion and community-based participatory research. Dr. Brewer also has special interest in increasing minority and women's participation in cardiovascular clinical trials through mobile health (mHealth) interventions. Additionally, she has published work on faith-based interventions for cardiovascular disease prevention, racial differences in weight maintenance and psychosocial factors influencing cardiovascular risk factors. 

Rev. Don Barlow is Sr. Pastor of Rochester Community Baptist Church and a School Board Director of the Rochester Public Schools. Don is a retired firefighter and graduate of Wayland Baptist University where he majored in Fire Science and Criminal Justice. Don has also served on numerous City/ County Boards and Commissions. 

Monica Ibarra MS Ed. CDP and Office of Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity Advisor - Monica joined Mayo Clinic after spending fifteen years in higher education, K12 classrooms, and developing EID (DEI) curriculum, creating EID policies, leading EID/DEI training. She is the Enterprise Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity Advisor for the Health System and Shared Services.  She has worked on Equity Committees and Boards, including the Minnesota Association Of Professional Employees Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee (MAPE EDIC), the Minnesota Association of Community Corrections Act Counties (MACCAC), the Ramsey County Corrections Advisory Board (CAB), and as the chair of the Volunteers In Corrections (VIC) not-for-profit.  Monica was the 2021 ACLU-Mn Volunteer of the Year award winner and a delegate for the 2022 United Nations Latino Leadership Summit. She was pointed to the Health Equity Advisory and Leadership (HEAL) Council in 2022, which assists the Minnesota Department of Human Service in developing strong performance measures for advancing health equity.  

Phil Wheeler, MUP, FAICP -  has a BA in History from Carleton College and a master’s degree in urban planning from Michigan State. Phil worked for the Rochester Olmsted Planning Department from 1976 through 2013, serving as Director from 1990 until retirement. He is a member of the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Certified Planners. He is a part-time geographic information research consultant with Mayo Clinic’s Population Precision Science Lab, which provides access to GIS. Phil is Chair of the Rochester Branch NAACP Education Committee, in which capacity he is leading the team of volunteers mapping racial covenants in Olmsted County. 

Chao Mwatela, MS, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Director - serves as the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Director for the City of Rochester. Her work is focused on advancing the City’s organizational culture that centers social equity, assessing and implementing equitable City policies, projects and programs. These efforts are geared towards creating a vibrant, welcoming and inclusive community. Professionally, Chao has also served as a k-12 teacher as well as a community college multicultural advisor. 

Abby Lohr, PhD, MPH: postdoctoral research fellow -  is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. She uses a community-based participatory approach in collaboration with immigrants and refugees in southeastern Minnesota as part of Rochester Healthy Community Partnership. Abby's research is focused on health equity, chronic illness, and cancer screening. She earned her PhD in Health Behavior Health Promotion from the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health at the University of Arizona. Abby grew up in Rochester and is a proud graduate of Bamber Valley Elementary School which you likely drove past on your way here today. 

Graciela Porraz Capetillo: Researcher - Over the past 16 years, she has represented the Latino community in the Rochester Healthy Community Partnership (RHCP) by assisting in multiple studies aimed at reducing health disparities. Currently Graciela is an Associate Research Coordinator working on C2DREAM’s Research Project 1 Healthy Immigrant Communities. 

Dr. Ambria Crusan, PhD, MS, RD/LD - is a Registered Dietitian and Assistant Professor of Nutrition and Dietetics at St. Catherine University in St. Paul, MN. She is a first-generation graduate of the College of St. Benedict with a BA in Dietetics. She completed a MS in Nutritional Biochemistry from the University of Minnesota while also completing her Dietetic Internship at The Emily Program-University of Minnesota. Following, she earned her PhD in Human Nutrition at the University of Minnesota, with a primary focus in population health and cardiometabolic disease risk related to carotenoid intake and serum carotenoid status. Current research avenues involve food security for college students, carotenoids, and health equity in medical nutrition therapy. 

Rodolfo Gutierrez, is the Executive Director of HACER, where he has been serving since May 2007 with extensive professional experience in quantitative and qualitative research and evaluation. He has spoken in several forums and is greatly committed to working with those interested in drawing a state of Minnesota where disparities are eliminated, and are not based on ethnic or cultural differences anymore. Originally from Mexico, Rodolfo carries previous experience in research in Mexico and the U.S., which has been extremely useful while working with different and diverse communities, not only Latino. His formal education includes History (bachelor’s and PhD) and Demography (MS), with extensive experience in research on demographic change. He offers a strong background in quantitative and qualitative research with an emphasis on immigration, education, healthcare access, and cultural incorporation of diverse communities. 

