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Faculty/Staff Occupational Health

Occupational Health

Photo	Name	Bio
	Elizabeth Schafer, RN, NP	Elizabeth Schafer 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.
	Jacob Giesbrecht Medical Assistant Pronouns: He/Him/his	Jacob joined UHS in 2024 as a Medical Assistant in the Occupational Health Department. He started his Medical Assistant profession at John Muir and worked in a few different sites. Jacob has experience working at a COVID testing site, Pediatrics, and Urgent Care.
	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, 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.
	Michelle Ha, MD, MPH	Dr. Michelle Ha joined UHS in 2024 as a physician in Occupational Health. She received her BA in neurobiology and psychology from Northwestern University (2006) and her MD from the University of Illinois at Chicago (2010). She then completed an anesthesia residency at Indiana University (2014). A few years later, Dr. Ha completed an MPH in Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology at UC Berkeley (2018), followed by a second residency in Preventive Medicine at the Texas Department of State Health Services (2020). Dr. Ha has special clinical interests in infectious diseases and vaccinology, blood borne pathogens, travel medicine, and medical toxicology. Dr. Ha is board-certified by the American Board of Preventive (General Preventive Medicine & Public Health) Medicine. Additional languages: Cantonese, Mandarin
	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 Medical Assistant
	Maggie Seminoff, NP
	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.