UCLA Project Nicaragua Board of Directors  

Click here for the Officer's Application

Undergraduate Campus Director – Viridiana Tapia
Viridiana Tapia is a 4th year Biology major with a minor in Latin American Studies. Her interest in medicine was incited by her experience living in Chula Vista, a city on the San Diego-Tijuana border. Early on, she became aware of the great need for culturally and linguistically competent medical professionals and was inspired to pursue her goal of becoming a physician. Viridiana will be applying to medical school this coming June and hopes to use the experience and knowledge gained from her Latin American Studies minor and involvement in Project Nicaragua to pursue a career focused on International Medicine—specifically in her home country of Mexico and other parts of Latin America.

Assistant Undergraduate Campus Director – Jeffrey Reynoso

Director of Fundraising – Samuel Choi
Samuel Choi is currently a 3rd year undergraduate at UCLA studying Biochemistry. His hometown is Pleasanton in northern California. He has compassion for the underserved and currently leads a group to Westwood to serve and improve the circumstances of the homeless in the area. The same compassion is what brought him to Project Nicaragua. In the future, Samuel plans to become a pediatrician and work with organizations such as "Doctors without Borders." In addition to medicine, he also enjoys playing sports, cooking, and strumming his guitar.

Director of Development – TBA

Director of Resources – Cynthia Gutierrez
Cynthia is a 4th year undergraduate at UCLA studying Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics. She is currently pursuing a career as a primary care physician in order to serve underprivileged communities in the Los Angeles area, specifically dealing with diabetes prevention and treatment. She also enjoys reading and riding her bike in Santa Barbara.

Secretary/ Historian – Anita Santiago
Anita Santiago is currently a 3rd year at UCLA pursuing a B.S. in Biology and a minor in Chicana/o Studies. She was born in Oaxaca, Mexico and immigrated into the United States when she was 18 months old. Even though she came at a very young age she has always felt very close to her native country and compelled to help the underprivileged in Mexico and other Latin American countries through international medicine. She has further explored this interest by volunteering with Chicanos/Latinos for Community Medicine and joining them in their quarterly trip to Tecate, Mexico. She has also traveled to Puebla, Mexico during the summer and joined Mexican doctors in providing low cost prenatal care to underprivileged women. Anita feels that Project Nicaragua will give her the basis to become a better physician in the future and in return she will bring all her enthusiasm and passion towards international medicine into the Project. In her free time, she likes to read, make puzzles, watch movies, and spend time with family and friends.

Trip Coordinator – TBA

Development Coordinator – TBA