SOURCE Student Governing Board

Kenisha Arora is a Master’s student at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, studying Global Health. As a Forbes-recognized leader for her philanthropy and advocacy, Kenisha is dedicated to dismantling inequities in education and health.

At just 16, she was elected as a School Board Trustee in Canada, where she championed a motion to provide free menstrual hygiene products in school washrooms, helping to address period poverty for students. Her transformative leadership led to her selection from nearly 10,000 candidates on the United Nations High-Level Committee on Education, where she served alongside the Prime Minister of France, President of Sierra Leone, Executive Director of UNICEF, the Managing Partner of World Bank, and other global leaders to shape the SDG4 framework and oversee the global governance of education.

At the grassroots level, Kenisha leads a non-profit organization dedicated to spreading hope to the most vulnerable members of the community. During the COVID19 pandemic, she and her sister Alisha initiated Project HopeBags, which provides kits filled with essential health and educational supplies to disadvantaged children. What began as an initiative in their home city has since grown into a global movement of hope, with chapters in countries such as Liberia, Malawi, and India.

Kenisha’s social impact has led her to receive recognition from leaders including the WHO Director-General and the UN Secretary-General.

She looks forward to bringing her passion for community service and advocacy to SOURCE, collaborating with local organizations to serve the Baltimore community.

My name is Paco Castellon, and I am a DrPH student in the Implementation Science concentration in the Bloomberg School of Public Health. I received an MPH and MBA from Florida International University, and a BS in Health Science from the University of Miami. I am a Cuban-American and live in Miami, Florida. In my free time, I enjoy exploring the food scene in Miami, exercising, and spending time with my family, friends, and partner.

Through my work at the Johns Hopkins Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality, I oversee and implement multiple research projects, support affiliated faculty, and contribute to strategic planning and new programming initiatives. Before joining Hopkins, I supported NIH-funded multi-site clinical trials focused on improving healthcare access and engagement for people living with HIV, substance use disorders, and mental health struggles. In addition, I have developed research training programs for medical/graduate students, post-doctoral fellows and junior faculty. 

Outside of my professional endeavors, I am a member of the Executive Planning Committee for the Leadership Miami program hosted by the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce. Through this program I actively support emerging South Florida leaders in collaborating with community-based organizations to execute community-led projects.

Hello! My name is Gabriela Chavez, and I am a first-year MSPH student at the Bloomberg School of Public Health. As a first-generation Mexican and Filipino student, born and raised on the south side of Chicago, I am passionate about social determinants of health, particularly for aging populations, and advocating for health equity in underserved communities. My research interests also include leveraging AI and advanced analytics to improve healthcare accessibility and effectiveness for these populations.

With four years of experience as a Senior Healthcare Data Analyst at Esperanza Health Centers, I focused on using data analytics and visualization to enhance healthcare operations, improve clinical outcomes, and guide policy decisions. I lead cross-functional teams to deliver insights that drive patient care and efficiency. My work blends data analysis, health policy, and machine learning to solve complex problems in healthcare.

I'm excited to join SOURCE! It’s a great opportunity to connect with Baltimore’s neighborhoods, advocate for equitable healthcare access, and gain firsthand experience with the health challenges people face here. I’m looking forward to learning more about how to create public health policies that genuinely address the needs of the community.

Hi everyone! My name is Tazrin, and I am a Master of Health Sciences candidate in the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology department at Johns Hopkins, with aspirations of attending medical school. I was born and raised in NYC, with part of my upbringing in Richmond, VA. Prior to moving to Baltimore, I had the privilege of working alongside Parkinson’s patients as a neuroscience research assistant, which profoundly underscored the importance of resilience in the face of adversity. This experience inspired me to engage more deeply with healthcare challenges and led me to volunteer in underserved communities within clinical settings, where I acquired critical insights into the complexities of healthcare disparities. 

As a student representative for the BMB department and the Education Co-Chair for the Anna Baetjer Society, which aims to bridge the gap between classroom learning and community engagement, I am excited to collaboratively serve as a conduit for applying public health practices in the community. My engagement with the community has been pivotal in shaping my academic journey during my undergraduate years. As I continue my graduate studies, I hope that SOURCE will play a similarly transformative role in which I look forward to collaborating with fellow members and immersing myself in the greater Baltimore community. 

Hi everyone! My name is Shiauna Ledbetter, and I am a first semester MSN-Entry student at Johns Hopkins! I grew up in a small town outside of Asheville, NC and attended UNC Chapel Hill for my undergraduate degree. At UNC, I studied global studies with a focus in global health.  Throughout college, I volunteered primarily with Minority Women in Medicine; with this organization I gained experience hosting community clinics, educational events, and providing representation and mentorship for minority youth. 

