Wylie Liu, MPH, MPA
Assistant Vice Chancellor
Wylie brings extensive experience working across sectors, including community based organizations, public agencies and the healthcare industry, to advance health equity. As the Executive Director of the Center for Community Engagement, she facilitates community-academic-health and healthcare partnerships at UCSF. Her work focuses on community engaged research, community health, education and economic inclusion.
Prior to joining UCSF, she managed the California Pacific Medical Center Community Health Programs, where she focused on partnerships between the Medical Center and community based organizations and clinics to address health disparities and inequities. She also developed numerous city-wide plans and innovative programs to address the needs of the underserved in diverse communities at the San Francisco Department of Public Health.
Wylie grew up in Thailand and Singapore. In a former life, she was a Peace Corps volunteer in Papua New Guinea and worked for Save the Children Fund United Kingdom and Oxfam Hong Kong in Asia. She earned her undergraduate degree from the University of California at Berkeley, Masters in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health and Masters in Public Administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
Wylie enjoys watching cooking shows, reviewing recipes and reading books on food. She shops at farmers markets religiously and frequently cooks for her husband and two boys.
Roberto Ariel Vargas, MPH
Associate Director
Roberto Ariel Vargas, MPH is the Associate Director for Community Health Planning & Policy Development, and Economic Inclusion. Roberto participates in—and sometimes leads—multi-stakeholder health initiatives that provide opportunities for UCSF to leverage its research and science expertise and resources. Roberto also helps disseminate evidence-based practice nationally, leveraging the experiences of UCSF’s research, science and public health partnerships to inform health initiatives broadly. Roberto has focused in recent years on building partnerships for the reduction of cancer and metabolic disease disparities, including in the development of policy, systems and environmental change.
He loves this work because he is passionate about health and social equity, sees tremendous value in partnering academia with community, for the benefit of both, and toward more equitable health outcomes.
Roberto’s under-graduate training is in Sociology, Ethnic Studies. His graduate training is in public health, with a focus on community health education and equity, including community-based participatory research.
Roberto enjoys traveling and making connections between people and concepts. He stays grounded by way of his family, community and native traditions.
Lydia Bell, MA
Assistant Director
Lydia brings several years of experience in community engagement/public relations/public affairs, communications, video production and media for social change to the CCE.
She collaborates with the Assistant Vice Chancellor to develop/strategize anchor institution (community investment, workforce development, procurement) and vendor diversity initiatives, communications, and education outreach. She also assists with coordinating/facilitating community-academic-healthcare partnerships, using collective impact to advance health equity and address the social determinants of health.
A former Good-Will Ambassador to Taiwan, major utility company spokesperson, President of the Princeton International Music & Dance Festival, recruiter for Princeton University, and volunteer in community-based organizations in underserved communities around the globe, Lydia’s commitment building healthy communities also includes having tutored/counseled teen survivors of abuse, and having assisted in training medical students and medical professionals in high stakes clinical assessments, interdisciplinary and cultural communication skills, bedside manner development, and global health ethics.
Lydia's background includes work as a public affairs consultant, in addition to work at public affairs/community relations/communications firms (including media relations, strategic planning, corporate/crisis communications, community outreach), for numerous clients including: Pacific Bell (now AT&T), United Parcel Service (including addressing concerns such as litigation cases; work on AIDS Ride), United Airlines (including addressing concerns such as security checkpoints and domestic partner benefits), Advanced Micro Devices, numerous tech clients, as well as media arts/film distribution organizations/film festivals. She has also assisted in producing and pitching new business projects such as the DeBartolo/San Francisco 49ers football stadium project. In addition to the above, Lydia has worked in public broadcasting, print media, on television productions, as well as assisted in producing/staffing public broadcast Heritage Month celebrations and local hero awards ceremonies. She has also produced, written and directed mini-docs and promotional videos for Princeton University, as well as assisted in doing so for local and global nonprofits.
Lydia is a graduate of Princeton University, who also received a Master’s degree in Broadcast Journalism and Electronic Communication Arts as a Graduate Equity Fellow and a recipient of the Graduate Student Distinguished Achievement Award for Academic Excellence. A basketball player, she is also the recipient of the All-Bay Area All-star, All-City Forward, and CIF State Championship Qualifier basketball awards.
Art, modern dance, ballet, poetry, travel, foreign languages, writing, theater, and plantains (!) are her passions.
Aisha Queen-Johnson, MSW
Director of Community Engaged Learning
Aisha serves as the Director of Community Engaged Learning at UCSF’s Center for Community Engagement. Her work focuses on developing infrastructure and pathways for faculty, staff, students, and community members to create mutually beneficial community/campus partnerships across the university. Bringing over 16 years of experience at UCSF, as the previous Administrative Program Director for PRIME-US (Program in Medical Education for the Urban Underserved), where she led the Community Engagement Curriculum. Her work is fundamentally rooted in the principles of cultural humility and social justice. Aisha is deeply committed to advancing health equity through innovative program development and strategic community-campus partnerships, leveraging the joint expertise to address health inequities and enhance health promotion. She focuses on integrating community engagement into the health professions curriculum, believing in its transformative power.
Holding a master’s degree in social work, Aisha has also dedicated 15 years to working with children, youth, and families in community-based organizations in San Francisco before her tenure at UCSF.
Aisha is a San Francisco native, loves trying new restaurants and especially spending time with family.