Alumni
If you are a GHI alum and want to be listed here, please use the form below!
2005-2014
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Read More about Jason Nagata, MD, MSc (2007)Jason Nagata, MD, MSc (2007)
Undergraduate internships (07-08); Now: Pediatrician and Physician-Scientist UCSF, San Francisco, CA
Nagata Lab
Jason Nagata, MD, MSc (2007)
Undergraduate internships (07-08); Now: Pediatrician and Physician-Scientist UCSF, San Francisco, CA
Nagata Lab
Dr. Jason Nagata is a pediatrician and physician-scientist specializing in adolescent and young adult health at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 2008 with majors in Health & Societies and the Biological Basis of Behavior. As one of the first undergraduate participants in the Guatemala Health Initiative, he conducted fieldwork in both the Spring and Summer 2007 and 2008 cohorts. His senior thesis examined the connections between body mass index and socioeconomic status, the “Coca-colonization” and hybridization of local diets, and community perspectives on chlorination among the Tz’utujil Maya. As a medical student at UCSF, he continued to engage with the Initiative and led an evaluation of a diabetes education video produced in partnership with community leaders.
Dr. Nagata credits the Guatemala Health Initiative with inspiring his career in global health and academic medicine. Following graduation, he received a Master of Science from the University of Oxford as a Thouron Scholar. His current research focuses on adolescent health behaviors, including digital media use, nutrition, and physical activity, and he has authored more than 400 peer-reviewed articles. His work has been featured in The New York Times, NPR, and NBC News. He co-founded the International Association for Adolescent Health Emerging Professionals Network and serves as a Commissioner for the Second Lancet Commission on Adolescent Health and Wellbeing. Dr. Nagata has been recognized with the American Academy of Pediatrics Emerging Leader in Adolescent Health Award and the International Association for Adolescent Health Young Professionals Prize.
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Read More about Melissa Gradilla, MPH (2008)Melissa Gradilla, MPH (2008)
Field School Summer Intern(2008), Penn GHI Leader (2009-2011), Now- Director of Grant Making, Every Mother Counts
Every Mother Counts
Melissa Gradilla, MPH (2008)
Field School Summer Intern(2008), Penn GHI Leader (2009-2011), Now- Director of Grant Making, Every Mother Counts
Every Mother Counts
Melissa Gradilla is the Director of Grantmaking at Every Mother Counts, where she manages the design and implementation of the organization’s investments in U.S. and global maternal health programs. She is a public health professional with extensive research and programmatic experience in maternal and reproductive health, child health, and HIV. She has worked on the planning, implementation, and evaluation of health projects with Ascension Global Mission, Population Council, and the Columbia University School of Nursing. Melissa currently serves on the Governance Committee for Funders for Birth Justice and Equity, the first birth justice funder affinity group in the U.S. She holds a graduate degree from the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and an undergraduate degree in Health and Societies from the University of Pennsylvania.
"I work at EMC because my experience studying maternal health in Guatemala showed me how social determinants and systemic inequities shape health outcomes and exposed me to community-driven, evidence-based solutions."
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Read More about Erin Bassett-Novoa, MD (2009)Erin Bassett-Novoa, MD (2009)
Medical student and summer intern; Now: Family Physician, Lawrence, MA and Santiago Atitlán
Erin Bassett-Novoa, MD (2009)
Medical student and summer intern; Now: Family Physician, Lawrence, MA and Santiago Atitlán
Erin Bassett-Novoa, MD is a family physician currently serving the community at the Hospitalito Atitlan in Santiago Atitlan, Guatemala. Her connection to the region began in 2009 when, as a first-year medical student at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, she participated in the Guatemala Health Initiative and volunteered at the Hospitalito. It was there that she met her husband, Ricardo, an engineer from Santiago Atitlan.
Erin’s passion for global health and service led her to return to Santiago Atitlan between her third and fourth years of medical school to continue her work at the Hospitalito and the local Centro de Salud. By the time she finished medical school, she knew she wanted to return to the area long-term.
After completing her family medicine residency at the Greater Lawrence Family Health Center in Massachusetts, where she gained additional training in obstetrics (including C-sections and the care of high-risk obstetric patients), she served as an attending physician for five years. During this time, she cared for patients across all ages, supervised resident teams in inpatient medicine, and provided comprehensive care, including pediatrics and obstetrics.
