Welcoming the UCLA Executive MPH Class of 2028

The UCLA Fielding School of Public Health is thrilled to officially announce the incoming cohort of the Executive Master of Public Health (EMPH) program, the Class of 2028! On August 28th, they gathered on the UCLA campus for their orientation and first bi-monthly weekend session, bringing a wealth of hands-on clinical experience, global health leadership, venture innovation, community advocacy, and a shared dedication to transforming healthcare delivery and health equity.   

Representing a diverse array of sectors across the global healthcare ecosystem, the EMPH Class of 2028 embodies the interdisciplinary strength of the program.

Global Health: A former Paul Farmer Global Surgery Research Fellow at Harvard Medical School and contributor to the Lancet Commission on Global Surgery, Martha Paola Vega, MD, MMSc-GHD, brings extensive experience in mobile health, rural surgical access in South America, and ethnomedical research with Indigenous communities to address structural health disparities across California. 

Clinical & Healthcare Operations Leaders: Operational professionals, compliance managers, and senior clinical practitioners skilled in navigating complex hospital environments. Incoming student Raquel Vasquez, PA-C, MS, Lead Physician Assistant in specialized surgical care at Cedars-Sinai, brings years of direct patient care and department growth management to the classroom. Sofia Fernando, RN, a Clinical Nurse II in the Nethercutt Emergency Department at UCLA Health Santa Monica Hospital, brings critical frontline acute care experience and clinical leadership. Brejett Egland, a seasoned specialist in healthcare operations, quality improvement, and regulatory compliance, brings over a decade of hands-on expertise in auditing, patient safety, and clinical risk management. Mika Chiang brings hands-on experience in neurosurgery support operations and emergency department care workflows from Hoag Memorial Presbyterian Hospital and St. Joseph Hospital of Orange, focusing on building compliant, high-quality, and equity-driven health systems. 

Research & Data Scientists: Dedicated health services, clinical research, and medical education specialists, including Miller Finkelstein, MA, a Research Data Scientist in the Women’s and Children’s Institute at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation and recipient of this year’s prestigious $10,000 Health Policy and Management Alumni Association (HPMAA) Scholarship. Juliane Martinez, Staff Research Associate II and Lab Manager at the Health Equity & Access Research & Treatment (HEART) Lab within the UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience & Human Behavior, manages suicide prevention and health equity studies focused on ethnoracially minoritized youth. Joining them is Kim Merida, Health Professions Education Specialist and Executive Medical Student Coordinator in the Department of Surgery at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, who brings a quantitative research background in housing and health access from UCSF’s Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative. 

Health Equity & Community Advocates: Frontline community leaders working across Southern California in HIV prevention, youth empowerment, reproductive health, workplace safety, and harm reduction for historically marginalized populations. Joshua Teodoro, Outreach Health Educator II at APAIT/Special Services for Groups, Inc., leads mobile HIV testing, workplace safety advocacy, and community wellness fairs for justice-impacted and vulnerable populations across Los Angeles County. Christopher Aldair Silva, Development Coordinator at Day One and double Bruin, brings extensive community engagement experience in youth substance abuse prevention and regional health equity in the San Gabriel Valley. Jessica Pham, Administrative Assistant in Community Education and Outreach at Planned Parenthood of Orange and San Bernardino Counties, coordinates department operations and tracks progress for vital community sexual and reproductive health education initiatives. 

While their professional backgrounds span global surgery, clinical operations, biotechnology investment, medical education, and health services research, the Class of 2028 shares a common goal: gaining the advanced policy, financial, and strategic leadership tools necessary to create safer, more efficient, and deeply equitable health systems. 

This year’s cohort is already making its mark through distinguished leadership recognition, highlighted by Miller Finkelstein’s award from the HPMAA for exceptional promise in public health leadership and policy research. 

Over the next two years, these working professionals will engage in rigorous executive coursework led by world-class UCLA faculty, collaborate on real-world summer consulting projects, and build lifelong professional bonds with fellow classmates and our extensive EMPH alumni network. 

Please join us in giving a warm Bruin welcome to the EMPH Class of 2028 as they embark on this transformative leadership journey.  

Learn more about our current students here.