Virtual Symposium 2022:
The Pillars of Social Justice

Wilma J. Wooten, M.D., M.P.H. is the Public Health Officer of Public Health Services in the County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency. She received both professional degrees from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, followed by the completion of residency training at the Georgetown/Providence Hospital Family Practice Residency Program in Washington, DC. In 1989, she completed the joint San Diego State University (SDSU), Graduate School of Public Health (GSPH)/University of California San Diego (UCSD) Preventive Medicine Residency, with an emphasis in Sports Medicine. Dr. Wooten practiced medicine as a faculty member in the UCSD Department of Family and Preventive Medicine from 1990 to 2001. She remains a UCSD volunteer Associate Clinical Professor and is an Adjunct Professor at SDSU/GSPH. She has been with the County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency since 2001, initially as the Deputy Health Officer and now serves as the Public Health Officer since February 2007. She has a strong interest in health disparities and health equity. Dr. Wooten is a past Board member and past president (2011-13), of the California Conference of Local Health Officers (CCLHO); current Board member and past President (2013-15), of the Health Officers Association of California (HOAC); past member of the Advisory Committee to the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (2015-2019); and past Board member (2009-2011), of the National Association of County and City Health Officials. Dr. Wooten is a current Board member of the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) of Directors (2011-present), and Chair of the PHAB Accreditation Committee. She is also a member of the Big Cities Health Coalition (2014-present) and currently serves as Chair (2021).

Sheila Mitra-Sarkar has a doctorate degree in Urban Planning with a minor in Transportation Engineering from University of Pennsylvania. She was the former Director of California Institute of Transportation Safety, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, San Diego State University. She has taught in University of Pennsylvania, UC San Diego, San Diego State University as a lecturer. She also spent a few years as a joint appointee Assistant Professor at Florida Atlantic University. She is currently based in San Diego where she works as a consultant on racial and transportation justice. She has published over 50 journal and conference papers. Sheila has recently founded the DREAM Intersectionality Project. DREAM stands for Decode, Rediscover, Express, Amplify, Map Intersectionality (DREAMI) to strongly encourage policymakers to pay attention to “lived experience” in policy decisions and to invite subject matter experts at the table. She will be holding several talks to encourage women of color and those with intersect identities to recognize “concrete barriers” and how to address them. One of Sheila’s favorite approaches to address systemic inequities is to host Town Halls. Sheila has recently launched her website, www.getDREAMI.info and one of her upcoming Town Halls will be on April 5, 2022. Sheila volunteers extensively for equity and justice and uses her research and photography skills to advocate changes.

Matthew Hoeg serves as the Fair Housing Outreach and Education Coordinator with CSA San Diego County. His work entails ensuring communities inclusive of residents and housing providers have access to the necessary resources to navigate fair housing laws and policies with the goal of eliminating inequities to historically marginalized communities. Prior to relocating to San Diego, he worked as a Human Rights Specialist for the City of Des Moines investigating complaints of discrimination in housing, employment and public accommodations, with many discrimination complaints resolved through mediation and conciliation. He has a master’s degree in Intercultural Communications from the University of New Mexico. In addition to his position with CSA San Diego, he is a Lecturer of Communication Studies at San Diego State University.

Yusef Miller is The founder of Mosques Against Trafficking, Co-Founder of The North County Equity & Justice Coalition, Member of the Racial Justice Coalition of San Diego, Member of East County Justice Coalition, Board Member of Activist San Diego, and Board Member of the Islamic Society of North County(Escondido Musullah). Upon retirement from the Armed Service, Yusef filled his time with Social Justice activities, first though Interfaith teams, Escondido Together, Poway Interfaith Team(POINT), San Diego Regional Interfaith Collaborative(SDRIC),..as well as the District Attorney’s Interfaith Advisory Council and the San Diego Anti-Hate Crimes Coalition…fighting disparities on all fronts, Race, Religion, Gender, Immigration Status… Just to name a few.