Arielsela Holdbrook-Smith is a graduate student in the Master of Public Health program of the College of Global Public Health at New York University.  She received her Bachelor’s degree from the Department of Global Health at the University of California, San Diego.

As part of the iSTRIVE Team, Arielsela was a Research Assistant which began in her undergraduate career as a University of California Scholar and extended into a staff position. As a Research Assistant, Arielsela contributed to research related to HIV, trauma, and mental health among Black women under Dr. Stockman’s The ESSENCE Project. Additionally, Arielsela focused on research and advocacy work on health disparities and structural violence among minority populations, emphasizing the importance of addressing community needs on a multilevel basis. Prior to joining the iSTRIVE Team, she worked alongside newly arrived refugees and the Tuberculosis Control and Refugee Health Branch of the County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency to establish cultural-responsivity training for medical providers caring for refugee communities in San Diego County. Simultaneously, she assisted the University of California, San Diego’s Black Resource Center, as well as the Center for Comparative Immigration Studies, in creating initiatives to increase retention in higher education and access to resources for ethnic minority and binational students.

Arielsela maintains a commitment to the translation of socio-cultural health research into systematic improvement that acknowledges the voices of marginalized communities and effectively addresses their needs.