Community Consultants /Collaborators

Grace Cheng Braun is the former president and CEO of WISE & Healthy Aging, a community-based nonprofit, social services organization annually serving more than 20,000 older adults and caregivers in the greater Los Angeles region. She has also held executive positions in healthcare systems including Cedars-Sinai, UCLA Health and UniHealth. Grace is also an adjunct professor in the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy, teaching graduate courses in the International Public Policy and Management Program. She serves on various County and City collaborations and task forces. Grace is currently a member of the U.S. Deprescribing Research Network national Stakeholder Engagement Council and the UCLA RCMAR/CHIME Community Advisory Board.

Maggie Cervantes has served as the Executive Director of New Economics for Women (NEW) since 1992. Her leadership has resulted in significant milestones for NEW including the opening of La Posada and the creation of other housing sites dedicated to helping low-income women and their families become economically independent. During her tenure, Ms. Cervantes has assisted in leveraging a $97,000 grant for NEW into its existing success as a $280 million economic development corporation. Under Ms. Cervantes’ leadership, NEW has acquired, developed and constructed 1600+ units of affordable housing with on-site economic, business and social programs to assist families through their economic mobility journey. Ms. Cervantes is also the co-founder of NEW Academy, a nonprofit organization operating charter schools with an emphasis on science and art. She is a member of the UCLA RCMAR/CHIME Community Advisory Board.

Sandra Ko Choi is the primary caregiver for a parent with dementia. She is concerned with the uncertainties and potential harm associated with different types of medications prescribed for dementia patients. In her professional life, she has designed and implemented outreach strategies for the Coordinated Care Initiative on behalf of the State of California Department of Health Care Services with the goal of connecting older adults & people with disabilities in diverse communities with key resources and coordinated care. Sandra is a twice immigrant, from Korea to South America, then to the United States. She spent the last 20 years in the corporate, nonprofit, health care and labor worlds. Her passion is to connect needs with resources, especially in communities experiencing language and cultural barriers. Sandra serves the Korean American community in the greater Los Angeles County, particularly the older adult population, in different capacities (as a member of the Korean American Health Coalition, volunteer at the Koreatown Senior and Community Center and previous board member at Korean Churches for Community Development (KCCD now known as FACE) and currently serves on the U.S. Deprescribing Research Network national Stakeholder Engagement Council and the UCLA RCMAR/CHIME Community Advisory Board.

Elizabeth Jimenez is the Senior Services Project Director at the Mexican American Opportunity Foundation (MAOF) Multi-Purpose Center. She oversees five satellite offices and twenty-five employees that offer supportive services to seniors. Mrs. Jimenez is well respected as a passionate advocate for helping to transform the delivery of social services to seniors to a person-centered approach. She serves in various local and state advisory councils for the aging population, including the White Memorial Medical Center Community Leadership Council, SC Caregivers Association, UCLA RCMAR/CHIME Community Advisory Board and the US Deprescribing Research Network (USDeN) advancing culturally appropriate services.

Cathy Ladd is the Chief Program Officer at Alzheimer’s Los Angeles, which serves people and families affected by Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias living in Los Angeles, Riverside and San Bernardino Counties. She has over 40 years of experience working with older adults, caregivers and professionals in a variety of settings, including nursing homes, adult day centers, and case management agencies within the nonprofit and private sector and has worked for Alzheimer’s LA for 22 years. She has a master’s degree in social work from the University of Illinois, Champaign. Cathy serves on the UCLA RCMAR/CHIME Community Advisory Board.

Barbara H. Linski, MA, Ed. S. is a retired Executive Director of the Hollywood Senior Multipurpose Center (HSMPC). She has previously served as the Director of several Not for Profit agencies both on the east and west coasts, as well as an Educational Consultant to the Board of Education for Trenton, New Jersey. As the Director of the HSMPC, she supervised the Federally funded Older Americans Act programs for the City of Los Angeles. These included; 8 Nutrition Sites, 6 routes of Home Delivered Meals, a full Case Management Program for Older Adults, and a Prop A Transportation Program. HSMPC also provided a State funded Alzheimer’s Day Care Resource Center, and a City funded Adult Day Program. Along with a dedicated group of volunteers she collaborated on the creation and opening of the Griffith Park Adult Community Center. She also developed the first fully equipped exercise facility for Older Adults, which was located at the Hollywood location. In addition, she has worked with the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine RCMAR/CHIME Community Advisory Board and the USC Andrus School of Gerontology Scientific research endeavors.

Adriana M. Mendoza, Associate State Director at AARP, AARP California, holds an MSW in Gerontology from UCLA. Adriana serves on the UCLA RCMAR/CHIME Community Advisory Board.

Amy Phillips is the Director of Program Administration at Little Tokyo Service Center (LTSC), a non-profit social services and community development agency in Los Angeles. She has over 20 years of experience providing services, particularly to older adults and those with low-incomes, starting with her roots as a bilingual case manager, then as LTSC's Director of Senior Services and co-chair of the Asian &Pacific Islander Older Adults Task Force. Over the years, Amy has worked to raise the visibility of needs among immigrant older adults and advocate for greater access to culturally and linguistically appropriate services. Amy is a long-standing member of the UCLA RCMAR/CHIME Advisory Board.

Rosario Quintanilla has served the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for 30+ years as a Public Affairs Specialist (PAS) for the FDA’s Los Angeles District service area, which covers Southern California and the state of Arizona. Rosario received her BA degrees (Psychology and Ethnic Studies) from the University of Southern California. She commenced her career working for State-funded health programs utilizing media as an outreach tool and then went into the non- profit sector before joining the federal government in 1988 at the Consumer Product Safety Commission. She has spearheaded, strategized, and implemented all communication (including Spanish language) with FDA’s diverse publics with a special focus on working with media, the underserved at-risk communities, and collaborating with various coalitions and task forces with similar goals. Rosario is a member of the U.S. Deprescribing Research Network national Stakeholder Engagement Council and the UCLA RCMAR/CHIME Advisory Board.

