Executive Board
Founder and CEO: Elena Navas, PhD, MS
Dr. Navas is originally from Colombia, South America. At the age of 18 years, she moved to Chicago to pursue her scientific career in bio-medical research at Northwestern University (NU). Subsequently, she became an epidemiologist (MS) and a community public health scientist and program developer (PhD) at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC), with concentration in health behavior and promotion among underserved minority populations.
Her main focus of interest is bridging the health disparities and inequities gap that minority and underserved Latino communities face with respect to various health and wellness conditions.
As a researcher and public health scholar, Dr. Navas has been author and co-author on multiple peer-reviewed scientific publications, and on presentations in national and international public health conferences. She has also taught numerous courses in epidemiology and behavioral health sciences at NU and UIC. Moreover, she has mentored numerous Latino students who were part of the Minority Academic Peer Program and the Summer Residential Enrichment Program.
For the past two decades, Dr. Navas has collaborated with various Latino communities (e.g., Pilsen/Little Village and Humboldt Park) to develop community- based health initiatives and programs designed to raise awareness of health and wellness issues Latino communities deal with on a daily basis. All of these service activities were designed to deliver prevention services, provide health education, and empower children and their families to lead healthier lives.
For the last two years, Dr. Navas has served as health expert on weekly TV shows on Telemundo (‘Vida Mujer’), Univision (‘Despierta con Zoe’ y ‘Vida Mujer’) and Mundo Fox (Currently Mundo Max/HOY Noticias, ‘Nightly News’). Dr. Navas also produces and presents numerous health segments for HOY’s ‘Vivelo HOY Noticias’. In addition, Dr. Navas is periodically interviewed by TV networks on different trending health topics. Moreover, she currently produces and hosts a weekly radio talk show ‘Health over Coffee Time’ in Spanish Public Radio.
More recently, Dr. Navas co-founded the ‘Global Health Beat Foundation’ (GHBF). The GHBF’s initiatives focus on educating and empowering diverse communities around health and disease prevention. They have a global reach and target vulnerable populations with emphasis on maternal-child health.
Founder and Treasurer: J. Alberto Navas Sierra, Phd, MA
Colombian and Spanish. Doctor of Law and Economics in Colombia and Masters in Sociology of Development in Chile from FLACO-UNESCO. He has been Colombian government official and diplomatic representative. For more than 30 years he has been a professor and researcher in the field of Latin American political and diplomatic history in Colombia (Javeriana, El Rosario y Los Andes universities), United Kingdom (visiting professor, Center for Latin American Studies, Cambridge University and Institute for Latin American Studies, London University), Spain (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas), France (Casa de Velásquez, Institut de Françe), United State (Invited professor of John Carter Brown Library), Canada (Université de Montréal, Iberian and Latin American Studies Department) and México (Law School and International Relations Department of Instituto Tecnológico de Monterrey, Guadalajara). His career’s primary concern has been the promotion of cooperation, fair exchange and international coexistence.
Secretary: Mayra Estrella, PhD, MPH
Dr. Estrella was born and raised in Puerto Rico. She earned a Master of Public Health (MPH) from the University of Puerto Rico and doctoral degree (PhD) at the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health with a focus on community-based research and behavioral health. She is interested in addressing social determinants of health (i.e., the conditions of daily life) that affect the well-being of Hispanics/Latinos with a focus on the promotion of healthy lifestyles. She uses both qualitative and quantitative research methods to better understand how ecological, psychosocial, and behavioral factors contribute to health disparities among adolescents and adults of Hispanic/Latino background.
Additionally, she has experience in the development, implementation, and evaluation of public health programs. Dr. Estrella has worked in partnership with Chicago’s Hispanic/Latino communities in community-based initiatives to address a wide variety of health-related issues, including HIV prevention, health of sexual minorities (LGBTQ), diabetes management, youth civic engagement, adolescent pregnancy, and access to health care services, among others. In both her research and practice efforts, she uses community engagement and empowerment strategies to raise awareness of health and social justice issues.
Advisory Board
Judith López Estrada, M.S.E.
Colombian. Chemical Engineer from Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana de Medellín (Colombia). Master’s degree in Environmental Technology from The International Institute for Hydraulic and Environmental Engineering, Delft (Netherlands). For 20 years she has been director and consultant of different Colombian and international companies in the area of Human Resources. She was also President of the Board of Directors of the Fundauniban (Social Foundation of the Banana Union of Urabá). In all her positions and projects her primary objective has been the search for social equity and the human development of the people under her leaderships.
