Dr. Breckwich Vásquez is a public health advocate, researcher and university lecturer with a focus on developing community-engaged solutions to complex health and safety issues. As the Executive Director of BASTA Coalition of Washington, she leads a multi-year effort to develop and evaluate farmworker peer training to prevent sexual and gender-based violence and harassment. Her research with farmworker communities, forestry workers and BIPOC youth has been based on Community-Based Participatory Research principles and has yielded local and state policy solutions and community-led health improvements. Her teaching interests center on understanding ancestral and contemporary healing modalities and mental/emotional health of Latinx communities, multicultural leadership, and developing a welcoming campus climate and culture for first gen and BIPOC students. She has over 30 years experience working in public health education, leadership and administration in a myriad of population health-serving agencies including health departments and community health centers and led community assessment, evaluation, strategic planning and prevention programs and services. From 2006-2013 she founded and led a non-profit organization, SALUD Peru, to provide sustainable funding and technical expertise for villager-led community development projects. Teaching and mentoring students are among her favorite parts of her professional career. |
Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences |
Email vbreck@uw.edu |