A political refugee from communist Romania, Dr. Koga was born and raised in Transylvania, and received his education and training at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Timisoara, Romania, and Tulane School of Public Health & Tropical Medicine, New Orleans, USA. His work focuses on the disparity gap in mental health services for traumatized refugees and immigrants. Current affiliations and appointments: Associate Clinical Professor of International Health at UC Davis School of Medicine, Dept. of Public Health, Core faculty, UC Global Health Institute, Center of Expertise on Migration and Health, Researcher, UCD Center for Healthcare Policy & Research. Past appointments: Professor & Director of Trauma Center, Institute of Transpersonal Psychology, Palo Alto, Medical Director, Romanian Community Center of Sacramento, Dean of International Medicine & Professor of Psychiatry, Cambridge Overseas Medical Training Programme, Cambridge, UK, Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Tulane School of Medicine, Associate Adjunct Professor, Tulane School of Public Health & Tropical Medicine, Medical Director, Samaritan Counseling Center of Greater Sacramento, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Research interests: cultural, religious, and spiritual modulators of resilience in PTSD; fractal geometry modeling of psychiatric diagnosis, integration of transpersonal psychology in virtual reality environments and interventions. For the past ten years he has given over 100 invited talks, presentations, and workshops in US, Africa, and Europe on PTSD. Dr. Koga is fluent in English and Romanian and has basic knowledge of Russian, Serbo-Croatian, Arabic, and Greek. Dr. Koga has a firsthand experience of oppression and imprisonment (Caransebes and Jilava prisons, Romania), asylum seeking (Padinska Skela, ex-Yugoslavia), and UNHCR refugee camp (Beograd, ex-Yugoslavia). A member of the World Psychiatric Association (WPA), Dr. Koga is the Founder of Veteran, Immigrant, and Refugee Trauma Institute of Sacramento (VIRTIS), an immigrant-driven institution aimed at developing into a center of expertise in global trauma.

Email: Koga@virtis-ptsd.org

A native of Uzbekistan, Dr. Sharipov has received a MA Degree in Russian Language and Literature from Bukhara State University and his Master’s and Doctorate Degree in Clinical Psychology from Professional School of Psychology, Sacramento. Dr. Sharipov has a vast experience working with immigrant families from former Soviet Union in Sacramento region through his experience as an Intern in Yolo County Mental Health, Drug and Alcohol Clinic in West Sacramento and also as a credentialed teacher in one of the local independent study programs. He is fluent in Russian and English. Dr. Sharipov is a member of the California Psychological Association, Sacramento Valley Psychological Association and CAMFT.

Email: Sharipov@virtis-ptsd.org

Aneel works as a consultant providing market intelligence and executive training for mission driven organizations and businesses. As a doctoral candidate in psychology at the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology (ITP) his research focuses on leveraging wisdom and emotional-social intelligence for effective organizational leadership. Additionally, he is developing empirically validated training modules that increase individual and team leadership capacity while enhancing individual and organizational well-being. Currently, Aneel serves on the Board of Directors of the Association of Transpersonal Psychologists. Previously, he served on the ITP Board of Trustees and was an award-winning physics and mathematics educator at Everett Alvarez High School in Salinas, CA where his teaching excellence was recognized by the SUHS District Trustees. Aneel has served VIRTIS as Vice-President for its first year and is now serving as Chair of the Board of Directors. In this capacity, Aneel’s task is to ensure that the Board of Directors fulfills its responsibilities for the governance of VIRTIS and to help the President/CEO to achieve the mission of the Institute.

Email: Aneel.Chima@virtis-ptsd.org

Claudio was born to his Peruvian father and Brazilian mother in Lima, Peru where he later obtained his medical degree from Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos. He received a Masters of Public Health at the University of Miami and his postgraduate training includes a Psychiatry residency at Tulane University, an APA Fellowship in Public Health Psychiatry, and an Addiction Psychiatry residency at Yale University. He is certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology and by the American Board of Addiction Psychiatry. Claudio’s cross-cultural studies in PTSD include the impact of trauma and displacement in victims of violence caused by 15 years of civil war in the Peruvian Andes. This field work included adaptations of psychosocial assessments and community-based interventions to improve the health and well-being of the native population. His disaster relief work also includes Hurricane Aftermath Relief with a special recognition from the Health and Medical Services, FEMA/USPHS. He has also worked as a Staff Psychiatrist in the Veterans Administration Hospital in New Orleans. Currently, Claudio is a Community Psychiatrist in a variety of San Diego clinics that target underserved populations including Latino immigrants, the Homeless, and HIV positive clients. He serves as the Medical Director of Health Care for the Homeless, San Diego. He is also a Staff Psychiatrist for an Acute Inpatient Behavioral Health Unit and is Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the University of California at San Diego, School of Medicine. Other areas of professional interest include traditional indigenous medicine and health policy. He is fluent in Spanish, Portuguese, and English.

Email: Claudio.Cabrejos@virtis-ptsd.org

Dr. Yazdani embodies the globalism of his generation: he was born in Iran, raised in India and United States, educated in California, and is a graduate of Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania. Trilingual and familiar with the Balkan, Middle Eastern and Asian cultures, Arash's professional interest as a physician focuses on epidemiology of health issues in traumatized Middle Eastern immigrant communities and on culturally appropriate interventions meant to reduce disparities in the provision of health care services. Arash is also educated in computer sciences and is the web developer for VIRTIS.

Email: Arash.Yazdani@virtis-ptsd.org

Born and raised at the dawn of the Internet, Bogdan is a proud representative of the new wave of technology entrepreneurs in their 20s. Originally from Bucharest, Romania, Bogdan started to feel drawn to the IT field since he was in middle school, so by the time he reached high school his focus had become clear. The emphasis became clearer when he went to the Academy of Economic Studies, in Bucharest, where he received his Bachelor's Degree in Cybernetics, Statistics and Computer Science (2008).

During his years in college, Bogdan also discovered his passion for business and volunteering, so he became one of the leaders of two notable student organizations: Business Club (www.thebusinessclub.ro) and Volunteers for Ideas and Projects (www.vipromania.ro). Here he organized and implemented, along with his teams, projects like: Business School, Marketing School, Investment School, International Entrepreneurship Week 2007, Student of the Year, Sibiu Business Summer School 2008 and a project with the Romanian Royal House (Romania. A 30 Years Vision).

After college, having accumulated both project management and work experience, Bogdan founded and developed two businesses, a web development company and a franchise consultancy company, at only 24 years of age. He also acquired a lot of professional knowledge about European funded projects while working on over 100 of them. Moreover, he built a start-up called Live Feedback which he came to the USA to pitch to VCs and investment funds. Having reached Silicon Valley, Bogdan realized that this was the place where he could best put to use his IT, planning, financial and business skills and use his knowledge and experience on how to build and grow a sustainable business, while sharing his expertise with those who sought advice.

His current affiliations include Rotaract Bucharest (www.rotary2241.org), part of Rotary International and American Mensa (www.us.mensa.org). He is fluent in English, Italian and Romanian and also has basic knowledge of Spanish and French.

