Faculty Fellows
Assistant Professor of Nutrition, Food Science, and Packaging
Dr. Chen integrates service-learning into her Community Nutrition course, engaging
181 students since Fall 2022. Through partnerships with organizations such as Second
Harvest Food Bank, Spartan Food Pantry, WHISK, UC Cooperative Extension, and Veggielution,
students help address food insecurity and promote sustainable food systems across
the Bay Area. Grounded in her research on food insecurity and food waste, Dr. Chen’s
approach strengthens community capacity while deepening students’ understanding of
public health and nutrition challenges.
Assistant Professor of Advertising
Dr. Belen Moreno transformed the Broadcast and New Media course into Introduction
to Branded Content, where students learn by creating communication experiences for
local organizations. Her students have collaborated with nonprofits and local institutions,
including Santa Clara County, Momentum for Health, Sacred Heart, and the City of San
José. The San Antonio Festival, funded by the College of H&A and developed through
the course, engaged more than 400 community members, vendors, entrepreneurs, artists,
and student volunteers (Best AEPG Award in Community Engagement, 2025). These projects
align with her research on strategic communication and its potential to create community
impact through audience–brand engagement.
Associate Professor of Public Health
Dr. Vicky Gomez, Associate Professor of Public Health, connects students with local
organizations to address public health challenges through service learning. Since
2020, she has cultivated partnerships that have enabled more than 1,000 students to
complete community health promotion projects with agencies such as AACI, Family Supportive
Housing, Garden to Table, GoodHealth, Sourcewise, and the YMCA. These experiences
allow students to apply course content, develop digital health promotion skills, and
make a meaningful impact in the community. For many students, this work has also inspired
a path toward careers in community health. Dr. Gomez’s research includes investigating
the social and economic conditions impacting the Latina community in Silicon Valley.
