” HealthyMente, LLC is a team of diverse, creative, strategic and persistent people committed to tackling healthcare disparities. “
Dr. Irán Barrera
Board Member
Dr. Irán Barrera is a Professor in the Department of Social Work Education (DSWE) at Fresno State. Dr. Barrera is an alumni National Leadership program supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (Interdisciplinary Research Leader) to become a change agent with advanced leadership skills and a clear focus on health and equity, allowing him to apply health research and policy to meet the pressing needs of communities. Dr. Barrera was the Chair of the Cultural Competency Track for the Council of Social Work Education from 2016-2019 (CSWE) and is also on the Mental Health Advisory board for The Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP). Dr. Barrera was also the President of the Latino Faculty/Staff Association at Fresno State (2018-2019).
Dr. Barrera is a former minority fellow through the Council of Social Work Education (CSWE), in which allowed Dr. Barrera to achieve two doctoral degrees from two different universities in two different countries and border states (The University of Texas at Arlington and the Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León-México). This experience provided Dr. Barrera important awareness related to mental health care disparities among Latinos. As a result, his work (researcher and practitioner) has concentrated on understanding perceptions and mental health care literacy among Latinos. Current research interests are the role of Race/Ethnicity in wellbeing.
Dr. Barrera has extensive experience working with minority communities (African-American/Latino/Asian) in California and Texas. Dr. Barrera has provided behavioral health services to these populations in the most poverty stricken and vulnerable areas (Watts, Compton, North Long Beach, Fresno-California: Arlington, Brownsville, McAllen, Edinburg-Texas and Mexico) which has provided Dr. Barrera with great understanding of optimal practices that can best serve these communities. He is a sought-after speaker and trainer both in the United States and México.
Dr. José A. Pagán, PhD
Advisor/Consultant
José A. Pagán, PhD, is Professor and Chair of the Department of Public Health Policy and Management in the School of Global Public Health at New York University. He is also Chair of the Board of Directors of NYC Health + Hospitals, the largest municipal health care system in the United States. Dr. Pagán received his PhD in economics from the University of New Mexico and is a former Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health & Society Scholar with expertise in health economics and population health. He has led research, implementation, and evaluation projects on the redesign of health care delivery and payment systems. Over the years his research work has been funded through grants and contracts from the Department of Defense, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the European Commission, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, among others. Dr. Pagán is a member of the National Academy of Medicine. He was a member of the Board of Directors of the Interdisciplinary Association for Population Health Science and the American Society of Health Economists.
Dr. Addo
Advisor/Consultant
Reuben Addo is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Social Work Education at California State University, Fresno. He holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Social Work from Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, where he also earned his Bachelor of Social Work. Additionally, he has a Master of Science in Social Administration (Social Work) from Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio. Dr. Addo’s research uses both qualitative and quantitative approaches to more holistically understand people’s diverse and nuanced lived experiences.
Dr. Kris Clarke
Advisor/Consultant
Dr. Clarke is a Professor of Social Work in the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Helsinki. Originally from Fresno, California, Dr. Clarke is an Irish citizen who has lived in Finland for over 25 years. Dr. Clarke’s research has evolved from multicultural social work and care in the field of HIV towards themes related to decolonization, abolitionist social work and the social memory of HIV/AIDS. Dr. Clarke teaches courses on international and structural social work, and supervises master’s theses and doctoral dissertations. Dr. Clarke received a Bachelor of Arts in English literature from Reed College in Portland, Oregon, USA. Dr. Clarke also studied colonialism and literature of the Caribbean at Howard University, and English literature at University College Cardiff, UK. Dr. Clarke completed a Master’s of Social Science in International Relations at the University of Tampere and received a Licentiate and Doctorate in Social Science (Social Work) at the University of Tampere.
Melissa Jimenez, MA
Advisor/Consultant
Melissa Jimenez holds a Master’s degree in Human Organizational Development from Universidad del Valle de Atemajac in Guadalajara, Jalisco, México. She previously studied psychology at the University of Guadalajara, specializing in systemic family approaches. She has carried out several initiatives designed to help individuals discover their abilities and businesses improve the duties and output of their workforce. A former student of Tec de Monterrey in Nuevo Leon, México, she holds a diploma in management skills development. She specializes in training high impact instructors and leaders at CONTPAQi®, where she also led staff members in presenting successful organizational projects and honing their public speaking abilities. Melissa has put strategies in place to identify and lower psychosocial hazards in a variety of organizations.
Vrinda Sharma
Advisor/Consultant
Vrinda Sharma specializes in advanced statistical methodologies and data analysis, with a keen interest in behavioral health analytics. With a background in assessing the effectiveness of social service programs, Vrinda leverages inferential statistics, survey design and analysis, experimental design, predictive modeling, and data visualization to drive impactful insights and solutions. She is also experienced in data integration and management. Beyond technical skills, she is adept at making complex data-driven insights accessible and understandable, effectively communicating statistical concepts and analytics to diverse audiences. She holds a Master’s degree in Statistics from Columbia University in New York.