Student / Alumni Profiles
Meet our Bixby Certificate students and alumni and see how they are advancing sexual and reproductive health in their careers and communities.
Student & Alumni Spotlights
Victoria Rondan
MPH in Community Health Sciences, 2023
During my time at Fielding, completing the Bixby Population and Reproductive Health Certificate proved transformative in advancing my commitment to reproductive justice. The certificate served as the cornerstone of my graduate experience, with Bixby’s robust programming providing essential preparation for my career as a reproductive health professional.
To align with the expectations of the certificate, I secured my APEx placement at the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Division of HIV and STD Programs, where I contributed to the Ending the HIV Epidemic (EHE) Initiative. In this role, I developed recommendations to improve training opportunities for clinics across LA’s service planning areas, directly impacting how providers educate patients on HIV prevention.
When reflecting on my graduate coursework, the classes I took with Bixby Director Dr. Jessica Gipson were particularly memorable. These courses immersed me in current reproductive health literature, connected me with practitioners addressing real-world sexual and reproductive health challenges, and challenged me to apply theoretical frameworks to practical scenarios. Beyond the classroom, Bixby’s online presentations, alumni network, and mentor matching program equipped me with both the technical expertise and professional connections essential for early career professionals finding their footing.
In my current role as a research analyst at UC Davis Health’s Office for Health Equity by Design for Inclusive Excellence, I focus on managing and evaluating health and wellbeing educational programs. The rigorous foundation I built through Bixby continues to inform my work daily, and I am eager to leverage this expertise as I look for my next role in the sexual and reproductive health field.
Andrea Zarazúa
MPH in Health Policy & Management, Expected 2027
In my first quarter as a Master’s student at Fielding, the Bixby Center gave me the privilege to represent the center at the 20th anniversary luncheon for California Latinas for Reproductive Justice, an organization dedicated to achieving reproductive justice through community organizing, education, policy advocacy, and more. As a student who hopes to do reproductive justice work in the future, this was a tremendous opportunity to meet other like-minded professionals who are fighting for sexual and reproductive health. I was able to speak with representatives of Planned Parenthood, the California Coalition for Women Prisoners, and UCLA faculty about their roles and current projects. Additionally, I listened to speeches from the director and CLRJ staff, which highlighted the importance of community and celebration as forms of resistance. This was an empowering introduction to the field of reproductive justice in Los Angeles, and I am tremendously grateful to the Bixby Center for giving me the opportunity to attend.
Philip Massey
MPH in Community Health Sciences, 2009 & PhD in Community Health Sciences, 2013
The Bixby program helped support my APEx project in 2008, allowing me the opportunity to travel to Senegal during the summer between my 1st and 2nd year in the MPH program. I worked with RAES, an NGO based in Dakar, Senegal, and little did I know that it would be the start of an 18-year collaboration that continues to this day in 2026. I was able to work directly with youth and communities to evaluate a school-based health communication and health literacy campaign that focused on sexual and reproductive health. The project focused on developing youth agency and empowering their voices to talk about and learn about topics that interested them. At the time in 2008, RAES was a small but mighty NGO, and I was able to jump right in and apply many of the things I learned during my 1st year as an MPH student – as well as learn things by doing. The work used digital technologies and was an early opportunity for me to see how media and technology could be used to promote health, especially in the global setting. I continue to collaborate with RAES today on projects funded by the Gates Foundation. This 2008 opportunity opened doors for me and expanded my professional network at a time that my career was just beginning to develop. I am thankful for the support that the Bixby program provided – both the financial support allowing me to initially pursue this opportunity, as well as the institutional support after returning that allowed for me to complete the Bixby Certificate and helped organize and frame the 2nd year of my MPH program.
APEx Spotlights
Explore what Bixby students and alumni have done for their applied practice experiences.