Mira Levinson, MPH

Mira Levinson, MPH, has more than 15 years experience working in the fields of program planning, monitoring and evaluation, and training and technical assistance for underserved populations in the fields of HIV prevention and care and substance abuse treatment. Ms. Levinson has led evaluation and data reporting efforts for programs funded by Federal agencies including HRSA, SAMHSA, and CDC. She is the Senior Evaluator for a variety of programs across Massachusetts and Rhode Island including two juvenile drug courts, a re-entry program for young men and women recently released from incarceration, and several interventions targeting women, youth and incarcerated persons at high risk for HIV infection.

Ms. Levinson has been at John Snow, Inc. since 1998. She is currently the Project Director for the JSI National Data Technical Assistance and Training Cooperative Agreement under the HIV/AIDS Bureau. Between 1998 and 2005, Ms. Levinson was a Project Manager and Contract Coordinator for more than 80 technical assistance and training projects related to data reporting, evaluation of information systems and delivery of HIV/AIDS care services through the Ryan White Technical Assistance Contract.

Sandra Y. Lewis, PsyD

Sandra Y. Lewis, PsyD, is a professor of psychology and the director of African American Studies at Montclair State University. Dr. Lewis is well known for her work in the field of HIV, and she has been actively involved in addressing the needs of women, children, and families affected by HIV in the United States, the Caribbean, and Africa. She has expertise in cultural competence and psychosocial care of people living with HIV. Dr. Lewis has received awards for distinguished public service from the Rutgers University Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology and the American Psychological Association Minority Fellowship Program.

As a life member and director of research and training of the International Black Women's Congress, Dr. Lewis has coauthored numerous grants for programs that address concerns within the Black/African American community, particularly those relevant to women. The range of programs includes activities involving rites of passage for Black/African American girls, trainings in culturally competent health care, and conferences focusing on HIV, heart disease, breast cancer, and models of exemplary womanhood. Dr. Lewis has published work on the topics of teenage parenting and psychotherapy with women of color, including psychospiritual approaches for women of African descent.

Victor Inada, MD

Victor Inada, MD, is medical director for the Asian & Pacific Islander Coalition on HIV/AIDS, Inc. (APICHA) Primary Care Clinic, in New York City. Dr. Inada also is a diplomate of the American Board of Family Medicine. He received his training at the Residency Program in Social Medicine, Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, at the Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, New York. His medical training was at the University of Hawaii's John A. Burns School of Medicine. He received his master's degree at the University of California San Diego and his bachelor's degrees at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dr. Inada is a member of the American Academy of HIV Medicine and the Physicians' Research Network--an organization providing ongoing training for HIV specialists. Dr. Inada's role as APICHA's medical director is to oversee the clinical operation of the APICHA Primary Care Clinic, provide HIV primary care to APICHA's clients, perform STD screening and treatment, and coordinate the quality assurance and continuous quality improvement efforts of the clinic and APICHA's HIV testing program.

Fransing Daisy, PhD

Fransing Daisy, PhD, is a medical educator for the Northwest AIDS Education and Training Center in Seattle, Washington. Fransing Daisy is a member of the Cree (Nehiyaw) Nation. She has a degree in clinical psychology and is licensed in the state of Washington. In her position as a medical educator, she provides HIV and hepatitis C education and technical assistance for tribal clinics and chemical dependency treatment program staff in Washington, Idaho, Oregon, Montana, and Alaska. She develops health curricula related to HIV and hepatitis C that are available at the HIV/AIDS National Resource Center. She also has been involved in curriculum development with the National Native American Prevention Center, Mountain Plains AETC, and the National Minority AETC. She is an advocate for hepatitis C and HIV/AIDS community education and prevention and works to improve the quality of care and treatment for Native American community members.

Dharma E. Cortés, PhD

Dharma E. Cortés, PhD, is a research associate and instructor at Cambridge Health Alliance, Harvard Medical School, Department of Psychiatry. She is also a senior research associate at the Mauricio Gastón Institute for Latino Community Development and Public Policy at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. Dr. Cortés has been conducting research with Latinos in the United States for more than 15 years. Her work has focused on the study of culture, mental and physical health, and health and mental health service utilization.

Dr. Cortés has made major contributions to the understanding of the process of acculturation and cultural competence among Latinos in the United States. She is a co-investigator for several projects funded by the National Institutes of Health that focus on Latinos, health, and mental health.

Dr. Cortés has been a consultant for numerous studies on the delivery of health care services. They have included projects designed to examine barriers to care, cultural issues affecting delivery of health care services, patient perceptions about health care services, and organizational aspects affecting the delivery of culturally competent services.

Dr. Cortés is also a professional English-Spanish translator with vast experience in developing health-related informational materials for Spanish-speaking Latinos in the United States. Her translation approach takes into account the roles played by both cultural and literacy issues.