University Health Leadership Team

The University Health Leadership Team (UHLT) is our organization-wide leadership team that is made up of managers and directors from each of our units and oversees UHS programs, services, and key initiatives for students, faculty, and staff.

Key work of UHLT includes: 

  • Defines vision, organization-wide priorities, and annual goals
  • Provides input on alignment on major policies, procedures, and expenditures
  • Encourages collaboration, innovation, and learning by sharing information across functional areas
  • Serves as the primary steward of the culture of the organization
  • Champions DEIBJ issues and commitments

Gabriela Baeza, MD, Interim Associate Medical Director

Dr. Gabriela Baeza joined UHS in 2023 as a Primary Care Physician. Dr. Baeza received a BA in Liberal Arts with a major in Philosophy, from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1994. She worked for the Social Security Administration and the Alzheimer's Association before returning to graduate education to undertake her studies in medicine. Dr. Baeza received her medical degree in 2010 from Indiana University School of Medicine. She completed her medical specialty training in Family Medicine in 2013. Her initial years of medical practice were spent teaching medical students and practicing full-spectrum family medicine at Rush University Medical Center. She later taught medical students and family medicine residents as an Assistant Professor of Clinical Family Medicine at UI Hospital and Health Sciences System in her hometown, Chicago, Illinois. Dr. Baeza has a special clinical interest in women's reproductive health, depression, anxiety, and helping underserved populations. Outside of work, she enjoys travel, mild-to-moderate intensity hikes, searching for good eats, and spending time with family and friends.

Dr. Baeza is certified by the American Board of Family Medicine.

Additional Languages: Spanish

Tami Cate

Tami Cate, PR & Communications Manager

(she/her/hers)

Tami Cate joined the UHS Communications team in 2018. She was previously the Communications Manager at Kaiser Permanente where she worked on a variety of health care communications programs. Tami is passionate about health care and health promotion and believes communications play a big role in helping people access the care and resources to be their best. Tami received her BA in Communications and Asian Studies from the University of Arizona. She enjoys spending time with her teenage son, hiking with her border collie/spaniel mix in the East Bay hills and beyond, trying new recipes and restaurants, and traveling.   

Peter Cornish

Peter Cornish, Student Mental Health Co-Director

pcornish@berkeley.edu


Peter Cornish is the Director of Counseling and Psychological Services at UHS and an Honorary Research Professor at Memorial University of Newfoundland in Canada. His clinical and research interests include online mental health, stepped-care treatments, mental health service innovations, and inter-professional team functioning. Over the past five years, Dr. Cornish has provided consultation and on-site training on his Stepped Care 2.0 model to over 150 organizations across North America. His nonprofit company, Stepped Care Solutions, is the lead partner on Wellness Together Canada, a federal COVID-19 $70M mental health program for all peoples of Canada. Dr. Cornish is the principal investigator for a $1.14M four-year research grant aimed at digitizing and evaluating Stepped Care 2.0 across two Canadian provinces. Currently, he is collaborating with colleagues in the US and Canada on a three-book series on Stepped Care 2.0 to be published by Springer, with the first in the series available now.  

Claytie Davis III, Ph.D., ABPP, Student Mental Health Co-Director

claytie@uhs.berkeley.edu

Claytie Davis III, Ph.D., ABPP, is a board-certified Counseling Psychologist who joined the UHS CAPS team in 1999. Claytie received his Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from The University of Texas, Austin. Claytie is passionate about training and has served on the board of directors for the Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC).  Claytie's research interests include training in supervision, application of stereotype threat theory, and ethics. He has served on the editorial boards of The Counseling Psychologist, Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, and Training and Education in Professional Psychology.  

Clinical interests: Multicultural counseling, supervision issues, black racial identity and mental health/academic performance, career and life development coaching, and ethics.  

