Users who work for MCN

Andrea Custode joined MCN in August 2017, shortly after moving to Austin from Charlotte, North Carolina. She is the executive assistant to Elaine Penn, Chief Financial Officer, and also provides executive support to both Karen Mountain, MBA, MSN, RN, Chief Executive Office, and Deliana Garcia, MA, Director, International Projects and Emerging Issues. Ms. Custode also works with program managers to ensure budget requirements for each grant are met. When she's not working she likes to attend sporting events and concerts, watch movies, travel, spend time with her dog, Kaizer, and family, or spend time finding new fun things to do around Austin.

Juliana Simmons, MSPH, CHES, is thrilled to be serving as a Program Manager at MCN. Since joining MCN in 2014, Ms. Simmons has enjoyed coordinating various grant-funded programs focused on environmental health and worker health and safety. Most notably, she completed a NIOSH-funded research project exploring barriers to addressing occupational health in primary care. She currently plays a vital role on the Protecting Children When Parents Work project with the National Children’s Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety, as well as on MCN’s Susan Harwood Training Grant, supported by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Ms. Simmons has had the opportunity to represent MCN at various national conferences and webinars to raise awareness about the importance of environmental and occupational health in the context of improving health outcomes for mobile populations.

Ms. Simmons first became interested in migrant health during her undergraduate career at Salisbury University, when she had the opportunity to serve as an intern with MCN. After graduation, she moved to Baltimore to pursue a Master’s degree in public health from Johns Hopkins University, where she specialized in health communication and health education. During her time in graduate school, Ms. Simmons enjoyed working as a childhood safety educator and a domestic violence advocate, where she was able to hone her interests in injury and violence prevention. Ms. Simmons is a certified health education specialist and is also certified in public health.

Douglas D. Bradham, DrPH, MA, MPH, is a health economist with considerable experience designing, conducting, and managing comparative effectiveness analyses and outcome studies using retrospective observational cohorts in large claims databases, and in randomized clinical trials. In an applied research career, he has guided numerous projects for state- and county-level agencies, and VA facility or national quality improvement initiatives, documenting the economic impact of interventions in 88+ publications.

Dr. Bradham has served on AHRQ, CDC and VA Study Sections and Special Review Panels, served as journal co-editor, managing editor, or special topic reviewer, and trained medical and public health practitioners in cost-benefit analyses, comparative effectiveness, and program or practice evaluations. Formerly the Kansas Health Foundation Endowed Professor in Public Health Economics, and the Principal Health Economist at the American Institutes for Research, Dr. Bradham is also a Governor-appointed member on past legislative committees for: Health Policy, Elderly Medicaid, Children’s Environmental Health, and Health Information Network Committees.

Corey Erb is originally from Bloomington, Illinois. He has lived in Miami, Chicago and Austin. Corey graduated from the University of Miami with a degree in journalism and economics. He lives in Austin with his wife, who is a therapist with the juvenile probation department.

Elisa Chavez became the Continuing Education Assistant for MCN in September 2014. Elisa is currently working on her Masters of Art in Human Development with a specialization in Leadership in Education and Human Services from Pacific Oaks College. She graduated from California State University, Chico in 2013 with a Bachelors of Art in Sociology. Elisa currently serves as an AmeriCorps member as a Peer Health Associate at the Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic and the Brain Injury Coalition. In her free time, she attends sporting events and concerts.

Raven Barai recently joined MCN as Executive Associate in the Austin office. She provides support for a myriad of activities and staff at MCN. Outside of work, Raven dedicates most of her time to her two kids. She especially enjoys cooking, painting, and spending time with her family.

Elodie was born in Mexico and grew up in Houston, TX. She moved to Austin five years ago. Elodie graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor's degree in Social Work. During her last semester at UT Austin, she interned at Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid. As a social work intern, Elodie provided safety planning, crisis intervention and court accompaniment to victims and survivors of domestic violence. In addition to working at MCN, Elodie is vice president of the South Austin Rotary Club and volunteers as a mentor for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Texas. In her free time, Elodie likes to run, practice yoga, and enjoy anything outdoors with her daughter.

Homero was born in the Texas Panhandle and moved to Austin when he was 4 years old. He grew up in the Austin area and eventually made the controversial decision to not go to UT and instead attended Texas A&M in College Station. There, Homero received a BS in Psychology with a minor in Neuroscience, becoming the first person in his family to graduate from a university in the U.S. (and a Tier 1 university to boot!). Homero was drawn to the opportunity to work for a nonprofit dedicated to a cause very personally near to him. In his free time, he hangs out with his dog, plays soccer, and spends time on the ranch he was raised on.

Olivia Hayes is a student at Texas State University where she is earning her BA in Social Work. In addition to working at Migrant Clinicians Network, she works as a Volunteer Coordinator helping students build confidence through music. Ms. Hayes was born in Columbus, Ohio. During her free time, she enjoys riding her bike, reading, and going to the movies.

Jennifer Sanne joined the Migrant Clinicians Network in September of 2011. She is currently working collaboratively with Jillian Hopewell, Director of Education and Professional Development in the design and development of MCN website content and effective implementation of instructional materials.

Jennifer was born and raised in California and earned a bachelor’s degree in Communication Design with a minor in Instructional Design from the California State University, Chico. As an undergraduate, Jennifer served as the vice president of the Instructional Design and Technology Society and took an interest in environmental sustainability when she became the social media intern for the Recycling Program on campus. In her free time she likes to play tennis and explore thrift stores.

Keslie Box is the Executive Administrative Associate at MCN. Originally from New Braunfels, Texas, she graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 2010 with a BA in Anthropology and a heavy focus in social justice and Latin American Studies. During her time at the university, she spent a semester abroad at the Universidad Veracruzana in Xalapa, Veracruz and later taught English in Sahauyo, Michoacán, Mexico.

For the past two years, she worked in New Orleans for an international anti-poverty organization, All Together in Dignity Fourth World Movement. As a Program Director, she coordinated several programs rooted in education, artistic expression, environmental and racial justice, and community participation. She worked extensively with children, young people, and community members to create and maintain community gardening spaces and ground-to-table cooking and healthy living alternatives. Currently she is attending herbal medicine school in Austin and is very committed to holistic health, social and environmental justice, and alternative education.

Michael Piorunski is originally from Baltimore, MD and relocated to the Eastern Shore of Maryland to attend Salisbury University. Michael earned a bachelor’s degree in Spanish and English as a Second Language and has an interest in language use and Latin American culture. As an undergraduate, Michael studied codeswitching patterns in bilingual middle school students and spent 4 weeks in Ecuador studying Quechua and Andean culture.
Michael joined the Migrant Clinicians Network in September 2011 to assist Amy Liebman, Director of Environmental and Occupational Health. Before joining the Migrant Clinicians Network, Michael served as an AmeriCorps volunteer in Northwest Baltimore, providing community- based case management services to adjudicated youth and their families. He also served as a *VISTA volunteer in 2007.
Michael spends his free time volunteering on a local organic farm, tending to his city farm plot and running.