Sally Davis, PhD ~ SDavis@salud.unm.edu
Professor Sally M. Davis is a researcher and educator at the University of New Mexico Health Science Center. She has been working with New Mexico communities in this role since first joining the University in 1976.  Dr. Davis has focused her work on rural, under-served, under-resourced, and under-represented populations in effort to improve education, healthy living, quality of life, and other topics identified by the communities with which she partners.  By combining research, education, and service, she has been successful in securing extramural funding – more than 80 grants – while recruiting, mentoring and collaborating with outstanding colleagues, students, and community members dedicated to community-engaged research.  As Tenured Professor and Division Chief for Prevention and Population Sciences in the Department of Pediatrics (secondary appointment in Family Community Medicine) and Principal Investigator and Founding Director of one of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) 26 Prevention Research Centers since 1995,  Dr. Davis provides leadership for prevention science and practice throughout New Mexico and across the nation.

Glenda Canaca, MD ~ GlCanaca@salud.unm.edu
Dr. Canaca serves as a Research Assistant Professor at the University of New Mexico Prevention Research Center. She has over 20 years of experience working with culturally diverse and underserved communities in New Mexico and Central America, where she is originally from. For the past 13 years, she has worked with Hispanic and Native American populations as part of the Prevention Research Center, first with the NIH-funded CHILE study and leading the social marketing team for the last 10 years. She trained in social marketing at the University of South Florida. Dr. Canaca serves as the Principal Investigator for the SNAP-Ed funded Eat Smart to Play Hard social marketing initiative for Hispanic/recent immigrant children and their families. She also serves as the Principal Investigator for the CDC funded, Vaccinate with Confidence project, to increase COVID-19 vaccine confidence in Latino, Spanish speaking rural and urban communities in New Mexico. She is committed to social justice in her community-engaged work.

Theresa Cruz, PhD ~ ThCruz@salud.unm.edu
Dr. Cruz is a research associate professor and serves as Deputy Director of the UNM Prevention Research Center.  Her expertise includes community-engaged research and evaluation for the primary prevention of injury and violence as well as chronic disease.  She completed her doctoral studies in epidemiology at the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill. 

Kevin Estes, PhD. ~ kmestes@salud.unm.edu

Dr. Estes is a postdoctoral fellow at UNM PRC. He is an applied microeconomist interested in the intersection of labor, education, and health. His research has included analyses of public policies from early childhood to post-secondary education. He completed his bachelors of business administration in finance at New Mexico State University and his doctoral studies in economics at the University of New Mexico.

Tamar Ginossar, PhD ~ ginossar@unm.edu

Dr. Ginossar is the Associate Chair for Communication & Journalism and holds a secondary appointment with the PRC.  As a health communication expert, Dr. Ginossar’s research focuses on the role of communication in reducing health disparities and supporting multilevel behavior change at the individual, organizational, and community levels. Her research utilizes community-based, mixed- methods approach to examine use of communication technologies such as eHealth and mHealth in advocacy and digital inequities, cancer communication disparities, and HIV prevention and management. She led the New Mexico state-wide HIV Prevention and Services Needs Assessment to examine federally-funded prevention and service provision, needs, and gaps. As part of her research, she partners with interdisciplinary research teams, community organizations, and diverse stakeholders on health communication research projects. She is happy to involve motivated, engaged undergraduate and graduate students in her work.  She is a 2019-2020 Presidential Teaching Fellow and a past Institute of Medicine (IOM) presenter on digital health strategies, health disparities, and health equity. She lived and traveled internationally in the Middle East, Europe, Asia, and Latin America.

