Karen O’Brien received a Bachelor’s degree in Community Health from the University of Texas at San Antonio, and is currently pursuing an Masters degree in Public Health in Health Promotion and Education at the University of Texas School of Public Health.

She assists in program evaluation for federal grants that include HIV/Hepatitis C and teen pregnancy prevention for at risk populations. She is an active volunteer and advocate for several nonprofit organizations that promote health equity through community engagement, education, and social services.

Dr. Jerry Pacheco is an Assistant Professor at Texas State University in the School of Health Administration. He received his DrPH in Community Health Practice and MPH from UTHealth School of Public Health. He has an MS from the University of Texas at San Antonio.

For the past seven years he has engaged with various stakeholders through the Texas Chagas Taskforce to increase education and access to resources regarding Chagas disease throughout the state. He has consulted on multiple community health interventions throughout Texas and is primarily interested in applying the principles of community based participatory research (CBPR) to prioritize health issue throughout various communities.

Dr. Howaida M. Werfelli serves as the Founding Executive Director of SALVERE. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Biology and Middle Eastern Studies from The University of Texas at Austin, and a Master’s degree in Public Health from UTHealth School of Public Health. She obtained her DrPH in Community Health Practice from UTHealth School of Public Health.

Her focus is on addressing the challenges of underserved populations to create actionable items that address the multilevel facilitating and impeding factors existent within underserved populations. She has seventeen years experience working on federal grants, including SAMHSA/CSAP and U.S. Department of Education. She has authored two papers and has presented her work at local, state, and national conferences.

In addition to her public health experience, Dr. Werfelli is also a long-time entrepreneur and is owner of Tripoli’s, a Mediterranean grill and coffee shop, in San Antonio, Texas. Dr. Werfelli feels her combined public health and entrepreneurial skills have served her well in both facets of her work.

She currently serves as the President of the Board of Directors for the Center for Refugee Services