Mia Ramirez: An Èxito! Grad Brings a ‘Civil Rights’ Lens to Public Health

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Editor’s Note: This is the story of a graduate of the 2014 Èxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training program. Apply now for the 2015 Èxito! program.

Mia Ramirez
Colorado Springs, Colo.

With a father who was a Chicano civil rights activist, it’s natural that Colorado native Ramirez and her family grew up with a strong sense of equal rights, equity, and justice.

From a young age, Ramirez was taught the values of servitude, leadership and completing tasks.

She went on to develop a passion for improving her community’s health, reducing health disparities, and addressing the social determinants of health.

With a bachelor’s degree in biology and Spanish from Regis University and a master’s degree in international health and development from Boston University, Ramirez has worked as a public health advisor at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and as a community research and policy analyst for Multnomah County Health Department’s Health Equity Initiative. She has also served internationally at the Pan American Health Organization in Chile to address gender equity at the Chol Chol Foundation, providing micro credit loans to the indigenous Mapuche women.

Currently she is a senior community health specialist at Kaiser Permanente, where she currently oversees programs and activities to increase health access, healthy environments, health knowledge and partnerships in Southern Colorado.

Considering whether to pursue a doctoral education, Ramirez applied to Éxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training program, which offers a five-day summer institute and internships to encourage master’s-level students and health professionals to pursue a doctoral degree and a cancer research career.

Ramirez said the Éxito! Summer Institute inspired and motivated her, with great activities and diverse opportunities to learn, reflect, and network.

“The Summer Institute has given me a confidence booster,” she said.

Éxito!, a program funded by the National Cancer Institute and directed by the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at The UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, will select 20 master’s-level students and health professionals from across the nation to attend a five-day summer institute in June 2015, in San Antonio, offering research information, tools, tips, role models and motivation to encourage participants to pursue a doctoral degree and a career studying how cancer affects Latinos differently. Participants also are eligible to apply for one of several internships. Apply here.