The Social Mission Alliance’s Health Justice Fellowship Program seeks to create a dynamic community dedicated to nurturing an insurgent politic among the next generation of leaders in healthcare that represent the values, perspectives, and wisdom of those greatest affected by systems of oppression, those that have historically been barred from the academy and the health professions. The program is dedicated to nurturing the talents of trainees who already show promise and commitment to advancing health justice in society and social mission in health professional training. The yearlong fellowship will allow participants to hone their skills, provide them with new skills, and broaden their networks in ways that will help sustain them in their future work. We are elated to welcome the 2024-2025 class of Health Justice fellows!
Natasha Dark | University of New Mexico School of Medicine Class of 2026 | Natasha grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She is interested in environmental health justice and gender-affirming care. Interested in family medicine, psychiatry, and obstetrics & gynecology, her goals are to expand health equity to vulnerable patient populations, especially those within the LGBTQIA+ community.
Reagan Dunham (She/Her) | University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine Class of 2028 | Originally from Farmington Hills, Michigan and Ocean City, Maryland, Reagan’s professional interests include reproductive justice, harm reduction services, and de-colonial global health.
Shiraz Ibrahim (She/Her) | Meharry Medical College School of Dentistry, Class of 2027 | Shiraz is deeply committed to advocating for better oral healthcare access and equity. She plans to use her education and experiences to help bridge the gap in dental care, particularly for underserved communities. Her goal is to ensure that everyone, regardless of their background, has access to the quality dental treatment they deserve. Through leadership, advocacy, and service, she aims to make a lasting impact in the field of dentistry and in the lives of her future patients.
Jenny P. Rivillas-O’Neill | Yale School of Nursing, Doctor of Nursing Practice: Healthcare, Leadership, Systems and Policy, Class of 2025 | Jenny was born in Medellin, Colombia and raised in Chelsea, Massachusetts. Jenny is a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner and the founder of Compass Wellness. Her focus is on becoming a mentor in her community and creating system changes from a Trauma-informed perspective to facilitate healing, growth, and empowerment. She also has interests in diversifying and amplifying the field of Nursing in order to progress health equity and improve outcomes on a global basis.
Bryant Rucker | University of Utah Physician Assistant Program Class of 2026 | Bryant was Raised in LaGrange, Georgia but has roots in multiple places across the South. He has an interest in working in primary care and serving underserved communities by providing better access to healthcare resources and empowering patients in their communities.
Alejandra Salemi (She/Her) | PhD Candidate Duke University College of Medicine Department of Population Health Sciences Class of 2026 | A proud immigrant from Bogotá, Colombia, Alejandra’s research focuses at the intersection of public health and religion, in particular how religion is a social determinant of public health. She is a graduate of Harvard University, with a Master of Theological Studies with a concentration on religion, ethics and politics and also earned a Bachelor’s and Masters of Public Health from the University of Florida. She is the creator and CEO of Healing Theology, a social entrepreneurship devoted to bridging the gaps between the worlds of religion and health.
Ujuoñu “Uju” Nwizu | UCLA School of Public Health Class of 2025 | Uju was born in New York City and grew up in Mississippi and various parts of Nigeria. They are a second-year MPH student at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. Their professional interests span community psychology, learning design, and health equity with a particular focus on co-creating holistic, community-based systems of care for Black people.
