CHANGELAB SOLUTIONS - Key Persons
Adolph Falcón, MPP, is a nationally recognized expert on Hispanic health issues. He is executive vice president of the National Alliance for Hispanic Health and director of the alliance's Healthy Americas Institute at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California.
He has played important roles in several pieces of federal legislation, including the Disadvantaged Minority Health Improvement Act of 1990, the Sugar-Sweetened Beverages Tax Act, and the Personal Care Products Safety Act. He has also worked on initiatives funded by federal agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, and the National Institutes of Health. He currently leads initiatives on youth vaping with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and on equity in human services with The Kresge Foundation. He also serves on the board of National Assembly Business Services, one of the nation's largest group purchasing plans for nonprofits, and on the advisory boards of the Nonprofit Finance Fund and Sesame Street in Communities, among others.
Job Titles:
- Operations Manager
- ChangeLab Solutions' Operations Manager
As ChangeLab Solutions' operations manager, Alex works to improve internal operations and infrastructure in the workplace.
Prior to joining ChangeLab Solutions, Alex worked in the hospitality industry for nearly 8 years, primarily with luxury brands Fairmont and Action Property Management. He also served in the Peace Corps as an environmental education volunteer in Morocco, where he did a botanical inventory of the national park he was assigned to and worked closely with his village association to build a reservoir in order to increase food security.
Alex graduated from the University of Denver with a bachelor's degree in international studies and English.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director
- Member of the Vice Presidents & Directors Team
Alexis is a managing director at ChangeLab Solutions, where she leads the organization's work at the intersection of education and health. This work focuses on developing legal and policy strategies that advance safe and supportive learning environments, resiliency, and health equity.
Previously, she has worked for local, state, and federal agencies and has covered a range of areas, including tobacco control and youth targeted marketing, food policy, affordable housing, and environmental justice. Outside of ChangeLab Solutions, Alexis co-leads The First Tee of San Francisco's youth mentorship program, helping young people navigate social and economic barriers through skills development, confidence building, and college preparedness.
She received her BA from Princeton University and her JD from the Washington College of Law at American University.
Job Titles:
- Program Staff Member
- Senior Attorney
Job Titles:
- Health Care Expert in Government, Nonprofit, & Corporate Sectors
Job Titles:
- Attorney
- Program Staff Member
Job Titles:
- Member of the Vice Presidents & Directors Team
- Vice President of Strategic Partnerships
As vice president of strategic partnerships, Becky focuses on developing and implementing ChangeLab's partnership strategy and plan in support of programmatic work, national visibility, and organizational sustainability.
Prior to joining ChangeLab Solutions, Becky was a program analyst at the National Association of County and City Health Officials, where she conducted research, developed tools and resources, and presented on a range of topics, including comprehensive cancer control, health in all policies, environmental health, and food safety. She worked at the American Psychological Association on the Socioeconomic Status Related Cancer Disparities Program.
She has also served as a lecturer at the California State University, East Bay, teaching courses on environmental health, health behavior, and health education. Becky graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a BA in cultural anthropology and from George Washington University, where she received her MPH in health policy
As chief operations officer, Carla oversees ChangeLab Solutions' business operations, including development, IT, human resources, administration, facilities, and cross-functional management. She leads strategies to develop the internal infrastructure to strengthen our organization's sustainability and impact.
Prior to joining ChangeLab Solutions, Carla worked in fund development and volunteer management for a nonprofit in Milwaukee that works to end the generational cycle of addiction. She served in the Peace Corps as a rural health volunteer in Paraguay, where she worked closely with neighborhood commissions on capacity-building projects to improve health and wellness.
Carla graduated from the University of San Diego with a bachelor's degree in international relations and received a master's degree in international affairs from Marquette University.
Tigris (she/her) brings a deep background in publishing and a love of words to her work as senior editor at ChangeLab Solutions, where she maintains the house style guide and edits publications and promotional materials for programs across the organization.
