Elvis Novas
Advisor for the Dominican Community Center and member of the Board of Directors of
Housatonic Habitat for Humanity, Danbury, CT
Chantal Perera, UVMLCOM Class of 2024
Chantal is a current third year medical student at the Larner College of Medicine and did her undergraduate degree in St. Louis University. She is currently interested in Ophthalmology. One interesting fact about her is that she has tried every flavor of cheesecake at the cheesecake factory. One boring fact about her is that she thinks overhead lighting is the worst kind of lighting.
Denisse Rodas (Young Adult - Ecuador)
My name is Denisse Rodas, and I am a nursing student at WCSU. I am a senior and I aspire to be an Emergency Room Nurse when I graduate.
I was born in Cuenca, Ecuador, and at the age of 13 years old, I moved with my family to the US. Growing up as an undocumented student has been challenging due to various barriers I have faced.
Four years ago, I joined the organization CT Students for a Dream and since then I have been fighting for the rights of the undocumented community. Recently, I became the College Access Fellow, where I help undocumented high school students achieve higher education.
I am motivated to continue working with my community and being part of the change.
Christopher Rodriguez (Police Officer - Dominican Republic)
Danbury Police Officer Christopher Rodriguez has been a member of the Danbury Police Department since 2021.
Christopher moved to Danbury, CT in 2003 from the Dominican Republic. He is a graduate of the Danbury Public School system.
After graduating high school, Christopher obtained a Justice and Law Administration degree from Western Connecticut State University.
Ray Guerrero (Young Adult - Dominican Republic)
Ray was born to two parents from the Dominican Republic in Danbury, CT, where he was raised and attended public school.
He received his Bachelor of Science double-majoring in Structural Biology & Biophysics and Human Rights at the University of Connecticut in 2019. After university, a strong commitment to public health and health in the Global South led him to work very briefly in the Peace Corps as a Public Health Educator teaching nutrition, best breastfeeding techniques, and developing local healthcare capacity outside of Kissidougou, Guinea until the COVID-19 Pandemic paused all operations in March 2020.
He then went on to work in the New Orleans Health Department Public Health Emergencies and Environmental Health Unit as an AmeriCorps VISTA to help with vaccine outreach, planning and coordinating vaccination events, designing vaccine PODs, and other public health education and outreach efforts with vulnerable communities concerning public health emergencies and hurricane season. He is now a first-semester graduate student working towards a Master’s in Public Health with a certificate in Public Health and Humanitarian Action at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health.
