Lillian Walkover

Assistant Teaching Professir in Communication and Global Health Program

Lillian Walkover is a critical global health scholar, jointly appointed in the Department of Communication and Global Health Program. Her research and teaching interests include the production and movement of global health knowledges, postcolonial science and technology studies, health professions training and migration, and qualitative research methods. She received her PhD in Sociology from the University of California, San Francisco, and her postdoctoral training at Drexel University. Her postdoctoral research at Drexel University with Susan Bell, PhD, is a study of the experiences and career paths of physicians who enter the US as refugees. Dr. Walkover’s current projects include an exploration of the translation and adaptation of the community health guide Where There Is No Doctor for use in India, and a study of the adaptation of Community Health Worker programs in the US.

Ruth Teseyem Tadesse

Research Analyst at the Refugee Health Unit within the Center for Community Health

Ruth Teseyem Tadesse is a Research Analyst at the Refugee Health Unit (RHU) within the Center for Community Health at UC San Diego, housed under the Altman Clinical Translational Research Institute. Ruth plays a key role in driving program evaluation and assessment initiatives, utilizing a range of tools to measure and improve the effectiveness of health programs serving refugee populations. She is deeply committed to building the capacity of ethnic-based community organizations through technical assistance, including the development and delivery of training and workshops.A passionate advocate for cultural responsiveness, Ruth helped develop and facilitate cultural sensitivity workshops aimed at enhancing the skills of organizations that support refugee communities. Ruth's expertise in community-based participatory research is evident through her collaboration with stakeholders such as the San Diego Refugee Communities Coalition (SDRCC), where she supports community-led data collection and the disaggregation of health data to identify and address barriers to understanding refugees' behavioral health and healthcare needs.Under the leadership of RHU, Ruth leads the evaluation efforts for the Social Entrepreneurs for Economic Development (SEED) Program, a state-funded initiative designed to empower underserved refugee communities by addressing key barriers—educational, linguistic, and financial—that prevent them from accessing sustainable employment. Ruth’s work with SEED has been integral to the program’s success in helping refugees gain economic independence and achieve their full potential.Ruth holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Studies with a Health minor from Illinois Wesleyan University and a Master’s in Public Health Policy and Management from San Diego State University. Her master's thesis, titled “Behavioral Health Prevalence, Services, and Access to Care Among Refugee Communities in San Diego,” reflects her deep commitment to improving health outcomes for displaced populations.As an Ethiopian-born professional, Ruth brings a global perspective to her advocacy and research. She previously served as a Program Assistant with Engage Globally, an NGO focused on sustainable community-led development in rural Northern Ghana, further solidifying her passion for global health and community development.

Dr. Ellen Beck

Founding Director of UCSD Student-Run Free Clinic Project

Ellen Beck, MD, is a family physician who has devoted her career to empowerment, creating environments where the other --individual, family, community-- takes charge of their life and achieves wellbeing.​Dr. Beck was born in Montreal, Canada, and taught primary care and geriatrics at McGill University before joining the UCSD faculty in 1987. At UCSD, for many years, she was in charge of the students’ courses in Family Medicine, and in 1997, with outstanding community partners and students, was the Founding Director of the UCSD Student-Run Free Clinic Project which practices a core philosophy of a humanistic transdisciplinary model in which the community and patient are the teachers. She created the first Fellowship in Underserved Health Care as well as a national faculty development program, Addressing the Health Needs of the Underserved. She also has longstanding meaningful relationships with communities in Fiji. More recently, she was the Faculty Director of Leadership and Faculty Development for UCSD.​At UCSD, she continues to teach fourth year medical students to become healers and teachers, as well as facilitating Compassionate Action Circles for the School of Public Health. She is faculty for the UCSD Faculty Fellowship in Community Engaged Pedagogy and an SDSU Faculty Research Fellowship for Minority Faculty. She has been a speaker on social inequity for the American Continent Global Health Seminar. She is also a member of the Medi-Cal Children’s Health Advisory Panel.​Awards Dr. Beck and her programs have received include the 2010 James Irvine Foundation California Leadership Award which recognizes Californians implementing innovative, effective solutions to significant state issues, a Kennedy Center-Steven Sondheim Inspirational Teacher award, McGill Alumni Global Community Service Award, Elizabeth Beckman Trust Award (for teachers who have inspired their former students), a WebMD Health Hero Award and a LEAD San Diego Visionary Award for Diversity.She is honored to be the mother of three adult daughters, and loves to sing, study, grow as a person, practice kindness, and nourish spirit and wisdom. Recently she has been travelling internationally to listen, learn, and explore the levers for change we have in our hands as citizens of the world. She likes to say that we are all members of the “Mutual Inspiration Society”.

Special Guest: Isabel Dominguez has been a promotora with the UCSD Student-Run Free Clinic Project, since 1999 soon after we opened our Baker Elementary site in Southeast San Diego. She is a true 'trust bridge' to the community and a beloved teacher and source of inspiration at the Free Clinic Project.