Sharon Adler, MD, MPH is a clinical instructor at the CA STD/HIV Prevention Training Center. She received her medical degree at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York and her Master of Public Health degree from the University of California at Berkeley. She completed the Family Practice Residency program at the University of California, San Francisco as well as the General Preventive Medicine/Public Health program run by the University of California, Berkeley/ University of California, San Francisco. She is board certified in Preventive Medicine/Public Health and has clinical experience working in community clinics, public health clinics, and indigent care free clinics in the San Francisco bay area as well as at the San Francisco STD City Clinic. In her current position Dr. Adler develops curricula, conducts and coordinates STD trainings with a focus on special populations including, Correctional, Indian Health Service, Pacific Island and Border Health providers.


Sameena Azhar is a Behavioral Intervention Trainer at the California STD/HIV Prevention Training Center. She received an MSW/MPH from the University of Pennsylvania and a BA from UC Berkeley. Sameena began as an HIV testing counselor at the Center for AIDS Prevention Studies at UCSF. She has also worked at Mamta Health Institute in New Delhi, India where she completed a qualitative research study, documenting the experiences of stigma and discrimination experienced by HIV+ people. She also worked as a therapist for individuals with triple diagnoses of HIV/AIDS, substance abuse and mental health issues at various community-based organizations, including Congreso de Latinos Unidos in Philadelphia and the Asian and Pacific Islander Wellness Center in San Francisco. Prior to joining the Training Center, Sameena worked as a Clinical Social Worker in Acute Inpatient Psychiatry at San Francisco General Hospital.


Heidi M. Bauer, MD, MS, MPH is the Chief, Program Development and Evaluation Section, California Department of Public Health STD Control Branch and Clinical Co-Director of the California STD/HIV Prevention Training Center. She received her Master of Public Health and Master of Science in Health and Medical Sciences from the University of California at Berkeley and her Medical Doctorate from UCSF School of Medicine. She completed a residency in Preventive Medicine at UCSF and is board-certified by the American Board of Preventive Medicine. In her current position, she develops curricula and conducts clinical training, provides care for STD patients, and designs public health research and programs to reduce the burden of STDs in California.


Gail Bolan, MD - Chief, STD Control Branch, California Department of Health Services, Principle Investigator, California STD/HIV Prevention Training Center. Dr. Bolan earned her medical degree from the Dartmouth Medical School in Hanover, New Hampshire. She completed her training in internal medicine at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, and subspecialty training in infectious diseases at the Tufts New England Medical Center in Boston and the Stanford Medical Center. She trained in medical epidemiology as an EIS officer at the CDC in the Respiratory and Special Pathogens Branch.

Dr. Bolan served as the Director of the San Francisco City and County STD Prevention and Control Program and as Medical Director of City Clinic, the San Francisco STD Clinic, from 1987 to 1997. Since 1988 she has directed the California STD/HIV Prevention Training Center. Currently, she is the Chief of the STD Control Branch of the California Department of Health Services. She is ex-officio chair of the National Coalition of STD Directors (NCSD) and serves on Infectious Disease Society Association (IDSA) National Global Public Health Committee. Previously, she served on the CDC HIV/STD Prevention Advisory Committee and the American STD Association (ASTDA) Executive Committee. She has published extensively in the field of STD epidemiology and public health, with over 100 articles in peer-reviewed journals.


Helene Calvet, MD, is a clinical instructor for and clinical co-director of the CA STD/HIV Prevention Training Center. She received her medical doctorate from the UCLA School of Medicine and pursued training in internal medicine at University of Texas, Southwestern in Dallas, TX, and fellowship training in Infectious Diseases at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Torrance, CA. She is board certified in Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases, and was in academic medicine as a member of the CDCs STD Faculty Expansion Program for 4 years before transitioning to public health fulltime. In her position with the training center, Dr. Calvet develops curricula, conducts and coordinates STD trainings for providers in Region IX, and has delivered trainings on the syndromic approach to STDs in the Pacific Islands, Mexico (in Spanish) and Vietnam. In addition to her position with the training center, she is a public health physician involved with TB control and communicable disease control at the Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services.


Gustavo Campos, MS, is a Behavioral Intervention Trainer at the California STD/HIV Prevention Training Center. Gustavo has experience providing direct services to parenting adolescents and gay men living with HIV, as well as facilitating group level HIV interventions. Prior to that, Gustavo worked as a Trainer of family support workers in the areas of positive parenting and child development, using strengths-based models. Gustavo provides trainings in both English and Spanish.


Lidia Carlton, MPH, is the STD Community Interventions Program (SCIP) Regional Health Education Coordinator for the State of CA STD Control Branch based in Long Beach, CA. She provides training and technical assistance to the local health jurisdictions in Southern California. She previously worked for Planned Parenthood in managing health education programs, developing staff training and implementing an instant messaging health education system. Lidia has also spent time volunteering in the violence prevention movement as a rape and domestic violence crisis counselor. She has her MPH from UCLA School of Public Health with a Bixby Program certificate in Reproductive Health and Population. She also has a B.F.A. in Film Production from Chapman University.


