Meet Pledge Members

Meet our Health Literacy Pledge Program Participants (2025-2026)

This spring, a group of busy health and social service professionals representing eight local organizations set aside time to participate in Health Confianza’s Health Literacy Pledge Program and begin their health literacy journey.

The Pledge Program is an innovative organizational health literacy program provided at no-cost through Health Confianza, a health literacy education initiative housed at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.

“We are thrilled that this group is capitalizing on their staff’s interest and leadership support to dedicate their valuable time in becoming a more health literate organization. It’s a win-win for our organizations and community. The benefits of the program include improved quality, better communication with clients/patients, and more accessible services,” said Melanie Stone,  DrPH, MEd, assistant professorof Family & Community Medicine, director of Community Engaged Learning and co-director of Health Confianza.

This is the second cohort to go through the program. To get to know our new Pledge members, we asked their team leaders and mentors why they wanted to participate in this program. See their responses below. 

Big Mama’s Safe House

Rose Williams, executive director

Why did your organization want to be part of the Pledge Program?  Big Mama’s Safehouse wanted to join the Health Confianza Pledge Program to strengthen our role as a trusted messenger of health and wellness in San Antonio’s underserved communities. We recognize the importance of accurate, culturally relevant health communication—especially as we address complex issues like trauma, gun violence, and access to care.

How does your team hope to benefit from your mentor (and peers)? Our team is eager to learn from our mentor’s experience in public health messaging, community engagement, and capacity building. We also value the opportunity to collaborate with peers who share a commitment to equitable health access. Through this network, we hope to exchange ideas, co-create solutions, and build lasting partnerships that support our mission of healing and empowerment.

Family Service

Cynthia Mota, manager Human Resources

Why did your organization want to be part of the Pledge Program?
Family Service wanted to be part of Health Confianza because we believe that improving health literacy among our community is essential for improved health and access to health services in our community. Family Service, by addressing health literacy issues among the populations we serve, will enable our agency and our programs to provide better services, share essential health information, improve our staff training and provide culturally and linguistically appropriate services to the diverse members of our community. 

How does your team hope to benefit from your mentor (and peers)?
We’d like to gain a better understanding of how we can improve the health literacy in our agency and ensure our families are benefitting from the various resources around town. We’d like to gain knowledge from our mentor’s experience and expertise. As we continue these meetings, we hope to share what Family Service offers the community and what other agencies can offer to our families.

Fuerza Unida

Nancy Parrilla, chief financial officer

Why did your organization want to be part of the Pledge Program?
We are excited to be part of the Health Confianza network and want to learn as much as possible about how to make it successful for our community. We understand that knowledge is power, and the more we have, the more we can share. This will allow us to give them access to helpful information so we may handle the health industry with proficiency and pass this along to the family members.

How does your team hope to benefit from your mentor (and peers)?
It is always good to know what others are doing and what struggles we share that are the same. What have they done to overcome the obstacles we face in doing this work? To learn from them and avoid making mistakes that take time and resources.

Madonna Center Inc.

Siomara Salazar, director of Social Services

Why did your organization want to be part of the Pledge Program?
Madonna Center is a nonprofit that provides several programs designed to educate young children. Our staff has undergone Texas School Ready’s comprehensive preschool teacher training to help prepare children for success in school.

From after-school programs to senior services, Madonna Center has activities and programs meant to build community among all age groups. Our vision is one of educated children, resourceful individuals and families, and a safe, healthy community.

What we truly yearn to gain from the Health Confianza Pledge program is a profound understanding of the invaluable resources available to our beloved community in Bexar County. Imagine the possibilities if we could deepen our insights on enhancing organizational health literacy, paving the way for greater health equity that is not just a dream, but a shared reality. It would be nothing short of miraculous to empower our community to shatter the barriers that have long hindered access to care, triumphing over the cultural and linguistic obstacles that have held us back for too long. Together, we can create a brighter, healthier future for everyone.

Patriot Vita Care

Miguel Charon, MSN, RN, CWP, administrator

Why did your organization want to be part of the Pledge Program?
Our primary motivation for joining the Pledge Program stems from a deep-seated commitment to our mission: “to empower superior living care for the people” by enhancing the quality of life in the comfort of a client’s own home.

At Patriot Vita Care, we directly support this mission by helping elders with their activities of daily living, fostering their independence and dignity at home. My personal motivation, and the driving force behind our organization, arose from recognizing the growing need for truly personalized, in-home care that prioritizes both the physical and emotional well-being of individuals. We see our role as providing elders with a Path to Stay Home, empowering them to maintain their independence and dignity in the place they cherish most.

Raindrop Foundation San Antonio

Aynur Abdullayeva, volunteer

Why did your organization decide to apply for the Pledge Program?
At Raindrop Foundation, we are always looking for ways to strengthen our outreach and better serve the community. We joined the Pledge Program to improve how we communicate, build trust, and collaborate with others in a more intentional and culturally responsive way.

