Fernanda Gutierrez, Mph, Ches Email & Phone Number

Duncan, British Columbia, Canada

- Works with community and other Island Health staff to help identify and assess local needs, review available resources, and mobilise community action to develop strategies for promoting individual and community health and well being, to reduce health inequities, and address risk factors that contribute to chronic and communicable diseases.

Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada

- Lead the Long-Term Care Initiative, created to improve medical care and address challenges in long-term care homes in Nanaimo.- Worked collaboratively with physicians and long-term care home senior staff to identify quality improvement projects to support long-term care physicians in achieving the 5 FPSC Best Practice Expectations.- Monitored project progress and financies to ensure that project delivery is consistent with grant agreements- Provided support to the Nanaimo Social Prescribing Program by creating a training manual for Link Worker

Duncan, British Columbia, Canada

- Led the Cowichan Region BAH program, a non-medical services program for older adults (65+). - Served 90+ clients and 40+ volunteers (i.e., intake, assessments, record keeping, financials).- Developed and maintained positive relationships with local organizations and clients, to provide adequate care to clients and foster trust and engagement in the community. - Created budgets and reconciled expenses with team and bookkeeper.- Led the submission of grant proposal for the 2023-24 Better at Home grant and other community funding streams to secure additional funding for Volunteer Cowichan to support the community’s needs.

Blacksburg, Virginia, United States

- Led the development and implementation of an evidence-based health equity strategy to ensure greater equity and access to COVID-19 vaccines for those disproportionately affected by COVID-19 in the New River Valley (i.e., people in racial and ethnic minorities, people living in communities with high social vulnerability index, people living in rural communities, etc.) - Collaborated with Community Based Organizations, faith-based organizations, businesses, community partners and stakeholders to organize 92 mobile vaccine clinics that mitigate identified barriers preventing access to vaccination. - Served as a community liaison and provided culturally competent input to promote vaccination uptake amongst the Hispanic community, leading to the vaccination of 1,000+ Hispanic community members.- Provided NARCAN training to school, business, and community members amid the increase of opioid overdoses in our district- Assisted Disease Intervention Specialist with STI testing and delivered safe sex supplies to several locations- Maintained positive relationships with community members to ensure trust and facilitate access to healthcare - Prepared qualitative and quantitative reports to meet CDC Cycle 4 funding reporting requirements.- Supervised 10 COVID-19 ambassadors hired under the New River Regional Commission and 2 Master of Public Health students completing their Independent Learning Experience at the New River Healt District

Blacksburg, Virginia, United States

- Assisted in writing federal grant proposals supporting Virginia Tech's global initiatives and strategic partnerships. Contributed to winning a proposal for the Fulbright Colombia Research Grants ($69,000)- Launched and co-wrote 5 newsletter issues (+5,000 opens) and co-organized 4 webinars (+200 attendees) to advance collaboration amongst 20 U.S. and Jordanian universities in the U.S. and Jordan, under the U.S Cooperation Agreement Grants with the U.S Embassy in Jordan. - Organized activities and provided logistical support to host exchange students under the Friends of Fulbright Argentina Undergraduate Exchange program and the Partners of America: Universidad Católica Pontificia de Argentina (UCA) and Virginia Tech STEM Exchange Program.

- Designed and conducted semi-structured interviews and thematically analyzed qualitative data to improve health assessments, workflow, and data collection at the Child Health Investment Partnership (CHIP) of Roanoke. -Modified the Healthcare/Family Planning Assessment utilizing interview results, literature review, and CHIP management’s input. The new health assessments targeted pre-menopausal, post-menopausal women and men.

Blacksburg, Virginia, United States

- Assisted the New River Valley Health District, Town of Blacksburg, Virginia Tech, and other stakeholders in launching a regional wellness communications campaign titled "Be Committed. Be Well"- Developed and adapted bilingual (Spanish/English) COVID-19 educational content to improve COVID-19 communication in the New River Valley. Materials were distributed to the New River Valley Health District, the New River Valley Agency on Aging, and the New River Valley Community Services. - Launched a podcast titled “Your Health Hotline” (12 episodes) that provides a local perspective of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Blacksburg, Virginia, United States

- Led a team of 25 public health ambassadors to develop and implement the NRV Public Health Task Force’s “COVID-19 Crushers” outreach program. Provide boots on the ground education while fostering a welcoming environment.- Headed a COVID-19 educational awareness campaign to educate Virginia Tech students and NRV community members on COVID-19 prevention measures and local resources that resulted in more than 7,000 face to face interactions. - Organized 43 educational sessions, 34 community COVID-19 testing events, and 59 COVID-19/Flu vaccination clinics.- Highlighted team efforts at stakeholder meetings, university news, local news outlets, and an international webinar.

Toronto, Canada Area

- Co-authored a systematic review investigating gender bias in clinical trials that study intranasal oxytocin and its effect on humans' cognition and behavior. - Performed an extensive literature search on relevant databases (PubMed, PsyINFO, and SCOPUS) to code, analyze and synthesize qualitative findings.

Toronto, Canada Area And La Romana, Dominican Republic

- Selected to conduct a Knowledge Translation project focusing on the perceptions of short-term voluntourism programs that target migrant-Haitian populations in the Dominican Republic. - Adapted and transmitted empirical knowledge concerning these programs' efficacy and ethics to local stakeholders (i.e., volunteers, community members, local university students, hospital staff, and doctors).- Presented research findings at the Undergraduate Research Fair (2017), University of Toronto, and at the Bateye Symposium, University of Massachusetts Medical School (2017)

Toronto, Canada Area

- Supported the Student Exchange Program at the Center for International Experience with the development, planning, coordination, and delivering of student support programs for incoming international exchange students.

Toronto, Canada Area

- Led a team of 10 executive members and 400 general members - Secured $3,000 in funding for the club from the Dean's Initiative Fund, the Equity Ideas Fund, the Good Ideas Fund at the University of Toronto- Collaborated with Center for International Experience (CIE), and other clubs at University of Toronto to plan and organize regular cultural and social events, with the aim of enhancing campus presence.- Organized the "Multicultural Fest/Globalicious", an event that attracted over 400 attendees and won "Event of the Year Award 2017-2018" (The University of Toronto Student's Union) and "Program Event of the Year 2017-2018" by Student & Campus Community Development at UofT.

Singapore

- Nominated by the University of Toronto to complete a behavioral genetics summer research project at NUS, focusing on the association CD38 and CD157 and creative thinking. - Led a data-complex research study, requiring project management skills along with independent data analysis on SPSS. - Collaborated with lab members to write a manuscript for publication (currently in pre-print).

Master Of Public Health - Mph, Infectious Disease And Public Health Education Concentrations

Honours Bachelor Of Science (Hbsc.), Human Biology Health And Disease Specialist & Psychology Minor, Graduated With Distinction

Summer Abroad Research Exchange Program, Department Of Paediatrics

French Baccalauréat And American High School Diploma, Baccalauréat Scientifique, Mention Bien

Bachelor Of Applied Science - Basc, Human Biology