Alumni Association Board of Directors

Tanya J. Bustamante, DrPH, MPH ’06

Secretary

Tanya Bustamante is Manager of the Aging Services Division for the City of Berkeley’s Health, Housing, and Community Services Department. Tanya is responsible for the management and administration of two senior centers, a robust nutrition program for older adults, a transportation program, and a case management unit. She coordinates and facilitates strategic planning initiatives, including the citywide Age-Friendly initiative, and prioritizes the professional and leadership development of her staff. Prior to her role as Division Manager, Tanya also worked in the City’s Public Health Division, the San Mateo County Health Department, and the San Francisco Department of Public Health, in the areas of communicable disease prevention, chronic disease prevention, and public health emergency preparedness. Tanya received her Master of Public Health with a concentration in Infectious Diseases in 2006 from UC Berkeley. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Stanford University, and a Doctor of Public Health degree from the University of Illinois-Chicago.

Tanya enjoys spending time with her husband, two kids, and two dogs. She loves to go on walks and hikes with her family, and also loves to read and travel.

Tia Gangopadhyay, MPH ’19, BA ’14

Co-president

Tia Gangopadhyay holds an MPH in Health Policy and Management and a BA in Social Welfare and Public Health from UC Berkeley. She currently serves as a Program Manager at Kaiser Permanente for Northern California’s mental health service line. Previously, Tia served as a Managerial Consultant at Kaiser Permanente. In this role, Tia supported a portfolio of clinical areas for the entire Northern California region, including Diabetes, Addiction Medicine and Recovery Services, and Emerging Therapeutics. Tia’s prior work has spanned health care consulting, business development, account management, and channel and contracts analytics across companies like Sift and Genentech.

Nan Nazmi, MBA/MPH ’03

Marketing/Membership Chair

Nan is a seasoned healthcare executive with a deep passion for improving population health through innovative partnerships between the private and public sectors. She earned a dual Master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA) from the UC Berkeley Haas Business School and Masters Public Health (MPH) from the UC Berkeley School of Public Health in 2003.

Nan’s career has been dedicated to bringing groundbreaking products that address unmet needs in rare diseases, immune disorders, and cancer. With a strong commitment to addressing health equity and injustice, she has spearheaded collaborative efforts between private and public entities to promote more equitable access to healthcare.

Currently, Nan serves as the Vice President of Marketing and Commercial Strategy at Exact Sciences. Prior to this role, she held key leadership positions at Genentech and Adaptive Biotechnologies, where she continued to make significant contributions to the field of healthcare.

David Newhouse, MPH ’79, MD, MBA

Co-president

David Newhouse, MD retired in 2015 from The Permanente Medical Group in Fremont, California after 37 years of service. He held leadership roles including departmental chief, assistant-physician- in chief and program director for the Fremont Infertility center. His roles as assistant-physician-in chief included diversity, performance improvement, service, marketing, and leadership development. In 2003, he developed a program using analytics to improve physician service scores by race/ethnicity, gender and age. Using analytics, potential unconscious bias in the physician could be identified and corrective actions identified. It incorporated the concepts of intersectionality and systems analysis. The same concepts were applied for hospital service scores and quality metrics. In 2007, the work was recognized by Kaiser Permanente with the RJ Erickson individual diversity award.

He received his medical degree in 1974 from Michigan State University and did his internship and residency at Gorgas Hospital in the Panama Canal Zone. He is board certified in Obstetrics & Gynecology. He received his MPH in maternal child health from University of California Berkeley in 1979 and in May, 2019 earned his MBA from St Mary’s College in Moraga. He currently also serves as a board member for The Dr. Augustus White III Institute for Health Care Equity and the Contra Costa County Crisis Center.

Rhonda Roby, PhD, MPH ’89

Vice President

Dr. Rhonda Roby joined the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office (ACSO) Crime Laboratory as the Supervising DNA Criminalist/Technical Leader in 2017 where she oversees DNA casework procedures, validation studies, and grants to enhance casework capacity for the backlog of DNA cases. The ACSO Crime Laboratory services the UC Berkeley campus and its police department. In addition, since joining ACSO, Dr. Roby participated in the California Clinical Forensic Medical Training Center’s Standardized Sexual Assault Evidence Kit, served on the National Institute of Justice’s Office of Investigative and Forensic Sciences on the DNA Laboratory Efficiency Improvement Working Group, and currently serves on the American Academy of Forensic Sciences Digitization Task Group, and the Association for the Advancement of Blood & Biotherapies’ Standards for Relationship Testing Laboratories.

