Advisors - KHLAAC

Technical Advisors

Rocio Del Aguila
Wichita
Rocio.DelAguila@wichita.edu
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Enrique Franz
Liberal
gato.rodriguezfm@gmail.com
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Monique Garcia
Wichita
mgarcia@khf.org
Kansas Health Foundation, Director of Community Relations
Monique Garcia is director of community relations for the Kansas Health Foundation.
Ms. Garcia serves on the Communications team and manages stakeholder engagement efforts for the Foundation including external communication strategies and policy initiatives in support of the Foundation’s mission to improve the health of all Kansans.
Prior to serving as director of community relations, Garcia has worked in the private sector as well as in local and federal government for nearly 25 years. Garcia worked eight years at the federal level on Capitol Hill and for the President Clinton and President Bush administrations on policy and in the public affairs/press office of the National Security Council. Upon Garcia’s return to Wichita in 2002, she worked for Sedgwick County government in public health/communications, followed by ICM, Inc. and Black Hills Energy.
A native Wichitan, Garcia is a graduate of the University of Kansas and has a master’s degree in Business Administration from Southwestern College.
Garcia is very involved in the community and volunteers for various organizations including serving on the Board of Directors for Ascension Via Christi Hospitals – Wichita, KU Alumni Association – Wichita Chapter, the ARC of Sedgwick County and the Salvation Army. For over 14 years, she has served as a mentor with the Pando Initiative and the University of Kansas Hawk Mentor Program.
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Lucia Jones
Merriam
lucia_jonesherrera@uhc.com
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Julian Montes
Wichita
jmontes@kansasleadershipcenter.org
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Andrea Morales
Kansas City
amorales@vibranthealthkc.org
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Mariana Ramirez Mantilla
Kansas City
mramirez3@kumc.edu

Mariana Ramírez, LCSW is the Director of the JUNTOS Center for Advancing Latino Health at the Department of Population Health at the University of Kansas Medical Center. She oversees a growing number of academic-community partnerships and health research projects to eliminate health disparities experienced by Latino communities in Kansas. Ramírez is fluent in Spanish and English and has over ten years of experience working with medically under-resourced Latino populations in the US and México. Ramírez has received federal and private funding to develop linguistically and culturally tailored communication interventions to increase the access of Spanish-speaking communities to reliable, evidence-based health information. Currently, she is Co-Principal Investigator of the NIH-funded JUNTOS Radio video podcast and Co-Investigator of the Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics for Underserved Populations project, co-leading the communications core to improve Covid testing in underserved communities of 10 Kansas counties. Ramírez serves in multiple health-focused boards and collaborations including the Health Equity Task Force of Wyandotte County, Charitable Care Committee of the Kansas City Medical Society Foundation, Executive Committee of the Regional Community Health Worker Collaborative, and Latino Health for All Coalition. In 2018, Ramírez received the Nuestra Latina Health and Wellness award from the Greater Kansas City Hispanic Chamber of Commerce for her contributions to improving the health of the Kansas City community.
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Diosselyn Tot
Kansas City
3.dvelasquez@gmail.com
Diosselyn was born in Guatemala, but has made Kansas City, Kansas her home. She came to the US at 6 years of age,,and began volunteering in her community at 12. She is a Kauffman Scholar, Sumner Academy graduate, and in 2017 she graduated from the University of Kansas with a degree in Applied Behavioral Science focus on Community Health & development.

Her community organization roots can be traced back to her time at Community Housing of Wyandotte County. She was one of the founders of the Art Squad. The Art Squad taught art classes on street corners, in the parks, and at the urban farm. The Art Squad also painted murals in alleyways and cleaned debris to make them safe for kids. They have painted over 50 murals in alleyways to abate gang graffiti urban core of Kansas City, Kansas. Her community engagement work has also included Greening and Entrepreneurial initiatives.
In 2018, Diosselyn joined El Centro, Inc. a non-profit organization, where she focused on integrated voter engagement (in Spanish & English), Citizenship, DACA, Preparemonos Clinics and Know Your Rights Workshops.
Nowadays, she continues to stay involved in her hometown and in state organizations. She sits on various boards in the Latino community, with a focus on the arts, voting rights, and affordable housing. She also continues her community engagement work with Urbanworks in Kansas City, Kansas.
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Janeth Vazquez
Liberal
jvazquez@swmedcenter.com
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