Maria Alaniz, M.P.H.
Projects and Personnel Manager
Maria Alaniz joined the Center in January 2018, initially as the Senior Project Manager overseeing a county-level, five-year, multi-phased project. Currently, she holds the position of Projects and Personnel Manager, providing vital programmatic support to multiple projects including the PANDEMIC and All of Us projects while also spearheading the center's personnel initiatives.
With a profound passion for Public Health, Maria boasts over 20 years of dedicated experience in serving underserved communities and helping address health equity. Her journey into this field began during her undergraduate years at UCLA, where she actively participated in a student-run organization coordinating quarterly health fairs in rural areas of Tecate, Mexico, where medical services were scarce.
Maria holds a double bachelor’s degree in Sociology and Anthropology from UCLA and obtained her master’s in public health from Boston University. Her extensive background includes notable roles such as Program Manager for the California Department of Public Health’s Northern California Region Prenatal Screening Program and Program Director for the Dana Farber/Harvard Cancer Center’s Center for Cancer Equity and Engagement. These positions have honed her expertise in program development and strategic planning. Throughout her career, Maria has amassed a diverse skill set encompassing community engagement, qualitative research, health communication, health literacy, prenatal care, prenatal genetic screening, diabetes education, and curriculum development. Her unwavering commitment to improving public health outcomes remains a driving force in her professional endeavors.
