FEBRUARY 19, 2025
We are thrilled to welcome our 2026 interns Melanie Castro, Riya Bhatia, and Gia Mohlajee! Shivangi Goswami will stay with us for one more year as she finishes medical school to complete a special project on pregnant women and air pollution. And we say thank you, farewell, and best wishes to our amazing 2025 interns Sabrina Spatny and Daphney Saviotti-Orozco.
Every year we are so proud of our interns’ achievements and grateful for their important contributions. Below our outgoing interns share their most valued internship experiences and future career plans. Also, our incoming interns share some of their inspiring learning goals. We hope you will enjoy their responses below as much as we do!
Given the current attacks on our federal programs to support public health and environmental justice, we see our support of emerging health professionals and their career goals to be more important than ever. SF Bay PSR provides our interns with project mentorship, and experiences in policy advocacy, communications, and nonprofit administration—giving them the support and encouragement needed to become our next health-activist leaders.
To further support our next generation of leaders, last night we launched our first meeting of the NEW Next Generation Environmental Health Committee—more on that below!
Please take a moment to read about SF Bay PSR’s inspiring interns and next generation support and consider GIVING HERE to support the Dr. Tom Hall Student and Young Professionals Fund! Through this fund SF Bay PSR is able to offer paid yearlong internships, our Emerging Health-Activist Awards, project stipends, and support the Next Generation Environmental Health Committee, financially supporting rising leaders in health advocacy. Thank you!
Farewells!
Daphney Saviotti-Orozco (she/her), outgoing SF Bay PSR Environmental Health Intern
1. I wouldn’t have learned about electrification so deeply if it weren’t for this internship. Learning about practical ways to reduce indoor air pollution has been incredibly impactful, especially coming from a community already heavily burdened by outdoor air pollution.
2. The community here at SF Bay PSR is incredibly welcoming and inspiring! To be surrounded by those who lead with integrity, curiosity, and compassion showed me what ethical public health work can look like in practice.
3. I’ve learned what resistance can look like in the midst of political turmoil. How persistence, clarity of values, and collective action can continue even when the broader landscape feels uncertain.
Where I see myself going in the next 5 years:
In the next five years, I hope to pursue a PhD or MD/PhD focused on environmental health, medical anthropology, air pollution, and perhaps global health. I’m particularly interested in how industries— including Amazonian resource exploitation— impact Indigenous communities, ecosystems, and population health across borders. Growing up next to a Bay Area refinery taught me that environmental harm and health inequities have no geographic limits; they are shaped by global systems of extraction and power. My goal is to contribute research that supports frontline communities (locally or globally) while remaining closely connected to advocacy and public-facing work.
Sabrina Spatny (she/her), outgoing SF Bay PSR Nuclear Weapons Abolition Intern
1. One of the most meaningful shifts for me was beginning to understand nuclear weapons as a public health issue. As a public health major at UC Berkeley, we never really discussed nuclear weapons in that context. Through this internship, I came to see how deeply connected they are to environmental contamination, radiation exposure, health system strain, intergenerational harm, and global inequities. It broadened my understanding of what public health work can include.
2. I also really valued being able to learn from everyone in the room. There is so much historical knowledge and lived experience within this committee, and I appreciated the opportunity to listen and absorb. Since I came in without much background in nuclear policy, I often participated more by listening than speaking. Still, I always felt welcomed and encouraged that every form of engagement was acknowledged and valued!
3. Finally, I gained a clearer understanding of what sustained advocacy actually looks like. Being part of conversations around policy, organizing, and long-term strategy helped me see how progress happens over time. It made the work feel grounded and real rather than abstract.
As for what’s next: I’ll be continuing my work as an Operations & People Associate at the Center for Effective Global Action, at UC Berkeley, for the next few years. I’m still exploring whether I’ll lean more deeply into public health systems work, people/HR strategy, or some combination of both. Either way, I’m excited to keep building skills at the intersection of organizational effectiveness and social impact.