Most recently, after undergrad, I worked as an EMT in Charlotte, NC for 2.5 years. Working in this role really solidified my passion for community health and well-being. Witnessing firsthand the impact that timely, compassionate care can have on individuals and families in crisis profoundly shaped my dedication to serving the broader community. This experience has also highlighted the interconnectedness of health outcomes and SDOH in our communities. This has led me to become an advocate for preventative health measures; most specifically, I am drawn to the ways in which proper nutrition and physical fitness can positively influence the health of our community members.

That being said, I am excited to contribute my skills, passion, and dedication to this shared vision. I am so grateful for the opportunity to be a part of the SOURCE Student Governing Board, and as a new resident of Baltimore, the opportunity to learn and share experiences with this new community. 

Hi everyone! My name is Emily Lee, and I am a 1st semester MSN student at the School of Nursing. I graduated with a Bachelor's in Music and Chinese, then went on to get a Master's in Global Affairs and Policy from Seoul, Korea, where I lived for 6 years before moving here for nursing. I love traveling, trying new foods, and I have an open water diving license—though it is probably expired by now! At least that shows how much I love the ocean, especially at sunset. I am also extremely allergic to dogs, with the exception of my super cute chiweenie back at home.

Born in Taiwan, raised in Northern California and West Texas, and later living my best life in Taiwan and Korea, I naturally developed a passion for hearing the stories of people from all over the world. Serving alongside and sharing life with such diverse groups of people has not only deepened my appreciation for those from different backgrounds, but also made me reflect on how I can use my skills to address their unique needs. That is why I am here today, switching to a career in healthcare.

I am extremely excited for this opportunity to serve on the SOURCE Governing Board and hope to help bridge opportunities for our peers to get more involved in the Baltimore community. I aim to advocate for the importance of engaging with our neighbors here, as I believe it is so important for deepening our empathy and understanding of the populations we are committed to serving.

Hi, I’m Priscilla (she/they), a first-semester Master of Science in Nursing student at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing and the SON representative for my cohort on the JHU SOURCE Governing Board. I’m deeply passionate about community engagement, public health, and chronic disease prevention, with a strong belief in the power of grassroots efforts to create meaningful change.

My background includes urban garden education, outdoor wellness advocacy, and harm reduction initiatives. Through my work, I strive to bridge the gap between healthcare and community-based solutions, empowering people to take charge of their well-being.

As a SOURCE Board member, I’m excited to collaborate with students and local organizations to strengthen service-learning initiatives, address social determinants of health, and advocate for sustainable, equity-driven community partnerships in Baltimore.

Hi everyone! My name is Ria Arora, and I’m a first-year medical student. I’m originally from Northern California but moved to Baltimore in 2018 to attend undergrad at Hopkins. While there as a college student, my most formative experiences involved building trust-based relationships to deliver care where it is needed most. My time serving Baltimore communities allowed me to not only gain a greater appreciation for the city, but also understand how to implement service from a community-centered perspective. After four years, I grew to treasure the relationships I had built, and I became part of a thriving ecosystem. In returning to Baltimore as a medical student, it is incredibly rewarding to be able to create longitudinal change within a community I am fortunate to call home. As part of the SOURCE Governing Board, I look forward to building equitable, reciprocal community partnerships that nurture the very community we reside in. When I’m not advocating for health equity, I enjoy listening to live music, cooking something impractical, or lighting scented candles while studying (lavender is my favorite!). I’m honored to represent SOURCE and carry forward its mission.

Hi, everyone! My name is Aaron Bao, a first-year medical student at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. I was born and raised in Los Angeles, and I attended Washington University in St. Louis for college. At WashU, I was a apart of Medicine and Society, a 4-year anthropology program focusing on culture, healthcare, and policy. Shaped by my coursework, I turned to medicine to explore and advocate equity, where access can often be the differentiating factor between well-being and illness. Through this, I performed fieldwork studying the healthcare perspectives of Chinese immigrants, shaping an interest in the sociocultural perspectives of medicine.  

Drawing on the core tenets of SOURCE – reciprocity, justice, service, and collaboration, I’m excited by not only the privilege to enact tangible impact within a historied local community, but also the opportunity to create this change by bridging different worldviews, upbringings, and perspectives. 

My name is Jin Choi, and I am currently a fourth-year medical student. I was born in Korea and raised in Southern California, though my family currently lives in Boston. 