Julia Meredith Hess, Ph.D ~ JMHess@salud.unm.edu
Dr. Hess is Research Assistant Professor, UNM Prevention Research Center (PRC), Department of Pediatrics. She is a sociocultural anthropologist who works as a collaborator on mixed methods projects that aim to reduce health disparities across New Mexico. She is Co-investigator on VIVA III: Healthy Places—Healthy People, translating physical activity recommendations, scale-up and dissemination in Navajo Communities. In 2018-2019, she was recipient of TREE Center Pilot Award for Designing a Culturally Appropriate Group Navigation Model to Improve Mental and Emotional Health Equity for Spanish-Speaking Latina Women. She is a Co-investigator on the Refugee and Immigrant Well-being Project. Her research interests include: Transnational migration, health and well-being, social determinants of health, health equity, U.S. immigration, refugees, community-based participatory research, collaborative, participatory research methods.​

Rebecca Kilburn, Ph.D ∼ mkilburn@salud.unm.edu

Dr. Kilburn's research passion is using data and evidence to improve practice and policy, and she has focused primarily on prevention and health promotion for children. Her research and evaluation studies have examined costs, implementation, and effectiveness. Most of her studies have employed mixed methods, and they have typically partnered closely with community collaborators. She has experience executing randomized trials, cleaning and using administrative education data, and collecting data directly from families, students, and community members. Recent projects have examined the four-day school week, youth risk and resiliency, and virtual home visiting. Besides publishing reports, journal articles and toolkits about children's programs and policies, Dr. Kilburn has also made numerous presentations to policymakers, including being the keynote speaker at the MIECHV Regional meetings and testifying before the House Ways and Means Committee, Subcommittee on Human Resources. Dr. Kilburn holds a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Chicago.

Nan Zeng, PhD ~ NZeng@salud.unm.edu
Dr. Zeng is a research assistant professor at UNM PRC. The general theme of his research lies in understanding the role of physical activity and diet behaviors in promoting health and preventing chronic diseases. This extends to characteristics associated with a healthy lifestyle, such as smart nutrition choices, physical activity participation, and the maintenance of ideal body weight. He completed his doctoral studies in kinesiology at the University of Minnesota and postdoctoral training in community nutrition at Colorado State University.

Luc Alvarado, BA ~ LuAlvarado@salud.unm.edu
Luc Alvarado is an Associate Scientist I at the Prevention Research Center and focuses on the SNAP-Ed funded CHILE Plus program. They earned an interdisciplinary degree in Urban Studies with a minor in Computer Science at Fordham University. Before joining the PRC, Luc contributed to a wide-range of research projects including water policy research in partnership with the Cherokee Nation at the University of Arkansas and infant visual perception at the University of Kansas. They continue to study relevant cultural psychology and intend to bring their learnings from across disciplines to the communities of New Mexico. 

Shane Barton, BA ~ smbarton@salud.unm.edu

Shane is a Programmer Analyst in the UNM Prevention Research Center. He currently works on the New Mexico Youth Risk and Resiliency Survey and School Health Profiles. He graduated with a B.A. in Software Systems Design from New Mexico Highlands University.

Ashlee Begaye, MA ~ ANBegaye1@salud.unm.edu
Ashlee Begaye is Navajo from Kirtland, NM. Her clans are Bit'ahnii born for Táchii'nii. She has her B.S. in Biology and Chemistry, and M.A. in Educational Psychology. Ashlee joined the UNM Prevention Research Center in 2015 as a Health Educator for the NIH-funded program The Science Around Us, where she implemented culturally-relevant science curriculum and activities for middle school students in rural northwestern NM. She is currently an Associate Scientist II for the Social Marketing team and works to build culturally-relevant programming, increase community engagement, and promote nutrition and physical activity with children (SNAP-Ed funded Eat Smart to Play Hard program), teens (SNAP-Ed funded Choose H2O), and older adults of New Mexico.

Linda Beltran, MS ~ LBeltran@salud.unm.edu 
As a Science Research Administrator, Linda Beltran manages the University of New Mexico Prevention Research Center’s grant submission, interactions with Human Research Protection Office, and serves as the First Responder with the CDC Prevention Research Project Office. Linda has a Master’s of Science degree in Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine from the University of Iowa and specialized in occupation/environmental exposure in rural Midwest populations.

Sheldon Benally, MS ~ SBenally2@salud.unm.edu
Sheldon Benally is Navajo from Shiprock, New Mexico. His clans are Kinlichiini (Kinłichii’nii) (Red House People) born for Tabaaha (Tábąąhá) (Water Edge People). His previous work includes participating in various research projects with the Dine’ College Public Health Programs relating to diabetes, cancer, and STI/HIV prevention projects. He is currently an Adjunct Faculty in the Public Health Department with Dine’ College. Sheldon has a BA degree in Biology and a M.S. degree in Community Health Education from the University of New Mexico. Sheldon is currently working with the “Healthy Places Healthy People” Project with the UNM Prevention Research Center.

