Mendez recognized for Staff Excellence in Community Engagement
"The Institute for Civic and Community Engagement (ICCE) has announced the recipients of its 2020 Annual Civic & Community Engagement Awards. Rebecca Mendez, MPH '19 was presented with the Staff Award for Excellence in Community Engagement. This award recognizes SF State staff members who have supported exceptioanl outreach and/or engagement with Bay Area communities through their personal and professional commitment.
Faculty Awardees for Excellence in Service Learning
Professor for the School of Design Ricardo Gomes and Professor and Chair of Asian American Studies Russell Jeung
Staff Excellence in Community Engagement
Research Technician for Research & Sponsored Programs Rebecca Mendez, MPH '19
The full list of awardees is available on the ICCE website.
Rebecca Mendez, MPH '19
Health Equity Research (HER) Lab | College of Science & Engineering
Rebecca Mendez is the Lab Manager for the Health Equity Research (HER) Lab and a Master’s of Public Health candidate in Community Health Education at SF State. Rebecca has a longstanding commitment to reducing health disparities in ethnic minority communities that originated with her undergraduate volunteer work with Clínica Martín-Baró. Clínica is a local organization based in the Mission District dedicated to providing much needed health care to the economically disadvantaged Spanish-speaking community. In her current role as Lab Manager, Rebecca works on multiple research projects using her specialized training in cellular and molecular biology. These projects all strive towards contributing to the existing body of knowledge on how the lived experiences of marginalized and underserved Bay Area communities not only affect bodily biological mechanisms, but also serve as social determinants of health. In a study using biospecimens collected from African-American women, for example, Rebecca analyzes telomeres, a proposer biomarker of aging, to illuminate how everyday experiences of racism and discrimination have been shown to accelerate aging in this population. She has also studied how “Love Intervention” combats adverse health outcomes for local high school students as well as positive impacts of a stress intervention program on Latina breast cancer survivors. Rebecca also volunteers at La Casa de las Madres to support victims of domestic violence and the Center for Youth Wellness in Bayview Hunters Point. Her continued service in the community and role model as a community-engaged researcher embodies the university’s commitment as a “City University” to support communities we serve."
Feature From: SF State's Campus Memo, May 11, 2020