January 13, 2017

Staff at IWRI

Victor Cruz (Mexican), Research Coordinator
Hi, I’m Victor Cruz and I am the new research coordinator for the Vr2L 2Spirit Project (Virtual Two-Spirit Project), which addresses healthy choices for Native American Gay and Two-Spirit men at risk for contacting HIV.
I am originally from Tucson, Arizona, and received my bachelor’s degree at Northern Arizona University. I moved to Seattle in 2009 and have been working in the HIV/Research field for about six years.  In my spare time I enjoy weight lifting and creating music.

Rachel Hays (white ally), Student Research Assistant
Rachel Hays is a second year MPH student in the department of Health Services – Maternal Child Health. She is from Huntington Beach, CA and graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
In Los Angeles, she worked at the Breastfeeding Task Force of Greater Los Angeles and at Northeast Valley Health Corporation-WIC program. Most recently, she redesigned the internal data collection efforts of the Kentucky Commission for Children with Special Health Care Needs. In Fall 2016, she started working at IWRI on the Ethics Training for Health in Indigenous Communities Study (ETHICS) as a research assistant.
Rachel likes working on projects related to breastfeeding / the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative, cultural competency, and bilingual resources. In her free time, she likes to hike, play soccer, do yoga, and travel. Rachel has lived in Chile, Argentina, Spain, Sweden, and Canada, but hopes to settle in Seattle to be near her grandmother and other beloved family members.

Anita Rocha (Chicana / Purépecha) moves to another UW center
Data Manager Anita Rocha has left IWRI to return to work for her former UW employer, the Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology (CSDE). Anita was instrumental in the complex task of cleaning and analyzing the copious amount of data generated by IWRI’s many projects. Interestingly, instead of quantitative number-crunching at CSDE, Anita’s first project will be conducting qualitative data collection from principal investigators from throughout the UW campus.

Anita enjoyed her role at IWRI and stated, “I felt a strong sense of belonging in the IWRI family, and I am grateful that will continue.” Since she is in her fourth year of the Social Welfare PhD program, Anita will still continue to be a friendly presence at the School of Social Work and at IWRI.  All the faculty and staff of IWRI wish Anita well in her new venture.