She has worked in-house and freelance in publicity, marketing, production management, and editing for organizations such as Jossey-Bass, John Wiley & Sons, Sybex, and Kaiser Permanente. In her other career as a nonprofit accountant, Tigris had sole responsibility for all accounting at Girls Leadership and handled general ledger accounting and benefits administration at We Care Solar.
She holds a bachelor's degree in English literature from the University of California, Berkeley, and a certificate from the Summer Publishing Institute at New York University.
Job Titles:
- Program Staff Member
- Senior Policy Analyst
Cesar is a senior policy analyst at ChangeLab Solutions, where he focuses on education policy and health justice, healthy housing and neighborhoods, community engagement and capacity building, and advancing innovative laws and policies to promote health equity in communities across the country.
Previously, he advocated for civil rights and environmental justice at The City Project, a community-based organization in Los Angeles, and served in the Office of the General Counsel at the Urban Institute, a national nonprofit economic and social policy research organization in Washington, DC.
A native of Los Angeles's Eastside, Cesar is passionate about equal justice and employing sports, nature, and art to bridge divides and foster a shared sense of humanity.
Cesar received his BA from the University of California, Los Angeles, and his JD from Stanford Law School.
Job Titles:
- Program Staff Member
- Senior Policy Analyst
As a senior policy analyst, Chassidy focuses on policy, systems, and environmental strategies that address chronic disease and advance health in the areas of nutrition, tobacco prevention, and physical activity.
Prior to joining ChangeLab Solutions, Chassidy was a research and evaluation fellow at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In this role, she conducted formative research to develop national health communications campaigns and also monitored and evaluated the campaigns.
Chassidy received her BA from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and her MPH from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Job Titles:
- Program Staff Member
- Senior Planner
Job Titles:
- Senior Grants Administrator
Job Titles:
- Senior Administrative Assistant
As a senior administrative assistant at ChangeLab Solutions, Dan supports program managers and assists with the training of administrative staff.
Prior to joining ChangeLab Solutions, Dan worked as a grant writer at Creative Growth Art Center in Oakland, which provides art studio and gallery promotion opportunities to artists with disabilities. He also worked as a legal associate in a consumer law practice and a staff attorney at the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco.
Job Titles:
- Program Staff Member
- Planner
Job Titles:
- Human Resources Director
- Member of the Vice Presidents & Directors Team
As human resources director, Emily leads ChangeLab Solutions' HR team in designing and implementing a values-aligned human resources strategy that supports our organization in carrying out its mission and supports our diverse staff throughout their employment life cycle. She works collaboratively to strengthen organizational procedures and staff experience in service of making ChangeLab Solutions a great place to work.
Emily has a background in sustainable agriculture and food justice, which has allowed her to work with a diversity of projects - including youth-focused nonprofits, community urban farms, farmers markets, and an Asian vegetable seed company - and as co-owner and operator of her own small farm business. She also holds a certificate in ecological horticulture from the Center for Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems at the University of California, Santa Cruz.
Emily graduated from Oberlin College with a bachelor's degree in environmental studies and is a certified Professional in Human Resources (PHR) through the Human Resources Certification Institute (HRCI).
Job Titles:
- Managing Director
- Member of the Vice Presidents & Directors Team
As a managing director at ChangeLab Solutions, Erik focuses on the links between the built environment and health. He conducts research, prepares strategies, and develops tools to help communities support healthy living and sustainability.
Prior to joining ChangeLab Solutions, Erik worked for 13 years as an urban design consultant. He has led multidisciplinary teams on streetscape and public space design, district and corridor restructuring, city planning, neighborhood development, and downtown revitalization projects. He has given presentations to a wide variety of audiences on a range of urban design topics.
Erik received a Bachelor of Arts in architecture from Yale University, with a focus on urban design and sustainability. Erik is also a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners.