Email: Alexandrescu@virtis-ptsd.org

Mizgon is driven by her passion to document the stories and bring to surface the voices and perspectives of underrepresented communities in the United States. As a journalist, Mizgon mainly covers a broad range of issues that are considered taboo in the Afghan Culture. At age 18, with encouragement and guidance from fellow writers and editors and financial support from Pacific News Service, Mizgon launched the first inter-generational Afghan American magazine entitled Afghan Journal. Immediately after the events of 9/11 Afghan Journal became the only publication that voiced the otherwise censored voices of Afghans living in diaspora. In October 2009, Mizgon was the first Afghan American to obtain her M.S. in Journalism from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. She is currently working on a Global Innovators MBA from California State University East Bay. Mizgon is the founder of ThinkJar Consulting, a marketing and communications consulting firm. She works with both large corporations and non-profit organizations developing programs and projects, grant writing, business development and creating marketing, branding and communication plans. She is also the Program Manager for the Afghan Coalition Afghan Mental Health Project funded by Proposition 63, Alameda County BHCS and the recipient of the 2011 Mental Health Excellence Award from the Alameda County Supervisors Office and Alameda County Behavioral Health Care Services. Other recent projects include collecting stories of older generation Afghan immigrant women and consulting on research with Professors at California State University East Bay on the lives of second generation Afghan Americans.

Email: Mizgon@virtis-ptsd.org

Born in Bucharest, Romania, in an illustrious family that has incurred the wrath of the post WWII puppet communist regime, Opritsa fled the oppressive dictatorship in 1969 and, after receiving political asylum in a UNCHR camp in Austria, has built a new life as a Romanian in the United States. She holds a double Master Degree in German and Comparative Literature from the University of Bucharest, Romania, as well as two other advanced US degrees: a Master Degree in German Literature from the City University of New York and Master Degree in Library Science from University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI. Until 2004, when she retired, she worked as an Academic Librarian at the University of California, Davis. She lectured on organization and retrieval of information both at UC Davis and, after 1989, in her native Romania. She led a successful book donation campaign, which yielded over a quarter million volumes to information starved Eastern Europe. Opritsa is the author of numerous articles in leading library journals and of two monographs: Ceausescu’s Romania, Greenwood Press, 1997 and Bibliophiles and Bibliothieves, Walter de Gruyter, 2003. In 2010/2011 she edited and prefaced two works written by her father, Romanian Navy Commander Virgil Alexandru Dragalina: The first book is the biography, of her grandfather, General Ioan Dragalina, Commander of 1st Romanian Army Corps and a national hero killed in 1916 in the Jiu Valley battle after having successfully repulsed General Erich von Falkenheyn’s 9th German Army Corps offensive. The second work, Escadrila de Nistru, (Squadron of the Dniester) is a memoir describing confrontations between Russian and Romanian naval forces during the World War One. Published by the prestigious Editura Militara, Romania, both volumes received literary prizes.

Email: Dragalina.Popa@virtis-ptsd.org

Karin retired from the Navy in 2009 after 22 years of active service. She holds an M.A. in National Security Affairs from the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey and is currently working on an M.A. in Counseling Psychology at the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology. During her military career, she was posted in Washington, DC, Germany, Italy, Estonia and Bosnia-Herzegovina in various functions: Intelligence Briefer, Headquarters, Stabilization Force, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina; Country Program Director, Navy International Programs Office, Washington, DC for Germany, the Baltic States and 43 African countries; and senior U.S. diplomatic representative (Defense Attaché) to the government of Estonia. Her military experience acquainted her with the great need for mental health support in the military community, which formed the basis of her choice for her second career as a therapist. Her mother and grandparents fled Estonia in 1944, so she is also familiar with the immigrant side of the VIRTIS mission. Her undergraduate degree is from the University of Washington in Russian and East European Studies. Karin is conversational in German and Estonian and has a basic usage of Italian and Russian. Aside from providing clinical services to veterans and their families, Karin is the VIRTIS principal advisor on liaison matters with the active and the veteran US military community.

Email: Shuey@virtis-ptsd.org

A native of Craiova, Romania, Dr. Mischiu is a cross-cultural psychiatrist with extensive experience in forensic mental health having worked in the tense, traumatizing, and potentially explosive atmosphere of prison settings.

Email: Radu.Mischiu@virtis-ptsd.org

Born and raised in Afghanistan, and educated at Kabul Medical University, Dr. Rohullah Amin is a psychiatrist and currently a Fulbright Scholar at Columbia University receiving additional expert training to serve his research work in Afghanistan. Director of VIRTIS’ international service in Afghanistan, Dr. Amin will be conducting transnational research on mental health with several universities in US and Central Asia.

