Developing and Delivering Ally Training in Caring for the Health of Sexual and Gender Diverse Women

Julie Friedman, MPH is a member of the LA County Sexual and Gender Diverse Women’s Health Collaborative and as the director of the Iris Cantor-UCLA Women’s Health Education and Research Center, she oversees the operation of the Collaborative. At the Center, her work focuses on the social determinants of women’s health. In collaboration with cross-sector partners, she engages in education, research, and advocacy initiatives focused on vulnerable women in LA County to advance their health across the lifespan. Previously she was the executive director of the Early Childhood Parenting Center, managed the employee health promotion program at the Los Angeles Times, and was a consultant with Growing Health Partnerships working with nonprofit organizations. She has published articles on worksite wellness, health promotion, and women’s health. She serves as a Board of Supervisors appointee to the LA County Commission for Women where she is the Chair of the Health Committee.   

Sequoia Thompson is a Steering Committee member of the LA County Sexual and Gender Diverse Women’s Health Collaborative. As a healer through dialogue, Sequoia utilizes her background in psychology and craft as a motivational speaker, and somatic dialogue facilitator to empower her audience to see themselves as changemakers who create spaces that offer dignity, holistic care, and psychological safety for all identities and ways of being.

Sequoia incorporates storytelling to humanize discussions around Intersectional Identity, Inclusive Language, Racial Equity, and Accountability. This pairing of storytelling and administrative decolonizing creates an impactful ambiance for transformational and sustainable change. Her transnational research investigating European and American heteronormative colonialism fuels her passion for social justice and QTBIPOC advocacy. 
Sequoia is an ardent advocate for mental health and incorporates her journey through Major Depressive Disorder to empower those who may not have the resources to understand the condition and thrive through and with it.

Gabrielle Agana Pascua is a consultant for the City of West Hollywood, serving as the Training Coordinator for the LA County Sexual & Gender Diverse Women’s Health Collaborative. She is also the Program Coordinator for the Iris Cantor – UCLA Women’s Health Education & Research Center, where she previously was an intern. She graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2023 with a Bachelor of Science in Human Biology & Society. Throughout her undergraduate education, Gabrielle volunteered with UCLA’s Mobile Clinic Project as a Caseworker and member of the Health Education Committee. She brought street-side clinic access to West Hollywood at sites such as Salvation Army, the Los Angeles LGBT Center, and Hollywood Food Coalition. She now volunteers with UCLA’s Companion Care, which seeks to build sustainable bridges and establish a continuum of care between people experiencing homelessness with existing health and social services network in Los Angeles.