Rodolfo Batres, MD, CBPR community researcher and consultant - Rodolfo received his medical degree in El Salvador in 2002, and for over ten years worked first as a general practitioner and then as a family physician in both rural and urban settings. In this role, he gained a scientific perspective that has since served him to understand and successfully navigate the deep complexities of healthcare systems and their impact on health disparities. Since moving to Minnesota, Rodolfo has transitioned his work in healthcare to the world of medical research. He has worked on multiple community-based participatory research projects, focused on conducting culturally-sensitive research with communities of color.  He currently also serves as the Research Program Administrator at PHDR. Rodolfo has a lifelong commitment to improving patients’ health. His research interests are broad, but have the common goal of improving the health outcomes of Minnesotans, particularly within the Latino community. 

Mark Wieland, MD, MPH -  is a Professor of Medicine and Chair of the Division of Community Internal Medicine, Geriatrics, and Palliative Care at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, where he is a practicing primary care physician. He is also the interim Director of the Mayo Clinic Center for Clinical and Translational Science Community Engaged Research Program and co-Director of the Mayo Clinic Center for Health Equity and Community Engaged Research. Having trained in medicine and public health, his clinical and research interests lie in health promotion through community participation in research aimed at reduction of health inequities.  With funding from the National Institutes of Health, he has led research to improve community health with local solutions.  

Luz Molina, started working for RHCP as a Family Health Promoter, for the project “Healthy Immigrant Families”. She is bilingual, and beyond offering interpretation services has been involved in many projects that involve interpretation, educating and health promotion for the Hispanic Community. Right now, they are completing the first year of HIC (Healthy Immigrant Community) , which is another study to promote good nutrition in the Hispanic and Somali Community. 

Miguel Valdez-Soto, Community Engagement Coordinator at the Center for Health Equity and Community Engagement Research, Miguel’s work focuses on assisting community members and researchers in the planning and execution of community-engaged research and research-related events by building sustainable relationships between community members and Mayo Clinic researchers. He also seeks to understand how research may assist in addressing health care issues within the community In his role he’s had the opportunity to develop with his team online educational modules to address the understanding of the value of community engagement in an early stage in the research process, as well to keep up with today's technology and social media to reach those who usually don’t get a voice. Over the past 19 years Miguel has made the effort to be involved in his community. This has made his job easy and enjoyable, also Miguel has been fortunate to be   recognized by his peers and community by receiving the Medal of Honor of Community-Wide Services from the Office of the Mayor of Rochester, MN in December 2016. 

Ashya Burgess,  is a Clinical Research Coordinator in the Cancer Center at Mayo Clinic. She also supports Dr. LaPrincess Brewer, Mayo Clinic cardiologist and founder of Fostering African-Americans in Total Health. Ashya is passionate about minority health and community engaged research efforts. She is particularly interested in translational and transformative research that bridges social and health care gaps in underserved communities. 

Aisha Qassim, is a junior at Mayo High School, participating full-time in the PSEO program at RCTC. She aspires to help others in the future, both emotionally and physically, by becoming a prominent medical figure in cardiology. 

Isaiah Bucher (pronounced: Booker), currently works as a real estate agent in the twin cities metro. He has had the opportunity of being a part of the youth advisory board for 3 years. Being able to provide insight on behalf of his peers was very empowering being younger in an adult setting. Isaiah enjoys bike riding, reading, real estate and cooking in his free time. 

Sumaya Musa, is a student at the University of Minnesota with a passion for IT and Neuroscience, and has been fortunate to be a part of the Pediatric Advisory Board for the past four years. Through this experience, she has gained valuable insights and knowledge in advocating for youth's health and wellness. As a part of the panel, she is grateful for the opportunity to share my perspective and contribute to creating a more equitable society, where every child has access to the resources and support they need to thrive. 

Michael Nowakowski,  is a junior at Mayo High School. He is also a member of the Rochester-Olmsted Youth Commission and a Youth Representative for Family Services Rochester. He is passionate about youth voices and the ability to address and overcome challenges. He was a delegate scholar for the 2022 Youth United Nations General Assembly conference, a ChangeMaker’s Institute participant for Youth Employment for Workforce Readiness, a former Minnesota 2022 Youth Advocate in Washington, D.C. and a Power of Youth Grant awardee. He plans to pursue a career in medicine and hopes to one day make a positive contribution toward improving equity and accessibility to all within our healthcare system.