Linda Creegan, RN, MS, FNP, is a family nurse practitioner who received her Master of Science in Nursing and her FNP, in 1983 from Pace University in Westchester, NY. She has worked since as a clinician in the areas of STDs, women's health and HIV early intervention. She currently works as a clinician at City Clinic, San Francisco's categorical STD clinic, and for the California STD/HIV Prevention Training Center in Berkeley, as a presenter and as Clinical Nurse Liaison for the State of California STD Control Branch.


Jasmin F. Delgado, MPH, is the STD Community Interventions Program (SCIP) Regional Community Health Education Coordinator for the State of CA STD Control Branch based in Fresno, CA. As a health educator she provides training and technical assistance to 13 County Health Departments in Central California. She also has experience in community organizing and empowerment around issues regarding teen pregnancy prevention in the Latino community. She has a B.A. in Sociology from UC Berkeley and an M.P.H. from UCLA's School of Public Health.


Linda DeSantis, M.Ed., is the Coordinator for the Behavioral Interventions Training Program with the CA STD/HIV Prevention Training Center. She has worked in STD/HIV prevention for over fourteen years in both community and public health settings. Linda conducts a variety of individual, group, and community-level interventions for community based organizations, local health departments and community planning groups. Linda is committed to enhancing prevention services by helping translate research into program implementation.



Alice Gandelman is the Director of the CA STD/HIV Prevention Training Center (CA PTC) and Chief of the Disease Prevention Section at the STD Control Branch for the California Department of Public Health. She received her MPH degree in community health education from San Jose State University, and has worked in HIV, STD, and hepatitis programs for over 20 years in both community and public health settings. In her current capacity, Alice oversees training and technical assistance activities for clinical, behavioral intervention and partner service providers for the California PTC, as well as many HIV prevention training and technical assistance grants from the state Office of AIDS. She is also a co-investigator in a qualitative research translation study examining implementation of DEBIs in community based organizations. Alice is committed to integrating community, provider, funder, and research agendas to improve the quality of services delivered in practice settings.


Miriam Garfinkel, MA, MFT, is a curriculum writer and training consultant for the California STD/HIV Prevention Training Center. She is a licensed mental health professional and has a private practice in San Francisco. Miriam has worked in HIV since 1989 in a variety of settings and capacities. She was employed at the UCSF AIDS Health Project for many years. Her work there ranged from direct service to program management serving HIV positive clients with multiple diagnoses at San Francisco General Hospital. She became the manager for the AIDS Health Project Training Unit in the late 90's, supervising a team of trainers providing training and developing curriculum focused on HIV prevention. She was the lead developer on the first national Prevention with Positives training in San Francisco as part of a CDC-funded pilot program. Miriam began working with the PTC in 2007.


Paul Gibson, MS, MPH, is the Director the STD Community Interventions Program (SCIP) for the STD Control Branch and a trainer for several Behavioral Intervention courses. He has worked in HIV/STD prevention and program development for over 17 years with a focus on the integration of innovative primary prevention and applied medical anthropology. His interests include community-building and forging partnerships among community, priority populations, community based organizations, public health programs, and schools.



Chris Hall, MD, is Medical Director of the California STD/HIV Prevention Training Center. Chris was trained in infectious diseases at University of California San Francisco (UCSF), following internal medicine residency at Harvard's Brigham & Women's Hospital and medical school at Johns Hopkins. He received a Masters in Management from NYU's Wagner School of Public Service. Formerly, Chris was Policy Director for San Francisco's Health Initiatives for Youth, following work at the National Hemophilia Foundation in New York where he was the Director of Clinical Research. He began work in HIV in 1987 at the National AIDS Network, a group based in Washington, DC, dedicated to the organizational development of AIDS service organizations in the epidemic's early years. In addition to STD-related work, he has published in the areas of antiretroviral salvage therapy and HCV co-infection in marginally housed HIV-infected persons in San Francisco. He is adjunct assistant professor at UCSF, Medical Director of San Franciscos Magnet center, and he provides primary HIV care at the East Bay AIDS Center in Berkeley and the VA Medical Center in San Francisco.


Wanda Jackson, BA, is a Partner and Program Support Service Trainer with the California STD/HIV Prevention Training center. Wanda has an extensive background in the field of STD/HIV prevention. She has worked as a Disease Intervention Specialist, Public Health Investigator and Front line Supervisor. Wanda maintains her connection to frontline work by assisting local Disease Intervention Specialist in contacting, locating and interviewing clients to prevent the spread of STDs and HIV. Wanda is committed to providing quality skills-based partner and support services training to aid in intervening and preventing the spread of STD/HIV for healthcare professionals throughout the U.S.


