Health Outreach Partners recently created a new Program Director position, and we are excited to announce the hiring of Gabriela (Gabby) Castillo. At the same time, one of our beloved colleagues, Kristina Wharton, has left the organization. Read below to learn more about Gabby, and to find a dedication to Kristina.
Despite having started at the beginning of July while we are all working from home, Gabby has already gotten to work diving into HOP’s activities and getting to know her colleagues. In her current role, Gabriela oversees and leads HOP’s Training and Technical Assistance and consulting activities with health centers and partner organizations. She comes with over 11 years of non-profit experience in the fields of Juvenile Justice, Youth Activism, Health and Wellness, Arts and Culture and Reproductive Justice. Prior to joining HOP, Gabriela was a volunteer, board member, and Program Director with ACCESS Women’s Health Justice serving Californians in accessing reproductive health information and services. Gabriela is passionate about herbal medicine, spirituality, tending to her plants and garden, continuously building a relationship with the outdoors, and working towards collective liberation. Gabriela holds a bachelors from UC Berkeley in Interdisciplinary Studies Field focused on ‘Traditional and Indigenous Land Sustainability’ with a minor in Portuguese. Originally from Southern California, Gabriela identifies as Xicanx who now resides in Ohlone land also known as Oakland, California.
Health Outreach Partners is extremely sad to say good-bye to Kristina Wharton who served as a Project Manager for 2 years. Kristina started in 2018 and hit the ground running. Her contributions to HOP are endless. She brought compassion, empathy, fun, a sense of Zen, an amazing work ethic and ninja research skills to our organization. Projects Kristina spearheaded of particular note are her leadership and organization on the SDOH Academy faculty, leading the HOP evaluation team, leading the UnidosUS Dialogue on Latino Children’s Social and Emotional Well Being, as well as authoring the report. Her grand finale was partnering with the Health Center Association of Nebraska to design and implement their Enabling Services Summit. This last endeavor was a testament to Kristina’s flexibility and creativity. She led the team in pivoting from an in-person conference in the midst of the pandemic to an interactive virtual event and podcast series focusing on Enabling Services and Structural Competency. This event brought rave reviews at a very difficult time for our colleagues and our country.
Kristina was always enthusiastic about our work. She eagerly took on new projects and supported new ideas. This last year she completed her PhD program at Tulane University while maintaining a full work load. While she is leaving HOP to join the School of Public Health at the University of California in Berkeley to do post-doc work, we know that she will always be a part of our team and that she will continue to champion health centers and health equity.
Thank you, Kristina, for your contribution to HOP, health center communities, and health equity. We miss you already, as well as your leadership and commitment to our mission and values. We know you will be amazing in the next chapter of your journey. Congratulations!!!