Job Titles:
- Program Staff Member
- Senior Attorney
As a senior attorney at ChangeLab Solutions, Gregory works on legal issues related to sugar reduction policies, alcohol control, preemption, active living, healthy housing, and water quality. He is a member of the board of directors of America Walks.
Prior to joining ChangeLab Solutions, he worked on developing regional cooperative agreements in the Greater Boston Region with the Metropolitan Area Planning Council and represented several Massachusetts communities as a municipal attorney. Gregory graduated from St. Lawrence University and holds a JD from Case Western Reserve University and a master's degree in urban and regional policy from Northeastern University.
Job Titles:
- Attorney
- Program Staff Member
Job Titles:
- Program Staff Member
- Senior Policy Analyst
Job Titles:
- Member of the Vice Presidents & Directors Team
- Vice President of External Affairs
Job Titles:
- Program Staff Member
- Senior Attorney
Job Titles:
- Senior Finance & Payroll Specialist
As the senior finance & payroll specialist at ChangeLab Solutions, Jasmyn manages time reporting and payroll. She also ensures grant compliance for our CDC work and conducts special projects for the finance team.
Prior to joining ChangeLab Solutions, Jasmyn worked as a partner relations manager and data integrity specialist for Fandor, which has an extensive library of documentaries on social change and independent films from around the world. She also assisted the curation team at Pandora for 7 years and worked as an administrative assistant at the Bay Area Video Coalition, a nonprofit media arts center.
Jasmyn graduated from San Francisco State University with a bachelor's degree in broadcast electronic communications for the arts.
Job Titles:
- Program Staff Member
- Senior Attorney
Job Titles:
- Program Staff Member
- Senior Planner
As a senior planner at ChangeLab Solutions, Jessica supports planning and policy work related to health equity, active living, transportation, and housing.
Before joining ChangeLab Solutions, she worked as a consultant on bicycle and pedestrian planning projects, Safe Routes to Schools programs, and traffic safety analysis. She also has experience in community engagement, program evaluation, and affordable housing advocacy. Jessica received a bachelor of arts from the University of Washington and concurrent master degrees in city planning and public health from the University of California, Berkeley.
As ChangeLab Solutions' chief financial officer, Jessica leads the finance and accounting team and facilitates organizational business strategy.
Jessica is also a member of the Executive Leadership Team, which is responsible for the sustainability of the organization, including fundraising and fiduciary compliance, visibility, ensuring our work advances our mission and vision, and helping to promote a positive internal culture at the organization.
Prior to ChangeLab Solutions, she worked in nonprofit administration, fundraising, and finance for more than ten years, including serving as the director of development and operations at Centro Legal de la Raza, a legal services agency, and as development and administrative coordinator at the Youth Employment Partnership, a training and job placement agency. She is involved in a range of Bay Area literary activities, including serving as co-editor of the journal Monday Night.
Jessica graduated from University of Chicago and holds a master of fine arts degree in creative writing from California College of the Arts and an accounting certificate from UC Berkeley Extension.
Job Titles:
- Vice President
- Member of the Cherokee Nation
Julie Hutcheson Stoss is vice president of government relations at Kaiser Permanente (KP). In this role, she leads the development of KP's national policy positions and principles to advance strategic objectives, including access to care, creating a regulatory environment to meet the health care needs of Kaiser's 12 million members and promoting the organization's unique model of integrated care and financing.
Under Stoss's leadership, the national government relations team provides strategic counsel to KP's legislative representatives in the 8 state capitals where Kaiser Permanente operates, as well as the District of Columbia.
Prior to joining Kaiser Permanente, Stoss worked as a senior consultant for California Assemblymember Liz Figueroa. She also worked as an attorney in private practice at McCutchen, Doyle, Brown, & Enersen in San Francisco and clerked for the Honorable Cecil F. Poole, US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
An enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation, Stoss is a nationally known leader in health care and policy; she was recognized by Diversity MBA Magazine as one of the Top 100 Under 50 Diverse Executive & Emerging Leaders in 2014. Stoss holds a bachelor's degree in political science (with highest honors) from the University of California at Berkeley and a law degree cum laude from Harvard University.