Email: Amin@virtis-ptsd.org

A native of Iran, Homeyra is a well-known voice in the Persian and Afghani immigrant communities of Sacramento. Her radio program at Bamdad Persian Radio in Sacramento, CA, has provided psychological education and support to numerous immigrant listeners and her psychosocial interventions as a psychotherapist at Terra Nova Counseling Agency have been appreciated by a wide diversity of clients. Homeyra has received specialized training and certifications in Risk Assessment Training, Court Service Overview Assessment and Case Management, Family-to-Family Decision-Making Team, Play Therapy for Children Experiencing Grief & Loss, The Spiritual Dimensions of Life and Counseling Psychotherapy, Substance Abuse, Research, Diagnosis, and Treatment of Anxiety Disorders, She is a member of the American Psychotherapy Association, Sufi Psychology Association, and California Association of Marriage & Family Therapists (CAMFT).

Email: Homeyra@virtis-ptsd.org

Born and raised in Iran, Sanaz has received a BS degree in Environmental Engineering from Azad University, Lahijan, Iran and her nursing degree from Sacramento City College. Currently Sanaz works as Registered Nurse at the Cardiothoracic Progressive Care Unit, UC Davis Medical Center and is also enrolled in the Master’s of Science in Nursing program at Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing, University of California, Davis.

Email:Sanaz.Martin@virtis-ptsd.org

Behrad Golshani is an Iranian-American graduate of UC Davis. He received his Bachelors degree in Biochemistry with honors in 2008. Behrad is currently training towards a degree in medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin. Through his medical training, he has developed a special interest in public health, particularly, culturally appropriate health education. He has worked with the Iranian community in the past, providing comprehensible explanations to common medical diseases. Behrad is currently assisting with mapping of the Iranian community the greater Sacramento metropolitan area. He is fluent in both Farsi and English.

Email:Behrad@virtis-ptsd.org

Dr. Thiel de Bocanegra is the Director of University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) team in Sacramento which provides program support, monitoring, and evaluation of Family PACT (Planning, Access, Care, and Treatment). The Family PACT Program is administered by the California Department of Health Services, Office of Family Planning. She obtained her MA in psychology from the University of Bielefeld, Germany, her MPH from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and her doctoral degree in public health from New York University. Her doctoral dissertation explored predictors of breastfeeding among immigrant women in New York City. She has over 20 years of program management and health service research experience in primary care and reproductive health issues in international and national projects. In Peru she supervised the implementation of 20 demonstration primary care projects that informed the health policy of Peru’s Ministry of Health.
From 1991 to 2000, Dr. Thiel de Bocanegra was a Research Scientist and Associate Director at the Center on Immigrant Health, NYU School of Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine. The Center’s mission is to improve access to primary care and quality of care of New York’s immigrant population. In her capacity as Vice President of Research and Evaluation at Safe Horizon, New York (former: Victim Services Agency), she oversaw applied research and evaluation projects of programs serving victims of crime, terrorism, and abuse, including intimate partner violence, sexual assault and rape.
Areas of Interest: intimate partner violence and reproductive health; racial/ethnic disparities; cultural competence; access to care

Email: Heike.Thiel@virtis-ptsd.org

Louis Downs, Ph.D., Interim Clinical Director, board member and Director of the South-East Asian Mental Health Program, received his doctorate in Counseling from Oregon State University after having spent more than 17 years as a counselor and clinical administrator.  He is presently a Professor at California State University Sacramento in the Department of Counselor Education.  His clinical specialties include survivors of trauma, disaster mental health relief, and crisis work, dissociative disorders, personality disordered states, anxiety disorders and co-occurring disorders.  He has is a specialist in school counseling, having coauthored two books on the subject, and is a specialist in school counseling students with neuropsychological disorder as well as with gifted students.

