No Latinos actors are nominated for 2018 Oscars, Variety reports. In 2017, actor/composer/poet Lin-Manuel Miranda's original song for “Moana” was one a very few Oscar-nominated performances by a Latino. Why don't Latino performers in Hollywood get more recognition? First, data show there are not a lot of Latino roles to begin with. Latinos had less than 5% of speaking roles in the top-grossing films, according to USC. Second, when they are available, they're often filled by non-Latinos. Ben Affleck played Mexican American CIA operative Antonio Mendez in 2012's Argo and Jon Favreau played a Cuban food truck entrepreneur in 2014's Chef, according to an L.A. Weekly op-ed. "The dearth of Latino storytelling and overlooking of Latino talent is especially remarkable when you ...
If you need someone with a variety of experience in health fields, Claudia Chavez has it. Neuroscience? Check. Healthcare administration? Check. Delivering a baby (as part of EMT training)?! Check. Today, Chavez is growing her already strong health-promotion skills as a second-year student in the master’s program in healthcare administration at UT Southwestern in Dallas, where she also works as a research assistant. Chavez, a Dallas native, wants to make culturally competent healthcare a right—not a privilege—for all people. To further her training and education, Chavez applied for the Éxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training program. The program, led by Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez at UT Health San Antonio with support from the National Cancer Institute, ...
Adrianna Acevedo-Fontanez celebrates her Puerto Rican heritage through music and food, such as using “el castero” to stew rice or fighting for “el pegao.” But she also knows that Puerto Ricans face dire health issues. That is why, when she sees people in need, she helps them. Her empathetic spirit and hard work as a community health educator is helping her address issues like lack of healthcare and lack of cancer screening among women. Fontanez is currently in the final phase of her master’s degree in epidemiology and is a community health educator at the University of Puerto Rico / MD Anderson Partnership for Excellence in Cancer Research at the UPR Comprehensive Cancer Center. To further her training and education, Fontanez applied for the Éxito! Latino Cancer ...
Sonia Fragoso developed a passion to help other people thanks to her parents, who gave up their own desires and worked hard to give her and her siblings a better life. Now Fragoso gives back and helps out every chance she gets. For example, she spent her high school and college careers tutoring and mentoring underprivileged students, as well as the homeless. This also sparked her interest in STEM and pursuing public health as a career. Fragoso now works as a research assistant in analytical research and pathogen laboratories at UT Health San Antonio. She aims to bridge gaps in personalized medicine, and tailor medications to benefit the Latino population. To further her training and education, Fragoso applied for the Éxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training program. ...
States are not keeping up with shifting demographics to meet family's child care needs. Every year since 2006, Child Care Aware® of America has published a set of state fact sheets to illustrate how states measure up on areas of quality, affordability, and access to child care. Across all 50 states, the cost of center-based infant care averaged more than 40% of the median income for single mothers, far higher than the 7% threshold established by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, according to Child Care Aware® of America. In 2015, 42% of all households with children under the age of 18 include mothers who are either the sole or primary source of income for the family. Latina mothers are more likely than white mothers to be the breadwinners, but they make lower ...
What’s better than waking up to an encouraging text message? Iris Guzman, thanks in part to supportive texts each morning from her father and her experiences as a first-generation Mexican-American, has developed a similar caring nature for the health and welfare of Latinos. Guzman, who is from Nayarit, Mexico, is currently a second-year master’s-degree student in public health at UCLA’s Department of Community Health Sciences. She has a consistent desire to research the social, cultural, and environmental determinants of health. Particularly, she wants to study these determinants in order to reduce and eliminate health inequities in the Latino population. To further her training and education, Guzman applied for the Éxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training ...
Claudia Sanchez Lucas is described by many as humble, a trait learned from her mom and dad. Lucas is also strong and resilient, with a passion for helping people. Lucas has powerful curiosity that can one day help her push science in brave new directions. She’s growing her passion and curiosity as a master’s degree student in public health epidemiology at Texas Woman’s University in Denton, where she also earned a bachelor’s degree in health studies. She is excited to learn more about cancer epidemiology and neuroepidemiology, perhaps envisioning new interventions to stimulate brain health to help talented people maximize their mental capabilities even further. To further her training and education, Lucas applied for the Éxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership ...
As a mother to her beautiful son, Paulina Monteon-Garcia realizes how far her parents went to help her have a better life. She wants to do the same for her son. Monteon-Garcia is well on her way, because she has a giving spirit and a desire to promote health for her family and the local population, through her work as outreach coordinator for the COACH for Kids and Their Families program in Los Angeles. The program uses mobile units to provide free medical services to underserved children and families across the city. Growing up in Riverside, Calif., Monteon-Garcia saw the need for culturally appropriate programs, and better health education and resources for low-income communities. That’s why she is a part of the COACH for Kids program, and why she has also worked with ...
Like the focus and dedication her grandmother put into delicately crafting her beautiful hand stitched napkin, Cynthia Ortiz has what it takes to excel as a researcher. Ortiz, a Dallas native, is a population science research assistant at UT Southwestern Medical Center and an MPH candidate in the Department of Epidemiology at the UT Health Science Center School of Public Health in Dallas. Having worked as a laboratory researcher and a high school biology teacher, this future epidemiologist is determined to find answers to the underlying causes of chronic disease. Ortiz has seen firsthand the effects that working night shifts can have on one’s health and hopes to study the relationship that this has to chronic disease. To further her training and education, Ortiz applied for the ...
