
Tomás A. Magaña, MD, MA, FAAP
Bio
Dr. Tomás A. Magaña is a Latino physician, program director, educator and advocate dedicated to improving care and health outcomes for the state’s most vulnerable children.
Dr. Magaña is a Principal Investigator at the Public Health Institute (PHI) in Oakland, CA, where he serves as Founding Director of the FACES for the Future Coalition. Dr. Magaña co-founded and directed the original FACES program at Children’s Hospital in Oakland before moving operations of the program to PHI. Additionally, he is Founding Director of the FACES Summer Medical Academy. Dr. Magaña is a leading expert in the design and implementation of health workforce pipeline programs for youth. He is actively leading the efforts to disseminate the successful FACES model throughout the nation. Dr. Magaña’s work with youth has been featured on NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams, NBC Bay Area News and in People Magazine..
Dr. Magaña is a board-certified pediatrician with expertise in the care of at-risk children and adolescents. He is a Lead Physician in the Department of School-Based Health Centers at La Clínica de La Raza, Inc. where he serves the complex medical needs of diverse youth from Alameda County. He is also Assistant Professor/Medical Director in the Masters Physician Assistant Department at Samuel Merritt University and an Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of California, San Francisco. Previously, Dr. Magaña was a member of the Division of Adolescent Medicine at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland, where he served as Medical Director of Alameda County’s Juvenile Justice Center and attending physician at the Youth Uprising School-Based Health Center in East Oakland, CA.
Dr. Magaña is a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, and has served on a number of regional and national advisory boards focusing on pediatric health issues, healthcare workforce development and cultural competency in medicine. Dr. Magaña received his undergraduate degree from Cornell University, his Masters degree from U.C. Berkeley, and his medical degree from the University of California, San Francisco where he was awarded the prestigious Gold-Headed Cane Award. He completed his pediatric residency at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland where he received the Kerry Spooner-Dean Memorial Award for community service. Other honors include the Regional Jefferson Award (Silver Medal), The California Wellness Foundation’s Champion of Health Professions Diversity Award, Univisión Television’s Medalla al Mérito, Bank of America Charitable Foundation’s Local Hero Award and the Children’s Hospital Oakland Miracle Maker Award.
Dr. Magaña is a Commissioner of First 5 Alameda County and also serves on the board of directors of several non-profit agencies, including Seva Foundation, Safe Passages and MEDICC (Medical Education Cooperation with Cuba).
Dr. Magaña is a first generation college graduate, and has dedicated much of his life to serving underserved communities. He has a passion for programs that foster leadership, wellness and professional development for youth.

BROOKE BRIGGANCE
BIO
Brooke comes from a multi-sector background in health, direct impact programming for children, youth and families, and public education non-profit work. She began her career in healthcare in the Department of Neurology at SUNY Stony Brook in New York, and continued as Lead Administrator for a private practice in Neurology. She has experience in administrative leadership and public education advocacy and reform, and served as the Executive Director of the Alameda Education Foundation where she oversaw a nationally recognized public awareness campaign highlighting the impact of cuts to public education in California. She has worked as a consultant assisting in projects ranging from school district redesign, community engagement, best practices for non-profits and development strategy. She most recently served as the Program Manager for the FACES for the Future program at Children’s Hospital Oakland before moving with the FACES for the Future Coalition to its new home at Public Health Institute in 2011.
Brooke became passionate about cultural competency when she completed her undergraduate work at SUNY Stony Brook in World Religions, and her graduate work in World Religions and Systemic Theology at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley. Originally from Michigan, she moved to California in 1999.

JASMINE NAKAGAWA-WONG, MBA
BIO
Jasmine Nakagawa-Wong is the Program Manager for the FACES for the Future Coalition. Previously, she served as Program Coordinator for the FACES Program at St. Rose Hospital in Hayward, California. She holds a BA in Studio Art from Mills College, an MBA from the Lorry I. Lokey Graduate School of Business, and an Education Specialist teaching credential from the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing.
Jasmine has volunteered and worked with underrepresented youth for over 15 years. She moved to California from her hometown of Kaneohe, Hawaii. She took the first step to merging her passion with her profession in 2009, when she left her position in the book publishing industry to spend a year traveling and volunteering with youth in the Bay Area, across the United States, as well as in Japan and Costa Rica. Upon her return, Jasmine joined the Teach for America national teacher corps in its effort to end educational inequity in the United States. She taught Special Education in the West Contra Costa Unified School District, differentiating instruction for students with a wide range of learning disabilities and psychosocial challenges.
Jasmine remains committed to building thriving communities by providing first-hand educational opportunities, wellness support, and job skills preparation to youth nationwide.

