HOPS Stories

Growing up in a rough housing project in Brooklyn, NY, I had goals to secure my future through education, grit, and a steady paycheck.

As a child, I remember family and friends asking if he could help them unclog a toilet or fix a leaky faucet. He’d grab his tools and head right over to their house. Whenever they tried to pay him, he wouldn’t accept anything in return. He would do it out of the kindness of his heart. That is where I learned what it was like to be a selfless servant.

I currently serve as the Deputy Director of the Regional Public Health Office at the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) and have served in the public health field for over 20 years.

"Health education is my calling."

I knew from a young age that I wanted to change the pattern of healthcare systems supporting some and failing many.

In late 2005, I read about Hurricane Katrina’s devastation along the Gulf Coast and how volunteers from all across the nation were pitching in to help total strangers. I was inspired and wanted to be part of something bigger than myself.