Dr. Robert Cooper is executive director of the West Oakland Health Council, a nonprofit organization providing primary care, mental health and substance abuse recovery services at five clinics to residents of Emeryville, southwest Berkeley and north, east and west Oakland.
Rene Durazzo is vice president of health care communications for The Sheridan Group. Previously, he was vice president of global programs for the Pangaea Global AIDS Foundation, an affiliate of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation. As Pangaea's program director, Durazzo was responsible for overall program development, implementation, evaluation and partnership development. Durazzo began working on HIV in 1987 when he joined the San Francisco AIDS Foundation (SFAF).
Dr. Benner teaches philosophy of nursing science, ethics and interpretive phenomenology. Dr. Benner's research focuses on skill acquisition and clinical judgment in nursing practice, and articulating the knowledge and skill in practice in order to make it public and visible. She also studies end-of-life care in critical care settings. Her work in end-of-life care includes the exploration of attitudes and values towards end-of-life care pain management, the transition from curative to palliative care and health care provider assisted suicide by critical care nurses.
Michael Colvin is a professor of natural sciences at UC Merced. Colvin develops mathematical models that simulate biological function and biological systems. Much of his research uses molecular modeling to study biochemical problems, with a particular emphasis on modeling the activity of DNA-binding food mutagens and anticancer drugs. These methods involve computing the structures and energetics of biomolecules using either quantum or classical mechanics and often require the use of supercomputers. Colvin received his Ph.D.
Dr. Michael A. Rodríguez is a Professor of Family Medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA and Director of the UCLA/Drew Center of Excellence Summer Research Program.. An advocate for the underserved, Dr. Rodriguez has significant expertise in the principles of community based participatory research and the development of initiatives focused on improving the health and health care of individuals, families and communities.
Martin Martinez is policy director for the California Pan-Ethnic Health Network, an Oakland-based organization working to improve access to health care and eliminate health disparities by advocating for public policies and resources to address the health needs of communities of color. Martinez has served on the statewide Task Force on Culturally and Linguistically Competent Physicians and Dentists, the Office of the Patient Advocate's Cultural and Linguistic Services Workgroup, and other committees.
Dr. Kate Bundorf is a health economist interested in health care financing and delivery. Her research focuses on health insurance markets and examining the factors affecting both individual and purchaser decision-making. She also has studied the impact of insurance on health care cost, quality and outcomes. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan, her M.B.A. and M.P.H. from the University of California, Berkeley, and her Ph.D. from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Larry Cohen is executive director and founder of the Oakland-based Prevention Institute. He has been an advocate for public health and prevention since 1972. He was the founding director of the Contra Costa County Prevention Program, where he formed the first coalition in the nation to change tobacco policy. The coalition passed local anti-smoking ordinances and served as a catalyst for other statewide and national efforts, including smoking bans on airplanes and restrictions in public places, restaurants, and workplaces.
Larry Levitt is vice president for special projects at the Kaiser Family Foundation. Previously, he was the organization's vice president for communications and online information and editor in chief of KaiserNetwork.org, the Foundation's online health policy news and information service. He previously served as director of the Foundation's Changing Health Care Marketplace Project. Before joining the Foundation, Mr. Levitt was a senior manager with the Lewin Group, where he advised public and private sector clients on health policy and financing issues.
Juliette Cubanski is a Principal Policy Analyst with the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation in Washington, D.C. As an analyst on the Foundation's Medicare Policy Project since 2004, Dr. Cubanski focuses primarily on health policy issues related to Medicare, long-term care, and health coverage for low-income elderly and disabled populations.