KAREN LANE
BIO
Karen Lane is the Program Administrator for the FACES for the Future Coalition and the Alameda County Care Alliance, two programs at the Public Health Institute. She graduated from Cal State East Bay with a BA in Human Development.
After many years assisting low-income clients with job readiness through a federal workforce development program, she sought to expand her business skills through work in the private sector, but with the long-term goal of returning to work in the nonprofit community. That led her to work for a financial corporation where she ultimately found her way into coordinating the company’s philanthropy budget and volunteer recognition program. After the company was sold, Karen went to work for Samuel Merritt University as a program manager with the nurse anesthesia graduate program, where she first learned about and was inspired by the FACES for the Future program. After more than eight years at the university she yearned to realize her goal of working with a community-based program and found the ideal opportunity at the Public Health Institute.
Community involvement has been a big part of Karen’s life and has included work as a volunteer crisis counselor, baker of birthday cakes for foster youth, and her newest role as a hospice volunteer.

ELVA CASTELLANOS
BIO
Elva was born in Guadalajara, Mexico and migrated to San Francisco with her family in 1975. Elva started her career at PHI in 2008 working with the Mesoamerican Health Initiative (MHI) as a Program Coordinator and has worked in many other PHI programs since. Most recently, she worked with the California Adolescent Health Collaborative (CAHC) supporting their programs in a variety of ways, including working with and training Health Educators and Case Managers in the Central Valley in the Fourth R curriculum for the H-REP program, and facilitating community mapping sessions for the Young Mother Researchers program which focused on engaging breast feeding young mothers in community based participatory research. She holds a Master Trainer Certificate from the University of Western Ontario on the Fourth R program. Elva enjoys dancing, traveling to exotic places with her son and daughter, and spending time with her family.

VANESSA TAT
Vanessa Tat is the Program Assistant for FACES for the Future. She graduated from California State University, Long Beach with a Bachelor of Science in Nutrition & Dietetics.
During her time at CSU Long Beach, Vanessa was a cadet in the Army Reserve Officer Training Corps, where she received leadership training and served as Color Guard Team Captain. She also has three years of training in communication, active listening, and conflict mediation through the Peer Listener Program in Temple City. Vanessa went on to connect her passions for nutrition and mental health by working at Reasons Eating Disorder Center. Here, she enjoyed fostering connections with young adults through cooking and sharing meals with them. Most recently, she has been working with various school districts to ensure they are meeting the nutritional needs of each age group, as well as volunteering at a local wildlife rescue.

SABRINA PARK
Sabrina Park is an AmeriCorps VISTA Youth Development and Program Coordinator. She graduated from UC Berkeley with a Bachelor of Science in Nutritional Science and Bachelor of Arts in Molecular Biology. During undergrad, Sabrina worked with the Berkeley Student Food Collective to help offer the community fresh and affordable food. She also interned with the Basic Needs Center to perform outreach and host CalFresh sign-up sessions. Her passion for helping underserved youth and education reform led her to volunteering with Matriculate and Project SMILE to offer mentorship to middle and high school students. Sabrina hopes to continue supporting these efforts through her work with FACES for the Future.

JACKIE PENATE
Jackie Penate is an AmeriCorps VISTA Community Health Development Program Coordinator. She graduated from UC Merced with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Public Health with a minor in Writing Studies. During undergrad, Jackie had the opportunity to serve as a mentor for local high students in Merced, work as a writing tutor on campus, and work as Peer Navigator for the SSHA Academic Advising Office where she advised and supported undergraduate students in service of their academic and personal goals. Her interest in public health and locally led health initiatives started by her work as a social media advocate for Building Health Communities, Boyle Heights. With a career interest in community work, health promotion, and education, Jackie hopes that her work at FACES will allow her to continue making a positive impact on the communities she serves.
Coalition Programs
(Follow program links for staff bios)
California
South Alameda County
Dayan Zakrzewski
Program Coordinator
Hayward
Dayan Zakrzewski
Program Coordinator
Sacramento
Jenavie Rivera
Project Coordinator
San Diego
Mary Beth Moran
Director, Center for Healthier Communities
Shelli Brown
Program Manager, FACES for the Future San Diego
Alicia Wood
Lead Coordinator
Nikki Lopez
Program Coordinator, Hoover High School
Joycelin Chou
Program Coordinator, Crawford High School
Shadeh Rassoulkhani
Program Coordinator, Hoover High School
San Francisco
Sarah Murphy-Cook
Program Coordinator
Rachelle Banares
Program Coordinator
Colorado
Denver
Chawtana Edwards
Program Coordinator
Michelle McDaniels
Program Coordinator
New Mexico
Albuquerque
Ruben Miranda
Program Coordinator