After high school, I moved to Providence to attend Brown University, where I studied neuroscience and STS (Science, Technology, and Society). In college, I worked as a hospice volunteer and became involved with various programs at the Swearer Center for Public Service, including the Social Innovation Fellowship and the Student Advisory Committee. After doing research in Poland for my first gap year, I returned to Providence and worked as a Social Medicine VISTA at the Rhode Island Hospital Center for Primary Care. In this position, I worked closely with community health workers to address patients’ social and structural determinants of health, especially related to housing, transportation, and incarceration. 

While I am still relatively new to Baltimore, I’ve enjoyed living here so far and hope to get to know some of the communities here better through SOURCE. I’m grateful for the opportunity to join the SOURCE Student Governing Board and look forward to working with everyone to help strengthen community partnerships and address health disparities in Baltimore. 

Hi! My name is Cherry Lam, and I am a first-year student at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. I grew up and spent a majority of my life in Jersey City, NJ. I graduated from New York University in 2021 with a major in Biology and a minor in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Studies. Being first-generation and low-income is a core part of my identity, and it has profoundly shaped my perspective and career aspirations. Throughout my medical career, I aspire to devote myself to serving disadvantaged communities and addressing the unique challenges they face. My immigrant parents, due to their lack of education and inability to speak fluent English, work in a demanding, low-wage restaurant job, often enduring twelve-hour shifts. Witnessing them struggle with various health issues that developed due to their socioeconomic background motivated me to focus my career on supporting underserved communities.

Throughout my undergraduate studies and during my three gap years, I engaged in various volunteer roles that served a wide variety of disadvantaged populations, from low-income families to first-generation students to under-resourced high schools. For instance, I served as a Senior Health Educator at the Peer Health Exchange, a Fundraising and Internal Operations Volunteer at MDemocracy, and a Nurturing Place Volunteer at The York Street Project. I also founded The Community Outreach Division at NYC Pain Specialists (now called Park Avenue Medicine & Surgery). As a member of the SOURCE Student Governing Board, I am eager to use my current experiences to advocate for health equity and underrepresented communities. Additionally, I am also eager to deepen my knowledge on how to effectively address the needs of the community and to learn from my peers, the various organizations, as well as the members of the community.

Hi Everyone! My name is Branden and I am a medical student at Johns Hopkins. I was born and raised in the Queens borough of NYC and graduated from Boston College in 2021. Rooted in a belief that healthcare is a fundamental right, I was able to partner with incredible organizations throughout my career that were dedicated to serving and empowering under-resourced communities. From establishing free clinics with Timmy Global Health to addressing medical equipment inequity with my team at EHI, I've witnessed the transformative power of service and care. I am excited to work with SOURCE and our partnering organizations to continue harnessing this perspective to fight and advocate for justice, equity, and sustainable growth here in Baltimore. 

Hello! My name is Erica Lin, and I am a first-year medical student. I am from San José, California, studied Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology at Yale, and am excited to get to know East Baltimore as home. I first became interested in community-organizing through advocating for social support resources for unhoused youth as San José’s Citywide Youth Commissioner and building sustainable community-academic partnerships on the board of Yale’s Dwight Hall center for social justice. My passion for social-health justice was further shaped by my work throughout the COVID pandemic as the Social Services Co-Director of a free clinic in New Haven that cares for uninsured, primarily undocumented community members. Alongside the privilege of hearing and caring for patients’ worries about food, rent, mental health, and more, I also experienced the strength of grassroots community-building, as I spearheaded collaborations with community partners to deliver free groceries to quarantining patients, crowdfund/distribute over $100,000 in grassroots rent assistance, and advocate for rights to COVID care for undocumented folx.  

I believe that sociocultural wellbeing outside of the clinic is fundamental to health — and that, to achieve health equity, it is also fundamental for (future) healthcare providers to work outside the clinic and alongside community members to advocate for social change. I also believe this must be done with respect, intentionality, care for community priorities, and reflective acknowledgment of oppressive histories and inequitable infrastructures. Thus, I am incredibly humbled to learn from and work alongside our East Baltimore neighbors and CBOs dedicated to strengthening our vibrant community, and I look forward to sharing these conversations with my classmates through SOURCE! 

Hello! My name is Eric Mao and I am a medical student at Johns Hopkins graduating in the class of 2028. I grew up in Houston, Texas, and moved to New York City to study Biology at Columbia University. Now, I am excited to be at Hopkins and to call East Baltimore my home for the next few years.

