We are proud to announce that Sarina Rodriguez, Ph.D. student at UC Merced, has been selected to participate in one of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s leadership programs, the Health Policy Scholars fellowship.
These programs connect changemakers across the country — from diverse professions and fields — to learn from and work with one another in creating more just and thriving communities. Designed for doctoral students from historically marginalized backgrounds and populations underrepresented in specific disciplines, Health Policy Research Scholars help students from all fields apply their work to policies that advance equity and health while building a diverse network of leaders who reflect our changing national demographics.
As a member of the program’s newest cohort, Sarina will focus on the health of Indigenous farmworker health in the Central Valley. She plans to study patterns of settler colonialism and racialized capitalism in labor, economic, environmental, and immigration policy sectors. By working alongside Indigenous farmworkers and farmworker organizations, she hopes to provide a conceptual framework that builds on work within the public health field theorizing these modes of systemic oppression as determinants of health. To learn more about Health Policy Research Scholars and RWJF’s other leadership programs, and to meet other participants, visit www.healthpolicyresearch-scholars.org.
