Led by local activists and Professor Dalia Magaña (UC Merced); this panel will discuss different strategies and uses of language in shaping healing in Merced, CA.

Dalia Magaña is an Associate Professor of Spanish Linguistics at the University of California, Merced. Her research focuses on improving healthcare communication with Spanish speakers and developing intentional language pedagogy. She is professionally and personally invested in helping address language and cultural barriers because she grew up watching her rural Mexican mother face numerous communication challenges in all spheres, but most dangerously, in health care.

Candice Adam-Medefind has a Law Degree from UC Berkeley and has worked as a community organizer in the Central Valley for the past 45 years. She is currently the Executive Director of Healthy House Within a MATCH Coalition, a cultural non-profit dedicated to addressing health disparities in the multi-ethnic communities of the Central Valley of California. She also directs the Healthy House Language Bank which trains and provides professional Language & Cultural Specialists, proficient in 16 languages, respectively, to public and private healthcare, governmental, and social service agencies in a six county area.

Belle Vallador serves as the Office Manager and Project Coordinator at Healthy House, where she has helped advance initiatives addressing Elder Abuse, Breast Cancer Research, and Oral Health within marginalized communities in Merced. Beyond her instrumental role in project coordination, Belle identifies herself as a dedicated advocate for the communities directly impacted by these initiatives.