Jessica Sanchez (she/her) is from Santo Domingo Pueblo (Kewa) and a member of the Navajo Nation. She is an undergraduate student at Fort Lewis College pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Public Health with a minor in Chemistry and a Pre-Health Certificate. She will graduate from the Fort in the Spring of 2022.
Jessica’s interest in public health stems from the core values that she was taught growing up and the emphasis on kinship and intentionality. As an intern with Urban Indian Health Institute (UIHI), she wants to explore evaluation and research tactics that integrate Indigenous methodologies through her work with the epidemiology team. Additionally, she hopes to remain cognizant of the communities represented and continue to work toward maintaining data sovereignty to advocate for the health of future generations. Applying this knowledge though community-based practices, Jessica is particularly interested in learning how to make data accessible to all Native people and furthering the work of decolonizing data for Indigenous people, by Indigenous people.
In the future, Jessica plans on continuing her education by pursuing a graduate degree with a focus on Public Health. With her interest in achieving health equity and addressing disparities apparent within marginalized communities, she would like to continue work with Native-serving organizations. Jessica plans on utilizing her knowledge gained at UIHI to support and better serve her community through public health advocacy.