Xóchitl Castañeda

​Xóchitl Castañeda is the Founder and Director of Health Initiative of the Americas (HIA) at the School of Public Health, University of California (UC) Berkeley. A medical anthropologist by training, Xóchitl was educated in Guatemala and Mexico and completed a post-doctoral fellowship in reproductive health at UC San Francisco; and a post-doctoral in social science and medicine at Harvard and at Amsterdam Universities. She directed the Reproductive Health Department at Mexico’s National School of Public Health for seven years. Since 2008, she has served as a professor on Migration and Health at various UC campuses. Her leadership and commitment to improve the health and the quality of life of underserved populations is recognized nationally and internationally. In 1999, she received the National Mexican Award on Social Science and Medicine, for the impact of her work on reproductive health. Xóchitl has over 150 publications, has served as a consultant for 37 national and international institutions, and has participated on 20 Advisory Boards.