Academic Programs

Interdisciplinary collaborations and transdisciplinary work stretch the boundaries of traditional disciplines, creates new methodologies, and produces new insights and a knowledge base for action.

The Center works with academic departments from across the UNM campus to offer a rigorous and interdisciplinary educational program. Each Fellow brings to the table their own disciplinary expertise in the collaborative discussions and research opportunities provided by the Center.

Through these opportunities our Fellows are able to engage themselves as leaders in the health policy arena.

A few of our departmental contacts include:

Economics

Jennifer Thatcher - jthacher@unm.edu
Janie Chermak - jchermak@unm.edu

Political Science

Gabriel Sanchez - sanchezg@unm.edu
Tim Krebs - tbkrebs@unm.edu

Sociology

Nancy Lopez - nlopez@unm.edu

Psychology

Steven Verney - sverney@unm.edu

Anthropology

Ozzie Pearson - ompear@unm.edu
Erika Gerety - erika@unm.edu

Communication & Journalism

Judith White - jmw49@unm.edu

College of Nursing

Gina Uris-Sandoval - gusandoval@salud.unm.edu

Meet the Scholars

Sally S. Cohen, PhD, RN, FAAN
Associate Professor of Nursing in the UNM College of Nursing - Senior Fellow, Robert Wood Johnson Center for Health Policy at UNM
Sally S. Cohen, Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N., has recently joined the faculty of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing with a Concentration in Health Policy Program at the University of New Mexico. Cohen serves as an associate professor of Nursing in the UNM College of Nursing and a senior fellow at the Robert Wood Johnson Center for Health Policy at UNM.
Lucia E. Naranjo
RWJF Center for Health Policy Fellow
Lucia resides in the North West corner of New Mexico in Aztec. It’ a small rural town of about 6000 people. She completed her Masters in Nursing Administration at UNM in Albuquerque, NM in 1996. She has worked as the Director of Nursing Services for the State of New Mexico (NW Region) and is very interested in healthcare access for the underserved, uninsured and underinsured population. She has been an RN for 21 years and has worked another 10 years in related health care areas.