Meet Karla Tovar Aguilar: $10,000 MHA New Student Scholarship Recipient, Fall 2026

The UCLA Fielding School of Public Health is thrilled to announce Karla Tovar Aguilar as a recipient of the $10,000 MHA New Student Scholarship for Fall 2026. An immigrant, single mother, and UC Davis Regents Scholar alumna, Karla brings extensive experience in community-based healthcare administration as the Development and Grants, Contracts Manager at Fourth & Hope in Woodland, California. Overseeing operations and funding for vital safety-net programs—including emergency shelters, residential substance use disorder treatment, and CalAIM initiatives—she has seen firsthand how finance, operations, and policy directly shape care delivery for vulnerable populations. Karla is excited to apply her UCLA MHA coursework in real-time, integrating administrative excellence with community advocacy to expand care access across behavioral health, housing, and safety-net systems. (Karla also shares a special Bruin connection—her daughter is a UCLA alumna currently preparing for law school!)

We sat down with Karla to discuss her journey, what this recognition means for her family, and her goals for transforming healthcare and behavioral health systems.

How did it feel to learn you had received this award, and what does this recognition and financial support from the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health community mean to you as you start this next chapter?

As an immigrant and single mother, I believe education is about much more than earning a degree. It has unlocked opportunities that once felt unreachable and shaped my path toward service and growth. Being supported by the UCLA MHA program at this new stage of my education is a privilege I deeply value. It allows me to develop into a more skilled healthcare leader while learning from experienced faculty, practitioners, and field leaders. I am especially grateful for the opportunity to apply this knowledge to my work and better serve my community.

You hold a B.A. in International Relations and Spanish from UC Davis. Where are you working now, and what is your role? What inspired you to connect your background to a Master of Healthcare Administration at UCLA Fielding School of Public Health?

I graduated from UC Davis with honors in international relations and Spanish and received the Regents Scholarship, which enabled me to focus more fully on my studies and make the most of my academic experience. My education taught me to view and analyze systems, policy, culture, and communities from multiple perspectives and to develop skills highly relevant to my field of work today.

I currently work as the Development and Grants | Contracts Manager at Fourth & Hope in Woodland, California. In this role, I have worked closely with programs that support individuals and families across Yolo County who are experiencing homelessness, behavioral health challenges, substance use disorders, and other barriers to health and stability. Our programs include Yolo County’s largest emergency shelter, housing services, Walter’s House residential substance use disorder treatment, behavioral health support, and health care-related programs such as CalAIM.

This position has deeply influenced the direction I want to take professionally. Every day, I see the complexity of the needs people bring with them and how access to the right program, funding source, treatment, or resources can change the course of someone’s life. My work in grants, contracts, reporting, and development has shown me how much happens behind the scenes to make those services possible.

Collaborating with these programs has revealed how funding, operations, policy, compliance, and program design decisions can directly impact an individual’s ability to access care. This experience inspired me to gain a deeper understanding of healthcare administration. Joining the MHA program at UCLA Fielding will expand my understanding of healthcare systems, finance, operations, and policy, allowing me to apply this knowledge to improve my work and expand access to care for the communities I assist.

What is your ultimate career goal after completing your MHA degree? What impact do you aspire to make as a healthcare leader?

My goal is to become a healthcare leader who understands both the administrative side of a system and the people it serves.

I am especially interested in behavioral health, healthcare finance, program operations, grants and public policy and funding, and the intersection of healthcare, housing, and community-based services. I want to develop the knowledge needed to make thoughtful decisions about resources, programs, and operations while never losing sight of the individual behind the numbers.

Ultimately, I aim to keep learning ways to make healthcare and behavioral health systems more accessible and responsive, particularly for those who have faced barriers to care. I want to find practical and effective strategies to enhance programs, optimize available resources, and apply my MHA knowledge to foster better outcomes for the individuals and communities we serve.

Anything else you’d like to share?

Community has always been central to my journey. I’m particularly excited about this program because I’m not leaving behind the work I love to study healthcare administration; rather, I’m integrating that work into the classroom.

I also feel a special bond with UCLA because my daughter graduated from there and is now getting ready for law school. As a mom, seeing her achieve this milestone was very meaningful. Starting my own journey at UCLA now makes this stage even more meaningful for our family.

Thank you once more for this recognition and for welcoming me to the UCLA Fielding community. I look forward to learning, contributing, and applying what I learn from this program to the communities I serve.