Cori Evans Staff

Cori Evans, MA, NSCA, Wellness Program Manager

corievans@berkeley.edu

Cori joined UHS after working as a Corporate Wellness Manager where she provided fitness and health management services to companies in the San Francisco Bay Area. Cori oversees the Be Well at Work - Wellness Program on the UC Berkeley campus where she manages programs, services, policies, and events for faculty and staff. Cori has worked in the field of worksite wellness for over 16 years and is purpose-driven to create and sustain a culture of equity, health, and well-being for the campus community. She received her MA in Sport Management from USF and her BS in Exercise Science from UC Davis where she competed in Track and Field. She went on to play Women’s Tackle Football for nearly ten years post-college and now enjoys officiating for USATF, golf, hiking excursions, traveling with friends, and hanging out with her puppy and kitty. Cori is originally from Wichita, Kansas, home of the Wichita State Shockers.   

Bene Gatzert

Bene Gatzert, MPA, Chief Strategy Officer

bene@berkeley.edu

Bene Gatzert joined UHS as a staff member in 1989. Her “first career” was as a health educator in the Health Promotion unit, working directly with students in peer programs and with HIV/AIDS and sexual violence prevention programs. In her “second career” in healthcare administration, she still engages with and learns from students through a number of advisory committees and a liaison role with student government. In her work with UHS and campus colleagues, she loves facilitating discussions, helping teams create solutions to address complex issues, and supporting the organization through change. Bene is also co-chair of the UHS Justice, Inclusion, and Community Committee.   

Bene received her BA from Berkeley and her MPA from San Francisco State. She has a passion for travel, can be found on wildlife safaris with her wife, and loves reading, yoga, and hiking.

Anna Harte

Anna Harte, MD, Medical Director

(she/her/hers)

aharte@berkeley.edu

Dr. Anna Harte (née Bloxham) joined UHS in 2001. Dr. Harte was appointed Medical Director in January 2017 after serving as Associate Medical Director from 2011-2016. She received a BA in Music from UC Santa Cruz (1992), MD from Yale University (1998), and completed a residency in Primary Care Internal Medicine at UC San Francisco (2001). Dr. Harte has a special clinical interest in tuberculosis, HIV and infectious diseases, travel medicine, transgender health, and the care of underserved populations. She serves as a primary care provider on our UHS Trans Care Team and also consults for the City of Berkeley Public Health Division's Tuberculosis Program. Dr. Harte still loves music, which she shares with her husband Alexis and children Mia and Leo. 

Dr. Harte is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine. 

Additional Languages: Danish, Swedish  

Melody Heller head shot

Melody Heller, RN, Clinical Services Director

Melody Heller is a Registered Nurse and served as the Urgent Care Nursing Supervisor as well as the Operations Manager and is now the UHS Clinical Services Director.   

Kathy Kodama

Cathy Kodama, MPH, Health Promotion Director

ckodama@berkeley.edu 

Cathy Kodama came to UC Berkeley as an open-minded but (mostly) inexperienced freshman in 1973. Being in, and at, Berkeley was a life-changing experience that she's still experiencing. Cathy was pre-law, but in her sophomore year, she fell into being a peer educator in women's health and never looked back. Cathy had her first full-time job at UHS in Medical Records. From there, she hopscotched to the Health Education unit, to graduate school in public health, to various community volunteer projects, and back to Health Education (now called Health Promotion) at UHS. Cathy is a baby boomer, UC Berkeley alum, health educator, and firm believer in health, happiness, equality, and social action. She is a third-generation Japanese-American with all the cultural richness and assimilation experiences that come along with that. Cathy has been involved in numerous regional and national organizations, including serving as President of the Pacific Coast College Health Association and on the board of the American College Health Association. Cathy's passionate interests are 1) the role of drugs in society, 2) sexuality and relationships, and 3) some TV shows. Her particular abilities tend to be daydreaming (in the professional world we call it "visioning") and administrative work. She loves talking about life with students, whose perspectives are so enlightening and inspiring.  

Jeff Kreutzen phtoto

Jeff Kreutzen, Associate Director of Information Systems

Jeff Kreutzen oversees the UHS IT program and staff. 

