COE Team
Kimlin Tam Ashing, Ph.D.
Associate Cancer Center Director for Community Outreach and Engagement
Founding Director, Center of Community Engagement for Research and Education
Deputy Director, Division of Health Equities
Gaole Song, DrPH, MS
PostDoctoral Fellow
Division of Health Equites, Dept. of Population Sciences
Carmen Chávez, MPH
Community Outreach and Engagement (COE) Manager
Michella Elad, MPH
Administrative Program Coordinator
Cancer Screening, Youth, Environmental and Health Risks
Naela Cardenas
Project Coordinator
Cancer Screening, Youth, Environmental, Health Risks, and Cervical Cancer Education
James Morrison, MPH
Project Coordinator
Cancer Screening, Prostate Cancer Education, and Pathways to Care Navigation
Lauren D’Souza, MSHS, CHES®
Health Education Specialist
Cancer Screening, Clinical Studies, Breast and Colon Cancer Education, and Pathways to Care Navigation
Adan Jimenez
Project Coordinator
Cancer Screening, Prostate Cancer Education, and Pathways to Care Navigation
Alexis Stewart, MA
Tobacco Treatment Specialist
Lung Cancer Screening and Tobacco Cessation
Brenda Gascon, RT
Tobacco Treatment Specialist
Lung Cancer Screening and Tobacco Cessation
Sophia Yeung, BSN, MHA
Tobacco Treatment Specialist
Lung Cancer Screening and Tobacco Cessation
COE Faculty
Narissa Nonzee, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Division of Health Equities, Department of Population Sciences
Marta Jankowska, Ph.D., M.S.
Associate Professor, Division of Population Sciences
Faculty Champions
Loretta Erhunmwunsee, M.D.
Assistant Professor, Division of Thoracic Surgery, Department of Surgery; Assistant Professor, Division of Health Equities, Department of Population Sciences
Amartej Merla, M.D.
Assistant Clinical Professor, Department of Medical Oncology & Therapeutics Research
Miguel Villalona-Calero, M.D.
Professor, Department of Medical Oncology & Therapeutics Research
Tanyanika Phillips, M.D., M.P.H.
Medical Oncologist and Hematologist
Javier Ogembo, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Immuno-Oncology
Joseph Mikhael, M.D.
Professor in the Applied Cancer Research and Drug Discovery Division, Translational Genomics Research Institute
Lorna Rodriguez, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor, Division of Gynecologic Oncology, Department of Surgery
Veronica Jones, M.D.
Assistant Professor, Division of Breast Surgery, Department of Surgery, and Division of Health Equities, Department of Population Sciences
Joseph Alvarnas, M.D.
Professor, Department of Hematology & Hematopoietic Cell Transplant
Ed Kim, M.D., M.B.A.
Vice Physician-in-Chief, City of Hope National Medical Center
COE-External Advisory Board Committee Members
Robert Winn, M.D.
Massey Cancer Center
Lourdes Baezconde-Garbanati, Ph.D., M.P.H.
USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center
Julie Dang, Ph.D., M.P.H.
UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center
Erin Kobetz, Ph.D., M.P.H.
Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center
Kim Rhoads, M.D., M.S., M.P.H.
UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center
Raymond Samuel, M.D., Ph.D.
North Carolina A&T University
Westley Sholes
Survivor Advocate
COE-Community Advisory Board Members
Edward Alexander, M.D.
South Central Family Health Center
Pastor Christopher Bourne
Second Baptist Monrovia
Peter Chen, M.D.
TzuChi Clinics
Phyllis Clark, M.A.
Healthy Heritage
Sharon Cobb, Ph.D., M.S.N., M.P.H., R.N., P.H.N.
Charles R. Drew Medical University
Alyssa Colunga, DrPH, CHES
City of Montclair
Veronica Flores, M.A.
Community Health Councils
Kathye Jenkins, A.B.D., M.P.H.
Witness2Fitness
Angela Jun, D.N.P., M.N., B.S.
Korean American Nurses Association of
Southern California
Shannon La Cava, PsyD.
Cancer Support Community
Cherry Lee
Herald Christian Health Center
Margaret Martinez, M.P.H.
ChapCare
Pastor John McCall
The Bethel Church Pasadena
Eva Meyers, Ph.D., F.N.P.
Adventist Health White Memorial
Matt Moyer, M.P.H.
Community Clinic Association of Los
Angeles County (CCALAC)
Rashida N’Gouamba, M.D.
Huntington Hospital - Simply OBGYN
Sonia Pinal, M.P.H., C.H.E.S.
American Cancer Society (ACS)
Sasha Rarang, Ph.D., M.S.N., R.N., C.C.M.
Philippine Nurses Association of Southern California
Elvia Sanchez, M.P.H.
Parktree Health Center
Waleed Shindy, M.D.
Huntington Hospital - Insite Digestive
Rhonda Smith, M.B.A.
California Black Health Network
Karen Tinsley, L.C.S.W.
AKA Black Sorority
Pasadena/Altadena Ivy Foundation