Staff

Bob Prentice, Ph.D., is Director of the Bay Area Regional Health Inequities Initiative (BARHII) and a Senior Associate for Public Health Policy & Practice at the Public Health Institute. Bob was previously Director of the Public Health Division at the San Francisco health department, where he worked for nearly two decades in a variety of roles. Bob has taught courses in Health Policy and Health & Social Justice to undergraduate and graduate students at San Francisco State University. He received his doctorate in sociology from Michigan State University. He is also an alumnus of the Public Health Leadership Institute.

Saleena Gupte, DrPH, a Senior Associate with BARHII, previously worked with Kaiser Permanente's National Diversity Department, where she managed national programs involving racial/ethnic health disparities, cross-cultural care and community health. Saleena has held a variety of roles in the public and private sector, including a fellowship at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and community-based research positions with Kaiser Permanente, the Public Health Institute, and Health Research for Action. She has lead responsibility for the work of the Data and Community Committees of BARHII.  She is also the lead staff person in a statewide campaign to build the capacity of health departments to engage in chronic disease prevention by addressing the social determinants of health. Saleena completed her doctorate at the University of California, Berkeley and her MPH at the George Washington University.

Sandi Galvez, MSW, a Senior Associate with BARHII, has worked in a variety of roles in public health and on the social determinants of health over the past fifteen years, including HIV/AIDS prevention, community and labor organizing, and immigrant rights. Sandi most recently spent eight years at the Alameda County Public Health Department, where she developed initiatives to build capacity both within the health department and in the community to engage in public health practice focused on social determinants of health and health equity. Sandi has lead responsibility for the work of the Internal Capacity and Built Environment Committees of BARHII. She also provides technical assistance on organizational capacity development for local health departments participating in the Healthy Eating Active Communities initiative, administered by the Partnership for the Public's Health. Sandi serves as a Planning Commissioner in the City of Oakland. She has a Masters degree in Social Welfare, Management & Planning and a Bachelors degree in Sociology, both from the University of California at Berkeley.