7th Annual Minority Health Conference
“Building Action-Oriented Community
Partnerships in Public Health”
April 9, 2015
8:30am-5:00pm
University of Illinois at Chicago
Student Center West
828 S. Wolcott Ave, Chicago, IL 60612
Conference Agenda
Opening Session
Thompson Rooms A & B
8:30 am - 9:00am
Registration and Networking Breakfast (main lobby 2nd floor)
9:00 am - 10:00 am
Opening Session
Facilitator: Erin Raymond, MPH Candidate 2015 - Conference Co-Chair
Welcoming Remarks:
 Ebbin Dotson, PhD, MHSA, Associate Dean, University of Illinois at Chicago - School of Public Health,
Office of Diversity and Inclusion

Paul Brandt-Rauf, DrPH, MD, ScD - Dean of Public Health, University of Illinois at Chicago
Opening Keynote: Dr. Amani Nuru-Jeter, PhD - University of California - Berkeley, School of Public Health
10:15 am - 10:30am
Break
Morning Concurrent Breakout Session
10:30 am - 12:00 pm
Innovative Strategies in Public Health
Thompson Rooms A & B
 Healthy Options in Food Pantries - A Qualitative Analysis of Factors Affecting The Provision of
Healthy Food Items to Food Pantry Clients in St. Louis, Missouri


!Vive Tu Vida! A Model for Creating Healthy Social Experiences and Systems in Low SES Hispanic
Communities


Melissa Chapnick, RD; Ellen Barnidge PhD, MPH; Marjorie Sawicki MS, RD, LDN.; Michael
Elliot Phd
Gita Rampersad, JD, MHA, Moderator & Panelist, Healthy West Chicago; Fil Guipoco, MA, Panelist,
American Heart Association; Melodi Geraci, Panelist, Active Transportation Alliance; Anna Barnes,
MPH, Panelist, CLOCC
The Transformative Power of Stories in a Community Assessment of an Ethnic Conclave

Miguel Rodriguez, MPH (c); Ana Genkova PhD (c ); Yvette Castaneda PhD (c); Simone Alexander Director of Community Development at Enlace Chicago; Shirley Alfaro - Regional Manager at
StoryCorps Chicago; Jennifer Herbert-Beirne, PhD, MPH Community Health Sciences Assistant
Professor
Establishing Relationships and Building Community Partnerships
Room 206
in the LGBT Community
 Strengthen Care for Transgender and Gender Expansive Children and Youth


Social Media Marketing and its Potential Use in Recruiting LGBT Samples


Jennifer Leininger, MEd, Program Coordinator, Lurie Children’s Hospital and Sex Development
Clinic; Carolyn Wahlskog, MSW, 360 Youth Services; David Fischer, Director, Court Involved Youth
Project, Health & Medicine Policy Research Group
Zachary Dembo, MA, Research Project Assistant, Howard Brown Health Center; Frances Aranda,
MPH, PhD, Visiting Senior Research Specialist, University of Illinois at Chicago, College of Nursing;
Alicia K. Matthews, PhD, Associate Professor of Nursing, University of Illinois at Chicago
LGBTQQIA Communities and Relationship Violence: Investing Attitudes, Beliefs and Perception of
Service Needs

Amanda Doughtery, MPH(c) University of Illinois at Chicago, School of Public Health
“Luck is Not a Plan”: Healthcare for Communities of Color
Room 218
 Illinois ACA Navigators: An Analysis of Effective Outreach Strategies for Health Insurance
Enrollment in Minority Population


Race and Class in Hospital Readmissions: Who’s at Risk, and Why?


