Who are the OSBHA Student Health Advocates?

What does a Student Health Advocate do?
- Represent and advocate for School-Based Health Centers (SBHCs) and school-based health services in Oregon
- Advocate for equitable and youth-friendly healthcare.
- Provide feedback on your experience seeking healthcare as a youth in Oregon and ideas on how to improve school health services
How do I connect with the Student Health Advocates for an event, workshop, or training?
If you have any questions or would like to get in touch with OSBHA Student Health Advocates, please contact Jennifer Cruz Hernandez at jennifer@osbha.org.
How do I become a Student Health Advocate?
Applications for the 2020-2021 cohort opens on September 1st and can be found here. Deadline for all applications is Friday, October 1st. If you have any questions, feel free to check out our FAQ page.
Benefits of becoming a Student Health Advocate?
- Leadership opportunities
- Positive impact on your community
- Relationship and team-building skills
- Policy advocacy skills
- Deepened relationship to social justice
- $100/year stipend compensation per SHA member if six out of eight meetings are attended
Meet our 2021 - 2022 Student Health Advocates Cohort:
Chloe Acosta
Pronouns: She/Her
Student Health Advocate
Chloe Acosta is a senior at Butte Falls Charter School. Chloe joined the Student Health Advocates to help spread mental health awareness. Chloe volunteers her time at a mental health crisis text line called 7Cups where she serves as a Verified Listener. Chloe is heavily involved in student government and is currently serving as Butte Falls Charter School Student Body President. Chloe has received multiple awards for her academic and sports excellency. Chloe will be representing Butte Falls Charter School in the 2022 Pear Blossom Festival Court. Chloe is also taking early entry college courses at Rogue Community College to help further her education. Chloe plans to work in the healthcare field as a Diagnostic Medical Sonographer.
Erika Centina-Huchin
Pronouns: She/Her
Student Health Advocate
Erika Cetina-Huchin is a returning student health advocate with Oregon School-Based Health Alliance. Erika is a junior at Jefferson High School where she is involved in various clubs including Youth Action Council. Erika has always been passionate about health since her freshman year. Erika has been involved in many programs and internships health related that helped her grow her interest for health even more. Her goal is to raise awareness about health resources and continue to advocate for School Based Health Centers. Erika aspires to be a nurse and would like to work at local clinics where she can give back to her community and work with low-income families.
Fartuun Yusuf
Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
Student Health Advocate
Fartuun Yusuf is a senior at Franklin High School, a third-year student health advocate who works with the Oregon School-Based Health Alliance to inform and spread awareness on topics such as youth-friendly healthcare. As a Black Muslim Woman (first-generation Somali American), Fartuun is passionate about topics that impact minorities especially; social issues such as racial disparities within healthcare. Fartuun is involved with the Black Student Union, YAC (youth action council), AVID, and the Congress Of Future Medical Leaders. Fartuun believes that healthcare access and education should be available to every student. Fartuun aspires to be in the medical field, specifically, a diabetic educator as a type one diabetic herself, wanting to educate, debunking stereotypes that come with the disease but also share her experiences with other
Lane Shaffer
Pronouns: He/Him
Student Health Advocate
Lane Shaffer comes to the Student Health Advocate position with four years experience in the Multnomah Youth Commission, three years with Youth Action Councils, and experience working with people from all backgrounds and ages. Lane is especially passionate about expanding transit access for youth and improving mental health services within School Health Centers. Lane spends his time wrestling, playing football, doing judo, and podcasting with the All in my Head Podcast. Lane looks forward to a cleaner, healthier future where young people can focus on being kids rather than fighting for their livelihood.

Lauren Metcalf
Pronouns: She/Her
Student Health Advocate
Lauren Metcalf is 16 and a Sophomore at Cleveland High School. This is her first year being a Student Based Health Alliance Advocate. Lauren is involved with several other organizations. She is a Planned Parenthood Teen council member, a volunteer with YouthLine, and a Advocates for youth 1807 YAC member. Lauren also is the head of her school's Free Period club, and participates in Cleveland's Youth Action Council, she is also enrolled in advanced leadership. Alongside this she also assisted in the creation of the All In My Head Podcast. With all of Laurens work, her goal is to better her community and destigmatize reproductive health, resulting in a more protected and educated community! When she is not participating in activism work, she is rowing. Ever since she started the sport nearly three years ago, she instantly fell in love, and it has helped her learn how far hard work and dedication can take you.

Lynette Damo
Pronouns: She/Her
Student Health Advocate
Lynette Damo, often going by Lyn, is from Century High School in Hillsboro, Oregon. Only in her senior year, she connected with clubs like Student Health Advisory Committee (SHAC) and now Student Health Advocate (SHA) to get an insightful view of her and other adolescents' health. She felt that since she was raised in a household where mental and sexual health was taboo, it took her a while to feel comfortable with her own. Now on the verge of adulthood and in a welcoming space given by the SHA committee, she will expand her knowledge about health as it is one of the most important aspects of people's lives. For as long as Lynette remembered, she wanted to be in the medical field, specifically a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner. By being in SHA, Lyn wishes that she would utilize the experience and lessons garnered here in the future to help the next generation of youth.

Maddie Davis
Pronouns: She/her
Student Health Advocate
Coming Soon
Mirea Bacit
Pronouns: She/Her/Hers
Student Health Advocates
Mirea Bacit is a third year member of OSBHA. She is a sophomore at PCC, majoring in Emergency Medical Services with a goal of becoming a licensed Paramedic. She is still working towards her goal of being an ER doctor and surgeon. With her knowledge on emergency care and trauma informed care, she plans on using that to reach out and provide better care for youth, who are often overlooked in patient relations. Mirea believes that youth deserve the right to be an advocate for themselves as well as have healthcare workers advocate for their health as well.
Natalie Centina-Huchin
Pronouns: She/Her
Student Health Advocate
Natalie Cetina-Huchin is a Student Health Advocate with Oregon School-Based Health Alliance. Natalie is a freshman at Pacific University, majoring in Public Health and minoring in biology. Her goal is to use her voice to raise awareness about addiction and mental health issues that impact her Latinx community and students in Oregon. Natalie aspires to be a Dentist and would like to travel to provide free dental care for low-income families in developing countries.
Pronouns: She/Her
Student Health Advocate
Nhi Tang is a senior at Franklin High School who is a Student Health Advocate with Oregon
School-Based Health Alliance, and her goal is to spread awareness on access to student health care. Nhi believes health care should be accessible to youth with available resources; Nhi feels healthcare access is a human right that everyone should be able to have access to. Nhi is also involved with the Asian American Association Club, ASPIRE, Korean Dance Club, and Franklin Student Store. Nhi's long-term goal is to become a medical technologist, because she loves doing lab work and finds it interesting learning about different diseases and finding out the cause of why.

Tracy Zhen
Pronous: She/Her
Student Health Advocate
Tracy is a sophomore at Benson Polytechnic High School and a Student Health Advocate for Oregon School-Based Health Alliance. Tracy believes in student voice,
unrestricted access to healthcare, and the value of school-based health centers across Oregon. Tracy is involved with the Youth Action Council, Multnomah Youth
Commission, HOSA - Future Health Professionals, Student Body Government, National Honors Society, and volleyball. Tracy aspires to be in the healthcare field as
she pursues her interest in healthcare through extracurriculars and the Health Sciences Academy at Benson.