Ksenia Bosina is the Unit Administrator for the UNM Prevention Research Center. She works across all projects in the PRC, making sure the day-to-day physical, administrative, and fiscal processes are in compliance with UNM and funding agencies' requirements and completed in a timely manner.

Oscar Adrian Mendez Cera, MPH ~ omendezcera@salud.unm.edu

Oscar Adrian Mendez Cera is from Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. He immigrated with his family to United States 17 years ago. His family always pushed for education and love towards his community. He earn his B.A in Chemistry with a minor in Spanish from the University of New Mexico. He has his MPH with a concentration in Epidemiology from the University of New Mexico. He joined UNM’s Prevention Research Center in 2022 as an Associate Scientist I. He will be focusing primarily in the Youth Risk and Resiliency Survey. He feels very welcome at the PRC and has great hopes for it.

Erica Landrau-Cribbs, PhD ~ ELandrauCribbs@salud.unm.edu
Erica Landrau is an Associate Scientist II and works on the SNAP-ED and REACH evaluation projects. She completed her PhD in Health Psychology at the University of Texas - El Paso and is excited to contribute to and gain more experience at the PRC.

Victoria Culkin, MA ~ VCulkin@salud.unm.edu

Victoria Culkin is an Associate Scientist III at UNM’s PRC. Victoria has been with the PRC since 2018 and currently works with the CHILE Plus program. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Applied Communication from Creighton University and her Master of Arts in Communication Studies from New Mexico State University. Victoria's background includes 20 years of public health experience in infectious and chronic disease prevention.

Ed Davis, BA ~ eddavis@salud.unm.edu

Ed Davis is a Statistician for the Prevention Research Center. Ed received a Bachelors of Arts in Economics with a minor in Management from UNM in 2018, and since then has taken data science and statistics classes at UNM and completed a data science bootcamp. He is interested in machine learning, data analysis, and economic research. He has experience with Python, R and Java, and assisted with a study last spring that sought to determine if diets supplemented with poly-unsaturated fats have protective effects against blood lipid damage caused by breathing ozone.

Robert D. Esquibel recently joined the Prevention Research Center as a Professional Intern. He holds a BA in History and English, and an MA in English from UNM. During his MA program, Robert taught Composition I and II, Literature, and Technical Writing. Robert is currently working on the Healthy Places Healthy People project with Dr. Sally Davis and her knowledgeable team.

Laurel Fimbel, BS ~ LFimbel@salud.unm.edu
Laurel Fimbel is a Health Educator on the VIVA Connects and Social Marketing teams. She received her Bachelors in Community Health, and now works to promote community programs, access to outdoor physical activity locations, social support, and education for VIVA Connects communities. From these community projects, our goal is to build strong relationships with communities, arrange events for communities to connect with one another, provide technical assistance for projects, and encourage long term sustainability of programs within communities. The Social Marketing team allows Laurel to work on nutrition and physical activity health promotion for children, teens, and adults through fun collaborative programs uniquely designed for NM communities.

Courtney FitzGerald, MSSW, MPH ~ CAFitzGerald@salud.unm.edu
Courtney FitzGerald has worked at the UNM Prevention Research Center since 2007. She is currently a coordinator for the New Mexico Youth Risk and Resiliency Survey and School Health Profiles, and an evaluator for the Healthy Here REACH project in Bernalillo County. Courtney is currently a PhD student in the Department of Communication and Journalism, where she is studying Health Communication. Her research interests include adolescent health behaviors, positive youth development, and intersectionality as a social determinant of health. 

Jeremy Gonzales is a Professional Intern at the PRC helping conduct research involving the NM-YRRS. He was born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and graduated from the University of New Mexico with a BA in Psychology. He plans on pursuing a career as a researcher in the topics of sleep, dreaming and dream content, the mental health effects of social media use in adolescents and young adults, as well as the impact of a range of meditation techniques on mental health, sleep habits and emotional wellbeing. In his free time he enjoys playing Dungeons and Dragons with his friends, reading fantasy novels, and running.

