This month, CHEA is kicking off our CHEA spotlights! Every month, we will be highlighting an individual and their contributions to health equity. To kick off this series, we are featuring CHEA’s first official hire, Ana Bonilla Martinez!

Ana is CHEA’s program coordinator. She earned her BS in Public Health from Rutgers University and is also a Certified Health Education Specialist. Her involvement with the Center began in 2016, when she worked with Dr. Jaya Aysola through the Leonard Davis Institute’s SUMR program. That year, Ana co-led a qualitative analysis of over 300 narratives to identify what factors are critical to driving inclusive cultures within health care organizations. This research led to a publication in JAMA, Perceptions of Factors Associated With Inclusive Work and Learning Environments in Health Care Organizations: A Qualitative Narrative Analysis. She made such an impression during her time as a SUMR scholar, she was offered more than one job by Penn faculty.

Five years later, with tremendous persistence, we were finally able to bring Ana back to Penn!  Ana is an invaluable member of CHEA’s team. She is the coordinator of the Food Access Support Technology (FAST). FAST is a centralized platform within the health system, developed by CHEA’s team, in response to food insecurity exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Nutrition and food insecurity are directly tied to health inequities in affected communities. FAST works with Penn Medicine and community partners to provide food to Philadelphia residents. 

Additionally, Ana coordinates the Social Needs Response Team (SNRT). This is an interdisciplinary team of staff and students from Penn that works to address patient and population-level social needs. SNRT was founded in April 2020 in response to the pandemic, and has received over 1400 referrals since its inception. Ana’s background in community engagement and unwavering commitment to advancing health equity are why we choose to highlight her and all her amazing work. Thank you, Ana!

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