In 2022, Erin and her family decided to return to Santiago Atitlan full-time. She now divides her time between Guatemala and the U.S., working 80% of the year at the Hospitalito Atitlan and returning to Greater Lawrence Family Health Center for 10 weeks each year.
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Read More about Jung Kim (2009)Jung Kim (2009)
Field School in Community Health Research student, Now: SVP Operations Sylvan Health and Yoga Instructor
Sylvan Health
Jung Kim (2009)
Field School in Community Health Research student, Now: SVP Operations Sylvan Health and Yoga Instructor
Sylvan Health
Jung is a Senior Vice President for Operations at Sylvan Health. Sylvan Health is devoted to making health easier through personalized nutrition. Jung was one of the early GHI students who established the foundation of community engagement in Santiago Atitlán.
Since GHI Jung grew her interest in health care research to build systems within innovative corporations like Cerner and NeuroFlow. For more than 12 years she has led operations in health related technology industry.
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Read More about Janet Sung, DDS, MD (2011)Janet Sung, DDS, MD (2011)
Field School Summer Intern (2011); Dental Brigade Leader; Now: Community Oral and Maxilofacial Surgeon, Oakland, CA
Janet Sung, DDS, MD (2011)
Field School Summer Intern (2011); Dental Brigade Leader; Now: Community Oral and Maxilofacial Surgeon, Oakland, CA
Janet Sung is an oral and maxillofacial surgeon based in Oakland, CA. She earned her undergraduate degree (BA) from the University of Pennsylvania, where she majored in Anthropology with a concentration in medical anthropology and global health. During her time at Penn, she was awarded university funding to conduct anthropological research with GHI during the summer and winter of her senior year. She researched "Help-seeking behaviors of Atiteca mothers". She went on to attend and receive her dental degree (DDS) as well as her Master of Public Health (MPH) degree at Penn. She then moved to the west coast to complete her medical degree (MD) and residency in oral and maxillofacial surgery at UCSF. Today, she serves her community as a surgeon at Highland Hospital, a public hospital and Level 1 trauma center in Oakland.
2015-2025
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Read More about Christina Roldan, MD, USAF (2016)Christina Roldan, MD, USAF (2016)
Field School Summer Research Intern; Now: Family Medicine Resident Las Vegas, NV
Christina Roldan, MD, USAF (2016)
Field School Summer Research Intern; Now: Family Medicine Resident Las Vegas, NV
Dr. Christina Roldan is a dedicated physician and U.S. Air Force officer with a passion for global health and cross-cultural care. She graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 2017 with a degree in International Relations and a minor in German, where her interest in healthcare equity was sparked through her work with the Guatemala Health Initiative (GHI). As a member of GHI’s 2016 summer cohort, she focused on diabetes education research—an experience that became an inspiration for her undergraduate thesis, *On the Effectiveness and Efficiency of Healthcare NGOs*.
Fluent in Spanish, Portuguese, and German, Dr. Roldan earned her medical degree from the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine in 2024, the same year she was promoted to the rank of Captain in the United States Air Force. She currently serves as an active duty resident physician at the Nellis Family Medicine Residency in Las Vegas, Nevada. Looking ahead, she remains committed to international health efforts, crediting her early experiences with GHI as the catalyst for her career in global medicine.
On an 'other' profession note, check out Dr. Roldan's YouTube channel. She is a highly talented singer.
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Read More about Ashleigh David (2018)Ashleigh David (2018)
Spring short term travel; Now: AEA Stage Manager for national theatrical productions
Ashleigh David (2018) Website
Ashleigh David (2018)
Spring short term travel; Now: AEA Stage Manager for national theatrical productions
Ashleigh David (2018) Website
Ashleigh traveled with GHI 2018 while studying anthropology at Penn. Her trip worked to improve health and primary school education in San Antonio Chacaya. Since graduating from Penn, she has pursued a career in the Theater Arts. Ashleigh is now a professional stage manager working in theaters across the country. Some favorite credits including touring with TheaterworksUSA, Tuacahn Amphitheater in Utah, and The Muny is St. Louis. When she’s not working with key productions, she is traveling around the US and the globe. Though she isn’t practicing anthropology, the lessons from GHI still impact the way she moves through the world and the questions she asks. You can keep up with her career at Ashleighjdavid.com
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Read More about Erick Garza, MD (2018)Erick Garza, MD (2018)
Field School Intern; Now: Emergency Medicine Physician, Jacksonville, FL
Erick Garza, MD (2018)
Field School Intern; Now: Emergency Medicine Physician, Jacksonville, FL
Dr. Garza joined GHI as a summer intern in June 2018. During his 10 week stay in Guatemala, he studied the availability, price and perceived affordability of diabetes medications in the public and private sectors of rural Indigenous Guatemala. his work actively contributed to the World Diabetes Foundation project at the Hospitalito Atitlan. After gradauting from Penn in 2020 with a major in Biology and minors in Latin American studies and Chemistry, he studied medicine at Columbia University's, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. He is now an Emergency Medicine resident physician with the Jackson Health System in Florida.
