Michaela is an alumnus of San Francisco State University with a bachelor’s degree in Community-Based Public Health and minor in Women’s Health Issues. She embodies compassionate advocacy, with a desire to help eliminate barriers and irradicate systemic oppression within health care and the world. In past roles she delivered patient-focused care at Kaiser Permanente, supporting a large population of the Latinx community, and patients with mental health and chronic conditions. This intersection of communities and health issues provided her with a wide range of encounters that taught her the most valuable and often impactful parts of providing and receiving care are trust and connection. She strives to create spaces where individuals can tell their story and feel safe to do so. And Michaela has invested her time, knowledge, and warm energy to ensuring safe space is available to all patients.

Her new role as the Equity & Justice Coordinator is an exciting and innovative beginning to her work at UCSF, ZSFG, and Bixby Center for Global Reproductive Health. Michaela quotes, “I am overwhelmed with inspiration to be part of such an incredible team who are willing to shift culture by integrating social justice, awareness and accountability, and creativity into our work as health care providers.” She describes the stories of her family, friends, strangers, neighbors, and patients to be beacons of inspiration for her passionate work of building meaningful connections and cultivating change within health care delivery. On her spare time, she enjoys discovering new parts of herself and the world through yoga, meditation, books, being outdoors, and sensuality.