Email: LouisDowns@virtis-ptsd.org

Jinglei Tang has been educated at the Communications University of China, Chaoyang District, Beijing. The nationally acclaimed “cradle of China’s radio and television talents”, CUC has established an exchange and communication relationship with more than 200 renowned foreign universities and scientific research organizations of media and is one of the teaching units of Media and Women of the UNESCO, and the host of international academic institutions like Asian Media Research Center, and European Media Research Center. Currently employed by Media Department of Psychcn, China, Jinglei Tang is in charge of filming and post-producing the company’s activities, conferences, teaching courses and public speeches along with the creation, planning, shooting, editing, dubbing and production of the audio and video works of the company. His professional experience includes work as cameraman, screenwriter and eventually Director, of the CCTV-7 Agricultural Channel and Military Channel of China. For his stellar work as a live-director managing the Opening and Closing Ceremony Operating Center of Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics (Games of the XXIX Olympiad), Jinglei Tang has received national recognition and awards. At VIRTIS, Jinglei Tang is in charge of all project-related media production in China. Additionally, as part of VIRTIS’s Silk Road Resilience Project in Central Asia, linking China with Turkey, he will be directing the production of the documentary films.

Email: Jinglei.Tang@virtis-ptsd.org

Hang Gao has received her education at Sichuan Normal University, Foreign Affairs Institute, in Chengdu, China. An experienced English teacher and a winner of the provincial 1st prize award in the English Oral Contest of Foreign Language Schools in Sichuan, as well as of the 2nd prize award in the National English Competition, Hang Gao brings to VIRTIS a flawless Chinese-English oral and written communication to enable our transnational mental health research in China.

Email: Hang.Gao@virtis-ptsd.org

Born in South Korea and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, Sally Kim has a M.A. in Clinical Psychology from Wheaton College, Illinois. Her research interest centers on trauma-related psychopathology, international mental health, and culturally competent assessments and interventions. Sally served in the Peace Corps in Kazakhstan, Central Asia working in the development of mental and social services at local nonprofits, conducted psychological research in Guatemala, and also worked in Southeast Asia with refugees and asylum-seekers. She is fluent in Korean, advanced in Russian, and conversant in Spanish and Japanese.

Email: SY.Kim@virtis-ptsd.org

A native of Kiev, Ukraine, and a Sacramentan since November 1992, Tatiana has a first-hand experience of the traumatic journey shared by so many refugees and immigrants from the former Soviet Union. A proud mother of four boys and a happy wife of Reverend Father Alex Shevchenko, a Russian Orthodox Priest and Zaporozhian Cossack, Tatiana is also a mental health professional and a lifelong learner. She has earned a BA in Communication from The Union Institute and University, went afterwards to Chapman University to pursue a MA in Psychology (Marriage and Family Counseling track), and is now embarking to complete her education with a PhD degree in Psychology. Tatiana takes an active role in local Russian media, she has weekly radio talk show, and her writing appears in numerous newspapers and magazines in the community. Her linguistic, cross-cultural, religious and spiritual competencies are at the core of her professional work.

Email: Tatiana.Shevchenko@virtis-ptsd.org

A native of Ukraine and a graduate of Lugansk State Medical University (LMSU), Dr. Mishyn has completed his residency training in Emergency Medicine at Lugansk Regional Hospital, Ukraine. In addition to his teaching experience as a former Assistant Professor at LSMU, Department of Internal Medicine, Ukraine, and Instructor at the United Medical Institute of California, USA, Dr. Mishyn also brings to VIRTIS an enthusiasm for international work built on his previous participation in the WHO/UNAIDS initiatives in the region of Donetsk, Ukraine. On a personal level, Pavlo is married, has a young son, and a loving, extended family. He emigrated three years ago from Ukraine, settled down in Sacramento, and is currently on his way of obtaining his license to practice medicine in the United States. Dr. Mishyn’s firsthand knowledge of the cultural and religious modulators of health behaviors in the Russian-speaking immigrant community, his medical professionalism, and active participation in VIRTIS Russian Program are offered wholeheartedly to promote the health and wellbeing of immigrants from Ukraine and Russia.

