President

Shanna Livermore

Shanna Livermore, MPH, MCHES graduated from Slippery Rock University with a B.S. in Health Science and obtained a Certificate of Advanced Evaluation Studies and a Master’s in Public Health, with an emphasis in Health Promotion, Education and Evaluation, from Claremont Graduate University (CGU). She is pursuing a doctorate in public health at CGU with an emphasis in global health.

Ms. Livermore has worked in HIV/AIDS prevention research and evaluation for over 18 years starting at the California Department of Public Health, Office of AIDS. She worked with the Riverside Department of Mental Health, Research and Evaluation Section for 4 years, and was a consultant for Los Angeles schools on childhood obesity. From 2012-2013 she served as a Program Manager at the Center for Health Justice for the Men in Life Environments (MILE) Project, an innovative and culturally congruent intervention designed to reduce HIV risk-related behaviors and improve psychosocial outcomes in recently incarcerated African American men who have sex with men and women (MSMW). In 2012, Ms. Livermore served as a consultant to the Pan African Parliament for the development of their 2014-2017 Strategic Plan. Currently, she serves as a Project Specialist and Evaluator at the University of Southern California (USC), Keck School of Medicine, Pacific AIDS Education and Training Center.

Ms. Livermore’s specialties include program evaluation; project management; and mental health. Ms. Livermore is the Society Of Public Health Education (SOPHE) Global Health Community of Practice Fellow and the Southern California Chapter of SOPHE’s National Delegate and President-elect.

Ms. Livermore is a transdisciplinary-focused professional who strives to invoke the Zen Buddhist concept of Shoshi in her life. Shoshi, otherwise known as “beginner’s mind” refers to having an attitude of openness, eagerness, and lack of preconceptions when studying a subject, even when studying at an advanced level, just as a beginner in that subject would.

Immediate Past President

Laura Chandler

Laura Chandler is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Science at California State University, Fullerton.  She holds a Doctorate in Public Health with an emphasis in Health Education & Promotion from Loma Linda University and has been working and teaching in the field for 18 years. Dr. Laura Chandler’s research interests include adolescent and college health issues. She is particularly interested in the development, implementation and evaluation of innovative strategies to address mental health, reproductive health, healthy eating, and physical activity. Dr. Chandler is a member of the American Public Health Association (APHA) and the Society of Public Health Educators (SOPHE).

Delegate Trustee

Rebecca Shaneck

Rebecca Shaneck is entering her third year as a dual degree, DO-MPH, student. She is passionate about addressing social determinants of health when caring for her patients holistically. It is important to treat patients as individuals while also understanding the context that their community has on their health.

Prior to attending medical school, Rebecca worked as a clinical researcher in the disciplines of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Urology. She later went on to work in Safety and Risk Management during the COVID-19 pandemic to address health issues and comorbidities faced by workers in her community.

When she is not studying, Rebecca is actively involved in health policy reform. From membership, involvement in the resolution writing process, and representation as a delegate at many national medical conferences, she has the experience to represent SoCal SOPHE well.

In her personal and professional life, she is focused on wellness. Rebecca has given multiple lectures about self-care and promotion of self-advocacy during healthcare visits. She pursues balance in her free time by gardening, reading, yoga, and hiking with her dog. 

Social Media Chair

Gaby Gregg

Gaby Gregg, MPH, CHES®, NBC-HWC is currently the Nutrition, Health, and Wellness Program Manager at Community Action Partnership of Orange County (CAP OC), where she has had experience leading and overseeing the work of up to 14 staff. She has over 17 years of experience working at CAP OC in various roles. Before becoming a Program Manager, she coordinated the Rethink Your Drink Campaign, a part of the California Department of Public Health’s Nutrition Education & Obesity Prevention Branch, and served as Regional Manager for the Network for a Healthy California–Children’s Power Play! Campaign. In these roles, Gaby promoted the consumption of water and awareness of sugar-sweetened beverages and promoted increased consumption of fruits and vegetables and increased levels of physical activity among 9- to 11 year-old children in Orange County. Since 2003, she has worked in the community within a variety of fields, including law enforcement, crime prevention, community outreach, and nutrition, health, and wellness. For over five years, Gaby also served as a volunteer tutor and mentor for at-risk youth.

She received her Associate of Arts degree in Graphic Design with an emphasis in Entertainment Marketing from the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising (FIDM), a Bachelor of Science in Health Science with a concentration in Health Education and a certificate in Nutrition from TUI University, holds a Master of Public Health degree from the University of New England, is a Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES®), and a National Board Certified Health & Wellness Coach (NBC-HWC). In 2014, Gaby was highlighted as one of National SOPHE’s 30 Under 30 during National Health Education Week for making strides in the health education field.  She believes social media plays an important role in the dissemination of health messages, reaching people where they eat, learn, live, play, shop, and work! 

Newsletter Chair

Vacant

Contact [email protected] to apply! 

Treasurer

Laura Keene 

As treasurer, Laura Keene manages SoCal SOPHE’s finances.