Dr. Roby led the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) efforts to assist the City of New York Office of Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) in the identifications of the remains of decedents in response to the terrorists’ attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. For this case, she was the director of the mtDNA sequencing program reporting to the OCME and established high throughput forensic sequencing protocols for remains identification of the 9/11 victims. In 2006, she was asked to act as the lead forensic geneticist by the Executive branch of the Chilean government in conducting an audit of the identifications of victims from General Pinochet’s dictate for their tortures and murders. She directed the exhumations of the victims and the sampling of the skeletal remains for the identification efforts.

Dr. Roby has worked on homicide and rape investigations and testified in several states and in Chile. Additionally, she worked on the identifications of the Branch Davidians in Waco, Texas; the identification of numerous victims in airline disasters; and the identification of Tsar Nicholas II and the Romanov family.

Jessa Alexander MPH ’23

Jessa is a Science Communicator specializing in program design and community outreach. In her role at Stellate Communications, she works with a team of scientists from diverse backgrounds to help researchers translate their work to the public and to build research infrastructure that will support their work for years to come. Before her move to science communication, Jessa coordinated the research program for deep brain stimulation research at Mount Sinai, while completing her MPH with UC Berkeley’s Online Masters of Public Health, studying the effect of built environment on community violence and cohesion.

Erica L. Browne, DrPH ’20

Erica earned her doctorate degree in public health from the University of California, Berkeley, master’s degree in community health sciences from the University of California, Los Angeles and a bachelor’s degree in development studies from the University of California, Berkeley. She currently serves as a program officer with the Health Program at The Kresge Foundation, where she leads the community safety and health grantmaking, contributes to the Climate Change, Health and Equity initiative, and supports the team’s commitment to community-driven solutions and investments that advance health equity.

Erica is an alum of the RWJF Health Policy Research Scholars program and has conducted research on nonprofit hospital community benefit investments to promote racial equity. In her previous roles at Kaiser Permanente, she advised over $24 million in regional investments, led community health needs assessments, and coordinated strategies to strengthen health career pathways and clinic-community linkages. She has served as the health programs director for Mills College and a senior health educator with the University Health Services at UC Berkeley. She started her career as a health educator and continued this work at Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science. Originally from Los Angeles, Erica experiences frequent joy with soulful music, food, and people.

Neesha Bukht, MPH ’18

Neesha Bukht, originally from India, is a dietitian and public health education specialist now thriving in Austin, Texas. Neesha has a Bachelor’s in Nutrition and Dietetics, a Master’s in Health Education and Health Behavior from the University of Texas at Austin, and a Master’s in Public Health from UC Berkeley. Neesha’s expertise lies at the edge of nutrition, chronic disease prevention, and health education.

Currently a Program Specialist at the Texas Department of State Health Services, Neesha champions preventive and screening programs. Her work focuses on creating impactful educational materials and enhancing program efficiency through strategic planning and data analysis.

Neesha’s passion for food is evident not only in her professional endeavors but also in her personal life. She’s a self-proclaimed health evangelist who loves cooking, eating, and teaching others about food. Her adventurous spirit mirrors that of Anthony Bourdain as she travels extensively, exploring diverse cuisines—though without a camera crew.

A true Austinite, Neesha enjoys music and the outdoors, and she’s a fervent advocate for equal rights and universal access to basic needs. She believes in the interconnectedness of individual, family, and community health outcomes, striving to make a global impact through her work and volunteer efforts.

Neesha has previously contributed to the National WIC Association’s Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee and continuously enhances her skills through numerous certifications, including Certified Health Education Specialist and Certified Lactation Counselor.

BingYune Chen, MPH ’10

BingYune Chen stands at the forefront of AI and strategic business solutions with decades of distinguished experience as a founder, startup investor, Fortune 10 leader, and nonprofit fundraiser. As the Managing Partner, CEO at Active Digital, he leads a global consulting firm renowned for its expertise in navigating complex business and technological landscapes through strategic insight, engineering excellence, and innovative approaches. At Active Digital, BingYune harnesses the power of AI and a cadre of tier-1 talent to deliver bespoke solutions, expedite project timelines, and achieve high-confidence outcomes that translate into tangible business value for clients worldwide.

Beyond his corporate leadership, BingYune is an influential figure in the tech community, serving as a mentor, coach, and educator in fields such as AI deep learning, data science, machine learning ethics, and digital transformation. His commitment to knowledge sharing extends to frequent appearances at coding bootcamps and technical workshops. BingYune’s dedication to societal impact is evident through his roles on the boards of various nonprofits, where he applies his strategic vision to drive economic, environmental, and social advancements.

