2017-2019 Fellows

Dorothy Theodore is a Planner at La Clínica de La Raza, Inc. in Oakland, CA supporting HIV Prevention, HIV Services and Family Planning. After working for almost 20 years in biotech research, Ms. Theodore’s interest in social justice and health led her to pursue a degree in Public Health and a career serving underserved populations. Public Health brings together Ms. Theodore’s research and data analysis experience with her desire to build programs with a public health benefit. Ms. Theodore is also the mother of two middle school children and a Trustee for the Castro Valley Unified School District.

Ivonne Quiroz is originally from Southern California but moved to the Bay Area in 2008. She earned her B.S. in Biology with an emphasis in Physiology and a minor in Latino/a Studies from San Francisco State University. At WORLD, she is the Policy and Advocacy Manager and supports women living with HIV in Oakland through policy and community organizing. Before working at WORLD, she worked at a community organization working for the rights of immigrants through economic empowerment. When she's not working, she trains for half marathons, reads, writes and does yoga.

Aron is an espresso-sipping interdisciplinary researcher who lovingly intermingles the biomedical sciences with feminist and cultural theory in his work. A curious scientist, Aron’s passion for HIV/AIDS research is driven by values rooted in social justice, and informed by his own experiences navigating the medical system with a chronic disease, as well as being in the LGBTQ community. In 2014, he joined up with Project Open Hand (POH), a non-profit based in San Francisco that provides nutrition support to people living with HIV, and jumped on an opportunity to coordinate a study investigating the impact of a full nutrition intervention for people living with HIV. The study, Changing Health Through Food Support, is a joint project between POH and UCSF. Aron is eager to explore avenues in the public policy arena where findings from the study, and more broadly HIV research, could be applied.