Michele Thornton, MBA, PhD(c), University of Illinois at Chicago, School of Public Health, Health
Policy and Administration; Elizabeth Calhoun, PhD, Professor, University of Illinois at Chicago,
School of Public Health, Health Policy and Administration
Sharon Post, Director of the Center for Long-term Care Reform, Health & Medicine Policy
Research Group; Bonnie Ewald, Program Coordinator, Health & Medicine Policy Research Group
The Impact of Medicaid Expansion & New Managed Care Programs on the Accessibility of Health
Insurance in Cook County, Illinois

Sofia Chernet, Navigator, AmeriCorps, Chicago Health Corps, Metropolitan Chicago Breast Cancer
Task Force; Teen L. Francois-Blue, MPH, Associate Director, Community Health Initiatives &
Research, Metropolitan Chicago Breast Cancer Task Force
The Forgotten Population: Addressing Health Issues for Men of Color
Room 213
 Male Breast Cancer: Are there Racial Disparities in Incidence and Tumor Characteristics


Dominique Sighoko, PhD, Chicago Breast Cancer Quality Consortium; Anne Marie Murphy, PhD,
Chicago Breast Cancer Quality Consortium
Developing a Successful and Sustainable Prostate Cancer Survivor Led Support and Advocacy
Organization

Mellve Shahid, Founder and CEO of the Empowerment Network, Inc; Robin Wright-Jones,
Executive Director of Empowerment Network, Inc; Ricardo Wray, PhD, MS, Associate Professor
and Co-Director of the Saint Louis University Center for Cancer Prevention, Research and Outreach; Keri Jupka, MPH, Manager Saint Louis University Center for Cancer Prevention, Research
and Outreach; Prajakta Adsul, PhD, Post-Doc at Saint Louis University Center for Cancer Prevention, Research and Outreach; Isadore Wayne, Co-Founder and Director of Community Affairs &
Outreach, The Empowerment Network
Creating Healthy Living Spaces - Environmental & Occupational Health
 Your Job or Your Health: What Can Workers Do?

Room 219
Marsha Love, MA, Program Development Manager, Environmental and Occupational Health
Sciences; Jose Oliva, Co-Director, Food Chain Workers Alliance; Laura Campbell, MPH (c)
12:15 pm - 12:30 pm
Break
Luncheon Session
12:15 pm - 1:15 pm
Thompson Room A & B
Lunch
Lunch Panel: Health in All Places
 Doriane Miller, MD - Director of Center for Community and Vitality, University of Chicago
 Margarita Reina, MPH - Epidemiologist, Chicago Department of Public Health
 Alfred Tatum, PhD - Dean of College of Education, University of Illinois at Chicago
 Erica Martinez, MPH - Policy Analyst, Health and Medicine Policy Research Group
 Dolores Castaneda - Community Health Activist, Little Village
1:15 pm - 1:30pm
Break
Afternoon Concurrent Breakout Session
1:30pm-3:00pm
“#BlackLivesMatter”: Roundtable Discussion



Thompson Room B
Jamila Rashid, PhD, MPH
Chris Rudd, Educator, Juvenile Justice Advocate
Featuring art by: Imani Amos, Artist and Creator of “50 shots Project”
Building Bridges Between Community and Academia
Room 206
 The Community Fitness Passport Program: Collaborating with Community Organizations to
Develop a Culturally-Tailored Exercise Program for African Americans with Diabetes


UI Cancer Center Community Cancer Profile


Nyahe Bergeron, MPH, Project Manager General Internal Medicine University of Chicago; Yue Gao,
MPH Statistician, Section of General Internal Medicine University of Chicago; Daniel Rowell Data
Coordinator Section of General Internal Medicine University of Chicago; Monica E. Peek, MD, MPH,
Assistant Professor of Medicine Section of General Internal Medicine University of Chicago
Christopher Gay, Yazmin San Miguel, MPH, Scott Grumeretz, Karriem Watson MPH MS, Robert
Winn, MD
Revealing the Human Spirit: Latina/o Student Resilience through a College Retention Program

Veronica M. Kann, Assistant Director, La Casa Cultural Latina, UIUC; Alicia P. Rodriguez, Academic
Advisor & Administrative Coordinator, Dept. of Latina/Latino Studies, UIUC; Amorita D. Antoine,
undergraduate student, UIUC; Roberto Diaz, undergraduate student, UIUC; Vanessa Garcia,
undergraduate student, UIUC; Noami M. Hernandez, undergraduate student, UIUC; Gary R.
Montesinos, undergraduate student, UIUC; Xavier R. Ramirez, undergraduate student, UIUC
Diaspora and Immigrant Health
Room 219
 Substance-Use Conversations with Refugee Communities: Dialogue, Debate and Dilemmas


