Faculty/Staff Occupational Health

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Occupational Health

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Ellie Byrd NP OHC

Elizabeth Byrd, RN, NP

Elizabeth Byrd joined UHS in 2021 as a Nurse Practitioner in Occupational Health. She was previously working in employee health at CPMC Sutter Health where she was taking care of hospital employees. Elizabeth completed her undergraduate studies at UC Berkeley and received her BSN from Columbia University. Shen then received her MSN from UCSF in Adult-Gerontology Primary Care NP, Occupational and Environmental Health Nursing specialty. Elizabeth enjoys doing anything outdoors including backpacking, rowing, swimming, and spending time with her family.

Elizabeth is board-certified by the American Nurses Credentialing Center and Adult Gerontology Primary Care NP.   

Michael Goertz Occ Health Physician

Michael Goertz, MD, MPH, FACOEM

Dr. Michael Goertz joined UHS in 2019 as an Occupational Health Physician. He received his MD and MPH from the University of Minnesota and has a special clinical interest in disability prevention and management. Dr. Goertz has published papers on risk factors for poor outcomes in low back pain and is a member of the ACOEM and ICSI Low Back Pain Guideline Committees.

Dr. Goertz is certified by the American Board of Preventive (Occupational and Environmental) Medicine.  

Paola Guiterres-Ruiz

Paola Gutiérrez-Ruiz, MA

Administrative Assistant, Referral Coordinator

Before joining UHS, Paola Gutiérrez worked at West Berkeley Family Practice (Lifelong West Berkeley), a nonprofit organization that provides health and social services to underserved individuals. She has a clinical interest in eating disorders and enjoys spending time with her partner and two fur babies.

Additional Languages: Spanish   

Karen Johal

Karen Johal, MSc, RDN

Dietitian 

Karen Johal joined UHS in 2018 as the Health Education Dietitian. She received both her BS in Nutritional Sciences and Dietetics and her BA in Psychology from UC Berkeley, completed a Dietetic Internship at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, and received her MSc in Health Psychology from the University of Surrey. Karen serves as the Diversity Liaison for the Bay Area District of the California Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and volunteers with a UC Berkeley club that organizes free health clinics across the Bay Area (she also volunteered here as an undergraduate). She has a special clinical interest in weight management for overweight and underweight individuals, plant-based lifestyles, holistic health, and behavior change.  
A WorkStrong Program Coordinator is pictured

Danielle Johnson

WorkStrong Program Coordinator

Danielle joined UHS in 2023. She received her MA in Business Management. Danielle's interest is health and wellness with a Specialty in Strength and Cardio endurance. She is a certified Personal Trainer and Group Exercise Instructor through AFAA/NASM.

Danielle has worked in the field of Health and Wellness for over 17 years with a passion for helping people understand the importance of how to live a healthy lifestyle. Danielle worked at UC Berkeley for Rec Sports as the Group Exercise Coordinator and during the pandemic, she was an Isolation Coordinator for Res Life.  

Andrea Lopez MA

Andrea Lopez, MA

 

L'Tonya Pruitt, MA

Erika Schwilk, MD, MPH

Occupational and Environmental Health Chief

Erika Schwilk joined UHS in 2011 as a physician in Occupational Health. She received her BA in Biology with environmental emphasis from Occidental College and her MD from the Medical College of Wisconsin. Erika completed training in internal medicine at UC Davis where she worked as a hospitalist. She then completed fellowship training in Occupational and Environmental Medicine at UC San Francisco and obtained her MPH in Environmental Health from UC Berkeley.

Dr. Schwilk is certified by the American Board of Preventive (Occupational and Environmental) Medicine.  

Dennis Shusterman 2018

Dennis Shusterman, MD, MPH

Dr. Dennis Shusterman joined UHS in 2014 as a physician in Occupational Health. Dr. Shusterman received his BA in Human Development from Pacific Oaks College (1971), his MD from UC Davis (1978), and his MPH in Environmental Health Sciences from UC Berkeley (1982).

Dr. Shusterman is the author of roughly 90 peer-reviewed publications and received the Clean Air Award for Research from Breathe California in 2013. He has a special clinical interest in glove dermatitis occupational rhinitis, asthma, and vocal cord dysfunction.

Dr. Shusterman is certified by the American Board of Family Medicine and the American Board of Preventive (Occupational and Environmental) Medicine.

Additional Languages: Spanish  

Amy Vaughn, RN

Amy Wheeler, RN

Amy Wheeler joined UHS in 2013 as a Registered Nurse in Urgent Care and moved to the Occupational Health team in 2020. She received her BA in Anthropology and her BSN/BN from Samuel Merritt in Oakland.