BingYune’s educational background is rooted in health and technology, holding a Master of Public Health and a Bachelor of Science in Bioengineering from the University of California, Berkeley, where he cultivated a deep understanding of both human health and technological innovation.

Abla Creasey PhD ’78

Abla Creasey PhD, is a seasoned expert in protein, cell, and gene therapy development, with over four decades of experience driving therapeutic innovation, regulatory approvals, and strategic investment in clinical portfolio management. She currently serves on the Advisory Board of One Patient One Cure, a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing patient-focused cures.

Dr. Creasey most recently held key leadership roles at the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), a state-funded nonprofit. Over her nine-year tenure, she served as Executive Strategy Officer for Rare Diseases and Vice President of Therapeutics Development for six years. She was instrumental in managing CIRM’s expansive clinical portfolio, advancing over 111 clinical-stage projects across diverse therapeutic areas, including ophthalmology, oncology, neurology, and more.

Prior to CIRM, she spent over a decade at Johnson & Johnson in senior roles, including Senior Scientific Director in Pharmaceutical Development & Manufacturing Sciences. Earlier in her career, she held leadership positions in R&D, clinical, and regulatory affairs at pioneering biotechnology firms Cetus and Chiron Corporations.

Dr. Creasey is the author of more than 50 scientific publications and holds 23 patents. In recognition of her outstanding contributions to biotechnology, she received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor in 2008.

She earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the College of Notre Dame in Belmont, California, a PhD from the School of Public Health at the University of California, Berkeley, and completed postdoctoral training at Stanford University. She also holds a mini-MBA in Health Policy Excellence from Rutgers University’s Center for Management Development.

Whitney Francis MPH/MCP ’23

Whitney Francis (she/her) is a dedicated public servant and policy advocate currently working to advance racial justice and health equity at Western Center on Law and Poverty. In her role as Policy Advocate, she works on a broad range of issues, including improvements to Medi-Cal quality and access, strengthening food security, and advancing guaranteed income policies through legislative, budget, and administrative advocacy efforts.

Whitney’s experience spans policy advocacy, direct service, and systems change work. Her formative experiences include serving as a Peter Harbage Health Policy Fellow, coordinating a clinic-based food-as-medicine program within the San Francisco Department of Public Health, contributing to Alameda County’s All IN Eats Circular Food Economy initiative, and conducting research and evaluation on school meal reform in Oakland. During her time as a dual-degree student, Whitney was actively involved in student government and curriculum reform efforts focused on advancing diversity and anti-racism at Berkeley Public Health.

Whitney earned her Master’s in Public Health (Health and Social Behavior) and Master’s in City Planning from UC Berkeley and received her B.S. from Stanford University. In her free time, Whitney enjoys gardening, DIY projects around the house, and trying new foods.

Charlotte Jarman, MBA ’23, BA ’16

Charlotte holds dual degrees from UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business and School of Public Health. She started her career as a healthcare consultant specializing in revenue cycle optimization for hospital systems. She later found a calling in product management, having been drawn to the intersection of technology, business, and health. Over the past 6 years she has been a Product leader at organizations such as CVS Health and R1 RCM, where she developed a variety of healthcare products spanning from conversational AI agents to mobile telemedicine apps. Currently, Charlotte is a Senior Product Manager at Circle Medical, a virtual care start-up focused on improving primary care access, where her focus is on growth, patient experience, and monetization initiatives. Outside of work, Charlotte’s interests include skiing, playing bridge, and propagating her house plants.

Gurwant Khabra, BA ’19

Gurwant Khabra, a dedicated healthcare professional and public health advocate, brings a wealth of experience and a deep commitment to community health to the UC Berkeley Public Health Alumni Association Board of Directors. She earned her BA in Public Health from UC Berkeley, focusing on health disparities through her volunteer work with the Bhagat Puran Singh Health Initiative (BPSHI). Currently completing her Bachelor of Science in Nursing at San Francisco State University, Gurwant is a recipient of the HRSA National Health Service Corps Scholarship, underscoring her dedication to serving underserved communities and enhancing healthcare access.

Actively involved in the community, Gurwant serves as a CPR Medic Volunteer with Rock Medicine, providing free medical care at concert venues, and mentors youth in tennis through CoachArt. Fluent in Punjabi and English, she excels in creating meaningful connections with patients, colleagues, and community members. In her spare time, she loves traveling, baking, and hiking with friends.

