THE CONTRIBUTORS

Kathleen G. Allison is a health education specialist and a professor in Community and Public Health Education for the Department of Health Science at Lock Haven University. Her current teaching assignments include Program Planning and Evaluation, Community Health Methods, and Strategies, Epidemiology, and Cultural Aspects of Health. She earned her PhD in health studies from Texas Woman's University; her MPH in health promotion, education and behavior from the University of South Carolina; and a BSEd in biology from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Her passion for social justice and reduction of health disparities began in the early 1990s during her work as a public health educator for the City of Dallas Health and Human Services and as director of education/health education specialist for Community Health Services, a federally qualified health center in northeast Texas. Her research interests include health literacy and professional development of health education specialists. She recently served on the technical advisory group for the most recent Health Education Specialist Practice Analysis. She currently serves on the Board of Commissioners for the National Commission for Health Education Credentialing and the Division Board for Certified Health Education Specialists. She earned her Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES®) credential in 1992 and her Master Certified Health Education Specialist (MCHES®) credential in 2011.

Margarita Bernales is an assistant professor in the Faculty of Medicine at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. She earned her PhD in community health at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, and her MS in health psychology and her BS in psychology at Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. Her primary teaching and research interests are cultural competence, medical anthropology, gender studies, and qualitative health research.

Joan E. Cowdery is a faculty member and graduate program coordinator for the Public Health Education program in the School of Health Promotion and Human Performance at Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti. Her research experience includes the use of innovative technologies, including tailoring, virtual worlds, and e-technologies, to address health disparities and encourage healthy behavior change in diverse populations. She received her PhD in health education and health promotion from the University of Alabama and the University of Alabama-Birmingham School of Public Health, where her dissertation research focused on quality of life in women living with HIV.

William H. Dailey Jr. is a gerontology lecturer in the Human Service, Social Science Division at Fresno City Community College. Dr. Dailey earned his doctorate of education, which focused on the area of educational leadership and change in dealing with disabilities related to aging issues, at Fielding Graduate University. His doctoral dissertation focused on collaborative limitations, perceptions, and interactions among practitioners to meet the needs of an increasing older adult population. His research interests include the role of grandparents in raising their grandchildren, aging and disability issues facing elders, alternative housing and transportation issues, and LGBT elders.

Paulina Fernández is a health and clinical psychologist from Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. Her primary work experience comes from the family approach to health-disease processes and comprehensive well-being. She has also developed in the educational field and collaborates in a research team that works on cultural competence issues.

Mary A. Garza is an associate professor in the Department of Public Health, College of Health and Human Services at California State University, Fresno. Dr. Garza received her PhD in health policy and management with a focus in social and behavioral sciences from Johns Hopkins University, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, where she also completed a postdoctoral fellowship in cancer epidemiology. Dr. Garza's research activities embrace the full spectrum of the intervention research process-from planning, developing, implementing, and evaluating to dissemination of research findings-using a community-based participatory research approach. She has strong interests in cancer health disparities research, intimate partner violence, and the role of religion/spirituality in health outcomes. In addition, Dr. Garza has taught courses in the areas of minority health, community health, health disparities, and health education. She has also mentored undergraduate and graduate students, and she is strongly committed to training the next generation of public health leaders, ensuring that there is continued progress toward representing minorities in research and practice.

Samantha Mae Harbison is completing her master's degree in health education at Eastern Michigan University (EMU). She enrolled at EMU after serving 5?years in the US Navy as a hospital corpsman, during which time she was stationed in Great Lakes, Illinois; Yokosuka, Japan; and Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Samantha's research interests include school-age sexual health education, social determinants of health, LGBT health disparities, community empowerment, and developing policies based on medically accurate, scientifically backed data.

Amy Lewis is a graduate assistant at Eastern Michigan University while she pursues a master of science degree in health education. Amy also completed her bachelor's degree at EMU, where she triple-minored in psychology, health education, and women and gender studies. Ms. Lewis brings a wealth of practical, real-world life experience to her work.

Victor Pedrero is a researcher and professor in the Faculty of Nursing at Universidad Andrés Bello in Chile. He received his master's degree in measurement and evaluation of educational programs and his BS in nursing from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. His primary teaching and research interests are cultural competence, stigma and discrimination in health, and quantitative methods in social science.

Jeffrey Schulz is a professor of Public Health Education in the School of Health Promotion and Human Performance at Eastern Michigan University. Dr. Schulz earned his PhD in health science from the University of Arkansas. Jeff's primary academic interests are the reduction of health disparities through the provision of culturally competent health education and health promotion programming, and substance use disorder prevention. He currently serves as the director of the Office of Health Promotion at Eastern Michigan University.

Jenette L. Smith is a health educator specializing in health promotion advocacy, health education, inclusion, and diversity in education. She earned her doctor in health care education and leadership degree in May 2020 from Clarkson College and her master of science degree in?health education?from the University of North Texas. Jenette's oldest daughter has Down syndrome, and her life has been devoted to supporting individuals with disabilities, their families, and their caregivers. Jenette has served in teaching and leadership positions for nonprofit organizations supporting individuals with disabilities, including as a board director, advisory board member, president/vice president of fundraising-grant writing, and editing-writing. Jenette is a published author in the areas of stress management, health education, public health, and lifestyle medicine, including co-writing three textbook chapters.

Madelyn J. Smith is a special educator with an emphasis on inclusive practices and diverse learning environments. In 2016, Madelyn earned a master of arts degree in special education from the University of Northern Colorado and will graduate with her PhD in special education from the University of Northern Colorado in 2021. Madelyn proudly serves as a prevention specialist for an organization in the Denver metropolitan area, where she visits schools, businesses, community centers, and detention centers to teach practices to prevent sexual violence. She has presented at many conferences regarding inclusive and diverse practices in a variety of environments. As the sister of an individual with an intellectual disability, as well as an educator, Madelyn proudly serves as an advocate and ally for individuals with disabilities. She fervently champions the rights of people with disabilities and works with schools and organizations to increase equitable, inclusive practices and access for all people.

Chia Thao is a doctoral student in public health at the University of California, Merced, and a part-time lecturer at California State University, Fresno. She completed a BS in health science with a minor in gerontology, and an MPH with a concentration in community health promotion in 2007. Additionally, she earned two distinguished certificates in health policy and nonprofit management & leadership at California State University, Fresno, where she has more than 10 years of experience working with community benefit organizations (CBOs) coordinating health education and promoting programs in the Central Valley. She is the current president for a local CBO organization called Elder Abuse Services Inc. Chia's research interests center on understanding and addressing the links between pesticide exposure and poor health outcomes, particularly among Hmong small farmers in California's Central...