Carmen M. Vélez Vega, MSW. PhD
National Advisory Council

Professor and Principal Investigator, Doctoral Program in Public Health and Social Determinants of Health, Graduate School of Public Health, University of Puerto Rico; Community Engagement Core, PROTECT, Puerto Rico Testsite for Exploring Contamination Threats; Center for Research in Early Childhood Exposure and Development, CRECE; Zika in Pregnancy, ZiP; Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes in Puerto Rico, ECHO-PRO

Dr. Vélez Vega is a tenured full professor at the Graduate School of Public Health, Coordinator for the Doctoral Program in Social Determinants of Health, and a Social worker. Her experience in qualitative health research has focused on studying information from patients, family support systems, and health service providers, in order to interpret and find answers to questions regarding the causes of disparities in health. The purpose is to inform public policy makers and reformers on issues related to health equity and social justice. She serves on the board of directors of several community-based organizations, including HealthProMed, a federally qualified community health center, and COAI, Inc., a CBO dedicated to serving LGBT populations and people affected by HIV for the past 20 years. She is also Vice Chair of the National Association for Community Health Centers’ LGBT Task Force. She has participated actively as a political and social activist for LGBT populations in Puerto Rico, and has worked extensively in the legal struggle to include children of LGBT parents under equal protections as the children of heterosexual parents. Her experience as a community social worker has involved extensive participatory service projects to support community needs and priorities with a community of families in the context of an inclusive child development center.