Welcomes!
Melanie Castro (she/her), 2026 SF Bay PSR Environmental Health Intern
Melanie graduated from UC Berkeley with degrees in Public Health and Molecular & Cellular Biology. Raised on California’s Central Coast, she grew up in agricultural communities where low-income communities are disproportionately exposed to environmental hazards. These experiences shaped her commitment to environmental health and addressing health inequities. Through her academic coursework, she developed a strong interest in health policy and its role in shaping access to and quality of care. Following graduation, she interned in her local congressperson’s office, where she gained experience with legislative processes and interacting with constituents. In the future, Melanie aspires to be a physician who advocates for a more just and equitable healthcare system.
Learning Goals: I am excited to deepen my understanding of health policy, especially how community health concerns are translated into legislation and supported through advocacy. I hope to gain mentorship from physicians working to address systemic gaps in care, especially for marginalized communities. Overall, I seek to develop the skills necessary to become a provider committed to advancing equitable healthcare for all individuals.
Riya Bhatia (she/her), 2026 SF Bay PSR Environmental Health Intern
Riya is a junior at Stanford University pursuing a bachelor’s degree in earth systems with a minor in human biology. Living with asthma while loving the outdoors gave her a personal understanding of how environmental quality directly affects health, sparking an interest in planetary health. She’s passionate about understanding the intersection of the environment and human health. As a science communicator, she hopes to make planetary health research and information more accessible to a wide audience. She currently co-directs Stanford Climate and Health, a student group focused on educating people about and addressing local climate and health challenges. She has also worked at Stanford’s Center for Human and Planetary Health and done research on mitigating lead pollution. In her free time she enjoys baking, swimming, and anything outdoors.
Learning Goals: I’m excited to see firsthand how medicine and environmental science intersect in a clinical setting. I’m particularly interested in reducing healthcare emissions, the impacts of pollutants on women’s health, and the impact of nature exposure on mental and physical well-being. As a passionate science communicator, I hope to create educational materials and practical materials surrounding these topics. At PSR, I also hope to build strong cross-cultural collaboration skills by partnering with local communities most affected by climate-health threats.
Gia Mohlajee (she/her), 2026 SF Bay PSR Nuclear Weapons Abolition Committee Intern
Gia grew up in the Bay Area and is currently studying Global Public Health and Applied Psychology at New York University. She has experience in research and science communication and has developed educational materials on women’s health legislation as a curriculum developer with Meducate. Gia also has a strong background in public awareness work, including founding a journalism project on global crises and co-producing a podcast focused on psychology and neuroscience for general audiences. In addition, she serves as a Northeast Ambassador for The Period Pantry, where she publishes articles highlighting menstrual equity and community initiatives.
Learning goals: Through this internship, I hope to learn how health professionals and activists collaborate to influence nuclear weapons policy while gaining experience in how nonprofit organizations operate.
NEW! Next Generation Environmental Health Committee!
We are thrilled to announce that SF Bay PSR launched our NEW Next Generation Environmental Health committee on Wednesday, February 18! Our founding members range from high school to college students to recent graduates and early career professionals in a variety of health and research professions—and include our former interns and early career staff.
This committee will give next generation SF Bay PSR members and next-generation-led climate health groups the space and time to network, share career advice, develop and share projects, learn about and engage in advocacy, and contribute to SF Bay PSR’s work.
GOAL: A world where everyone is free of the existential threats of the climate crisis and environmental degradation.
TACTICS
- Advocate on behalf of our climate, environmental, and public health.
- Communicate the science linking our climate and environment to our health broadly.
- Network and nourish a new generation of health professional leaders in climate/environmental health.
- Contribute to transformative societal change to secure racial, economic, and social justice for all.
We strive to achieve our goals by illuminating the systemic racial, economic, and social injustices that are key determinants of environmental health and by working in collaboration with allies on these intersecting goals. We work to influence public awareness, civic engagement, and the advancement of societal-wide and equitable solutions.
