Team

Aileen has over ten years of professional experience in the non-profit sector. She received her Bachelor’s of Science in Kinesiology, with an emphasis on Applied Fitness and Active Lifestyle Development in 2011. Her passion for promoting healthy lifestyles led her to pursue her Master’s in Public Health at the California State University of Northridge. As a result of personal, professional, and academic experiences, Aileen strongly believes that optimal health is achieved by adopting a proactive lifestyle. Thus, she has dedicated her career to helping evolve programs focusing on social inclusion, diversity, and health education. By inspiring and motivating other community members, Aileen is hopeful that health and fitness will be treated as long-term goals, universally.

In her spare time, she enjoys traveling with her family, playing competitive basketball, and hiking.

Abraham Cicchetti serves as Chief Operating Officer for Health Career Connections (HCC). Mr. Cicchetti is a dynamic leader with expertise in operations, business development, and financial management. His deep-rooted expertise, honed over an illustrious career spanning a wide array of industries, draws a compelling narrative of consistent growth, profitability, and transformative leadership. Mr. Cicchetti has navigated diverse terrains, from entrepreneurial startups to established corporations. His leadership style, a unique fusion of financial acumen and strategic foresight, consistently fosters an environment of high performance and measurable results. Mr. Cicchetti’s passion for diversity and equity is evident in his significant contributions as Treasurer and Executive Board Member for the California Association for Healthcare Leaders (CAHL).  Additionally, as a member of the Regent’s Advisory Council for the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE), Mr. Cicchetti has been instrumental in executing ACHE’s core strategies. His active membership in the Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA) and the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) further underscores his commitment to serving others and promoting various professions within the healthcare industry. His academic accomplishments include a B.S. in Business Administration-Accountancy and an M.S. in Healthcare Administration Interprofessional Leadership from the University of California, San Francisco. Additionally, he is a Certified Higher Education Professional (CHEP).

Katy joined HCC in 2014. Katy’s interest in healthcare began when she started to work on the Wellfleet Rescue Squad. After college, she worked for various organizations (ambulance, hospital, VNA, HMO). Katy was a Governor Intern at the MA Department of Mental Health and worked at the MA Division of Insurance for 8.5 years in the health policy section. Katy established Cushman Insurance Solutions and sold long-term care insurance (LTCI) for 20 years. As HCC New England Program Manager, she finds it rewarding to promote diversity in healthcare and launch the next generation of health leaders. She obtained two B.A. degrees in Economics and Classics from UMass Amherst and an MPH from Boston University.

Katy has 3 grown children and enjoys riding her horse, kayaking, and daily walks with her tennis ball-obsessed Labrador Retriever.

Patricia S. Etem, MPH, has developed, directed and evaluated Public Health programs and initiatives for hospitals, city health and youth development divisions, and non-profit organizations for over 20 years. Her areas of expertise include program design and implementation, strategic partnership development, health policy, stakeholder training, resource development, and program evaluation.  Ms. Etem has consulted for Health Career Connection since 2015 to engage Southern California health agency, business, and higher education partners in health pathway program success and internship placements to build the next generation of diverse health profession leaders.

With over 15 years of experience in health care marketing, communication, and education, Vanessa currently serves as the Director of Communications, Alumni Engagement and Project Implementation at Health Career Connection. In this role, she leads the development and execution of communication and new programs to engage and support our diverse and growing network of interns, industry and educational partners, donors and over 5,000 alumni. Previously Vanessa served as Assistant Vice President of Marketing & External Affairs at COPE Health Solutions. Vanessa has held roles in Administration, Development, Government Relations, Event Management and Board Development.
Vanessa received a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Loyola Marymount University and a Master of Communication Management from the University of Southern California. She is an alumna of the Coro Executive Fellows Program and Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership LA 2013 and Riordian Fellowship. She is a Past President for Women in Health Administration of Southern California (WHA) and previously served on the board for the National Forum for Latino Healthcare Executives (NFLHE) SoCal and the American College of Health Care Executives of Southern California (ACHE SoCal).

Tyler helps to support HCC by coordinating financial, operational, and technical activities for the organization. He has previously conducted similar work for the Pre-Collegiate Studies program at Stanford University.

Prior to this work, Tyler was awarded a BS in Molecular Environmental Biology from UC Berkeley and served in the United States Army.

Jana has dedicated her life to the well-being and advancement of children, women, and families who face significant adversity. She was the former Chief Executive Officer at One Circle Foundation, a nonprofit specializing in creating safe and supported spaces for youth and communities across the globe through evidence-based circle programs and curricula. Jana was previously the founder of a youth drop-in center called Oakland Youth Aspire in West Oakland. She has directed special projects for unhoused families and human trafficking initiatives, advocated for at-risk communities, and serves as a university lecturer specializing in the social determinants of health through the lens of community-engaged health promotion. She was also a 2021 fellowship graduate of Women Leaders Around the World. Jana is a proud board member at CALICO (Child Abuse, Listening, Interviewing, and Coordination Center that achieves justice and healing for abused children) and an advisory council member for Evermore (Changing national policies so that all bereaved individuals can achieve a healthy, prosperous, and equitable future). Jana graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, and then received a Master’s degree in Public Health with a focus on community health education.

Babar Iqbal is a Program Coordinator at Health Career Connection. Babar attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and graduated in 2021 with a B.A. in Management & Society. At HCC, he oversees, maintains, and updates technical systems and products to support administrative, financial, and operational tasks and projects. He also serves as a resource for database management and maintenance of systems. Previously, Babar was a Client Service Associate at Phreesia, where he worked with his team to provide consulting services in the areas of workflow improvement and application building to medical offices across the country. Additionally, Babar worked at the Carolina Higher Education Opportunity Program (CHEOP) Office throughout his four years at UNC-Chapel Hill, primarily working with underserved high school and college students to prepare them for higher education and health professional schools.

Jimmy’s connection to HCC dates back to his HCC internship. Through that experience, he was inspired to pursue a career in public health and discovered his passion for health equity. To that end, he has had varied experiences developing solutions and managing programs that address social determinants of health. In his current position, he supports continuous improvement projects to increase HCC’s impact. Jimmy obtained his BA from Brown University and MPH from UNC-Chapel Hill School of Public Health. He is always looking forward to reconnecting with fellow HCC Alumni.

Jo is based in Philadelphia and directs HCC’s programming in the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest regions. Her career has spanned nearly two decades in the nonprofit industry, with a few stints in local government – most notably working in COVID containment at the Philadelphia Department of Public Health. She feels driven by work that is grounded in progressive values and chips away at structural inequities, while acknowledging that none of that work is sustainable if we don’t invest in taking care of ourselves and each other. Outside of work she is exploring the intersection between trauma and collective art-making, spending time with her cat Sylvester, and searching for life partners to make sense of it all.

Alivia has held various research, evaluation, and project management positions with public health organizations and academic institutions, and has a passion for student mentoring and youth leadership development. Her research and areas of interest include community-driven health advocacy related to access to resources, violence prevention, trauma-informed programming and resident engagement, particularly in her hometown of Seaside, CA. Prior to joining the HCC team Alivia served in various roles at the UC Berkeley School of Public Health in the Center for Public Health Practice, Graduate Recruitment & Student Services, and was a Graduate Student Instructor at Goldman School of Public Policy. Alivia received her Master of Public Health from UC Berkeley, Master of Arts in Sociology from Stanford University, and Bachelor of Arts from Stanford University in Human Biology. Alivia loves playing volleyball, playing with her beautiful nieces, and discovering new places through travel.