Mansha Mirza, PhD, OTR/L, MSHSOR, Assistant Professor, University of Illinois at Chicago;
Elizabeth Harrison, BS, Graduate Student, University of Illinois at Chicago; Corrina Simon, MA,
Graduate Student, University of Illinois at Chicago; Hui-Ching Chang, PhD, Associate Professor,
University of Illinois at Chicago; Dina Birman, PhD, Associate Professor, University of Miami
Building Bridges Between Illinois Division of Rehabilitation Services and Ethnic Communities Using
A Collaborative-Research Informed Outreach Model

Tamara Kozyckyj, MPH, Research Associate; Jae Jin Pak, Visiting Research Associate I; Rooshey
Hasnain, Ed.D, Project Director; John Capua, Graduate Research Assistant, Apeksha Gohil,
Graduate Research Assistant; Rachelle Johnson, Graduate Research Assistant; Christopher Tran,
Graduate Research Assistant; Francisco Alvarado, Assistant Director DRS; Sana Memon,
Undergraduate Research Assistant; Raveena Kingra, Undergraduate Research Assistant
Minority Women’s Health
Room 213
 Recommendation on Facilitating More Efficient Partnerships Between for Breast Health Diagnostic
Follow-up


Ariel J. Thomas, MS, Metropolitan Chicago Breast Cancer Task Force; Teena Francois-Blue, MPH,
Metropolitan Chicago Breast Cancer Task Force; Anne Marie Murphy, PhD, Metropolitan Chicago
Breast Cancer Task Force
Experiences de la Mujer: Latina Sexual Minority Women’s Experiences of Physical and Sexual
Violence

Jennie Thai, Howard Brown Health Center; Frances Aranda, PhD, Howard Brown Health Center;
Alicia K. Matthews, PhD, University of Illinois at Chicago, College of Nursing
Mentoring and Educating Minority Youth
Room 219
 Training a Future Diverse Healthcare Workforce: Mentoring is Fundamental


The Role of Language and Word Choice in Creating Health Spaces for At-Promise Youth


Erica Martinez, MPH
Giselle Mercier, MFA, Executive Director, ElevArte Community Studio; Dai-Milan
Coleman, Student, ElevArte Community Studios; Jessica Cadena, Student, ElevArte Community
Studios
Healthy Schools, Healthy Kids: Evaluating the Impact of a Mandatory Recess Policy in Chicago
Public Schools

Tracy Lin, JD, PhD Candidate, UIC School of Public Health, Department of Health Policy and Administration; Sandy Slater, PhD, Research Assistant Professor UIC School of Public Health, Department of Health Policy and Administration; Anita Bontu, MPH, Project Manager, UIC Institute for
Health Research and Policy
3:00 pm - 3:15 pm
Break
Poster Presentations
3:15pm-5:00pm
Thompson Room C
Building Bridges Between Community and Academia
1. Chicago Southside Cancer Disparities Initiative (CSCDI): You Can-cer-vive

Gina Curry, BS Public Health; Fornessa Randal, MCRP; Yashika Watkins, PhD, MPH; Thomas Britt,
MD, MPH; William Ebomoyi, Phd, MPH; Karen Kim, MD, MS; Lisa Hinton, MPH; Helen Lam, PhD,
MPH
2. Using Community Academic Partnerships to Identify and Address Disparities in Patient Portal
Implementation

Matthew Sakamuto; Richard Kalu; Sarah Rittner, Kathryn Jackson, Timothy Long, Mita Sanghavi
Goel, Theresa Walunas
3. REACH to Faith: Research and Education for African American Care Giver Health

Etta McGregor-Jones, AM; Jakita Baldwin; Darby Morhardt, PhD, LCSW
Immigrant Health
1. Social Networks and Physical Activity among South Asian Immigrants: Results of a Pilot Study

Anukool Vasudevan; Peter De Chavez; Swapna Dave; Namratha D. Kandula
2. Exploring the Mental Health Status of Domestic Workers and The Use of Stress Management
Workshops

Isabel Ruvalcaba, MPH (c); Joseph Zanoni, PhD, MHRIR
Establishing Relationships and Building Partnership in the LGBT Community
1. Community-Based Implementation of an Online HIV Prevention Program: Challenges, Success and
Best Practices