Stella Ling, MD, MPH ’82

Immediate Past President

Stella is a graduate of the UC Berkeley School of Public Health in maternal and child health. She is double board-certified in both pediatrics and radiation oncology. She has previously served on the teaching faculty for U Miami, Sylvester Cancer Center, the OSU James Cancer Center Dept. of Radiation Oncology, and UC Berkeley OLLI. She is interested in multi-cultural health care and worked for several years in SF Chinatown at the Min An Clinic and also in the Bahamas. She has volunteered for health care delivery on refugee flights, and in clinics in Mexico, Guatemala and Argentina. She has given lectures in Tanzania, Egypt, China, Aruba, the Bahamas, and Poland. She is a member of Raising Hope, an organization which tries to improve cancer care in developing countries. She is currently retired from active practice, but still mentors and does locum tenens from time to time to stay current.

Carlos Londono, MPH ’17

Carlos received his MPH degree from the Online MPH program in 2017. He is the Community Health Services Director at La Familia, a grassroots non-profit Organization in Hayward, CA. He earned his medical degree in 1988 from Universidad Del Rosario, Bogota Colombia. He completed the Clinical Leadership Institute certificate program in UCSF in 2010.

Prior to his current job, in California, he worked for the Alzheimer’s Association – Northern California for 3 years and Tiburcio Vasquez Health Center, a local Federally Qualified Health Center, for 19 years.

Carlos is passionate about Latino Health, primary health care, health promotion, healthy aging, access to health care for underserved communities. In his spare time, he enjoys reading, volunteering and soccer.

Praneetha Mullangi, BA ’14, MBA ’23

Praneetha Mullangi holds dual bachelor’s degrees in Public Health and Economics from UC Berkeley and is an MBA Candidate with the Class of 2023 at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. Her experience spans healthcare product management, solutions consulting, analytics consulting, and compliance management at premier organizations such as UCSF, Delta Dental, and Pharmacyclics (an Abbvie company). She empowers healthcare and life science executives with strategic, data driven, and innovative solutions that optimize their processes and help them function more effectively. At her most recent employment at UCSF, she managed analytics products with data from electronic medical records to support care of 1M+ annual patient visits. During initial COVID-19 response, Praneetha introduced a dashboard that facilitated transition from 2.4% remote patient visits to 50.7% remote visits in 2 months, all while exceeding patient experience goals. She has previously held executive leadership positions with the American Red Cross chapter of UC Berkeley, organizing public health programs for the Berkeley community.

Cecilie Rose, MA '94

Cecilie Rose received her master’s in biostatistics from UC Berkeley in 1994. Her undergraduate degree is from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in math and economics. She is passionate about the field of Public Health and promoting all forms of health equity by working to eliminate racism, sexism, ageism and ableism in health care. She has been a board member for the Berkeley Center for Independent Living and has written a website about her rare forms of dwarfism, ksginfo.org. She is a long time volunteer with the Special Needs Aquatics Program, snapkids.org.

Cecilie’s 30-year public health career spans many analytical roles such as epidemiology, research, hospital quality and performance improvement, and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) consulting assisting municipalities with their ADA Self-Evaluation and Transition Plans. She currently works as a Medical Informaticist with Blue Shield of California’s Health Transformation team providing analytical support for healthcare innovation pilots. In her spare time, she enjoys cooking, taking long walks with her dog, zumba and swimming. She has been a mentor with Oakland Promise and is always happy to hear from students interested in Public Health!

Cyrus Shahpar MD, MBA, MPH ’98

Cyrus is currently a Senior Advisor at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Prior to this he served as the inaugural Director of Pandemic and Biological Threats Intelligence in the White House Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy (OPPR), as well as the Covid-19 Data and Analytics Director for the White House COVID-19 Response Team. He spent a decade in global health at Resolve to Save Lives and CDC, supporting countries to strengthen emergency preparedness capacity to find, stop and prevent disease outbreaks. At CDC, he served as a Commander in the US Public Health Service and worked in humanitarian crises around the world. Cyrus received his Master of Public Health in epidemiology and biostatistics at UC Berkeley. He completed residency / chief residency in Emergency Medicine at Johns Hopkins Hospital and is a graduate of the Epidemic Intelligence Service at CDC. His interests lie at the intersection of early warning, emergency response, global health and data/AI.