AJ King, MPH, is a Behavioral Intervention Trainer at the California STD/HIV Prevention Training Center. Prior to joining the PTC, AJ worked for 12 years in the Anti-Violence field (specifically Intimate Partner-, Sexual- and Hate-Violence) as a Counselor, Legal/Medical Advocate, Trainer and Program Director. Additionally, AJ has extensive experience as both an activist and Trainer on areas related to Anti-Oppression and Social Justice. AJ currently works as a Trainer/Consultant for the Harm Reduction Training Institute.


Tia-Nicole Leak, MA, is a Behavioral Intervention Trainer for the California STD/HIV Prevention Training Center. Tia-Nicole is currently a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Anthropology at the University of California, Santa Cruz focusing on the re-emergence of "traditional" practices to address HIV/AIDS in South Africa. Tia-Nicole began working in HIV prevention in 1992. Her previous experience includes: Peer Education Coordinator for the Hetrick-Martin Institute (New York), Coordinator of the Lesbian AIDS Project (Gay Men's Health Crisis, New York) and Trainer for the HIV Pre and Post Test Counselor Certification program (New York Department of Health/GMHC). Tia-Nicole has extensive background in individual and group level interventions, cross cultural health, and the development of trainings and curricula for health professionals.


Joyce Lisbin, Ed. D. Title: Community Health Education and Prevention Unit Chief at the California Department of Health Services, STD Control Branch. She coordinates the Community Health Action Project (CHAP) and provides technical assistance in community and youth directed program planning and interventions. Her previous positions include: Health Education Coordinator at the University of New Mexico Student Health Center where she founded three peer education programs; Director of Health Education at Bergen County (New Jersey) Department of Health, and Executive Director of the Planned Parenthood of Rockland County New York. She has provided peer education training in sexual health, prevention of risk taking behaviors, and social marketing in Kenya and South Africa. Dr. Lisbin teaches at San Jose State University in the Health Sciences Department and has taught at the University of New Mexico, as well as Hunter College, New York. Education: Ed.D. from University of New Mexico, MA from New York University, BA from American University.


Dana McCurdy, MPH, CHES, is a Program Evaluator for the California STD/HIV Prevention Training Center. She evaluates the capacity building and training activities for the PTC, in addition to providing technical assistance and training on monitoring and evaluation for local health departments and community-based organizations. Dana has an MPH in Social and Behavioral Health Sciences and a graduate certificate in Advanced Womens Studies from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, as well as a BA in Gender Studies from Occidental College. Prior to joining the PTC, she worked as a health planner at a community health center in the Bay Area and oversaw a college peer education program in Hawaii. In addition to her experience in monitoring and evaluation, Dana has worked as a health educator for 10 years with middle school, high school, and college students in Hawaii and California. In addition to her work at the PTC, she volunteers as a sex educator at a local high school. 


Greg Mehlhaff, BS, is the Assistant Director of the CA STD/HIV Prevention Training Center. In his 5+ year tenure he has also coordinated the HIV Partner Counseling and Referral Services Training Program and held the HIV/STD Liaison position coordinating HIV/STD integration efforts at the CBO, local and state government levels. Prior to coming to the PTC he worked in the CBO setting in all areas of HIV prevention and care for 6 years, developing, implementing, evaluating and directing programs. Greg is committed to enhancing the skills of training participants which reflect the reality of their daily activities and of the people they serve. He maintains his connection to front-line work by providing HIV and STD prevention counseling and screening at a local bathhouse. Greg is currently working on a training and technical assistance project conducting Strengthening Support Group and MSM Sensitizationn trainings in South Africa.


Ina Park, MD, MS is the Chief of the Medical and Scientific Affairs Unit, California Department of Public Health (CDPH) STD Control Branch and conducts clinical trainings for the California STD/HIV-Prevention Training Center. She received her Medical Degree from the University of California Los Angeles School of Medicine and her Masters of Science in Clinical Research at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health. She completed her residency in Family Medicine at Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles and a fellowship in Clinical Sexually Transmitted Diseases at CDPH and the University of California San Francisco. She is also an adjunct assistant professor at the UCSF in the department of Family and Community Medicine and provides clinical care and clinical teaching at San Francisco General Hospital.


Jolie Pearl is Clinical Training Coordinator with the California STD/HIV Prevention Training Center. She is a Registered Nurse and has a Masters degree in Public Health from UC Berkeley, with an emphasis on community health education. Jolie has extensive experience in AIDS/HIV care, occupational health in healthcare settings, and patient education.



Alberto Perez, BA, is a Trainer/Consultant. Alberto has been in public health since 1993 and has front line experience in HIV/STD prevention amongst monolingual Spanish speaking Latinos and gang-affiliated youth. He is on the HIV PCRS training team. He co-developed and conducts Resumen de Enfermedades Transmitidas Sexualmente.