As a senior attorney, Katie works in multiple program areas to support sustainable communities, focusing on food systems and environmental health and justice.
Before joining ChangeLab Solutions, Katie served the Maine Supreme Judicial Court for two years as a law clerk to the Honorable Jeffrey L. Hjelm. During law school, Katie worked as a student clinician in the Environmental and Natural Resources Law Clinic and the Food and Agriculture Clinic; as a research assistant to the directors of the Environmental Law Center and the Center for Agriculture and Food Systems; and as a staff member on the Vermont Law Review. Additionally, she has worked as a farmers market manager, community-supported agriculture program coordinator, organic farming apprentice, and marketing associate for a small agricultural land trust.
Katie received her bachelor's degree with honors from the University of California, Santa Cruz, where she studied literature and linguistics. She also holds a juris doctor and a master's degree in environmental law and policy, both summa cum laude, from Vermont Law School.
Job Titles:
- Chief Communications Officer
As chief communications officer, Kim oversees ChangeLab Solutions' communications team and its multimedia communications in support of our organization's mission. Kim leads communications strategies to improve and expand our organization's impact, national presence, and growth.
Kim also oversees the production process to ensure consistent branding and messaging in all print and online communications. She coordinates outreach efforts across programs and platforms to ensure maximum audience reach on a wide variety of topics.
Kim is also a member of the Executive Leadership Team, which is responsible for the sustainability of the organization, including fundraising and fiduciary compliance, visibility, ensuring our work advances our mission and vision, and helping to promote a positive internal culture at the organization.
Prior to stepping into her current role, Kim provided communications support for the Technical Assistance Legal Center (TALC), Public Health Law & Policy, Planning for Healthy Places, and the National Policy & Legal Analysis Network to Prevent Childhood Obesity (NPLAN).
Previously, Kim coordinated a program for Medicine for People in Need (Medpin), working with health care organizations to support pharmaceutical access for uninsured and underinsured patients. She has also worked in free and community clinics.
Kim graduated with a degree in community studies from the University of California, Santa Cruz, with high honors and an emphasis in public health and education.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Vice Presidents & Directors Team
- Vice President of Policy
Kim is vice president of policy at ChangeLab Solutions, where she leads the organization's work on food policy.
Before joining ChangeLab Solutions, she worked at the New York Academy of Medicine as director for prevention and community development. As a researcher and advocate, Kim has worked at the intersection of public policy and health for over a decade. She has expertise in food systems, hospital community benefit, affordable housing, health impact assessment, and community-based planning. Kim's work on chronic disease prevention spans local, state, national, and international levels.
Kim earned her PhD in environmental psychology at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York and completed her MPH in community health education at Hunter College. She also holds a BA in science technology and society from Eugene Lang College.
As development associate, Kristen supports a wide range of development activities including research, assistance with proposals and reports, and coordination of internal systems and tracking.
Prior to working at ChangeLab Solutions, she held a variety of positions at the University of California, Berkeley. At the School of Public Health, she was program coordinator for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health & Society Scholars program and an editorial assistant for the UC Berkeley Wellness Letter. Kristen has also worked as a freelance writer and journalist.
She earned her bachelor's degree at San Francisco State University and a master's degree in fine arts at St. Mary's College of California.
Job Titles:
- Chief of Staff to the CEO
Job Titles:
- Communications Director
- Member of the Vice Presidents & Directors Team
Job Titles:
- Senior Finance Specialist
Job Titles:
- Managing Director
- Member of the Vice Presidents & Directors Team
As a managing director at ChangeLab Solutions, Maya works on laws and policies that promote economic justice and health equity, particularly for children and families.
Prior to joining Changelab Solutions, Maya spent 9 years at Bay Area Legal Aid, serving low-income clients through direct legal services and systemic advocacy. She represented domestic violence survivors in the family law unit and served clients with CalWORKs, CalFresh, and General Assistance issues in the economic justice unit. Maya started her legal career as a staff attorney at Family Violence Law Center, providing legal services to domestic violence survivors in crisis.
