Member of the Month: India Ornelas

India Ornelas, PhD, MPH
University of Washington

What brought you to IAPHS?

I was introduced to IAPHS when it was first being founded by colleagues. I was excited about the idea of a space to interact with people from different disciplines and perspectives. I have also appreciated the focus on equity since the beginning.

What discipline(s) does your research fall under?

I do research on health equity, most of which focuses on the impact of social and cultural factors on health outcomes in Latino and American Indian communities. I also work collaboratively with communities to develop health promotion programs to address inequities. My training and background is in public health, but I have also sought out training in sociology, demography, psychology and public policy over my career.

What other disciplines pique your interest? Are there additional disciplines you are interested in incorporating in your own research?

My own training has focused on public health, but I have always sought out training and collaborators from different fields. As a migration researcher, I really appreciate both the theoretical and empirical approaches of colleagues in sociology and demography. Because immigration policies have such an impact on the health of immigrants, I also appreciate learning from those in political science and public policy

What is your favorite thing about IAPHS?

I really enjoy interacting with people from different disciplines. IAPHS helps me maintain these connections and learn about research I don’t necessarily get exposed to in other ways. I also appreciate the mentorship and learning opportunities for early career scholars. I really encourage students to take advantage of these resources.

What do you do for fun?

My newest hobby is power boating. We have a lot of beautiful places to be on the water in Seattle. I’ve been enjoying taking friends and family on the boat this summer. I’m also a very typical outdoorsy Pacific Northwest person and enjoy hiking, biking and kayaking.

What book or movie have you recently read/seen and why would you recommend it?

I watched the movie Origin, based on the book Caste by Isabel Wilkerson. It did an amazing job of communicating challenging concepts in an emotionally evocative and visually stunning way. I would definitely recommend it and seems like it could be used for teaching concepts of power, class, oppression and how they relate to population health.

What’s the best advice you’ve heard?

I’m a parent and as my child gets older — he just turned 16! — I’m thinking about all the things I want to share with him before he leaves the nest. A piece of parenting advice I received, that has also served as good life advice for me: Show your kid(s) a life worth living. This reminds to seek out adventure and joy for myself and for us as a family.

If the readers want to reach you, what’s the best way to contact you? (website, email, social media, etc.)

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/indiaornelas/
Email: iornelas@uw.edu