The Community and Behavioral Health Student Association was established to provide opportunities for professional development, service-oriented outreach and student social events. CBHSA aims to create unity among all students in the Department of Community and Behavioral Health by serving as a means of communication between students, faculty, the College of Public Health, and the community.

Aims and Functions

• Develop a sense of community among all students and staff in the Department of Community and Behavioral Health
• Expand opportunities for student professional development
• Facilitate student dialogue with local, state, and national organizations

Membership

All CBHSA sponsored events are open to students studying Community and Behavioral Health. Elections for officer positions are held twice a year. Contact an officer for more information.

2024-2025 Officers

Ella Mucciolo (she/her) – President

Ella is a second-year MPH student in the department of Community and Behavioral Health. She has a BS in Health Promotion, a BA in Global Health Studies, and a minor in Gender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies from Iowa.

Outside of class, Ella works as a Health Promotion Assistant at Student Wellness and as a Research Assistant in Dr. O’Neal’s ChIRP Lab. She is also involved in the college’s LGBTQ+ Health Equity Advocates group, and the university’s Campus Wellness Leaders group. She is still exploring her public health interests, but is particularly passionate about community health, sexual health, and lifestyle behavior change. On her own time, Ella loves to cook, read, rollerblade, and spend time with her loved ones!

Izzy Thomas (she/her) – Vice President

Izzy Thomas is a second-year MPH student in the Department of Community and Behavioral Health. She was a U2G student and graduated in Spring of 2024 from the University of Iowa with a B.S. in Public Health and a minor in Gender, Health, and Healthcare Equity.

At the University of Iowa, Izzy has been involved in several research projects. From 2022-2023 she was a research assistant in the department of pediatrics investigating the impacts of SSRIs and maternal depression on fetal heart development. In the summer of 2024 Izzy will be working in Dr. Elizabeth O’Neal’s ChIRP lab. Additionally, Izzy works at University of Iowa Student Wellness as the Violence Prevention Program Assistant. Izzy is committed to improving health equity, especially for the LGBTQ+ community. She is specifically interested in the intersections of queer identities in family building, reproduction, and interpersonal violence. She hopes to pursue a career dedicated to advancing support, equity, and justice in birthing spaces for all people and is committed to building a world where everyone has the right to the family they dream of building in the way they wish to build it.

Outside of the classroom, Izzy loves to read, expand her culinary skills, crack jokes with her pals, and spend quality time with her siblings and family.

Note: Elections for the following 2024-2025 officer positions will be held early Fall 2024: Professional Development Co-Chairs, Public Relations Liaison, Social Co-Chairs, and Service Co-Chairs. Graduate CBH students are encouraged to self-nominate or nominate their peer(s) by emailing the Graduate Student Success Administrator as soon as possible at carly-armour@uiowa.edu.

2023-2024 Officers

Makayla Morales (she/her) – President

Makayla is a second-year MPH student in the Department of Community and Behavioral Health. She is deeply committed to health equity and advocates for a world characterized by fairness, equity, and justice.

In 2022, Makayla graduated with a B.A. in Public Health from the University of Iowa, where her passion for public health first ignited. As a published researcher during her undergraduate years, she conducted novel research on Puff Bar content on TikTok with the guidance of Dr. Shannon Lea Watkins. As a Graduate Research Assistant for Dr. Nicole Novak, she investigates the intricate push and pull factors affecting Central American migrants. She has a profound affinity for uplifting marginalized voices, particularly Latinx communities, and advocates for their social, political, and health justice.

Outside of her work and the classroom, Makayla finds balance by playing rugby, exploring new places through travel, immersing herself in TV and books, and cherishing the company of her two beloved cats.

Allie Bonagura (she/her) – Vice President

Allie Bonagura is a second year MPH student in the department of Community and Behavioral Health. She has an undergraduate degree titled “Healthcare, Identity and Equity” from Hobart and William Smith Colleges (Geneva, NY), that focused on understanding and blending both sides of the healthcare status coin, the biological and the social.

At the University of Iowa. In addition to Allie’s current academic program, she was a research assistant for the Academic Public Health Partnership, which focused on fostering collaboration between the University and local public health departments as a tool to increase workforce capacity and further enrich the academic experience of students.

Allie is also currently an ILEND (Iowa Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities Program) trainee, which is a national MCH program, that helps improve the lives of children and families with special healthcare needs and disabilities by bringing together students from multiple disciplines, self-advocates with disabilities, and local family members of people with disabilities to share stories, do research, learn advocacy and leadership skills, and directly interact with local and national policymakers to move forward policies that will benefit these communities greatly.

After completing her MPH, her goal is to attend medical school to become an MCH primary care physician that can deliver holistic care with a fuller understanding of her patient’s health status.