Ms. Gutierrez received her Bachelor of Science in Population Health and currently focuses on the improvement of health issues as a Professional Intern for the VIVA Healthy Places - Healthy People initiative. Her expertise includes community-engaged research, including conducting needs assessments, while evaluating healthy food options for college students who attend UNM. She also has experience creating educational materials that provide UNM students with information on infectious diseases such as: COVID-19 Bivalent Omicron Boosters, RSV, Monkeypox, and the flu. Ms. Gutierrez is a healthy promotions advocate with four years of experience creating strategic alliances with organizations including the Association of Public Health Nutritionists and the UNM Student Health & Counseling Center. She will be concentrating on promoting access to outdoor physical activity, education, and healthy living for rural under-served communities through her work with the Healthy Places - Healthy People initiative.

Jennifer Johnston, MSL ~ JAJohnston@salud.unm.edu
Jennifer Johnston is the project coordinator for the social marketing team at the University of New Mexico (UNM) Prevention Research Center (PRC).  For the past eight years, she has been researching and developing interventions for nutrition related disease prevention at the PRC. She helped create the Eat Smart to Play Hard campaign including program content, process, and graphic design of campaign materials.  She received her bachelor’s degree in Nutrition/Dietetics from the University of New Mexico and worked as a Nutritionist for three years at First Choice Community Health. She has her master's degree in Law from the UNM Law School to advance her work in public health and advocate for the well-being of others. 

Karen Lopez ~ KNLopez@salud.unm.edu
Karen is the Administrative Assistant for the Prevention Research Center. She works on the PRC, VIVA,  Social Marketing, SNAP-Ed and other grants as needed.

Martin Mera, MBA ~ mamera@salud.unm.edu
Martin recently moved to Albuquerque and started working at the UNM Prevention Research Center as an Accountant II. He was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina but lived most of his life in Mendoza, where he obtained his degree in Accounting and MBA. He immigrated to the United States in 2019, where he graduated with a Masters in Accountancy from the University of Oklahoma. In his free time, he enjoys playing sports like soccer and tennis, as well as going out for a run.

Amy Pierce, BS ~ amypierce@salud.unm.edu

Amy Pierce is a Community Based Research Specialist at the UNM Prevention Research Center. She originally started with the PRC as a practicum student in early 2023. Amy received a BS in Hotel and Restaurant Management from Oklahoma State University in 2006 and has since worked in hospitality, human resources, and quality assurance. She started the Master of Public Health program at UNM in 2020 and is scheduled to graduate in December 2023. At the PRC, Amy primarily works on the Youth Risk & Resiliency Survey. Amy's professional interests also include work in early childhood education, literacy, and processes. When not attending to work and school tasks, Amy enjoys spending time with her family (a husband, two kids, two cats, and a dog), reading, barre, walking the Bosque with friends, and planning adventures.

Zoey Zhen Taylor, BS ~ ZoZhen@salud.unm.edu

Zoey received her Bachelor of Science degree in Population Health this past spring. She chose her site at the UNM Prevention Research Center for her capstone. The experience and skills she gained motivated her to expand her career with PRC as a professional intern. She is assisting on projects encompassing New Mexico’s Youth Risk and Resiliency Survey and Tips By Text.

Belinda Vicuña Tellez, PhD, MPH ~ BVicuna@salud.unm.edu
Belinda Vicuña Tellez is an Associate Scientist II. She joined the Social Marketing team at the UNM Prevention Research Center in 2020, grateful and excited to gain more expertise in prevention research. She was born in Bolivia, but calls New Mexico home. She earned her M.P.H (Public Health) and Ph.D. in Psychology at the University of New Mexico and has research experience in cancer control and prevention, with a focus on community-engaged and culturally-centered approaches.