Melissa Mongrella; Duane Quintana; Jill Dispenza; Krystal Madkins; George J. Greene; Brian
Mustanski
2. Illustrated Educational Materials: Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Health

Katja Tetzlaff, MS (c)
Innovative Strategies in Public Health
1. Reaching Out, Reaching Back: Partnering with Faith-Based Organizations to Reduce Disparities
among Haitian Immigrants on Chicago’s North Side

John Mitial, MD; Dieula Paul, RN OCN; Natacha Pierre, DNP, FNP-BC
2. Language Access in Vocational Rehabilitation System in Illinois: A Capacity Building Effort
Apeksha Gohil; John Capua; Rachelle Johnson; Rooshey Hasnain, EdD; Lisa Diep; Sana Memon; Jin
Pak, Visiting Research Associate
3. Utilizing the Stages-of-Change Model as a Predictor of Mammography Screening in Metropolitan Chicago


Lydia Wilson; Teena L. Francois-Blue, MPH; Annie Marie Murphy, PhD
Minority Women’s Health
1. What Drives Engagement?: Using Women’s Feedback to build an Academic Medical Center (AMC)
- Faith Based Organization (FBO) Research Partnership to Improve Health

Gricelda Mendoza; Angela K Lawson, PhD; Erica Marsh, MD
2. A Conceptual Framework for Exploring the Effects of Community-Based Peer Support on
Survivorship on African American women with breast cancer

Shannon Nicks, MPH, PhD (c); Ricardo Wray, PhD; Sherill Jackson, MHSA, RN, CPNP; Stephanie
McClure, PhD; Theresa Schwartz, MD
3. Listening to Immigrant Women’s Voices about Their Own Health

Margaret Schultz Patel, MA, Kimberly Drew, MPPA
4. Sisters Saving Lives: Addressing Breast Cancer Disparities on the Southside of Chicago

Maggie Smith, RN, MSN/Ed, OCN; Regina Conway-Philips, PhD, RN; Teena Francois-Blue, MPH
5. Barriers and Facilitators to the Implementation of a Standardized positioning and compression
training program within safety-net mammography facilities in Chicago

Majdoline Adballah, MPH; Katherine Tossas-Milligan, PhD (c) , Daniella Dupuy, MPH; Louise Miller; Anne Marie-Murphy, PhD
What does Health Look Like in Chicago?
1. Characteristics of Patients Attending Church-Based Outreach Programs in Chicago’s Pilsen Community

Tara Kennedy, BA; Anayatzy Franco, BA; Evelyn Figueroa, MD; Patricia Chico, MD; Olga GarciaBedoya, MD; Patricia Corona, BS; Stacey Jaimes, BA; Aaron Case BA, University of Illinois at Chicago, College of Medicine
2. Lessons Learned from the Illinois Colorectal Cancer Screening Initiative and The Future of Colorectal Cancer in Illinois

Dan Finn, MPH (c); Miguel Rodriguez MPH (c); Carla Roscoe, MPH; Shannon Lightner-Gometz,
MPA, MSW, University of Illinois at Chicago, American Cancer Society, Lakeshore Division
3. Examination of Head and Neck Cancer Screenings and Awareness in Mile Square Health Center
Population

Rodolfo Rodriguez
Education
1. Innovative Public Health Partnerships to Improve Latino Health Through Pipeline Education

