New Staff Joins Health Access Team

In the last several months we have welcomed four new teammates to the Health Access team, including two organizers in the last week! Learn more about the entire Health Access team here.

Jose Tapia joined Health Access in late 2015 as our new Administrative & Legislative Assistant. José received his BA in Political Science from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He is a native to Los Angeles and has previously worked as an intern with several Congressional offices in Southern California. Thanks in part to his diverse upbringing, José has a strong commitment to ensure all Americans have access to quality and affordable health care. Prior to coming along to Health Access, José worked with Doctors for America in Washington, D.C.

Bethany Snyder joined Health Access in December 2015 as our new Director of Communications. Bethany has over 15 years’ experience in health care advocacy, communications and public affairs. She is an expert in managing strategic communications, leading successful advocacy initiatives, designing innovative outreach programs and running high-profile campaigns. Having worked for various health care organizations, Bethany has a passion for expanding health care access and ensuring the sweeping changes to our health care system benefit those most in need.

Aurora Garcia joined Health Access as our Southern CA Community Organizer, this month. Aurora has over six years of experience working in the nonprofit sector, which began with working with The Council of Mexican Federations where she fundraised for programs designed to help the Latino community. With a greater desire to organize, she began working as the CA Outreach Coordinator for Young Invincibles advocating on issues impacting young adults and in 2014, Aurora transitioned to California Partnership as the Los Angeles Organizer and Coordinator where she worked on advocacy and training on the state budget and its impact on low income communities.

Yasmin Peled also joined Health Access this month as our Northern CA Community Organizer. Yasmin received her BS in Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology from the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC). While studying at UCSC, Yasmin got her start in health care advocacy running a mobile health care clinic for the homeless and under-served in Santa Cruz County. Prior to joining Health Access, Yasmin worked with Families USA in Washington, D.C., with a focus on health equity issues.