Kelly Valdez, BSPH, BA ~ kcvaldez@salud.unm.edu

Kelly Valdez is a Professional Intern at the University of New Mexico Prevention Research Center. She’s graduated last spring from UNM with a Bachelor in Arts in Psychology as well as a Bachelor in Science in Population Health. She helped conducts the New Mexico’s Youth Risk and Resiliency Survey as well as the School Health Profiles. She also coordinates the Disability Question Testing study. Kelly plans to gain as much research experience as possible for graduate school next year.

Camille Velarde, MA ~ CRVelarde@salud.unm.edu
Camille Velarde is an Associate Scientist II and works on various projects with the UNM PRC. She is a New Mexico native and growing up in Cuba, NM gives her an appreciation for the work done with rural communities at the PRC. She earned her master's degree from the University of New Mexico in health communication where her thesis looked at the various ways that mental health has been examined in the field of health communication. She is a fourth year PhD student in the Communication and Journalism department with an area of focus in health communication. Her research interest is community engaged approaches to digital health messaging.

Robyn Viera, MA ~ RViera@salud.unm.edu
Robyn joined the Division for Prevention and Population Sciences in 2016 as a Science Research Manager.  Robyn works on the New Mexico Youth Risk and Resiliency Survey (YRRS) and New Mexico School Health Profiles (SHP) survey funded by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the NM Department of Health (NMDOH); and is the lead evaluator for the New Mexico Public Education Department (NMPED) Healthy Schools Project funded by the CDC.  Robyn has over 20 years’ experience conducting mixed-method community-based research, collaborating with healthcare providers, and delivering health-related communications to diverse populations throughout New Mexico.  Prior to joining UNM, Robyn worked in healthcare service delivery and public health as a Program Lead for the State of New Mexico and as a Program Manager for the UNM Cancer Center at the University of New Mexico, focusing on prevention-based research and interventions.

Yvonnie Vitanzos completed her Masters in Family and Child Studies with a concentration in Early Childhood Studies at the University of New Mexico. She has been an early childhood educator in mulitcultural settings since 2012. She also holds a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the Philippines. Currently, she works as an Associate Scientist I at the University of New Mexico Prevention Research Center, contributing to the development and implementation of community-engaged research studies on healthy eating, active living, and injury prevention in New Mexico.

Elverna Bennett is a citizen of the Navajo Nation.  She is currently a project consultant to the UNM PRC Healthy People Healthy Places project and worked on Pathways as an field interventionist for the family component. She also serves on UNM PRC Community Advisory Council (CAC), to ensure that communities are involved in the Centers’ activities. She is also a member of the Native Research Network, Inc., an association and network of Native and non- Native health researchers who are involved in, and care about health-related research among indigenous populations. She has also worked as a field interventionist with the Johns Hopkins University, under the Bloomberg School of Public Health, working with Dr. Joel Gittelsohn on obesity and diabetes prevention projects in the SW area. 

Frank Morgan is Salt Clan, Born for Yucca Fruit People, mother’s father Ledge of Mountain, and father’s father Many Goats/Red House. He grew up around Four Corners area. Attended school and earned a social science degree. He worked with ethnographers and psychiatrists and he learned to translate and interpret. As a translator and interpreter he produced translated books related to diabetes, genetics, EPA superfund remediation terminology, and developed a Navajo court interpreter training materials for New Mexico State Supreme Court. He has worked with traditional Navajo medicine practitioners and health care personnel and produced curriculum for public health programs. He is a farmer, artist and sheep herder.

Marla Pardilla, MPH, MSW, has been working in behavioral health with the NA populations for over 25 years.  She serves as consultant to the UNM PRC Healthy People Healthy Places project with Dr. Sally Davis and team and has previously worked on the Pathways project. Otherwise she is with the Johns Hopkins University, under the Department of International Health, working with Dr. Joel Gittelsohn as Co-P.I. on obesity and diabetes prevention projects.

Harrison Platero from the Canoncito Band of Navajo Indians, has been employee of UNM PRC at various times as research interventionist on prevention research projects, including PATHWAYS . He has served on the PRC Community Action Committee for over 5 years.  With his extensive knowledge of Navajo culture, he is often consulted by researchers to interpret research terminology for Navajo communities.  He is a member of the Native Research Network, Inc. since 1997, and works for Johns Hopkins University part time.