Miguel Rodriguez MPH (c), Isabel Sanchez MPH (c), Angelica Sanchez MPH (c), Maribel Gamon
MPH (c), Mariela Rodriguez MPH (c), Alicia Rodriguez, Chris Clarke
Opening Keynote Lecturer
Dr. Amani Nuru-Jeter
Dr. Nuru-Jeter's broad research interest is to integrate social, demographic, and
epidemiologic methods to examine racial inequalities in health as they exist across
populations, across place, and over the life-course. Dr. Nuru-Jeter considers herself to
be more "exposure" than "outcomes" focused, which is consistent with her interests in
examining social factors such as "race" and "social class" as exposures that serve as the
foundation for the creation and preservation of health disparities across a number of
outcomes. She is interested in how these social exposures determine life experiences
and opportunities differently for different social groups and how those differences become embodied and Impact mental and physical health and well being.
Dr. Nuru-Jeter is Principal Investigator of the African American Women's Heart
and Health Study, which examines the association between racism stress, cardiovascular
biomarkers, and biological stress among Black women in the Bay area with particular
focus on coping mechanisms; and Co-Principal Investigator of the Bay Area Heart
Health Study which examines similar associations among Black men with particular emphasis on coping mechanisms and internalized racism. Her research has included work
on doctor-patient race-concordance; the intersection of race, socioeconomic status, and
gender on risk for psychological distress, disability outcomes, adult mortality, and child
health and development; racial segregation; and racism stress and mental health out-
Lunch Panelists
A general internist, Doriane Miller, MD, has been providing care to underserved minority populations for more than 20 years. In addition to her role as a
primary care physician, she has a special interest in behavioral health. Under
her leadership, physicians, educators and community members work to improve population health outcomes for residents on the South Side of Chicago
through community-engaged research, demonstration and service models. Dr.
Miller's research focuses on the intersection of health disparities and race. She
has served as the project director for several studies designed to augment
care by promoting collaboration among physicians, patients and families.
Alfred W. Tatum is the Dean of the College of Education and director of the
UIC Reading Clinic. Tatum's research focuses on the literacy development of
African American males, particularly the roles of texts and writing to advance
their literacy development. He is interested in how texts can be used as tools
to preserve one's humanity. He is the author of Teaching Reading to Black Ad-
olescent Males: Closing the Achievement Gap, Reading For Their Life: (Re)
building the Textual Lineages of African American Adolescent Males, and
Fearless Voices: Engaging the Next Generation of African American Male
Writers.
Dolores Castañeda is irrepressible in her energy, determination, fearlessness
and commitment to remake her neighborhood into one that is safe and
healthy where everyone can thrive and not merely survive. Her volunteerism is immeasurable and consists of the some of the following: Board
Member - Jorge Prieto Family Health Center an Ambulatory site of John H.
Stroger Jr. Hospital & University of Chicago diabetes research project in
Little Village; Abuelas en Acción: teach physical activity, nutrition, and
stress management to older adult women through a faith based educational
curriculum; Homeless advocate: provide relief support to homeless individuals such as referrals to medical services, basic necessities. She is working
on this vision with help from social work, public health and political science
students attending several local universities.
Erica Martinez, is a policy analyst at Health & Medicine Policy Research
Group. Erica divides her time between overseeing the Schweitzer Fellowship
alumni program, the Chicago Area Health Education Center Internship program
and healthcare workforce policy initiatives. Erica joined Health & Medicine in
September of 2013 and holds a Masters in Public Health and Masters in Business Administration from the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). Erica is
also a proud Schweitzer Fellow For Life (2011-2012 cohort). Prior to joining
Health & Medicine, Erica worked for the American Cancer Society as a health
educator at Cook County Fantus Clinic, the College of Nursing at UIC, and in
the corporate sector.
Featuring Art by: Imani Amos
Committee Members
Minority Health Conference Planning Committee:
Chairs: Cindy San Miguel and Erin Raymond
Programming Committee: Nicole Douglas, Tiffany Ford,
Publicity Committee: Kettelene Theo
Fundraising Committee: Sangeeta Seto,
Volunteer Committee: Aleia Mays
Logistics Committee: Sunny Seto and Amanda Doughtery
Abstract Review Committee:
Faith Fletcher, PhD
Saria Awadalla, PhD
Sabrina Young, PhD (c)
Kathy Tossas-Milligan, PhD (c)
Gabriela Gracia, PhD (c)
Lakeshia M. Watson, MPH (c)
Sweta Basnet, MPH (c)
Nicole Douglas, MPH (c)
Tiffany Ford, MPH (c)
Nhan Nguyen , MPH (c)
Sweta Basnet, MPH (c)
Rene DuBois, MPH (c)
Lizette Garza, Community Member, Elevarte Community Studios
Support Staff from the Office of Diversity and Inclusion:
Ebbin Dotson PhD, MHSA
Herlinda Pineda Med
Chris Clarke MPA
Raven Patterson
Sponsors
Conference
Sponsors