Email: Mishyn@virtis-ptsd.org

Svetlana comes to VIRTIS with over 10 years of experience working in corporate business in managerial, financial, and procurement roles for Raychem Corporation/Tyco Electronics, Applied Biosystems, and Lam Research. In addition she has been a teacher, a researcher, and a career coach assisting Russian immigrants. She was also a co-founder and served on the Board of Directors of the Theatre You, Inc., a nonprofit organization targeting theatrical performances to Russian-speaking community of the Bay Area. Svetlana holds a Master's degree in Business Administration from Golden Gate University and is currently pursuing her doctorate degree in Clinical Psychology at the Wright Institute, Berkeley, CA. Herself a refugee from Baku, Azerbaijan, of the former USSR, Svetlana is committed to serving underprivileged populations, with a primary focus on refugees and immigrants.

E-mail: Svetlana.Alshvang@virtis-ptsd.org

Born in Munich, Bavaria, Germany, went through the horrors of the end of WWII. Left Germany at the age of 9, with her mother and brother and boarded a ship in Genoa, Italy, on Dec 01, 1949. After a seven week voyage crossing the Atlantic, she arrived to San Francisco on January 22, 1950. This journey from war and ruins to a new fresh life, has imprinted her soul as an archetypal crossing and was to have indelible influences on her life, professional career, and spiritual practice. Elizabeth is a certified Jungian Psychoanalyst and member of the San Francisco C.G. Jung Institute. She has been in private practice in Sacramento since 1980 and has frequently taught classes on Dreams, Jungian Perspective on Poetry, Psychology and Religion, and Spirituality of Aging. Her Jungian Seminars are offered throughout the year at VIRTIS. Elizabeth has taught as a clinical faculty at UC Davis and has been on the board of directors of several organizations promoting inner life, contemplative practices, and social responsibility.

Email: Elizabeth.Bower@virtis-ptsd.org

A native of Sarajevo, Ajna Glisic-Andjelkovic has an M.S. degree in Marriage and Family Therapy from California State University Sacramento, as well as a B.A. degree in Psychology from University of California, Davis. Her professional experience includes working as a Human Services Social Worker for the County of Sacramento, Senior and Adult services for four years, as well as working as a Mental Health Counseling Intern for the County of Sacramento and Sierra Family Services (a non-profit agency providing counseling services in Placer County). Ajna's professional interests include researching and providing a holistic approach to mental health treatment, cross-cultural issues in counseling, and gender and sexuality issues in counseling (Post-Partum Mood Disorders in particular). Her passion is striving for social justice in this organization, our community, as well as society at large, in order to make it a better place for everyone. She is fluent in Serbian, Croatian, and Bosnian.

Email: Ajna.Andjelkovic@virtis-ptsd.org

Gabriela Mihalache is a psychologist fluent in English, Romanian, and Spanish, whose research interest centers on forgiveness dynamics in the context of trauma, therapeutic processing, and the psycho-spiritual transformative experience that ensues and supports posttraumatic growth.

Her professional expertise in transnational mental health has been molded by living in two diametrically opposite sociopolitical systems and cultures: the oppressive communist of Romania, in the first part of her life, and the democratic US in the second. She holds an MA in counseling from Notre Dame University and a PhD in transpersonal psychology from the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology (ITP), Palo Alto, CA. Currently, Gabriela serves as Adjunct Faculty in the Global Program at the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology. In addition to teaching and research, Gabriela has an extensive media experience as a writer, editor, and owner of a journal (Ronews, Curentul International).

