ECHO Superhub Team
Maria Gutierrez, MPH
ECHO Coordinator
Maria Gutierrez is the Program Coordinator for the UT Health San Antonio South Central AETC and co-leads the UT Health San Antonio ECHO Superhub and Service Center. After completing her BS in Community Health from The University of Texas at San Antonio, Ms. Gutierrez dedicated 5 years to working with marginalized populations in the nonprofit sector before joining ReACH. Her experience includes comprehensive and culturally competent education to empower communities to prevent the spread of HIV and STI’s. Most recently, she had been navigating patients with HIV/HCV through the continuum of care for the TACKLE HIV/HCV Project. Her skill set includes the prevention and management of infectious disease, distribution of project specific HIV/HCV education and providing access to quality care for underserved communities.
Angela Reilly, MS
ECHO Coordinator
Angela Reilly is a Community Outreach Coordinator- Senior for the UT Health San Antonio AIDS Education Training Center (AETC). She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Public Health from the University of Texas at San Antonio and her Master of Science in Health Informatics and Analytics from Tufts University School of Medicine. She is an ECHO Coordinator, facilitator, and IT Specialist for the UT Health San Antonio ECHO program. Angela is eager to contribute to public health initiatives focused on reducing health disparities, improving health literacy, and increasing positive outcomes for underserved communities through outreach and data analysis.
Keito Kawasaki, MPH
ECHO Coordinator
Keito Kawasaki is an ECHO facilitator, coordinator, and IT specialist for UT Health San Antonio ECHO in addition to being a research associate(senior) for the National Rural Telementoring Training Center (RTTC) and Targeted Access Knowledge and Education (TAKE) on HIV Programs. Keito graduated from Tulane University School of Public Health with an MPH, with a focus on global health before joining the team in January 2018. Her research interests include HIV, hepatitis C, health systems strengthening, health program management, and program monitoring and evaluation. Prior to coming to the United States, she lived in Japan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Pakistan. She is eager to contribute to improving access to quality HIV/HCV care for all.
Raudel Bobadilla, MPH, CHW-I
ECHO Coordinator
Raudel Bobadilla is a Program Manager and Community Health Worker Instructor (CHW-I) who serves as the Program Manager for the UT Health San Antonio South Central AIDS Education and Training Center (AETC). He has built a vital skill set for engaging and partnering with communities, care providers, and clinics to improve the population’s health. He has collaborated with community members, leaders, and organizations to connect the public to services and research opportunities in multiple projects. Mr. Bobadilla brings considerable experience as the Program Coordinator and Case Manager for the STOP HCC-HCV program, a CPRIT-funded grant to implement HCV screening and linkage to treatment in rural FQHCs. He helped create innovative treatment pathways within 18 clinics across 14 counties in South Texas. Mr. Bobadilla also serves as the CHW Manager for the TACKLE HIV/HCV Co-infection project. He manages a team CHWs throughout South Texas to improve patient navigation and ensure movement through the HCV and HIV care continuum. Through close collaboration with each clinic, Mr. Bobadilla trains staff in program protocols, adapts the care model to each site’s context, and serves as lead contact between clinic partners and the research team.
Raquel Romero, MD, MPH, CDE
ECHO Education Outreach and Recruitment Coordinator
Dr. Romero is a bilingual foreign medical graduate physician who has a Master of Public Heath from The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. She is certified by the National Certification Board for Diabetes Educators as a Diabetes Educator as well as a Texas State Community Health Worker Instructor. For the past 18 years, she has been working for UT Health San Antonio as a primary care practice facilitator in the 38 counties of South Texas. Her projects focus on improving health outcomes for communities at the clinic level through the implementation of quality improvement strategies. Dr. Romero has devoted her professional career to helping increase the capacity of primary care physicians in community based settings to work towards health improvement in their patient populations. She has joined the TACKLE team as the ECHO Education Outreach and Recruitment Coordinator to achieve this goal of creating awareness amongst primary care physicians about the HIV/HCV ECHO program.
Karen D. Morado, BA
ECHO Support
Karen D. Morado is a Research Area Specialist at the Center for Research to Advance Community Health (ReACH) and also serves as an ECHO IT Specialist for the UT Health San Antonio ECHO program. Karen earned her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology with a minor in Business from the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA). Since joining the ReACH team, her work has focused on community-based research, recovery support services, and diabetes research, areas that reflect her strong commitment to improving health outcomes in underserved populations.
Diamond Hercules, BS
ECHO Support
Diamond Hercules is a Community Health Worker with the UT Health San Antonio South Central AETC Program and serves as an ECHO IT Specialist for the UT Health San Antonio ECHO program. Diamond earned their Bachelor of Science in Psychology with a minor in Sociology from Texas A&M University at San Antonio. Their work has largely focused on community-based research, outreach efforts, and increasing health literacy and access to vulnerable populations.
James Bridges, BS
Database Manager
James Bridges has worked in data management for over 34 years. Previously at the Texas Biomedical Research Institute, Mr. Bridges helped develop PEDSYS a pedigree-based database. He built and maintained several data files for pedigree information retrieval and analysis. He also coordinated data from several different laboratories and institutions for large program projects. Within the UT Health San Antonio ECHO program, Mr. Bridges builds and manages several REDCap databases and is responsible for coordinating and managing program data collection.