From Houston to here, the concept of ‘community’ has always had a central role in my life. I have a deep appreciation for the communities that surround me, and with this in mind, I strongly believe in the value of giving back to these communities. In Houston, I worked with the Partnership for the Advancement and Immersion of Refugees as a mentor, helping refugee youth build language, social, and academic skills over the summer. As a college student, I learned how to further channel my enthusiasm for advocacy into meaningful projects with organizations such as Community Impact, the Asian Youth Program, and Soar Over Hate. Many of the most meaningful groups that I have been a part of have been the ones that have enabled me to purposefully engage with my community.

As a member of the SOURCE Student Governing Board, I am grateful for the privilege to learn from my new neighbors here in Baltimore as we work alongside each other to strengthen our shared community. I am excited to use my platform to both contribute towards the mission of SOURCE and to encourage my peers to do the same!

Hi all! My name is Marissa, and I am a first-year medical student at Hopkins. I grew up in New Jersey and attended the University of Pennsylvania, where I studied Neuroscience and Medical Anthropology. My journey to medicine has been shaped by a deep commitment to social justice, harm reduction, and the belief that lasting change comes from community-driven solutions that ensure equitable access to healthcare. During my undergraduate years, I worked at Prevention Point Philadelphia, a nonprofit organization providing harm reduction services to patients experiencing homelessness and substance use disorder. Here I worked with the syringe exchange program and also participated in community education efforts, where I developed workshops for local high schools to engage students in conversations about harm reduction and person-first language. I also worked as an HIV tester and counselor at the African Family Health Organization, where I had the privilege of serving West Philly’s African and Caribbean immigrant communities, providing health education and connecting patients to HIV prevention and treatment resources.

With SOURCE, I am committed to building partnerships with the East Baltimore community and working on projects that dismantle oppressive structures, address historical disinvestment, and promote health equity. I believe that as medical students, we must actively engage with and learn from the community we serve, recognizing their expertise and lived experiences. Through SOURCE, I am excited to elevate community voices and support community-led initiatives that address systemic barriers to health and well-being.

Hi! My name is Saket Myneni, and I am dual-degree M.D./MPH student at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and Bloomberg School of Public Health! I am originally from Austin, Texas but moved to study biology and psychology at Stanford University. I am excited to be serving on the SOURCE student governing board and continuing efforts to build meaningful partnerships with the East Baltimore community. Both cities I have lived in experienced many of the same challenges growing cities around the country face, as development displaces existing communities and uniquely impacts underserved communities. I strongly believe addressing roots of inequity with a sustainable approach is an important and necessary step in any effort to addressing structural harm. With this mindset, I have volunteered with a variety of programs throughout college aimed at addressing these barriers by developing partnerships with existing support programs in my communities and utilizing their strengths. I am excited to explore Baltimore, my new home, and to do my part to build relationships with community-based organizations to create new interventions that capitalize on Baltimore’s drive and unique identity and empower any efforts to improving the health and well-being of our community. I am grateful for the opportunities SOURCE provides to build these connections and looking forward to everything we can accomplish! 

Hello! My name is Samalya Thenuwara, and I am a first-year medical student in the School of Medicine. I was born in Sri Lanka and moved to Iowa City, Iowa when I was 8 years old. I lived in Iowa for fifteen years and received my B.S. in Human Physiology from the University of Iowa. During this time, I volunteered as a Board Member and eventually became the Board Chair of the Emma Goldman Clinic, where I advocated for reproductive health justice. I was also a proud volunteer at the Iowa City VA Health Care System and was involved with USA Boxing as an amateur boxing official.

Immigrating from Sri Lanka to Iowa taught me that being involved with my community was the best way to find a sense of home in a new environment. Now that I am here in Baltimore, I spend my time as a tutor to young learners at the Corner Team Boxing & Fitness Club and continue to contribute as an amateur boxing official. The people I work with have made me feel so welcome, and I have quickly found a sense of belonging here.

As a member of the SOURCE Student Governing Board, I hope to guide many more of my peers on their journey to discover their place in the Baltimore community at the intersection of their passions and commitment to service.

Hello! My name is Sophia Zhao, and I am a medical student at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. I grew up in Delaware and attended Yale University where I studied the History of Science and Medicine and Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry. Throughout my time in college, I worked at a community mental health center, volunteered at a free clinic, and helped restart a therapeutic arts program at a hospital. As a whole, these experiences have taught me that truly efficacious, humane, and sustainable change requires partnerships that align with the community’s interests. With SOURCE, I am eager to contribute to efforts in building such partnerships, ensuring that our Baltimore community’s total breadth of needs—not only medical, but also economic, political, and social—are met.