Policy & Practice | Summer 2023

staff spotlight

Name: Amaya Alexandra Ramos, MSW, CPH, MA Title: Project Associate, Refugee and Immigrant Social Services Time at APHSA: I joined APHSA in April 2022.

improvement of social services. Multilingual and proficient in all levels of engagement, I have supported humanitarian and international development efforts from direct service provision to administration for global entities, including at the national and international levels. I have worked in multiple areas—psychosocial program design and related research, crisis stabilization, diplomacy, immigration policy alignment, communications, monitoring and evalu ation, education, and curriculum development. I have also worked in anti-human trafficking, post-disaster gender based violence, and infectious disease research. What I Can Do for Our Members: Through deep engagement with the immigration system, its constit uent parts, and affected communities, I am able to support members in forging and strengthening partnerships, as well as in identifying approaches with the potential for mean ingful outcomes. Best Way to Reach Me: I can be reached via email at aramos@aphsa.org. When Not Working: I spend my time learning lan guages, drawing, gardening, playing music, and spending time with my two small dogs and bird. Motto to Live By: “The original is unfaithful to the translation” – Jorge Luis Borges which organizes local, state, and federal stakeholders to address the overdose crisis. I later joined the Philadelphia Department of Public Health working as a project asso ciate for the overdose fatality review in the Division of Substance Use and Harm Reduction. In my role, I worked to foster cross-system collaboration across the city and with its state and federal partners. What I Can Do for Our Members: I can serve as a connection point and resource on recent developments in child support, SNAP E&T, and TANF. I also enjoy discussions on the development of new initiatives to support economic mobility. Best Way to Reach Me: I can be reached via email at kmonterroso@aphsa.org. When Not Working: I am usually taking photos, traveling to new places, visiting flea markets, and volun teering at my community backyard farm. Motto to Live By: There’s no time like the present.

Priorities at APHSA: I leverage my lived experience of the challenges impacting diaspora, my understanding of direct service provision, and the use of diverse research methods for the development of scalable programming that addresses the needs of forcibly displaced, asylee, and immigrant families. In doing so, I aim to build capacity, while also ensuring compatibility with evidence-based and trauma-informed practice. A critical aspect of this effort is advancing cross-systems integration as well as cross sectoral dialogue (including the promotion of data) that maintains beneficiary perspectives central to planning. Life Before APHSA: My previous work has focused on interdisciplinary efforts, developing and researching mental and public health programming for survivors of forced migration, torture, conflict, and violence. Committed to bridging the gap between research and practice for systemic reform, I advocate for equitable access to integrated health systems, as well as for the

Name: Khristian Monterroso Title: Project Associate, Economic Mobility and Well-Being Time at APHSA: I joined APHSA in September 2022. Priorities at APHSA: At APHSA,

I work on projects designed to foster peer learning to dis seminate best practices and emerging knowledge to increase capacity in human services programs and to improve col laboration among programs and offices in human services. I also assist with standardizing APHSA’s practices and policies for partnering with people with lived experience. Life Before APHSA: Before joining APHSA, I worked for the City of Philadelphia. I started my local government journey as an AmeriCorps member in the city’s Health and Human Services cabinet. In that role, I helped establish the city’s drug overdose fatality review,

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