Laura Keene is owner and principal of Keene Insights where she provides evaluation training and support to nonprofits, foundations, and other community-based organizations. She helps her clients harness the power of data and have a greater impact on the communities they serve. Laura almost 20 years of experience designing and implementing high-quality evaluations and building organizational capacity around evaluation. She’s worked in a variety of contexts including public health, healthcare, social services and education in local, national and international settings. She has an undergraduate degree in Psychology from UC Berkeley and a Master of Public Health (M.P.H.) from Columbia University.

Advocacy Chair

Valaya Johnson

 Valaya Johnson, MPH, CHES is a Health Educator at the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Division of HIV and STD Programs (DHSP). She has also served as the Director of Health & Wellness for a nonprofit organization that promotes mindfulness, yoga, and wellness in youth residing in South Central Los Angeles. Valaya previously worked in the California Department of Public Health’s Nutrition Education & Obesity Prevention Branch, where she provided healthy cooking workshops and taught health and nutrition courses to middle school students, teachers, and parents. Her experience in healthcare spans across all ages and includes working with infants, developing adapted physical education programs for children with disabilities, monitoring the physical rehabilitation of adults, and facilitating LSVT BIG classes for geriatric patients with Parkinson’s disease. 

Valaya holds a Master of Public Health degree with an emphasis in Health Education and Promotion from the University of Southern California, in addition to a Bachelor of Science degree in Kinesiology with a concentration in Exercise Science and a minor in Psychology from California State University, Long Beach. She is a Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES) and an active member of the American Public Health Association, Black Ladies in Public Health, and the Society for Health Communication. 

Valaya’s current interests include women’s health, fitness, health policy, eliminating health disparities in underserved communities, and promoting healthy lifestyles domestically and abroad. 

Secretary 

Michelle Harris

Michelle Harris is a Behavioral Health Clinician for the County of Orange Health Care Agency as well as a per diem Medical Social Worker for Methodist Hospital of Southern California.  She holds a Master’s in Public Health (MPH) with an emphasis in health education and promotion as well as a Masters of Social Work (MSW) with an emphasis of health and older adults from the University of Southern California. Prior to earning her MPH and MSW, Michelle also gained her B.A in Sociology with a minor in public health from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Throughout Michelle’s academic and professional journey, she had always had a particular interest in health education and promotion. While attending UCLA, Michelle was actively involved in various student health related organizations such as Black Pre-Health Organization, UCLA Pathways for Students into Health Professions, and Universal Gerontology & Alzheimer’s Disease. Michelle was also an outreach representative for Asian Pacific AIDS Intervention Team as well as National Children’s Health Study. While earning a MPH and MSW, she interned as a Health Educator for Lawndale’s Elementary School District. As a health educator, Michelle assisted in grant funding, implemented community resource guides as well as coordinated with community partners in developing Photo Voice Projects for CHLA and Champion for Change. In addition, she also studied abroad in Chile researching Chilean adolescent tobacco consumption prevention.

Currently, Michelle utilizes the various skills and knowledge that she attained throughout her academic journey as a Clinical and Medical Social Worker working with various populations encountering mental and physical health disparities. As a Clinical Social Worker, her role is to provide crisis intervention to families and individuals struggling with mental health. As a Medical Social Worker, her role is to provide therapy and health education to patients and families who encounter and are struggling with severe medical diagnosis. In addition, she is also  a member of APHA, NCHEC, SOPHE and is a Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES). Michelle’s current interests involve dementia/Alzheimer’s Disease prevention, health disparities in underrepresented communities, as well as food and nutrition.

Continuing Education Chair

Geovany Lizarraga 

My name is Geovany Lizarraga and I am a self-motivated individual within the Public Health community and a current MPH student at CSU, Northridge. Once graduated with my MPH, I wish to become a Health Education Specialist with a non-profit organization and acquire a position with Bakersfield College as an adjunct Public Health professor. I currently work at Dignity Health as a Healthy Living Program Specialist, where I disseminate nutrition education, physical fitness, and chronic illness self-management evidence-based programs. One of my biggest accomplishments as a Health Educator must be when I was left with the task of having to run a 6-week chronic illness self-management program and had such positive feedback from the participants, it made me feel so special and realized how much of an impact we as Public Health professionals can make in our community.

Some of my favorite hobbies include exercising, gardening, and cooking new recipes! Although I am a public health professional and MPH student, a previous work title of mine was “Beekeeper” and loved doing it because I got to travel and learn so much about bees and their lifespan.

Membership Chair

Vacant

Contact [email protected] to apply! 

Website Chair

Eric Shanazari

Eric Shanazari is an MPH graduate student at California State University, Northridge with a concentration in applied epidemiology. Since entering the public health field, he has been excited to learn all he can about how to collect, interpret, and present data that may be used to improve peoples’ lives. He is currently working as a research assistant for the SHARE project, a longitudinal study looking into teens’ habits, feelings, cultural identity, coping, and personal strengths. He also works as an instructional student assistant on campus.