Gabriela is a fall intern with The Vitality Institute working to incorporate mental health into the general health platform, using evidence-based strategies to reduce the global burden of mental illness. She is a full time student at Columbia University Mailman School for Public Health where she studies the impact of social forces on chronic disease outcomes. She has experience developing and implementing computer literacy interventions for those who suffer from chronic disease and studies the way in which technological interventions can harness social support as a means to improving quality of life. As Vice President of Students for the Promotion of Integrative Medicine, she has a special interest in the use of mindfulness-based practices to influence physiological outcomes and hopes to promote a more integrative and effective approach to healthcare.

Prior to graduate school, Gabriela worked for a political consulting firm where she directed nation-wide campaigns to build support for progressive non-profit organizations, including Planned Parenthood, Sierra Club, and UNICEF. Her passion for promoting health as a basic human right stems from her work as an undergraduate where she was involved in health initiatives in Kenya, Cambodia, and throughout South America. She believes that Vitality is providing a unique and necessary model that fosters cross-industry collaboration to promote population health and well-being.