NYC Hep B Coalition Meeting Highlights | 03-19-2025

NYC Hep B Coalition Meeting Highlights | 03-19-2025

March 19, 2025 (2 – 4 PM)

Attendance: See below

Presentations

Korean Community Services (KCS) Hep B Mini-Grant Project 2024 – 2025
Emily Li, BS, Project Coordinator, KCS – emily@kcsny.org

• View presentation here
• As of August 2024, KCS hosted 5 outreach events
  • Provided Hep B testing to 92 community members (53, Korean, 19, Punjabi, 14 Korean Chinese, and 6 Chinese)
  • Referred 27 unvaccinated people to NYC Sexual Health clinics for Hep B vaccination
  • Identified 5 newly diagnosed Hep B patients
• Key collaborators were United Sikhs and Columbia University medical students to reach Punjabi communities and Sikh temples in Queens
• Resource: Hep B Faith-Based Organization Toolkit to raise Hep B awareness in congregations and collaborate with faith leaders.

Project New Yorker’s Hep B Mini-Grant Project 2024 – 2025
Afsana Monir, LLM, Founder and Executive Director, Project New Yorker – afsana@projectnewyorker.org
Nowshin Mannan, MPH, Research and Program Assistant, Project New York – nowshin@projectnewyorker.org

• View presentation here
• As of August 2024 to February 2025, 77 participants participated in a Bengali health education workshops, led by local hospital in Jamaica
• Lesson Learned: Community responds to visual vs text only educational materials.
• Challenge: Community members do not recognize the importance of Hep B testing and the seriousness of the disease, including its relevancy.

#JustB Amplifying Voices, Empowering Change, Sharing Stories & Raising Hep B Awareness 
Michelle Liu, MPH, Advocacy & Engagement Program Manager, Hep B Foundation – michelle.liu@hepb.org

• View presentation here
• Apply for the #JustB Workshop on April 25 – 27 to share your Hep B Story
• How can providers/navigators/staff encourage participation?
  • Directly ask patient if interested in sharing their Hep B story
  • In waiting rooms, utilize TV’s displaying health information to display #JustB digital stories of people impacted by Hep B
  • At outreach events, have a tablet showing the #JustB videos on repeat
• JustB postcards and flyers are available for order. Email Michelle Liu

Hep Free NYC Committee Updates

Advocacy Committee
Meg Chappell, MPH, Program Manager, Empire Liver Foundation – megchappell@empireliverfoundation.org

• View presentation here
• City Council Viral Hepatitis Initiative FY 26 Budget Season
• Foster connections with council members and staff, invite and tag them to events and on social media. Templates available!

Hep Free NYC Awareness Day Planning Committee
Jonathan Rodriguez, Hispanic Federation – jrodriguez@hispanicfederation.org

• Join the 2025 Hepatitis Awareness Month Planning meetings for Bronx, Brooklyn and City Hall events. RSVP
• Speakers for City Hall event is needed! Speakers need to highlight the importance of Hep B and C. Email news@hepfree.nyc
• RSVP for Hepatitis Awareness Month Events.

Communications Committee
Alma Chaves, MPH, Projects Coordinator, NYC Health Department – achaves@health.nyc.gov

• Active on Twitter, LinkedIn or Instagram? DMS us to boost Hep B and C posts!
• Collaborate in creating graphics for hepatitis – related awareness days such as World Hepatitis Day, World Hepatitis Testing Week etc. Email news@hepfree.nyc for more information.
  • View example: 2024 World Hepatitis Testing Week collaboration w/ Housing Works
• Upcoming Meeting: April 9 @ 2 – 3 PM RSVP

Attendance:

