The Executive Team
Dayna Campbell is Executive Director of the Women of Color Health Equity Collective (WOCHEC), where she leads the organization’s work to advance health equity through cultural humility, equity-centered leadership development, community engagement, and organizational change. A public health educator, leadership coach, and trainer with more than two decades of experience, Dayna works with individuals, organizations, and communities to examine how power, culture, and systems shape health and well-being. Her work is grounded in cultural humility, collective care, and the belief that meaningful change happens when communities most impacted by inequity are centered in shaping the solutions. Dayna is also an Assistant Professor at American International College in the school of Health Sciences, Public Health Program in Springfield and Adjunct Instructor at Holyoke Community College in the Foundations of Health, Community Health Worker Certificate Program.
Jenise Katalina is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker in Massachusetts who serves as the Vice President of the Board of Directors and Executive Leader for the Women of Color Health Equity Collective, a movement building nonprofit organization based out of Western Mass that is focused on building community capacity to support women and girls of color in achieving their optimal health and well-being. In addition to offering consulting and career coaching to women of color through Rise Leadership and Coaching, Jenise is also the founder of Kindred Healing Counseling Services which is a mental health private practice focused on supporting individuals experiencing intergenerational trauma, racial trauma, and perinatal mood disorders. Jenise’s experience includes the role of Healthy Families Resource Specialist at the Children’s Trust, a statewide agency focused on stopping child abuse in Massachusetts, where she provided training and technical assistance to program management across the state with a focus on implementing policies and practice with a racial equity lens. Before joining the Children’s Trust, Jenise served as the Vice President of Family Services at Square One, a community-based non-profit in Springfield, Massachusetts. Within this role, Jenise designed, implemented, and managed multiple home visiting and family support programs serving multigenerational families. Jenise’s prior experience includes management roles within residential programs for latency-age children and gang aversion programs for teen youth in Springfield. Jenise received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Westfield State University and her Master of Social Work from Springfield College. She has studied under the founders of the Culturally Humility Framework and has offered technical assistance and training to multiple institutions striving to incorporate a Racial Equity lens into their work and move towards being anti-racist organizations. She serves on multiple interdisciplinary workgroups and initiatives focused on Racial Equity, Health Equity and Maternal Health at the state and community level. She provides clinical reflective supervision, coaching and mentorship to women navigating their careers. Jenise also serves as an adjunct faculty for multiple Master level Social Work programs.
Originally from San Sebastian, Puerto Rico, Vanessa E. Martinez-Renuncio, PhD, is an experienced medical anthropologist, professor, trainer, non-profit professional and leader in the areas of justice, equity, anti-oppression, cultural humility and culturally responsive pedagogy. With over twenty years of experience working in higher education colleges, both predominantly white institutions and hispanic serving institutions, her focus has been on building campus and community wide equity and inclusion initiatives and programs to support student retention, graduation, transfer and workforce development. Vanessa has trained faculty, researchers, non-profit and health professionals for over 10 years. As a professor, she engages students as storytellers, question askers, and knowledge producers showing how learning and critical thinking flows in multiple directions, whether it is teacher to student, student to teacher, student to student, and/or student to self. She received her Master’s in applied medical anthropology from Georgia State University in 2002 and her PhD in anthropology with a focus in medicine from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2014. She is also a co-founder of the Women of Color Healthy Equity Collective, a movement building non-profit in Western Massachusetts whose mission is to ensure girls and women of color are able to achieve optimal health. She runs both the research and advocacy arms of The Collective with the goal of meeting community needs.
LaVerne Kelly holds a Bachelor of Social Work degree from Florida A&M University, a Master of Social Work degree from Florida State University, and a Juris Doctor degree from Western New England School of Law. LaVerne’s broad spectrum of experience includes working as an attorney, a legislative aide, a therapist and a coordinator of grants and special projects. LaVerne, who holds a LICSW, comes with 20+ years of experience working as a therapist with diverse populations and currently maintains a private therapy practice in Amherst, MA.