A liaison for ITP with the Romanian Association of Transpersonal Psychology, Gabriela offers annually extensive training in transpersonal psychology to Romanian mental health practitioners. The Greater Sacramento Metropolitan area has some 20,000 Romanian immigrants. To support local programs for this underserved population, VIRTIS will engage in transnational, translational action research with the country of origin, Romania.

Email: Mihalache@virtis-ptsd.org

A native of Bucharest, Romania, Dr. Severin received her DDS degree from University of Bucharest, Carol Davilla Faculty of Medicine & Pharmacy, where she practiced dental medicine for almost ten years. After immigrating to United States, she received her second graduate degree, an MA in Counseling Psychology from San Francisco State University

Dr. Severin has an extensive experience in the treatment of addictions, anxiety and depression using ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) both with individuals and with couples or families. She is trained in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and as a student of Gregory Bateson, Bertalanffy, Niklas Luhmann, and Humberto Maturana, Dr. Severin has a keen interest in Systems Biology and Systems Psychology. Passionate and deeply involved with music - both as a professional violin player and a music therapist- Dr. Severin is fluent in English, French and Romanian, and is a culturally competent expert in acculturation-related mental disorders in middle aged immigrants from Eastern Europe.

Dr. Severin is a member of San Francisco CAMFT, CAMFT, and American Psychological Association (APA). In addition to her clinical work, Dr. Severin is also a college professor, and a health educator for immigrant communities.

Email: Severin@virtis-ptsd.org

Born in Ethiopia, Dawit has immigrated to the United States in his adolescence and is currently studying International Relations at UC Davis. Keenly aware of the acute medical needs of underdeveloped economies, like Ethiopia’s, and of the health disparities in immigrant communities in the US, Dawit is committed to pursue a Masters of Public Health and eventually an MD degree for a career in transnational medicine. At VIRTIS, Dawit is a cultural ambassador responsible for coordinating our liaison activities with medical schools, public health programs, and NGOs in Ethiopia, as well as handling administrative work associated with the development of the program.

Email: Bekele@virtis-ptsd.org

An undergraduate student in International Relations with minors in Human Rights and Italian at UC Davis, Diane is intent on pursuing a Masters of Public Health and a professional career in transnational and global health. Her interest in health and human rights led her to her work in Cambodia, India, and the Philippines, and her work at VIRTIS focuses on outcome evaluation of cultural competence in health and psychosocial services in underserved populations at the levels of individual providers and agencies, international health organizations, and NGOs.  Diane is of Korean ancestry and speaks Korean and basic Italian.

Email: DianeKim@virtis-ptsd.org

A second generation Russian immigrant born in Sacramento, CA. Graduated from Rio Americano High, while in school he played on the football team as a lineman. Michael is currently a college student pursuing his BA in Communications. His hobbies include martial arts, hiking in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and reading. For the last 5 years, Michael has been an avid volunteer, helping the Salvation Army with its annual community events. Trilingual in Russian, English, and French, and with a strong interest in international business, globalization, and organizational leadership, Michael is committed to a professional career in public administration.

Email: Zadorozhny@virtis-ptsd.org

Yana has earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Business Administration with an emphasis in Human Resources from the California State University of Sacramento. She has worked for the Sacramento City College, the Foundation for California Community Colleges, and is currently serving at El Hogar Community Services, a mental health services agency providing services to a culturally and ethnically diverse community. Fluent in Russian and English and with a wide range of cross-cultural competencies, Yana is a native of Tuapse, Russia, a city on the Black Sea coast of ancient Circassia.

Email: Yakubovich@virtis-ptsd.org

Marcel holds a Master Degree in Mechanical Engineering and has a work history with the Northwestern Romania's National Railroad System as the Railway Station Chief of Oradea City, Romania’s major gateway to Hungary. Notwithstanding his own family trauma, Marcel's positive spirit is supporting VIRTIS in countless generous ways including assistance with regular meetings and large events.

Email: Marcel.Costa@virtis-ptsd.org