Tiffany Melendez, MS, DEIBJ Director

Tiffany Melendez, MS, Director, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Belonging, and Justice

Tiffany Melendez joined UHS in 2018 as a Health Educator with the Health Promotion team. During that time she managed an undergraduate student program that focused on bringing resources to underserved communities and helped students think through how to systematically create healthier academic learning environments. She also taught spiritual well-being courses to undergraduate students as a reminder of the importance of honoring the entire experience of being a human, mind, body, and spirit, at the intersection of their identities and as a student at Berkeley. During her time as a Health Educator, Tiffany's work started to shift and she transitioned into helping lead UHS DEIBJ efforts. The initial work was focused on data collection and assessment and creating a greater sense of belonging for all at UHS. For two years, she focused her efforts on well-being events, anti-racism training, community building, and identifying goals and metrics. She also led or participated in a variety of DEIBJ committees both at UHS and within the Division of Student Affairs. In 2023, Tiffany became UHS' First Director for DEIBJ. She is now leading UHS efforts in all areas of diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging, and justice. Her purpose and passion lie not only in addressing the needs of the organization systemically, but helping lead all staff into a new way of thinking creatively about how we can holistically care for students, staff, and faculty and in how we reimagine new ways of working together across UHS. Tiffany has a B.A. in Psychology from Hofstra University and an M.S. in Negotiation and Conflict Resolution from Columbia University. She is also a spiritual practitioner and teaches clairvoyant meditation tools and techniques.

One of her favorite quotes is: The best way to solve any problem is to remove its cause. - Martin Luther King Jr. 

Craig Mielcarski

Craig Mielcarski, LCSW, CEAP, Interim Associate Vice Chancellor

Be Well at Work - Faculty/Staff Health Programs Director  

cmielcarski@berkeley.edu

Craig Mielcarski has been the Director for Be Well at Work - Faculty/Staff Health Programs (which includes Disability Management Services, Elder Care, Employee Assistance, Ergonomics, Wellness, and Work/Life programs) since 2018. He previously worked as the Director of Employee Assistance starting in 2008. Craig received his BA in Psychology from Amherst College and his MSW from Boston University. He is a licensed clinical social worker and certified employee assistance professional with over 20 years of clinical, organizational, and leadership experience in business, government, and academic settings. Craig has additional expertise in threat assessment, intimate partner violence, critical incident response, organizational change, and management consultation. Passionate about individual and organizational health and wellness, Craig also has extensive experience providing coaching and consultation to individuals at all levels of a work organization.     

Tobirus M. Newby, LCSW, Assistant Director of Campus Outreach & Engagement

tnewby@berkeley.edu 

Tobirus M. Newby is a licensed clinical social worker and the Assistant Director of Campus Outreach & Engagement. Over the past 17 years, Tobirus has worked in the field of violence prevention and intervention by supporting the healing journeys of survivors and by educating and fostering change with those who have caused harm in their relationships and communities. In addition, he is an educator at UC Berkeley Extension and the University of San Francisco and has a private consulting practice through which he provides organizational equity and inclusion services. A quote that guides his life and his practice comes from James Baldwin: “Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.”    

Warren Whitfield, Insurance Manager

wwhitfield@berkeley.edu 

Warren Whitfield joined the UHS SHIP team in 2014 as the Insurance Case Coordinator. Within two years he was promoted to the Supervisor of Billing and Cashiering for Berkeley SHIP. In October 2020, Warren accepted the position of Insurance Office Manager. Before working at UHS, Warren spent over 13 years with University Hospitals of Cleveland as a supervisor of claims processing and the billing supervisor for their 7 hospitals. Warren moved back to his birthplace, Oakland, in 2012 where he worked at Laguna Honda Rehab as the billing supervisor and Genentech as a case manager before starting at the University of California, Berkeley. Warren enjoys golf, painting by numbers, and reading. Warren is the father of three grown children and grandfather to three grandchildren with one set of twins. He also loves hanging out with his girlfriend and her niece.