ISSF Board Members

Meet Our Team

Patricia M. Gross, President/Founding Member

Patricia has over 15+ years of experience in International Public Health and Development. She is an independent International Development Consultant supporting nonprofits with their grant and project management, strategic planning, and capacity building needs. Some of her professional interests include Reproductive Health, Maternal, Newborn and Child Health, HIV/AIDS, Orphans and Vulnerable Children, and Gender Based Violence Advocacy. Patricia graduated from New Mexico State University with a master’s degrees in Public Health and Social Work (MPH, MSW). While there, Patricia founded and served as President of the Returned Peace Corps Volunteer Student Organization (RPCVSO). She also organized the first international dinner to support the Centro De Proteccion Mujer a Mujer domestic violence shelter in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. This was the beginning of the first International Safe Shelter Foundation annual fundraiser event.

Katharine Perez-Lockett, Treasurer

Katharine Perez-Lockett, MPH, has worked as a public health practitioner since 2008 after graduating with a Master’s in Public Health from New Mexico State University, and is our current Treasurer for ISSF. Katharine was a Peace Corps fellow at NMSU and served in Nicaragua. She feels strongly that domestic violence is a pressing public health issue that knows no borders. Other interests include Binational Health on the US-Mexico Border, epidemiology, health advocacy, disaster preparedness, trail running, and eating New Mexico Green Chiles. Katharine is currently a Senior Epidemiologist with the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District’s Epidemiology program.

Nevin Kohler, Secretary

Nevin Kohler has worked in the field of library science since 2006 and graduated from the University of Arizona’s Library and Information Science master’s program in 2015. He also studied climate change science and mitigation strategies while a graduate student with Northern Arizona University’s Climate Science and Solutions program. Currently residing in Monterey, California, Nevin is working with the ISSF board to help move the organization forward while anticipating future needs.

Ana Pineda, Bilingual Cultural Liaison Officer

Ana Pineda, MPH, has worked as a public health researcher since 2021. She is originally from Mexico and moved to San Antonio in 2014 to accomplish her career dreams. In 2020, she obtained her Bachelor of Science in Biology from St. Mary’s University. While at St. Mary’s, she took interest in infectious diseases and public health. This interest led her to pursue her MPH in Epidemiology from UTHealth Science Center School of Public Health. Throughout her graduate studies she worked as a Graduate Research Assistant under the supervision of Dr. Gimeno, with whom she continues working with. Her research interests center on issues associated with infectious diseases among minorities, particularly those that have created health disparities among Latinos. Other interests include maternal health among minorities, occupational epidemiology, health advocacy, and health demography. She has dedicated her free time to making a positive impact in people’s lives and she tries to give back to the community as much as possible. Ana strongly feels that domestic violence is underestimated public health issue that knows no social status, and she wants to empower women to break the cycle. Additionally, Ana is interested in achieving a PhD program in Demographic and Health.

Karen Rodriquez, Social Media/Website Officer

Karen Rodriguez grew up in El Paso, Texas, along the US-Mexico border. She speaks English and Spanish fluently and speaks some Dutch. Karen has been in the Public Health/Global Health sector since 2015 and is enthusiastic about the field of infectious diseases. Karen obtained her Master of Science in Global Health and Infectious Diseases from the University of Edinburgh. Other interests within the Public Health field sector include Binational Health along the US-Mexico Border, Maternal Child Health, and Vaccine Equity. She joined the ISSF team as she is super passionate about helping women and families and making a difference in people’s lives.