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Read More about Katey Givan-Haugland (2019)Katey Givan-Haugland (2019)
Field School Summer Intern (2019); Now- MD-PhD Student, University of Oslo
Katey Givan-Haugland (2019)
Field School Summer Intern (2019); Now- MD-PhD Student, University of Oslo
Katey Givan is a studying medicine at University of Oslo’s MD-PhD program. After her GHI internship, she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Bioengineering and a Master’s degree in Education from the University of Pennsylvania. She served as the 2021 - 2022 Emerson Research fellow at the Netter Center for Community Partnerships, conducting participatory action research into COVID19 vaccine uptake and teenage mental health while coordinating community vaccination outreach.
At the University of Oslo, she researches participatory action research methodologies and cross-country research collaborations, particularly in the context of maternity health and low-resources settings. She served as the Circle University research fellow on abortion rights and access. Finally, she is the sitting chair of the Norwegian Medical Students Association’s Standing Committee on Medical Education. She hopes to pursue specialization in obstetrics and gynecology.
"I am so lucky to count [GHI] as one of the FEW ethical examples of how to do it[International Medical Collaborations] - it’s nuts how much stuff there is out there that is neutral to harmful, and how hard it is to do well!"
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Read More about Heta Patel, MD (2019)Heta Patel, MD (2019)
Field School Summer Intern and Spring break trip; Now: Internal Medicine resident at Penn Medicine
Heta Patel, MD (2019)
Field School Summer Intern and Spring break trip; Now: Internal Medicine resident at Penn Medicine
Dr. Heta Patel is an Internal Medicine resident at Penn Medicine. Heta graduated from The College at Penn with a major in Health & Societies and minor in Hispanic studies and matriculated into medical school at Perelman School of Medicine in 2021. Dr. Patel graduated from PSOM in 2025 with a academic concentration on Quality Improvement and Patient Safety. In the community, she has focused on starting several programs including:
- Creating Casa Colibri, or Hummingbird House with a Penn classmate and with Santiago NGO partner: Puerta Abierta. Casa Colibri is dedicated to addressing domestic violence and mental health support. It is the recipient of several grants including the Davis Projects for Peace and FCAM.
- Co-founding a new clinic in partnership with the African Family Health Organization serving Philadelphia's African and Caribbean immigrant populations.
- Founding Lockdown Letters in March 2020 to provide support for workers during the COVID pandemic.
- Collaborating with several initiatives dedicated towards the health needs of the local Latino community (Puentes de Salud, Center for Surgical Health).
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Read More about Tanay Poddar (2023)Tanay Poddar (2023)
Penn GHI Co-President 2023-2024, Short-term trip and Field School Summer Research Intern, Now: Medical student at University of Central Florida
Tanay Poddar (2023)
Penn GHI Co-President 2023-2024, Short-term trip and Field School Summer Research Intern, Now: Medical student at University of Central Florida
Tanay Poddar is a medical student at the University of Central Florida. He earned his undergraduate degree (BA) in Neuroscience while minoring in Computer Science and Biophysics. During his time at Penn, he started with global health mission trips to Guatemala and moved towards global health research with GHI and working to revive the undergraduate initiative. After spending six weeks in Guatemala interviewing hospital staff in Santiago Atitilan, he is now working on analyzing the barriers to EMR implementation. In the future he hopes to use GHI as a platform to create long-term partnerships with the goal of improving the delivery of healthcare.
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Maia McAllister, MS1 (2024)
JUNAM Fellow AY2025 Partner: Asociación K’aslimaal; Now: Medical student at Stritch School of Medicine, Loyola University Chicago
Maia McAllister, MS1 (2024)
JUNAM Fellow AY2025 Partner: Asociación K’aslimaal; Now: Medical student at Stritch School of Medicine, Loyola University Chicago
