YAP Staff
Val Rubin-Rashaad Pronouns: She/Her/Hers Executive Director smith182@umn.edu Val graduated from Concordia University with a B.A. in Political Science, and she began her youth-work career in 1989 with the Inner City Youth League! Val then went on to work at various shelters in the cities, including Salvation Army, Booth Brown, and The Bridge, to name a few. Early in her career she also joined Streetworks as an outreach worker, which lead to collaborations with the Youth and AIDS Projects. She joined the YAP team in 1998 and has been so excited to see all the wonderful changes that are happening with the organization! |
Dr. Calla Brown
Pronouns: She/Her/Hers Principal Investigator brow3601@umn.edu Calla is an internist and pediatrician and practices primary care at a community health center in Minneapolis. She is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Minnesota and joined YAP in 2020. Calla is passionate about community health, human rights, and health justice, and is thrilled to be a part of the YAP team. |
Andrew Schuster
Pronouns: He/Him/His Director of Operations schustea@umn.edu In his past endeavors, Andrew has gained experience in HIV advocacy, project management, community organizing, and health education. With a B.A. in Communications/ Journalism and Justice/Peace Studies from the University of St. Thomas (St. Paul, MN), Andrew strives to eliminate stereotypes, stigma, and barriers to care. |
Raquelle Lenoir
Pronouns: She/Her/Hers Lead Case Manager gantx019@umn.edu Raquelle has been working in public health for 5 years. However, most of her reward for public health is with her work in HIV. Raquelle has been apart of many different forums as well as being an educator on other health disparities. In her downtime, Raquelle spends with her cat Makeva. She also loves to cook and play video games. Raquelle is excited to be apart of the YAP family. For her it's the job of a lifetime. |
Gage Urvina Pronouns: He/Him/His - She/Her/Hers Director of Client Services gurvina@umn.edu Gage considers themself to be a public health advocate and HIV activist. Gage has worked in the field of HIV/youth services in the public health sector for over 10 years, where they strive to mentor and educate through lived experiences, subject matter expertise and providing leadership and voice to system change. Gage has been recognized both locally and nationally for their work. In their downtime, Gage spends a lot of time gardening and tending to their over 200+ indoor plants! |
Oceane Lune Pronouns: They/Them/Theirs Community Engagement Coordinator oceane@umn.edu . |
Audrey Seligman Pronouns: She/Her/Hers COVID Outreach Coordinator selig036@umn.edu Audrey considers herself a public health generalist; she loves applying the principles of public health across a broad range of topics. She has previous experience working on projects in sexual health, mental health, and infectious disease prevention and management. Audrey is passionate about centering equity in public health work. She has a B.A. in Biology and Community and Global Health from Macalester College and a Masters in Public Health from the University of Minnesota. When Audrey is not engaging in public health work, she is a track and field coach. Audrey is enthusiastic to be joining the YAP team! |
Photo credit: Jason Bucklin