Child Health convener profiles

Rebecca Girardet is a pediatrician with board certifications in both general and child abuse pediatrics. She has more than 30 years of experience in building and directing integrated systems of care for children and families impacted by violence. She has conducted original research on STI diagnostic methods, HIV prophylaxis, the epidemiology of child maltreatment, children with complex health needs, and unmet healthcare needs. She is a past co-chair of the Child Abuse and Neglect Committee of the Texas Pediatric Society, a past president of the board for a Houston health charities organization, and she sits on the American Academy of Pediatrics Executive Committee on Child Abuse and Neglect. She currently serves in the UNM Section of Child Safety and Well-Being as Medical Director of Para Los Niños Clinic and Director of the Child Abuse Pediatrics fellowship training program, and in the UNM Office of Research as Leader of the Child Health Research Signature Program and Co-Director for the Institute for Resilience, Health and Justice. She received her MD degree from the University of Arizona and completed her pediatric residency at Baylor College Medicine.

Sara Nozadi received a PhD in Child Development from Arizona State University and a BA in Psychology from San Francisco State University. She is an interdisciplinary developmental scientist and research professor at UNM, as well as a policy fellow with the New Mexico Early Childhood Education and Care Department (ECECD).  Her broad research program focuses on the impacts of social and environmental factors on the psychosocial aspects of home environments and child outcomes in underserved, marginalized and rural communities. She has experience in community-partnered quantitative and qualitative research with universities, early childhood coalitions and non-profit organizations throughout New Mexico, including those serving children from indigenous and rural communities. She is committed to contributing to research projects that inform policies aimed at improving the health and well-being of children in New Mexico.

Theresa Cruz is an epidemiologist and research professor and serves as Deputy Director of the UNM Prevention Research Center. She has more than 20 years of experience in community-engaged research and evaluation, and is passionate about health equity. Her recent research has focused on early childhood home visiting, infant safe sleep, and other upstream prevention methods. Dr. Cruz received a Doctorate of Philosophy in epidemiology from the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill.