Michael A. Rodríguez, MD, MPH

 Professor and Vice Chair, Department of Family Medicine at UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine

Dr. Rodríguez is Professor and Vice Chair for Research in the Department of Family Medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Founding Director of the UCLA Blum Center on Poverty and Health in Latin America, co-Director of the Center of Expertise on Migration and Health (COEMH) at the UC Global Health Institute (UCGHI), and Associate Director of the UCLA Primary Care Research Fellowship.

His research activities focus on health disparities and social determinants of health.  He is a leading researcher and policy expert in the areas of intimate partner violence, quality of healthcare for multiethnic populations across the age spectrum, and workforce diversity.  He has published widely and consulted for the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the Pan American Health Organization, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Institute of Medicine. He is also a Board Member for the Latino Coalition for a Healthy California, Advisory Board Member for the Albert Schweitzer Fellows Program, Board Member for The City Project, and President of the Board of The California Academy of Family Physicians Foundation. Dr. Rodríguez mentors and teaches UCLA faculty and trainees in the US and Latin America while volunteering at a community health center serving uninsured patients in Los Angeles.

Dr. Rodríguez completed his undergraduate training at the University of California, Berkeley; received his medical degree from the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA; completed his residency from the UC San Francisco’s Family Medicine Residency Program; received his Master of Public Health degree at the Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health; and was a Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar at Stanford University. 

Stephen K. Commins, PhD

Associate Director, Global Public Affairs
Lecturer in the Department of Urban Planning
UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs 

Dr. Commins is the Associate Director for Global Public Affairs and a Lecturer in the Department of Urban Planning, UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs. He is currently on the Core Team for the World Bank's World Development Report 2015, 'The Behavioral and Social Foundations of Development Policy’.  He has managed research projects for the World Bank, DFID, UNECA, UNFPA, ODI and UNESCAP.  He is the Strategy and Partnerships Specialist for International Medical Corps, and the Secretary for the International Health and Fragile States Network.