Maya earned her JD from UC Hastings and her BA with honors from Rice University.
Job Titles:
- Development Director
- Member of the Vice Presidents & Directors Team
As development director, Myla leads ChangeLab Solutions' business development team in creating and implementing a comprehensive, multi-year fundraising strategy. Working in close collaboration with staff across departments, Myla secures funding from a diverse combination of sources to ensure that our organization has the revenue needed to carry out its mission and goals.
Prior to joining ChangeLab Solutions, Myla worked for several San Francisco Bay Area nonprofits, in fields ranging from equitable food systems to youth economic empowerment. She has served in an array of fund development and communications roles, successfully securing support from individual, corporate, private, public, and government funders.
Myla holds a bachelor's degree in social welfare from the University of California, Berkeley. While earning her degree, Myla assisted researchers at the School of Public Health and interned for a local nonprofit, delivering nutrition education and helping to operate a mobile farmers market in communities without access to fresh produce.
Nessia is a senior policy analyst at ChangeLab Solutions, focusing on food systems, including equitable procurement, healthy vending, and federal food policy.
Prior to joining ChangeLab Solutions, she spent 5 years at the US Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service, working on school nutrition programs throughout the western United States. At the USDA, Nessia worked on program eligibility as well as certification and verification policy, and she managed child nutrition grants in American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands. She also served as an agriculture and food security volunteer for Peace Corps Nicaragua and managed the Grand Lake Farmers Market in Oakland, CA.
Nessia received her BA in international relations from the University of Southern California and her MPH in community health education from San Francisco State University.
Job Titles:
- Digital Content Developer
As ChangeLab Solutions' digital content developer, Patrick focuses on translating policy ideas into compelling and accessible resources for our audiences.
Patrick produces articles, success stories, and case studies that showcase our organization's impact in communities around the country. In addition, he works closely with organizational leadership to pitch and draft media pieces, and he partners with program staff on project deliverables and other written materials. His duties also include creating video and audio content for ChangeLab's communications team.
Previously, Patrick worked at a mental health nonprofit, a soccer nonprofit, and a publishing company. He graduated from Wesleyan University with a bachelor's degree in English literature.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Vice Presidents & Directors Team
- Vice President of Programs
Pratima Musburger is vice president of programs at ChangeLab Solutions. In this role, she leads multidisciplinary teams as they work with communities, leaders, and advocates across the country to develop equitable laws, policies, and strategies for change. She is responsible for managing and aligning our organization's programmatic work and ensuring that it reflects our mission. Her previous role involved managing and directing ChangeLab Solutions' tobacco control portfolio.
Prior to joining ChangeLab Solutions, Pratima spent eight years working to address health inequities in underserved communities across the Pacific Island region. While working in the State of Hawaii's Department of Health, she developed and implemented innovative cross-sector initiatives to better serve children with complex mental health needs and their families. She also managed a research study in American Samoa that provided outreach, education, and support to individuals with type 2 diabetes and their families.
Pratima graduated from the University of Michigan with a BA in English. She holds a JD from Brooklyn Law School and an MPH from Brown University.
Rayid Ghani is a senior fellow and research faculty member at the University of Chicago's Computation Institute and Harris School of Public Policy. Rayid directs the Center for Data Science and Public Policy and focuses on developing and applying data science methods to improve how governments and nonprofits make policy decisions.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director
- Member of the Vice Presidents & Directors Team
Job Titles:
- Member of the Vice Presidents & Directors Team
- Vice President of Law
Job Titles:
- Human Resources Associate
Job Titles:
- Web Administrator / Administration & Operations
Tina Yuen - Managing Director
Job Titles:
- Managing Director
- Member of the Vice Presidents & Directors Team
Job Titles:
- Attorney / Communications