How beneficial do you hope this program will be for your team, mentors, and volunteers?
We believe the program will help our team gain more confidence in community engagement and health communication. It will also provide our mentors and volunteers with tools to connect more effectively with the people we serve. We’re hoping it will support all of us in growing together and making a greater impact.

South Central AHEC

Ariel Gomez, manager, Academic Programs

Why did your organization want to be part of the Pledge Program?
The South Central Area Health Education Center (AHEC) joined the Pledge Program to enhance our understanding of health literacy and to learn best practices for creating effective health materials—both for internal use and for the diverse communities we serve. We recognized the value of the program through our partners’ participation and seized the opportunity to be part of it when it became available. Through the Pledge Program, we aim to strengthen our efforts in community education and continue making a meaningful impact in the lives of those we serve.

How does your team hope to benefit from your mentor (and peers)?
Through our mentor and peers, we hope to gain valuable insights into best practices for health literacy and community engagement. More importantly, we aim to build lasting relationships that will continue to support collaboration and shared learning even after our time in the Pledge Program comes to an end.

The Institute for Public Health and Education (TIPHER)

Albert Ruiz, executive director

Why did your organization want to be part of the Pledge Program?
As a public health organization, we understand that health literacy is a vital component of a great community. From our partners to our annual health summits, we are excited to integrate health literacy into every aspect of our organization through the Pledge Program.

How does your team hope to benefit from your mentor (and peers)?
Network collaboratives are such an important aspect of how we learn and engage our community. We look forward to learning from mentors and peers that bring their own individual aspects of experience and expertise to our health literacy journey.

We believe the HealthConfianza Pledge Program aligns perfectly with our vision. By collaborating with other dedicated organizations, we can collectively amplify our efforts to ensure individuals in our community receive the support they need to live with dignity and comfort. We are enthusiastic about the opportunity to contribute to a network that values the well-being of its members and look forward to working together to create a stronger, more supportive community for everyone.

Meet our Mentors and Peer Mentors

Let’s hear from the eight mentors, including peer mentors who have graduated from the program, who will be guiding Pledge members.

Community First Health Plans

Peer mentor: Jessica Rios, director of Health Equity

As a peer mentor, I hope to share the experience I gained during my first cohort of Health Confianza with new organizations and make health literacy a priority at Community First and the community I live in.

Empower House SA

Peer mentor: Angelita Negron, MPH, director of programs

What I’m looking forward to most as a mentor in this program is supporting organizations as they build their capacity to empower the communities they serve. I’m excited to collaborate, share resources and strategies, and help them tailor their approaches in ways that are sustainable and culturally relevant. I’m also looking forward to learning from their on-the-ground experiences and being part of a network that’s working toward more equitable health outcomes.

The University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth

Mentor: Teresa Wagner, assistant professor

I’m thrilled to serve as a mentor for Health Confianza’s Health Literacy Pledge Program because it offers a unique opportunity to drive systemic change in underserved communities. This program empowers organizations to assess and enhance their health literacy practices, ensuring that services are accessible, understandable, and culturally appropriate. By guiding teams through the development of tailored Organizational Health Literacy Plans, my mentoring and their efforts help to foster trust and confidence in the healthcare system. The collaborative nature of this initiative aligns with my passion for community-driven solutions and my commitment to advancing health equity. I am excited to mentor organizations dedicated to making meaningful improvements that will positively impact the health outcomes of the communities they serve.

Mentor: Gail Nielsen, health literacy expert, improvement advisor and coach

I am eager to support and mentor the teams from Patriot Vita Care and Raindrop Foundation to achieve their goals for improving the experiences and health of the residents, families and communities they serve.

Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

Mentor: Lindsay Rosenfeld, ScD, scientist and instructor in health literacy

As a program mentor, I look forward to working together with the Health Confianza teams, especially Big Mama’s House and TIPHER, to explore structural and programmatic changes to increase the impact of organizational priorities.

Tufts Medical Center, Tufts University

Mentor: Sabrina Kurtz-Rossi, senior research specialist/assistant professor

As a mentor for the program, I look forward to working with the Madonna Center and Fuerza Unida to help families use the health information and services available to them to improve their health.

UT Health Hill Country at UT Health San Antonio Physicians

Peer mentor: Dr. Maya Perez, medical director

I am thrilled to return as a peer mentor for the Health Confianza Pledge program! I am most looking forward to building strong collaborative relationships with Patriot Vita Care and the Raindrop Foundation, focusing on strengthening their community outreach and adapting their services to best meet local needs. The support from our field experts is crucial in this effort to enhance the quality of care throughout the San Antonio community.

YWCA San Antonio

Peer mentor: Corin Reyes, RN, BSN, chief program officer, Health and Education

As a proud former graduate, I’m thrilled to return this year as a peer support team member. I’m looking forward to sharing best practices tailored to our unique community while learning even more about health literacy from our incredible mentors. I also feel incredibly fortunate to be working with two amazing organizations—TIPHER and Big Mama’s. I really hit the jackpot!