Who are We?

Project Team

Wrenetha A. Julion, PhD, MPH, RN, FAAN

Project Co-Director

Professor & Associate Dean
Department of Women, Children and Family Nursing
Rush University College of Nursing
Phone: (312) 942-6272
Email: Wrenetha_A_Julion@rush.edu

Paul Florsheim, PhD

Project Co-Director

Professor of Public Health
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Phone: 414-227-4490
Email: paulf@uwm.edu

Kaija L. Zusevics, PhD, MPH, CHES

Research Project Evaluator

Center for Urban Population Health
Associate Researcher
Email: kaija@uwm.edu

Kaija’s work includes conducting community-engaged research and evaluation projects in southeastern Wisconsin, participating in coalitions and community initiatives to improve health outcomes among diverse populations, and teaching public health students. Kaija has several areas of focus, including improving maternal and child health, gun violence prevention, and implementation science in educational contexts. Kaija uses a community engagement approach as she works with community, non-profit, and governmental agencies to understand and seek to solve complex social and health challenges.  Kaija has a young daughter with her husband Josh. They enjoy long walks, lots of reading, and playing with their dog and three cats.

Jasmine Maldonado, MPH

Project Manager

Email: jasmine_maldonado@rush.edu

Jasmine is from Vernon Hills and has lived in Illinois her whole life.  She moved to Chicago when she attended the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). Jasmine received her Bachelors in Sociology and minored in Latin American and Latino Studies. She graduated from UIC in 2017 and then worked at Erie Family Health Center-Evanston as an AmeriCorps Health Educator/Women’s Health Promoter. She recently received her Masters of Public Health with a concentration in Maternal and Child Health from UIC. Jasmine is passionate about working with pregnant patients and working with minority communities.

In her free time, Jasmine enjoys traveling and learning about the places she visits. She likes listening to music and watching movies. She also enjoys playing tennis and likes being outdoors.

Shontasia Henderson

Research Project Coordinator

Email: Shontasia_z_henderson@rush.edu

Shontasia grew up on the west side of Chicago and has spent majority of her life in Illinois. Prior to joining the FIPC team she received her Bachelor’s in psychology with a concentration in developmental from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). While there, she worked closely with adolescents as a research assistant to understand how parent practices affect children’s motivation. During her time at UIUC, she also worked as a legal assistant to help serve underserved communities. She‘s hoping to continue combining her love of helping adolescent and minority populations at FIPC. However, when she is not working she is catching the next flight out of town to enjoy new foods and cultures or rollerblading.

Cruz Rico-Mancera

Research Project Coordinator

Email: Cruz_D_Rico-Mancera@rush.edu

Cruz was born in Guanajuato, Mexico but has lived in Chicago since he was three. He earned his bachelors of science in public health from Beloit College in 2019. He strives to address disparities in access to healthcare for underserved communities through advocacy for patient centered and trauma informed care. He’s currently in nursing school pursuing a master’s degree and hopes to pursue mental health nursing.

Outside of work, Cruz enjoys tending to his growing collection of houseplants and when he’s not weightlifting he is walking his dog Rachel. 

Cailin Arechiga, MPH

Behavioral Health Counselor

Email: cailin_arechiga@rush.edu

Cailin is a behavioral health counselor for the Father Inclusive Prenatal Care (FIPC) program at Rush University. She began her academic career at the University of Pennsylvania, where she received her BA in Communication and minor in Legal Studies. Soon after receiving a diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease in 2016, she decided to pursue her master’s in public health. A graduate from the Yale School of Public Health, Cailin’s research interests include understanding how exposure to adversity in childhood and adolescence influence the onset of chronic disease later in life. In the future, she hopes to help children in Hispanic communities who are affected by anxiety and trauma.

Marelin Enriquez-Paloalto

Care Coordinator

Email: Marelin_N_EnriquezPaloalto@rush.edu

Marelin is a proud first-generation graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where she received her Bachelor of Science degree in Human Development and Family Studies. Marelin’s work includes connecting parents to resources in the Chicagoland area and providing them with the necessary tools to advocate for themselves. Marelin is passionate about supporting and advocating for the well-being of underserved communities and plans to continue this work in her graduate studies at the Crown Family School of Social Work next Fall.

A Southside-raised Chicagoan, Marelin enjoys exploring the city life culture. In her free time, Marelin likes trying new restaurants and planning weekend getaways. 

Leanna Miller Marquez 

Behavioral Health Counselor

Email: LeannaDawn_MillerMarquez@rush.edu

Leanna is a care counselor for the Father Inclusive Prenatal Care (FIPC) program at Rush University. Leanna completed a BA in Anthropology and a minor in Latin American and Caribbean Studies at Beloit College, and graduated spring ’23 from Northeastern Illinois University with a Master of Social Work. Since relocating to Chicago in 2019, Leanna has spent time working with the youth ensemble Albany Park Theater Project, engaged in local government as a manager of community-based decision-making processes for zoning and development, and prior to joining FIPC, Leanna served as a youth advocate for young people experiencing homelessness with LYTE Collective. Looking to the future, Leanna aspires to be an advocate for policy change based in lived experience. Leanna’s idea of a good time is exploring the city (especially the food scene), dancing, and going to the beach!

Guilherme Galhardo

Research Associate

Email: galhardo@uwm.edu

Gui (he/they) has been a research associate with FIPC since February 2024, and is excited to be breaking into the world of social science research following a B.A. in comparative human development from the University of Chicago. Their research interests range from linguistic anthropology to social psychology, but he’s also done a fair stint in pure and applied mathematics. Gui is originally from Brazil, but has lived all around the Midwest for a majority of his life. Their interests include trying out new recipes, overcomplicating houseplant care, finding everyday adventures to share with their partner, and practicing all kinds of music—both vocal and instrumental.