Valerie Steinmetz PhD, BA ’04

Valerie earned her Doctor of Philosophy degree in Nursing Science and Health-Care Leadership from the University of California, Davis in 2025 and bachelor’s degrees from the University of California, Berkeley in Public Health, Psychology, and Molecular and Cell Biology.

Valerie currently serves as a Program Director at the Public Health Institute in Oakland, CA. She manages a portfolio of projects and programs focused on the design, development, management, and evaluation of innovative health programs for those with chronic conditions or serious illnesses. Valerie has conducted digital health and older adult user experience research to advance health equity, address disparities, and amplify voices of those in need.

Originally from Southern California, Valerie now lives in San Francisco with her husband.

Riya Suising, MPH ’20, MS, BS

Riya received her MPH degree from the Online MPH program with a concentration in Health Policy & Management. Riya has worked in various software, technology, and business positions in Silicon Valley companies since 1988. Since 2010, Riya shifted her career to focus on health and fitness and has become a strong advocate for LGBTQ communities, confronting social determinants of health, becoming active in political reform, and pursuing social justice through influence and education. Prior to Berkeley, Riya received a BS in Engineering & Applied Science from Caltech and an MS in Management from MIT Sloan. She previously served as president of the MIT Sloan Alumni Club of Northern California during its early years in 1994-1999 to grow the club’s momentum in the area. In addition to Public Health interests, Riya spends her time training for and running marathons, teaching online Zumba classes, and helping her clients stay healthy as a nationally certified massage therapist.

Katy Vosburg, MPH ’18

Katy Bradford Vosburg is a published health policy professional with leadership and experience both in US and global settings. She has worked in academia, local health departments, non-profits, and politics.

Katy recently worked at the Public Health Institute as a Deputy Director of Policy and Partnerships building a new statewide initiative. Prior to that she served as the Associate Director of UCSF’s Institute for Global Health Science’s Pandemic Response Initiative which focused on supporting low- and middle-income countries’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Katy also worked cross-divisionally at UCSF to decolonize global health practices and build equitable partnerships.

Katy has managed two congressional campaigns, one in Western Montana in 2022 (MT-01) and another in Los Angeles (CA-30) in the spring of 2023.

Vosburg worked at the San Mateo County health department in the Public Health, Policy and Planning and Emergency Medical Services divisions where she spearheaded several systems strengthening projects including implementing a racial equity strategy and serving as a racial equity trainer. Katy lived in Lusaka, Zambia and worked with the Clinton Health Access Initiative for years. In that capacity, she partnered with Ministries of Health in Zambia, Tanzania, Uganda and Liberia to create and implement health workforce policies, specifically around nationalizing community health worker programs.

Over the course of her career Katy has authored several academic papers. She graduated with an MPH from the Online/On-Campus MPH program at UC Berkeley and is originally from the San Francisco Bay Area where she resides with her three kids, partner and puppy. She loves to travel and is a dance fitness instructor!

Joyce Cheng

DrPH (2028)

Joyce Cheng is a mother of three. Joyce started her career in the non-profit community health sector in 2006 and held a leadership role since 2020. She brings lived and in-field experience in serving communities of color. Joyce serves as the Executive Director and Community Researcher at the Chinese Community Health Resource Center to lead a mission to build a healthy community through culturally and linguistically appropriate preventive health, disease education and management, research, and advocacy. She serves as Co-Principal Investigator, Co-Investigator, Community Advisor for national- and state-funded research studies.

As a Doctor of Public Health student, Joyce aims to strengthen her training in community engagement partnership and research, equitable health information delivery as well as to explore cross-sectoral partnership and innovative systems thinking. Joyce is passionate about mentoring youth and early professionals, leading collaborative efforts, and incorporating artistic expressions into her work.

Dante Angel Miguel

MPH (2026)

Dante is an alumnus of UC Berkeley’s Undergraduate School of Public Health. He has a desire to influence the social and political determinants of health, mainly through policy change, systems change, data democratization, and meaningful community engagement. Prior to joining the Possibility Lab of the Goldman School of Public Policy, Dante served as the Project Manager for Resident Leadership with Healthy Contra Costa (formerly known as Healthy Richmond), an initiative currently under RCF Connects (formerly known as Richmond Community Foundation, he was a research assistant for the Madsen Research Group, Falbe Lab, and an intern for the City of Richmond and Contra Costa Health. Dante is a proud Filipino-American raised in the Richmond and San Pablo Community found in the East Bay and in his free time, he loves to play volleyball, workout, and be a foodie traveler.