Community Engagement & Health Outcomes
Community Engagement & Health Outcomes
CEHO provides strategic leadership that brings together institutional alignment, community health optimization and engagement to improve our department’s internal culture and expand our services in the Rochester community and beyond.
Engagement in Surgery
We provide guidance to align our department’s projects to the goals of the University of Rochester, our Medical Center, and the URMC’s Health Outcome Optimization Committee.
Community Initiatives
We connect our department with the Rochester community through purposeful outreach, education, and partnerships that promote access and lasting impact. Click to see all our projects and initiatives.
Pre-College Education
We prepare emerging healthcare professionals through immersive, hands-on learning experiences that foster clinical exposure, academic excellence, career readiness, and community engagement.
The CEHO Team
The CEHO Team
Paula Cupertino, Ph.D.
Vice-Chair
Alaska Pendleton, M.D.
Assistant Vice-Chair
Ana Gómez Parga, Ph.D.
Director of Strategic Implementation
Arlette Chavez, MD
Public Health Project Coordinator
Lulu Roman
Coordinating Assistant
Rafaela Russi, PhD
Post-Doctoral Fellow in Health Outcomes
PAD – Peripheral Arterial Disease
Circulate and Screen is an impactful initiative that seeks to assess and address Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD) in the most vulnerable communities in Rochester. This project, led by Dr. Alaska Pendleton and Dr. Paula Cupertino, addresses the urgent need for better understanding of PAD prevalence among certain populations. Through Circulate & Screen we fill the education gap by providing PAD literacy and screening through trusted community ambassadors and linking high-risk individuals to primary care for further evaluation and management.
Do you want to learn more? Email Arlette Chavez, MD for more information.
Highlights
We are proud to celebrate Dr. Ana Gómez Parga, who was named one of the Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce's Top 20 Young Regional Leaders. This prestigious recognition honors local leaders who are making a meaningful impact across the Greater Rochester community through innovation, service, and leadership. In her nomination, colleagues praised Dr. Gómez Parga's unwavering commitment to creating opportunities that empower others to grow and succeed, describing her as "an innovative, forward-thinking leader" whose work has positively shaped the Rochester community. They also highlighted her exceptional ability to transform vision into action, noting that "Ana leads with clarity and vision, and she pairs that clarity with the discipline to turn ideas into outcomes" - a combination that continues to drive meaningful change within the organizations and communities she serves.
Dr. Rafaela Russi Ervilha, PhD, MSc, has received two prestigious international recognitions for her outstanding contributions to health disparities research. She was selected as a 2026 Health Disparities Research Institute (HDRI) Scholar by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD), a highly competitive honor that recognizes promising investigators advancing minority health research and provides intensive training in grantsmanship and research leadership at the NIH campus in Bethesda, Maryland. In addition, Dr. Russi Ervilha was selected to deliver an oral presentation at the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco Europe (SRNT-E) Annual Conference in Paris, France, where she will present her peer-reviewed research, Therapeutic Alliance, Nicotine Replacement Therapy Use, and Self-Efficacy as Mediators of a Culturally Tailored mHealth Smoking Cessation Program among Latino Adults. Together, these achievements recognize the scientific excellence and growing international impact of her work to develop culturally tailored digital and mobile health interventions that reduce tobacco-related health disparities.
We are proud to congratulate Dr. Ana Paula Cupertino on being recognized as a 2026 recipient at the 7th Annual Dr. David Satcher Community Health Improvement Awards. This honor celebrates her outstanding commitment to community-engaged research and her dedication to ensuring that community voices meaningfully inform research priorities, program development, and institutional strategy. Through her collaborative approach, Dr. Cupertino elevates community perspectives in decision-making and ensures that research findings are shared in meaningful and accessible ways. As part of this recognition, she selected Common Ground Health–Rochester RHIO as her primary community partner, highlighting the importance of strong partnerships in advancing community health.
News
News
Teen Anti-Violence Alliance (TAVA) Podcast
Teen Anti-Violence Alliance (TAVA) Podcast
We’re a youth-led podcast powered by the Teen Anti-Violence Alliance (TAVA) a movement founded and led by Rochester students who are taking action to reduce violence in our community. Through our podcasts, we amplify real teen voices as we interview community leaders, mentors, and changemakers. Beyond the mic, we create social media campaigns, participate in community outreach to help educate and empower our peers. Join us as we spark conversation, raise awareness, and inspire change one voice at a time.
