Our Collaborators
Lupe Alonzo-Diaz
Lupe Alonzo-Diaz knows firsthand how political determinants affect health outcomes. In her role as President and CEO of Physicians for a Healthy California (PHC), she launched and scaled a grantmaking portfolio that has invested $809+ million to deliver care to underserved communities across California. As Vice President of Continuing Medical Education for the California Medical Association, Lupe authored the nation's first regulatory standards on cultural competency in continuing medical education.
Her public service journey includes transformative roles across California's health infrastructure. As Deputy Director of Administration for the Department of State Hospitals, she oversaw daily operations of five state hospitals serving over 11,000 patients annually with a $1.4 billion budget. At the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development, she championed health workforce development, understanding that sustainable change requires investing in the people who deliver care. Prior to public service, Lupe advocated for health equity through organizations including the Latino Coalition for a Healthy California, Western Center for Law and Poverty, and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund —experiences that shaped her policy-driven approach to systems transformation.
Lupe is currently pursuing an MBA at the University of California at Berkeley bringing innovative business strategies to systems transformation. She previously earned a master's degree from the University of Texas at Austin and a bachelor's degree from the University of California at Berkeley.
Currently, she serves on the boards of NAMI California and One Community Health.
Dr. Sherrie Flynt Wallington
Sherrie Flynt Wallington is an associate professor (tenured) and health disparities researcher specializing in oncology at George Washington University. Dr. Wallington teaches and conducts research on health communication, social determinants of health, and community-based participatory research strategies that focus on prevention, health disparities, and clinical trial recruitment and engagement. She has a particular interest in cancer, particularly prostate, breast, and HPV-associated cancers. Dr. Wallington has been funded by the American Cancer Society, the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the National Cancer Institute. She has authored several peer-reviewed publications and serves as a scientific grant reviewer for the NIH and other national foundations. In addition, she is a program evaluator and consultant on NIH-funded, governmental, and foundation grant awards. She has collaborated with Dr. Tucker-Seeley and Health Equity Strategies and Solutions on multiple projects and peer reviewed manuscripts including the following:
Tucker-Seeley, R. D., Bezold, C. P., James, P., Miller, M., & Wallington, S. F. (2016). Retail pharmacy policy to end the sale of tobacco products: what is the impact on disparity in neighborhood density of tobacco outlets?. Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, 25(9), 1305-1310.
Tucker-Seeley, R. D., Wallington, S. F., Canin, B., Tang, W., & McKoy, J. M. (2021). Health equity for older adults with cancer. Journal of Clinical Oncology, 39(19), 2205-2216.