1. Adeeba Khan, Program Coordinator, NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, akhan8@health.nyc.gov
2. Afsana Monir, Executive Director, Project New Yorker, afsana@projectnewyorker.org
3. Ajya Sah, Public Health Advisor II, NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, asah@health.nyc.gov
4. Alex Ortiz, HCV Case Manager, Sun River Health, alortiz@sunriver.org
5. Alma Chaves, Program Coordinator, NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, achaves@health.nyc.gov
6. Aracelis Lopez-Rios, Epidemiology Technic, Puerto Rico Department of Health, lopez.aracelis@salud.pr.gov
7. Ashley Hart, RN, Florida Department of Health, ashley.hart@flhealth.gov
8. Assita Belemkoabga, Associate Researcher, Mount Sinai Health System, assita.belemkoabga@mssm.edu
9. Batya Koenigsberg, Viral Hepatitis Community Partner, koenigsb@nychhc.org
10. Beatrice Zovich, Hep B Foundation, beatrice.zovich@hepb.org
11. Brent Gibson, Director of Data, Evaluation & Systems, OnPoint NYC, bgibson@nyhre.org
12. Cynthia Ortigoza, Hepatitis/HIV Surveillance Analyst, NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, cortigoza@health.nyc.gov
13. Daemena Leocadio, Patient Navigator, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, daemena.leocadio@mssm.edu
14. Dawn Holly, Viral Hepatitis Community Partner
15. Destini McMillan-Foster, Program Assistant, NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, dmcmillanfoster@health.nyc.gov
16. Diana Diaz Munoz, Director of Capacity Building – Viral Hepatitis Program, NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, ddiazmunoz@health.nyc.gov
17. Diana Padilla, Research Project Manager, NYSPI Division on Substance Use Disorders Opioid Laboratory (Columbia University), diana.padilla@nyspi.columbia.edu
18. Eman Bassily, Public Health Advisor, NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, ebassily@health.nyc.gov
19. Emily He, Viral Hepatitis CUNY Intern, NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, ehe@health.nyc.gov
20. Erica Finfer, Project Manager – Perinatal HCV, NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, efinfer@health.nyc.gov
21. Erin Swepston, Clinical Advisor/Viral Hepatitis Director, NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, eswepston@health.nyc.gov
22. Farah Riazi, Health Care Practice Facilitation Project Director, NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, friazi@health.nyc.gov
23. Frank Hood, Associate Director of Policy and Partnerships, Hep B Foundation, frank.hood@hepb.org
24. Heather Richmond, Dynavax Technologies, hrichmond@dynavax.com
25. Holly Anger, Senior Surveillance and Research Scientist, NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, hanger@health.nyc.gov
26. Jamaal A. Clue, Senior Medical Scientist – HIV Prevention, Gilead Science, jamaal.clue@gilead.com
27. Jeannine Garriga, Patient Navigator, BOOM!Health, jgarriga@boomhealth.org
28. Jessica Rivera , Sr. Public Health Adviser, NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, jrivera24@health.nyc.gov
29. Jielei (Jenny) Wong, Health Educator/ Patient Navigator, Seventh Avenue Family Health Center at NYU Langone, jielei.wong@nyulangone.org
30. Joelle Bodeta, Hepatitis Patient Navigator, NYC Health + Hospitals – Elmhurst Hospital Center, bodetaj@nychhc.org
31. Jonathan Rodriguez, Health Programs Manager, Hispanic Federation, jrodriguez@hispanicfederation.org
32. Jordan Jiron, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), joaquin.jiron@state.co.us
33. Joy Cambe, Program Coordinator, Empire Liver Foundation, joycambe@empireliverfoundation.org
34. Jules Levin, Executive Director, National Association on Drug Abuse Problems (New York State), Inc., jules@natap.org
35. Julia Cohen, Viral Hepatitis Informatics Manager, NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, jcohen8@health.nyc.gov
36. Julie Bowser, RN, BSN- CHN, Pennsylvania Department of Health, julbowser@pa.gov
37. Kavita  Misra, Director of Surveillance – Viral Hepatitis Program, NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, kmisra@health.nyc.gov
38. Leandra Ureña, Hep C Community Navigation Program Coordinator, NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, lurea@health.nyc.gov
39. Liz Tang, Project Director of Telenavigation, NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, ltang@health.nyc.gov
40. Lynna Zhong, Research Data Associate, NYU Center for Study Asian American Health, lynna.zhong@nyumc.org
41. Marie Bresnahan, Director of Training, Policy and Administration, NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, mbresnahan@health.nyc.gov
42. Mary DeGiovine-Robins, National Association on Drug Abuse Problems (New York State), Inc., mdegiovinerobins@nadap.org
43. Matthew Boyer, New York State Health Department , matthew.boyer@health.ny.gov
44. Meg Chappell, Program Manager, Empire Liver Foundation, megchappell@empireliverfoundation.org
45. Meghan Carey, RN, BSN, Immunization Nurse Coordinator, Viral Hepatitis Community Partner, meghan.carey@vermont.gov
46. Michelle Liu, Advocacy and Engagement, Hep B Foundation, michelle.liu@hepb.org
47. Minhee Lee, Senior Project Coordinator, Korean Community Services, mlee@kcsny.org
48. Naomi  Porter, Digital Media Intern, NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, nporter@health.nyc.gov
49. Nowshin Mannan, Project New Yorker, nowshin@projectnewyorker.org
50. Olivia Adjekum, RN,BSN, Washington County Health Department, olivia.adjekum@maryland.gov
51. Osadris Flores, Wellness Coordinator, COPE, osaflores@copehealth.org
52. Parmita Basu, Associate Professor, Touro College of Pharmacy, paramita.basu@touro.edu
53. Patty Korbelik, RN, Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, patty.korbelik@nebraska.gov
54. Pedro Figueroa, Navigator, Puerto Rico Department of Health, pedro.figueroa@salud.pr.gov
55. Rahel Yosief, Program Coordinator, NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, ryosief@health.nyc.gov
56. Reed Vreeland, Viral Hep Elimination Coordinator/Policy Analyst, NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, rvreeland@health.nyc.gov
57. Ricky Zhu, Data Coordinator, NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, rzhu1@health.nyc.gov
58. Ruby Simon, Administrative Specialist I, Cecil County Health Department, ruby.simon@maryland.gov
59. Rufus Arkoi, Executive Director, ROZA PROMOTIONS, INC., rozapro@aol.com
60. Samantha Eldridge, PHPA, Pennsylvania Department of Health, seldridge@pa.gov
61. Sarah Ahmed, Social Marketing Project Director, NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, sahmed10@health.nyc.gov
62. Sarah Weihl, Health Care Access Specialist, NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, sweihl@health.nyc.gov
63. Stefan Tessounx, Viral Hepatitis Community Partner
64. Suzanne Victor, Community Health Nursing Consultant, Florida Department of Health, suzanne.victor@flhealth.gov
65. Tammy Wenz, Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, tammy.wenz@nebraska.gov
66. Theresa Willis, RN, Epidemiologist, Orange County Health Services, twillis@co.orange.tx.us
67. Thuong Nguyen, Clinical Risk Manager, APICHA Community Health Center, tnguyen2@apicha.org
68. Toyin Omolola, CEO, DSI International Inc., dsiinternational14@gmail.com
69. Umaima Khatun, Program Manager, NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, ukhatun@health.nyc.gov
70. Vinodini Kumaravelu, VP of R&A, START Treatment and Recovery Centers, vkumaravelu@startny.org
71. William Guy, RN, Nurse Manager, Mississippi State Department of Health, william.guy@msdh.ms.gov
72. Ying Ying Zhan, Sr. Public Health Adviser, NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, yzhang6@health.nyc.gov

Last Updated on April 14, 2025 by HepFree NYC