Maternal and Child Health Training Program
The Maternal & Child Health Training program (formerly Child & Family Health Leadership program) is a graduate and post-doctoral level training program, federally funded by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau at HRSA. We are one in a national network of 13 programs.
MCHT provides interdisciplinary training using population health and Life Course Health Development (LCHD) framework to prepare our fellows to assume leadership roles in the field of maternal, child, and family health.
The learning and leadership opportunities our program offers increases capacity for high quality, comprehensive care of MCH populations.
Lisa Nguyen
MPH Student, Community Health Sciences
Lisa is a second-year MPH student in the Community Health Sciences Department. She is interested in expanding the parental lens to LGBTQ+ families, health disparities among communities of color, and youth sexual education. She graduated from San Diego State University with a BS in Health Communications and a minor in Women’s Studies. Besides her professional career, she loves cats, cooking, and reading.
2022 Internship: Viet Rainbow of Orange County
Richelle Kingi
MECN Student, Nursing
Richelle (Shelli) Kingi is a first-generation graduate student at the UCLA School of Nursing. In 2017, she obtained her Bachelors of Science in Kinesiology at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. Shelli is undeniably passionate about improving and providing preeminent care for underserved communities which led her to become a Maternal and Child Health Fellow and participate in MCH CoE to gain a greater education specifically on this area of focus. True to her character, she ambitiously led a group focused on Lactation support for Black and African American women in the 2022 Social Media Internship in collaboration with CDU BMHCE, UCLA, Hood Medicine, and the MLK Outpatient Lactation Clinic. Shelli and her team created infographics, social media posts, and a magazine to provide accessible and delightful information for anyone seeking guidance about lactation. Looking forward to the future, she intends to become a NICU nurse at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center as she works towards her primary goal of becoming a CRNA.
2022 Internship: Social Media Internship in collaboration with CDU BMHCE, UCLA, Hood Medicine, and the MLK Outpatient Lactation Clinic
Kate Mitchell
DNP Student, Nursing
Kate Mitchell is a current Doctorate of Nursing Practice (DNP) candidate at UCLA School of Nursing. She practices full scope Midwifery at one of LA’s largest safety net hospitals. Kate is also a proud SEIU 721 member and advocates for dignified working conditions for RNs/APRNs as an elected union representative. Her professional interests include physiologic birth, human milk feeding, and midwifery management of pregnancies affected by HIV. Her DNP research focuses on improving lactation care of folks who use substances during pregnancy. Her personal and professional goals are to improve maternal health outcomes in California and the United States by working with California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative (CMQCC) and Alliance for Maternal Innovation (AIM) to develop evidence-based standards of obstetric care.
2022 Internship: County of Los Angeles Department of Health Service
Stephanie Anne Romero
MECN Student, Nursing
Stephanie is currently in her second year of the Master’s Entry Clinical Nurse (MECN) program. She completed her B.S. in Public Health Sciences, with a minor in Health Informatics at UC Irvine in 2021. During her undergraduate career, she co-founded the non-profit organization The HeadBand Project: Strength In Buttons to support frontline workers at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Utilizing her research background in the Trauma and Surgery department at UCIMC and at the An Lanh Free Clinic in Garden Grove, her current research focuses on trauma-informed care and adverse/positive childhood experiences in relation to their effects on mental health outcomes. Stephanie is also an aspiring professional dancer.
Jang Lee
MPH Student, Community Health Sciences
Jang Lee was born in Seoul, Korea, and immigrated to Texas at a young age. He received his BA in psychology from Harvard University. Prior to graduate school at UCLA, Jang worked at the Center for the Study of Social Policy to support the implementation of a nationally expanding pediatric intervention. He is currently applying to medical school and hopes to pursue a career at the nexus of pediatric care, public health, and racial justice to address childhood adversity and promote community resilience. In his free time, he enjoys exploring art museums and painting.
2022 Internship: Title V MCH Internship Program at the California Department of Public Health
Matthew De Leon
MPH Student, Community Health Sciences
Matt completed his undergraduate degree in public health at UC Irvine. His interests are in health communication, child and adolescent health, substance use, and mental health. His training and experience is diverse and includes: communications and content development, instructional/curriculum design, qualitative research, project management, and administration. He hopes to mobilize these experiences in future roles and is also thinking about pursuing a PhD in the long-term. Outside of school, Matt enjoys spending time at the beach, travels to Hawaii with his family almost yearly, and loves watching everything on Netflix from Cobra Kai to Great British Bake Off.