Jaron Jones – Professional Development Co-Chair

Jaron is a first-year MPH student in the Department of Community and Behavioral Health. He graduated from the University of Iowa with a B.S. in Public Health and a minor in Spanish.

Currently, Jaron works with Dr. Johnson on the development of a youth mental health curriculum, working with a group of Iowa teens to produce peer-informed content. Some of his research interests include LGBTQ+ youth mental health, homeless veterans’ mental health, and HIV prevention in underserved populations. Outside of work, Jaron enjoys hiking, baking, playing the piano, catching up on his favorite shows, trying new foods, and playing with his cat, Bowser.

Ngonyo Mungara (she/her) – Professional Development Co-Chair

Ngonyo is a first-year MPH student in the Department of Community and Behavioral Health. She graduated from the University of Iowa in 2023 with a B.A. in Education Studies and Human Relations from the College of Education and an undergraduate certificate in Public Health.

During her time as an undergraduate, Ngonyo completed an AmeriCorps service term with Table-to-Table Food Rescue, worked as a Peer Leader for the Iowa Edge program, and worked as an undergraduate research assistant in the Office of Teaching, Learning, and Technology. Ngonyo works with Dr. Ebonee Johnson on Project PEER, an HIV and substance use prevention program in collaboration with Southern University and A&M College in Louisiana. She is also working with Dr. Johnson to develop a peer-led mental health youth curriculum. Her main public health interests are in mental health, substance use, and health equity. Outside of class, Ngonyo enjoys cooking, bike riding, lifting, reading, and being a cat mom.

Ella Mucciolo (she/her) – Public Relations Liaison

Ella is a first-year MPH student in the Department of Community and Behavioral Health. She graduated from the University of Iowa in 2023 with a B.S. in Health Promotion, a B.A. in Global Health Studies, and a minor in Gender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies.

Outside of class, Ella works at UI Student Wellness as a Health Promotion Assistant and is involved in the CPH’s LGBTQ+ Advocates for Public Health Equity. Some of Ella’s public health-related interests include lifestyle behaviors, sociocultural factors, and the interactions between social, economic, and political systems with health outcomes. She also enjoys cooking, reading, outdoor activities, and exploring local places with her loved ones!

Sarah Adams (she/her)- Service Co-Chair

Sarah is a second year MPH student in the Community and Behavioral Health Department. She was born and raised in Kalamazoo, MI, but has lived in ten different states in the US, mostly in the Midwest and the South. She completed her B.S. in Psychology at Arizona State University in 2019. Before becoming a student at the University of Iowa, Sarah worked as a service dog trainer and completed a service term in AmeriCorps NCCC. One of Sarah’s primary interests is exploring human-animal interactions and relationships.

Misa Kawamitsu (she/her)- Service Co-Chair

Misa is a second year MPH student in the Department of Community and Behavioral Health. She is from Council Bluffs, IA and graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a B.S. in Microbiology and minors in Japanese communications and Health & the Humanities. She is passionate about health equity, substance use prevention, and improving health literacy among marginalized populations.

In addition to CBH, Misa works at UIHC as a Patient Care Technician. Outside of work and school, Misa enjoy taking walks, being outdoors, and spending time with family and friends. On days when it’s not so nice out, she enjoys staying in to finish my embroidering projects!

Ian Saylor – Social Co-Chair

Ian went to high school in Ankeny, Iowa, his hometown. He was born in Cedar Rapids and then lived in Montana for seven years before moving to Ankeny in 2010 before his seventh grade year. Ian graduated from the University of Iowa in May of 2021 with a BS in Biology and minor in Japanese. He works in the microbiology lab at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics as a lab technician. Ian lives in the city and enjoys everything about public health and has taken classes on nutrition, agriculture, injury/violence prevention, epidemiology, and global health. He tries to approach everything with a lenses of equity, sustainability, and community.

Amber Hawkins (she/her) – Social Co-Chair

Amber is a second year MPH student in the Community and Behavioral Health department. She is originally from the suburbs of Chicago, and she graduated with a B.S. in Public Health from the University of Iowa in 2022. Amber is currently working as a Graduate Research Assistant with Dr. Ebonee Johnson on Project PEER, where they are dedicated to elevating HIV/STI and substance use prevention, as well as mental and sexual health education among HBCU students at Southern University and A&M College in Louisiana.

Amber is also working as a Teaching Assistant for the Fundamentals of Public Health course with Professor Tricia Kitzmann during Fall 2023. She’s interested in mental health, sexual health, and substance use related research, and the intersections of these topics. In her free time, Amber enjoys running, crocheting, and taking pictures of pets!