Patrick Piper Patrick is a Senior Trainer for the California STD/HIV Prevention Training Center. Patrick began work in the field of STD/HIV in 1992 as the Project Coordinator of one of the AIDS Community Demonstration Projects, now an effective behavioral intervention known as Community PROMISE. Prior to that, he was a substance treatment counselor at a methadone treatment center. He has extensive experience working with high-risk populations including injection drug users, men who have sex with men who do not identify as gay, homeless youth and commercial sex workers. He has been involved with several national prevention efforts and research projects and has been published for his work with men who have sex with men who also inject drugs. Patrick has also served as the Training Coordinator of Comprehensive Risk Counseling and Services for the California State Office of AIDS.


Mateo C. Rutherford, MA, MATI, is a Bilingual Trainer at the California STD/HIV Prevention Training Center. Mateo has been working in the field of STD and HIV care and prevention since 1993. He has volunteered at the Berkeley Free Clinic as an STD medic, HIV counselor and coordinator of the first Hepatitis Vaccination Program. He worked in HIV prevention research at the San Francisco Dept. of Public Health and at the Center for AIDS Prevention Studies, UCSF prior to joining the CA PTC. Mateo lived, worked and studied throughout Latin America and Spain for more than 20 years. He earned a Bachelors of Arts degree in Biology and Environmental Studies from the University of California, Santa Cruz; a Master of Arts degree in Integrative Biology from the University of California, Berkeley and a Master of Arts degree in Spanish Translation and Interpretation from the Monterey Institute of International Studies. He is a professional translator and interpreter specializing in the fields of science and medicine and is an adjunct professor of translation and interpretation at the Universidad de Especialidades Espiritu Santo in Guayaquil, Ecuador.


Jennifer Shockey, MPH, is a Behavioral Intervention Trainer at the CA STD/HIV Prevention Training Center. Prior to joining the PTC, Jen worked with the Community Health Partnership for 4 years, where she managed the Minority AIDS Initiative and the Trans-Powerment Program. Jen has worked in the field of HIV education and prevention since 1992, working with injection drug users, youth, sex workers and LGBT clients. She has been a frontline outreach worker, an HIV test counselor, and a director of an HIV prevention and education program. Jen is dedicated to the tenets of Harm Reduction and has experience as an expert faculty member for the San Jose AIDS Education & Training Center, training health care providers interested in improving their ability to serve the transgender community. She also teaches at City College of San Francisco as part-time faculty in the Health Education and Community Studies Department. She earned her Master of Public Health from San Jose State University in 2004.


Amy V. Smith, MPH, is the Program Support Unit Chief of the Disease Prevention Section of the CA STD Control Branch and is the statewide Director of the STD Community Interventions Program (SCIP). Since 1996, Amy has developed and delivered numerous health education counseling sessions, professional trainings, consultations and community-based programs in English and Spanish focused on issues of health promotion, chronic disease, youth development, STD/HIV prevention and sexual & reproductive health. These public health efforts are geared to increase the capacity of adults and youth to work within themselves and with their communities to improve and sustain peoples overall health and wellbeing.


Denise Tafoya, MPA, is the Training Coordinator/Trainer of the CA STD/HIV Prevention Training Center, division of Partner and Program Support Services section. Denise has dedicated her professional career to the field of STD/HIV prevention for over 15 years. She has worked as a Disease Intervention Specialist, Front-line Supervisor and Program Manager. Denise is committed to offering and promoting quality partner and support services training for a comprehensive approach toward preventing and intervening in the spread of STDs and HIV.



Tim Vincent, MS, MFT, is a Training Coordinator at the California STD/HIV Prevention Training Center in Oakland. He is a licensed mental health clinician and has been working in the field of HIV/AIDS for nearly 20 years. He oversees the prevention with positives training and technical assistance program and a new training program for HIV service providers on the topic of responding to the needs of gay-identified and other men who have sex with men. He has developed curriculum on improving providers' skills in working with HIV-positive clients in prevention for the Prevention Training Center, called Positive Strengths. He also has developed training on the topic or recognizing and responding to stigma. Prior to his training work, he worked in community based organizations in mental health and social work with clients living with HIV. He presents regularly at HIV prevention and care conferences throughout the country. Tim is currently working on a training and technical assistance project conducting Strengthening Support Group and MSM Sensitizationn trainings in South Africa.


Stacy Vogan, MPH, CHES, is the Coordinator of the Training of Trainers Program with the CA STD/HIV Prevention Training Center. Working with communities and public health since 1987, Stacy has focused her energies and experience in behavioral strategies, capacity building, community development and mobilization, and evaluation. She has worked overseas in Tanzania, East Africa in both community development and HIV/AIDS prevention and care.
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