Dora María Olarte Zapata
Colombian. Forest Engineer, National University of Colombia, Medellín (Colombia). Master’s Degree, Environmental Management, Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana, Medellín (Colombia). Master, Management and Conservation of the Natural Environment; Natural Spaces and Public Use, International University of Andalucía, Santa María de La Rábida, Huelva (Spain). She has practiced in Bolivia as Technical Engineering and Business Marketing, professor in programs of masters, Professional Scientific Foundation (FUNCIPRO); Freelance worker in management of computer programs applied to communication and engineering. Independent Advisor, Pedro Gutiérrez Banzer II Educational Unit, Complementary Training Program for Educators, PROFOCOM. She also collaborated with ‘Editorial Comunicarte (creation and editing of school texts contents in Human Rights and Values. She has also serves as writer of the publication “Pantanal Boliviano” of the PROBIOMA NGO. Adviser in communication in environmental management among others the Farboléutica Terbol SA, and Empresa Petrolera YPFB Chaco SA, and other non-governmental entities.
Jorge Ramirez
I have worked for over 20 years and marketing and advertising for the Midwest general market with emphasis in the Hispanic market.
I graduated from Columbia College Chicago (1988), and received a degree in Broadcasting and Journalism. I have worked for 10 years in Telemundo Chicago. I worked in the News Department wearing several hats such as Writing, Video Engineering, Editing, Camera operator. Served as Public Affair Director for 3 years in Telemundo-Chicago.
In 1987 I began my own business with 2 partners, Afterimages Inc, a Post production agency. During this time I wrote and produced hundreds of TV, Radio and Print ads and Public service announcements.
In the year 2000 I opened Adimpact Advertising Inc, a hispanic agency serving several private and non-for -profit accounts in the Midwest region.
Served in the International Latino Cultural Center for 12 years and in the Arts City Council for 2 years.
I believe in helping the needed!
Diane Saltoun, PhD
Executive Inspector General for the Illinois Attorney General’s Office. Prior to this appointment, Diane spent over a decade as a federal prosecutor with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago where she served as a Deputy Chief in the Criminal Division and the Co-Coordinator of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a federal, state and local initiative to reduce gun violence. Diane also served as a member of the faculty at the University of Chicago Law School and a member of the adjunct faculty at Northwestern University, John Marshall and Loyola University Law Schools. Diane has serves as a trustee of the Latin School of Chicago and High Jump (currently Governance Committee Chair). Diane has served on numerous other boards in leadership positions, including the Lycee Francais de Chicago (Vice-Chair, Governance Committee Chair, Education Committee Co-Chair), Court Theatre, and Los Amigos de Las Americas – Chicago Urban Chapter.
David Victorson, PhD
Bachelor’s Degree, English Literature and Psychology, Augustana College (Rock Island, IL). Master’s Degree, Mental Health. Counseling, Indiana University (Bloomington, IN). Ph.D., Counseling Psychology, University of Miami (Coral Gables, FL). Postdoctoral Fellowship, Psychosocial Oncology and Health Outcomes. APA-accredited Internship in Clinical Psychology (Behavioral Medicine & Rehabilitation-Hispanic Track, University of Miami, Jackson Memorial Medical Center (Miami, FL). Licensed clinical psychologist (Illinois). Associate Professor, Department of Medical Social Sciences, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University. Member of the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center (RHLCCC, Northwestern University). Co-Chair of the Adolescent and Young Adult Oncology Working Group at RHLCCC. Chair, Research Working Group, Academic Consortium of Integrative Medicine and Health. Researcher Faculty at the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine at Northwestern Medicine. Founder and Director of True North Treks a cancer support nonprofit organization for teens and young adults. Assistant international medical humanitarian organization programs evaluation of HIV/AIDS. Clinical/Research in Public health. Assistant advanced supervised medical hypnosis training and teacher training in mindfulness inquiry (UCSD) and training in the application of minimally invasive biomarker collection procedures (NIH).
Honorary Board Members:
- Aparicio Laserna Arturo, MD
- Aparicio de Shuk, Inés Elvira
- Daviglus, Martha, PhD, MD
- Echavarría, Elena
- Langshur, Sharon, MD
- Stamler, Jeremiah, MD
- Pepe Vargas, MBA