Yuriko de la Cruz, MPH, CPHQ serves as the Deputy Director. Grassroots Organizing Public Policy and Advocacy, National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC), Alexandria, VA. She currently partners with health centers to identify patient-level social needs and to use SDOH data (specifically PRAPARE®) to inform upstream community efforts that advances health equity.
Ms. de la Cruz began her career as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Dominican Republic. After her service, she worked as a Community Health Worker in Newark, NJ, first at a nonprofit and afterwards at a hospital. Yuriko later worked in training, technical assistance, and grant writing for HIV/AIDS prevention, substance use, and cultural competency programs on a national and statewide level. She then pivoted into healthcare and focused on population health, practice transformation, and continuous quality improvement within primary care settings and federally qualified health centers.
Ms. de la Cruz proudly serves as a board member of two nonprofit organizations in Allentown, PA: Resurrected Community Development Corporation and Promise Neighborhoods of the Lehigh Valley and two national organizations: Academy of Communication in Healthcare and Health Outreach Partners.
Ms. de la Cruz completed a Bachelor of Science degree in Public Health from West Chester University and a Master of Public Health degree from the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill.