Community
The UHAND Program believes fundamentally that the community must be integrated into the development of future scholars and their understanding of cancer health equity and in the execution of pilot research projects to increase the real-world impact of these efforts. To achieve these aims, UHAND employs a Community Advisory Board and a Community Advisors Network. In addition, the UHAND Program knows that giving back to the community is important. As such, we engage in various health promotion and educational programming across Houston.
Cassandra Harris
Cassandra is a Masters Certified Health Education Specialist and Manager of Health Education for the Center for Community-Engaged Translational Research at MD Anderson Cancer Center. She is responsible for connecting researchers to the community, as well as, helping communities better understand the impact of research on community health. Cassandra has over 30 years of experience in supporting student trainee practicums and managing education programs in underserved and minority communities.
Terrence Adams
Terrence serves as the Community Health Educator with the National Cancer Institute’s National Outreach Network at MD Anderson Cancer Center. Focusing on delivering health education resources to African American faith based organizations throughout the greater Houston Area. He also partners with nonprofits and community based organizations to ensure the message of prevention is heard. Terrence has worked with evidence based health programs for over ten years specializing in programs designed for older adults and underserved communities. As a health educator Terrence loves to motivate people to make positive health changes that could lead to a better quality of life.
Berta Salazar
Berta Salazar serves as a Health Education Specialist for the Center of Community-Engaged Translational Research (CCETR) at MD Anderson Cancer Center. Berta has experience working at the Houston-Galveston Area Council where she worked for five years. Prior to that, she worked for the State of Texas under the Office of the Attorney General and the Health and Human Services Commission. She graduated from Texas A&M University with a Bachelor of Science in Sociology and a minor in Spanish. In addition to her work with UHAND, Berta coordinates CCETR’s community outreach and education activities in Hispanic communities.