Franco Reyna, Community Outreach & Programs Manager, National Kidney Foundation (NKF) Serving CA, NV, OR & WA. In his current role, Franco is responsible for providing management, logistics, and execution for NKF programs and fundraising events. These include Your Kidneys & You, KEEP Healthy, The Big Ask-The Big Give, Renal Roundtables, Kidney Walks, Social Events and other unique NKF programs and patient initiatives. In addition, he initiates and maintains NKF’s local community relationships. Franco is a long-standing member of the UCLA RCMAR/CHIME Advisory Board.

Susi Rodriguez Shapiro, MSG, is an award-winning gerontologist committed to advocacy for older adults and family caregivers with over two decades of recognized leadership and strategic vision in the private, non-profit, and government sectors. She is a much sought after bilingual (English/Spanish) public speaker. She reaches multicultural populations with cultural competencies that foster teamwork. Susi serves on the U.S. Deprescribing Research Network national Stakeholder Engagement Council and the UCLA RCMAR/CHIME Advisory Board.

June Simmons, MSW, President and CEO, Partners in Care Foundation is the founding President and CEO of Partners in Care Foundation (PICF) based in San Fernando, California. Since its founding in 1997, Partners has grown exponentially and made major contributions to the growth of the Community Care Hub model aligning healthcare and social care services across the state and nationally. As CEO of PICF, the organization has received numerous national awards and many major grants to design, test, and disseminate new models of care that yield high-impact results. In addition, June serves on a number of national boards and leads multiple collaboratives including the Partnership to align social care. June is recognized for her leadership on numerous national, state and local collaboratives, boards and at UCLA including the RCMAR/CHIME Community Advisory Board.

Carol Lee Thorpe is a healthcare executive who has provided strategic oversight and management of a broad range of innovative programs designed to enhance the well-being of vulnerable children and adults. In collaboration with both private and public organizations, her work is focused at the intersection of medical care, mental health services and programs that address the social determinants of health. Carol Lee received her Master of Business Administration from Pepperdine University. Throughout her career she has held leadership positions with the American Red Cross, Special Olympics, Centinela Medical Center, St. Francis Medical Center, St Francis Career College, St. Barnabas Senior Services and Independent Living Systems. She has served on many boards including the Loyola Marymount University Bioethics Institute, Private Essential Access Community Hospitals and the St. Francis Medical Center Foundation. She is currently a member of UCLA RCMAR/CHIME Advisory Board and serves as secretary/treasurer of the St. Louise Resource Services Board of Directors.

Dr. Laura Trejo is the Director of the Los Angeles County Aging & Disabilities Department, overseeing programs and services for older adults and adults with disabilities. With extensive experience in aging, health, mental health, Alzheimer's, and rehabilitation, she focuses on creating culturally competent initiatives. Dr. Trejo's expertise has earned her recognition as a leader in program innovation, receiving prestigious awards from organizations like the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging. An influential advocate and speaker, she is acknowledged by multiple entities including Justice in Aging and the United States Library of Congress. Dr. Trejo holds advanced degrees in Social Work, Gerontology, and Public Administration from the University of Southern California. Laura serves on UCLA’s CTSI and RCMAR/CHIME External Advisory Boards.

Anna Aziza Lucas Varnado, Professor Lucas-Varnado is Chair of the Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, Director of the Division of Community Engagement, and Chair
of the Academic Senate’s Clinical and Community Programs within the College of Medicine at Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science (CDU). Mrs. Lucas-Varnado currently serves on the Executive Committee of the UC End Disparities Project at UCLA, Co-Lead for the Community Engagement Clinical Informatics Core within the UCLA-Drew CFAR research project, as well as community lead for numerous Corona Virus Pandemic Outreach programs. Professor Lucas-Varnado is the Executive Director of South Central Prevention Coalition and is Consultant to Healthy African American Families as needed. Her efforts are grounded in Community Partnered Participatory frameworks and aims to advance Translational Science. Professor Lucas-Varnado’s community engagement and direct service to under-resourced residents within the South Los Angeles community spans over 45 years. Aziza is a member of the UCLA RCMAR/CHIME Advisory Board.

Phyllis Willis, DSW, Senior Director, Watts Labor Community Action Committee (WLCAC), South Los Angeles Senior Division, Dr. Willis is the Senior Director of Older Adult Programs at the Watts Labor Community Action Committee (WLCAC) non-profit organization. Dr. Willis has over 20 years of experience working with older adults in economically disadvantaged communities in the South Los Angeles area with a focus on improving racial, health equity and access to provider care services, community and social support systems. Dr. Willis is a Stanford University Chronic Disease and Diabetes Self-Management Master Trainer. She developed collaborations with universities and local council districts to support a racially inclusive, stable service delivery system. She co-authors the 2019 American Heart Association journal article "Worth the Walk": Culturally Tailored Stroke Risk Factor Reduction and the Factors Associated with Participation in the Chronic Disease Self-Management Program: Findings from the SUCCEED Trial published March 2020. Dr. Willis is the current Chair of the Los Angeles Alliance for Community Health and Aging (LAACHA) Steering Committee, and the co-chair of the Racial Justice committee and serves on the UCLA RCMAR/Chime Advisory Board. Dr. Willis holds a master's degree in social work from California State University, Los Angeles, and a Doctorate from the University of Southern California.