A native of Springfield, MA, Wanda Givens has spent the bulk of her career providing community service to her Mason Square community and the greater Springfield area. As a black single mother of four, she knows firsthand how important it is for everyone’s voice to be heard. She has directed the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program for the Urban League; she played an integral part in the implementation of the welfare-to-work initiative for Hampden County; she was a founding member of the Western Mass Health Equity Network; and 5 year director of the Mason Square Health Task Force. She currently works for the Women of Color Health Equity Collective where she provides racial equity training and consulting along with grant writing and program development. Wanda’s favorite mantra is “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
The Masterminds
Kayla Mighty, MPH
Kayla earned her Master's and Bachelor's degrees in Public Health with a minor in Human Biology from American International College in Springfield, Massachusetts. Currently, she works at BayState Medical Center as Radiology Support staff. The Collective makes an effort to work with the community and build bonds with local companies in order to encourage the well-being for not only women of color, but the entire BIPOC community. As a women of color herself, Kayla thinks it's important to push the narrative of empowering her community and pursuing optimal health.
Hannah Ndungu, MPH
Hannah earned her Master's and Bachelor's degrees from American International College. She is currently working at Caring Health Center as a project manager for the office of Access and Equity. The Collective has been a great resource for her to network with various women of color working towards empowering women from all walks of life. She also works with WOCHEC as a project manager.
Joenielle Rosado
Joenielle is a Hispanic first generation college student with a Bachelor's degree in Public Health and a Master's from American International College. Currently, Joenielle works at Greater Springfield Senior Services as a Geriatric Support Services Coordinator in the Senior Care Options department with the goal of preventing premature institutionalization. At WOCHEC, Joenielle works as an intern on the Racial Equity Continuum.
Gina Delfino, MPH
Gina came to WOCHEC as a public health intern seeking to understand the role of structural racism as it affects Black and brown women. She focused on dismantling structural racism by actionable solutions and repairing the disregard and betrayal that white women have shown women of color. Gina has also been a Reiki Practitioner for over 19 years.
Interns
Jael Johnson
Jael Johnson is a Master of Public Health student with a concentration in Health Management. She is passionate about health equity and believes that everyone's circumstances should be met with equitable, community-centered care rather than determine the quality of care they receive. Jael is excited to support WOCHEC's mission of advancing health equity for women of color and hopes to serve Black and Brown communities throughout her career. In her free time, she enjoys gardening and once volunteered at a school garden to learn how to grow her own produce.
Stephanie Amanze
Stephanie Amanze is a student at UMass Amherst double majoring in Biochemistry and Public Health. She is passionate about health equity and is driven by the need to address the health disparities that disproportionately impact marginalized communities. Stephanie is excited to contribute to meaningful initiatives, including supporting the Madrina Project while helping renew the WOCHEC website. In her free time, she enjoys playing Minecraft.
Melody Kungu
Melody Kungu is a student at UMass Amherst studying Public Health and Sociology. She is passionate about advancing health equity and addressing the systemic factors that shape health outcomes, particularly for women of color. Melody is excited to contribute to work that promotes equitable, culturally responsive care and creates lasting change through community empowerment and policy. In her free time, she enjoys crocheting, cooking, reading, and spending time with her family.
Shaniqua Francis, MPH
Shaniqua Francis is a recent Master of Public Health graduate from American International College. During her internship with WOCHEC, she contributed to the foundational work of The Collective and completed her capstone project, which led to the development of a new feedback process that strengthened how WOCHEC gathers and incorporates community input.
Past Interns
We are grateful to the dedicated interns who have contributed their time, talents, and passion to WOCHEC over the years. Their work has supported projects that advance health equity, strengthen our programs, and expand our impact in the communities we serve. We celebrate their contributions and the lasting role they have played in advancing WOCHEC’s mission. We celebrate their accomplishments and look forward to seeing the positive change they continue to make in their communities and beyond.
Hannah Ndungu
Joenielle Rosado
Gina Delfino
Ashley Luu
Alison Xi
Elsi Tutu
Hanna Touadjine
Harneet Kaur
Lanelle Garcia