About the Authors

Authors of ¡A su salud!

Deborah Bender, Ph.D., MPH, Practice Professor of Health Policy and Administration, Dept. of Health Policy and Administration, School of Public Health. Deborah is co-director of the North Carolina Spanish for Health Professionals Program. A fluent speaker of Spanish, she has conducted public health practice and research programs in Bolivia for 20 years. She teaches a course on access to health services for the Latino immigrant population designed to promote improved spoken Spanish.

Linda Carl, Ph.D., is the head of the Office of Distance Education and E-Learning Policy and Associate Director, The William and Ida Friday Center for Continuing Education at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. From 1996 to February 2003 she worked within the Offices of the Provost and Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs in a variety of positions. Since leaving the position of Assistant Provost, her current responsibilities focus on distance education. Linda chairs the Distance Education Steering Committee, is a member of the UNC System Office of the President Task Force on E-Learning Policy, and she initiated and oversees the administration of ¡A su salud!.

Chris Harlan, MA, RN, Research Instructor, School of Public Health, Public Health Leadership Program. Chris is co-director of the North Carolina Spanish for Health Professionals Program. She teaches courses and workshops on cultural competency, and advises nursing and public health learners in multiethnic fieldwork settings. A speaker of Spanish and Haitian Creole, Chris has worked for over 20 years with low-income multi-lingual communities in Latin America, the Caribbean and rural and urban U.S.

Bob Henshaw, MSIS, Technology Consultant, Academic Technology and Networks (ATN). Bob is a specialist in the application of technology to distance learning.

Claire Lorch, MSW, Program Director. Claire has 17 years experience leading and creating innovative community-based medical education programs. She is in a unique position in the University to serve as the ¡A su salud! program director. Her faculty appointment is in the School of Public Health, Public Health Leadership Program. In addition to her work in medical education, she has had key roles in several interdisciplinary programs involving the five health sciences and social work schools. One of these programs is La Charla, an interdisciplinary course in Spanish Language and Culture for students in the five health sciences schools. She created the course in 1997 and continues to serve as its course director.

Julia Mack, Ph.D., Lecturer in Spanish, Department of Romance Languages. Julia is a specialist in language acquisition. She has led development of a Spanish course for UNC at Chapel Hill undergraduates pursuing careers in health. Julia is a native of Puerto Rico.

Chris McQuiston, Ph.D., RN, FNP, Assistant Professor, School of Nursing. Chris has worked as an FNP since 1980 in multiple settings with vulnerable communities. She conducts ethnographic research with the Latino community in Durham, NC. Chris has developed and implemented culture-specific HIV prevention intervention with the Latino community. She has served as a liaison to El Centro Hispano, an advocacy agency for Latino immigrants.

Elizabeth Tolman, Ph.D., Visiting Professor, Department of Romance Languages. Currently teaching Spanish course for UNC at Chapel Hill undergraduates pursuing careers in health. She has taught Spanish at UNC Medical School, Duke University Medical Center and UNC Hospitals.

Amy Trester, M.Ed., Distance Learning Specialist/Instructional Designer, School of Public Health, NC Institute for Public Health. Amy designs and implements videoconferences and web-based courses, including a Spanish course for UNC at Chapel Hill undergraduates pursuing careers in health. Amy worked for many years as a social service provider in multi-ethnic rural communities of North Carolina. She speaks Spanish and Haitian Creole.