2022 Internship: Venice Family Clinic – Substance Use, Motivation and Medication Integrated Treatment (SUMMIT)
Brittany Bonilla
MPH Student, Community Health Sciences
Brittany was born and raised in Long Beach, California and obtained her BA in Public Health Policy at UC Irvine. Her interests include maternal and child nutrition, childhood obesity, school nutrition and women empowerment. In her free time, Brittany enjoys baking, hiking, reading and expanding her Etsy shop.
2022 Internship: Los Angeles Public Health Department Nutrition and Physical Activity Program
Katie Mann
MECN Student, Nursing
Katie Mann (she/her) is a second year student in the UCLA MECN program. Before beginning the MECN program, Katie graduated from UCLA in 2020 with a degree in Human Biology and Society with a concentration and a minor in Applied Developmental Psychology. During her time as an undergraduate, Katie found her passion for healthcare and childcare and development could be realized through a career in nursing, specifically within the maternal and child population. Upon graduation, Katie hopes to begin her nursing career in pediatrics, the neonatal ICU, or labor and delivery. In her spare time, Katie enjoys cooking, yoga, concerts, and exploring LA with her friends.
Andi Levenson
MPH/MSW Student, Community Health Sciences
Andi is a second year duel degree student earning her masters of public health in community health sciences and her master of social welfare and health and mental health across the lifespan! Andi’s goal is to become a medical social worker with a speciality in pediatrics. In her free time, she enjoys being outdoors either hanging in her hammock or reading a good book!
2022 Internship: UC-LEND
Melanie Miller
MPH Student, Community Health Sciences
Melanie, more affectionately known as Mel, is a second year MPH in the Department of Community Health Sciences. She is originally from Dallas, Texas and completed her Bachelor’s of Science in Biology with a minor in African American Studies from UCLA in 2021. Her interests in public health and MCH include analyzing and implementing respectful maternal care practices, increasing access to equitable maternal care, and providing safe spaces for all families and partners to receive inclusionary, intentional healthcare. During her Summer 2022 internship, she worked with the Connecticut Department of Public Health to examine the prevalence of disrespectful maternal care among Non Hispanic Black and Hispanic Women via qualitative research methods. Her future professional goals include pursuing a career as a OB/GYN to further her work within underserved MCH communities. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, playing with her 2 dogs, watching sports, and exploring LA.
2022 Internship: Title V MCH Internship – Connecticut Department of Public Health: Community, Family, and Health Equity Section
Taylor Thomas
MPH Student, Community Health Sciences
Taylor is a dual master’s student at the UCLA fielding school of public health in the community health science department and the UCLA International Institute’s African Studies department. She graduated from St. John’s University in New York, where she received a bachelor’s in biology with a minor in chemistry. Taylor hopes to pursue a career in medicine where she can utilize her various learning experiences to one day open a health center to service women of color and children with complex medical needs. In addition to being a maternal and child health fellow, Taylor is also in the Leadership Education in NeuroDiversity (LEND) fellowship program. Outside of school Taylor enjoys writing, thrifting, and taking care of her many houseplants.
2022 Internship: Integrative Touch
Eunhee Park
PHD Student, Community Health Sciences | MCH Epidemiology Fellow
Eunhee (pronounced as /ŭn-hiː/) Park is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Community Health Sciences at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. Her research interests are the syndemic of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and substance use in the context of Maternal and Child Health (MCH). As a doctoral epidemiology fellow, Eunhee begun to pursue an independent research opportunity in partnership with epidemiologists at the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health to understand the local STI surveillance system and MCH in relation to substance use, homelessness, and syphilis as well as mother-to-child-transmission of syphilis.
Internship: Division of HIV and STD Programs in the LA County Department of Public Health
Lina Jowhar
MPH Student, Epidemiology
Lina Jowhar is a second-year MPH student in the Department of Epidemiology and identifies as a First generation Eritrean-American, first-generation college student, and Muslim woman. She graduated from Emory University with a Bachelor of Science in Biology. She is pursuing a career in epidemiology to develop data analysis and visualization skills to identify critical social, cultural, and environmental factors that contribute to racial/ethnic and socioeconomic health disparities, specifically within the African-American and immigrant communities. Her goal is to promote health equity, effectively communicate findings, and engage these communities. During her free time, she enjoys being in nature, connecting with and uplifting others, and eating good food! Her interests: -Social Epidemiology -Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health -Mental-physical Comorbidities -Psychobiology of Stress -Social and Behavioral Interventions -Increasing Access to Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) -Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) -Developing National Epidemiological Surveillance System for Children and Adolescents’ Mental Health
2022 Internship: UCLA Division of Population and Behavioral Health in partnership with Covenant House of California (CHCLA)
Fahima Zaman
MPH Student, Community Health Sciences
Fahima Zaman (she/her) is an MPH CHS graduate from Glendora, California. She received her Bachelor of Sciences in Integrative Biology from UCLA in 2015. After teaching math and science in a low income immigrant community, she realized that she was interested in exploring how the intersection of healthcare access and education affect late life outcomes. She returned to UCLA to receive her MPH in Community Health Sciences in 2022 and is now a Community Health Program Manager for a youth justice program in the Bay Area.
2021 Internship: Essential Access Health
Brandy Brown
MPH/MSW Student, Community Health Sciences
Brandy is a second year dual degree student in the MPH-MSW program. She is a triple Bruin as she attended UCLA preschool when her mother was a student, she obtained her Bachelors of Arts from UCLA in the department of World Arts and Cultures, and she has now returned for her masters. During her undergrad career she concentrated on arts education as a way to address adolescent health and stigma associated HIV/AIDS. After graduating she worked in various areas of medicine such as neurology, labor and delivery, and fertility. She also takes pride in her work as a birth doula and lactation educator. Among all else, her most important role is mother! As a young mother, she has focused her work around maternal and child health, more specifically adolescent reproduction and the maternal mortality rates among women of color. In pursuing the the dual degree, Brandy looks to explore the intersections between social welfare and health outcomes among marginalized communities. On her free time she enjoys spending time with her daughter, baking, and anything creative!
2022 Internship: Sentient Research- YUP! Program
Didi Ikeji
MPH Student, Community Health Sciences
Didi Ikeji (she/her) is a second year MPH-CHS student from Ann Arbor, MI. She graduated from Tulane University with a Bachelor of Science in Public Health and a minor in Mandarin Chinese. Didi is very passionate about health equity in many different capacities and her pervious work/volunteering experience include criminal justice reform, geriatric care, sex education, and street medicine for unhoused individuals. After graduating she plans to move abroad for atleast year. Her ideal career would allow her to be on the management side of an organization that promotes health equity by integrating community involvement and research. And her long term goals are to get and MD and work as a provider and within hospital leadership while also teaching. In her free time she enjoys learning new hobbies (currently pickle ball, pottery, and to play the drums), Facetiming her siblings, and exploring Los Angeles. Didi’s fun fact is that she was Tulane University’s Class of 2021 Homecoming Queen.
2022 Internship: UCLA Health Office of Health Equity Diversity and Inclusion – Homeless Healthcare Collaborative
Marius Corwin
MPH Student, Community Health Sciences
Marius is a second-year MPH student in the Community Health Science Department. He graduated from Santa Clara University with a Bachelor of Science in Biology and Public Health. Marius is passionate about child and adolescent development, health, and well-being, specifically in relation to obesity and food insecurity. Post graduation, he plans to travel throughout Europe for a year before applying to medical school. In his free time, he enjoys exploring new hiking trails and coffee shops in LA.
2022 Internship: UCLA FIT For Healthy Weight Clinic
Virginia Reyes
MPH Student, Community Health Sciences
Virginia is a second-year student at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. Virginia graduated from UC Berkeley in 2018 with a degree in Sociology and two minors: Global Public Health and Public Policy. She discovered her passion for public health and nutrition especially maternal and child nutrition while taking her undergraduate minor classes. Upon graduation, Virginia hopes to work in the Public sector/non-profit to help bridge the gap in healthcare and nutrition inequities. In her free time, Virginia enjoys watching Netflix shows, listening to crime podcasts, and exploring coffee shops and plant stores with her friends.
2022 Internship: Los Angeles County Department of Public Health- Nutrition and Physical Activity Program
Ami Vu
MECN Student, Nursing
Ami is a first-generation student who was born and raised in Vietnam. She relocated to the U.S. for college where she received her BA in Child Development and Family Studies. Ami taught as a preschool teacher before realizing she wanted to bring her passion for children into the healthcare field. Ami’s goal is to become a maternity nurse and work on Labor & Delivery, Postpartum, and NICU.
2022 Internship: Social Media internship (Parental Mental Health)
Roxana Rezia
PHD Student, Epidemiology | MCH Epidemiology Fellow
Roxana Rezai, MPH is a doctoral student in the Department of Epidemiology. Roxana studied biology and theatre at UC Irvine before receiving her Master’s in Public Health (MPH) in Health Promotion and Behavioral sciences from San Diego State University. Roxana’s work focuses on behavioral health research examining health disparities among minority populations and the impact of mental health and substance abuse on vulnerable youth.