The Access to Achievement Education Foundation is guided by a dedicated board of directors and supported by an advisory committee of SMYSP alumni, university faculty, and community leaders committed to expanding educational opportunities for underrepresented youth.
Board of Directors
Marilyn Winkleby, MPH, Ph.D. — President and CEO
Dr. Winkleby is a nationally known expert in public health and youth education. Raised on a small 2-acre avocado farm, she attended Cal State Sacramento as an undergraduate and received her Ph.D. in Public Health from UC Berkeley. For 30 years as a Professor of Medicine, she directed a research team at Stanford University conducting epidemiologic and community-based intervention research focused on social determinants of health among medically underserved populations. During this time, she managed large government grants, oversaw financial accounts, and was responsible for sound financial oversight.
In 1988, she founded the highly successful Stanford Medical Youth Science Program (SMYSP), a national model for pre-college science education, which earned the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring in 2011.
As Faculty Director of SMYSP, Dr. Winkleby has worked with countless schools and mentored over 150 students who, when given the opportunity to achieve their potential, go on to complete college and become leaders in their respective fields. In addition, Dr. Winkleby has authored over 200 peer-reviewed scientific articles, including those in the Journal of the American Medical Association, Academic Medicine, and the Journal of Community Medicine and Health Education. Her book, Healing Journeys: Teaching Medicine, Nurturing Hope, co-authored with Julia Steele with a foreword by Dr. David Satcher, demonstrates the transformations that happen when youth are afforded the chance to excel.
Irina Linetskaya, MD, MPH — Vice President
Dr. Linetskaya is a physician committed to a life of healing and a deep understanding of low-income and minority youth. She met Dr. Winkleby in 1995 when she was selected to participate in SMYSP. Since then, she has assumed leadership roles in several youth mentoring programs, bringing expertise in youth empowerment and academic mentoring to the Board.
Born in Kiev, Ukraine, Dr. Linetskaya was raised Jewish in an anti-Semitic Soviet Union. Her family was slated to immigrate to the U.S. when the USSR closed its borders, trapping them for eleven years. By the time borders reopened, the Chernobyl reactor had melted down sixty miles from their home and both of her parents had passed away. In the 11th grade in San Francisco, her biology teacher told her about SMYSP; she applied and was accepted. At SMYSP she deepened her commitment to diversity and community, then went on to Stanford and Harvard Medical School.
Dr. Linetskaya completed her residency at Montefiore’s Program in Social Internal Medicine in the Bronx, focused on culturally tailored, justice-oriented care. Fluent in Spanish, Russian, and Portuguese, she offers comprehensive primary care from a trauma-informed, mind-body perspective. She calls New York her home.
Desirae Moison — Secretary and Chief Financial Officer
Desirae Moison’s passion for education and diversity began at a young age. Born in Delano, CA, her father was a farmworker. Having spent several years of her early childhood in the foster care system, she recognized education as a path to a better life — a passion nurtured when she was adopted by two medical professionals who valued equality and higher education.
Desirae has known and followed the success of many Access to Achievement scholarship recipients since her own high school years. She majored in Ethnic Studies at the University of Oregon and interned with the AFL-CIO and GROW (grassroots organizing workshop).
She brings 10 years of work experience in Silicon Valley as an advanced administrator with strong financial acumen, including supporting the Business Banking team at First Republic Bank and handling expenses for start-up tech executives. She is proficient in Excel and experienced in reading financial statements. She lives in Bend, Oregon, and is proud to be raising her children to be open-minded, empathetic, and involved with diverse people who value education.
Juan Ibarra, MPH, MSW, Ph.D. — Board Member
Dr. Ibarra is a skilled, thoughtful health professional who has been involved in public health research and youth mentorship for years. He met Dr. Winkleby in 1990 when he participated in SMYSP and has been involved with outreach and mentoring youth ever since.
Dr. Ibarra was born in a small agrarian community in Michoacan, Mexico — the youngest of ten children. His family followed the crops across California, eventually settling in Stockton. In the 8th grade, his family suffered a devastating tragedy when both his parents were killed. He moved to Menlo Park, attended Sequoia High School, and excelled in math and science. His math teacher encouraged him to apply to SMYSP, where his love for science flourished. He went on to Stanford, became the first SMYSP alumnus to serve as program director, and later earned joint Master’s degrees in Social Work and Public Health from San Diego State University and a doctorate in Public Health from UC Berkeley.
In his current work as an epidemiologist at the San Francisco Department of Public Health, Dr. Ibarra evaluates community behavioral health programs, developing and implementing evaluation plans in culturally and linguistically appropriate ways. He was named Santa Clara Public Health Department employee of the year in 1999. He lives in Oakland.
Erica Frank, MD, MPH, Ph.D. — Board Member
Dr. Frank is an educational inventor, physician, researcher, professor, and public health advocate who brings a lifetime of advocacy for accessible health sciences education to Access to Achievement. Since 2006, she has been a Professor in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of British Columbia.
She received her MD and MPH with an emphasis on health education and epidemiology and was an NIH Prevention Research Fellow at Stanford University. Board-certified in Preventive Medicine and a Fellow of the American College of Preventive Medicine, she is the Inventor/Founder of NextGenU.org, which offers free courses and degree materials to learners in every country — spanning primary school through a globally free Master’s in Public Health.
Dr. Frank has published over 190 peer-reviewed scientific publications, including first-authored papers in JAMA, The Lancet, BMJ, and the Annals of Internal Medicine. She is the steward of the 1985 Nobel Peace Prize commemorative medal awarded to the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War.
Margarita (Maggie) and Eduardo Gonzalez — Board Members
Maggie and Eduardo Gonzalez are a sister-and-brother team who grew up and live in Riverdale, California. As first-generation Latine college graduates, they bring lived insight into the challenges faced by students and families in rural Central Valley communities. Their involvement in Access to Achievement’s rural funding initiatives — teaching college admissions workshops in Spanish, advising community college pre-med students, and supporting farmworker families with legal resources — reflects their deep commitment to service.
Maggie earned her undergraduate degree in neurobiology, physiology, and behavior from UC Davis, trained as a Public Health Scholar at UCLA, and completed community-based research at UC Davis, UCLA, and Stanford. In her current position at the California Medicine Scholars Program at UCSF Fresno, she supports community college pre-medical students pursuing careers in medicine.
Eduardo grew up in Riverdale, where many families — including his own — work in agriculture. In 2019, he was selected to participate in SMYSP. Upon returning to Riverdale High School, he founded the Medical Outreach Club; graduates have gone on to attend seven different four-year universities. Eduardo completed his undergraduate degree at Smittcamp Family Honors College, Fresno State, as the Presidential Scholarship Recipient, and currently works with the United Farm Workers Foundation and will attend law school next year.
Advisory Committee
The advisory committee is composed of SMYSP alumni, university faculty, and community leaders. They have no legal responsibilities.
- Erik Cabral, M.D. — San Francisco, CA
- Molly Easter, Ph.D. — Los Angeles, CA
- Knieeka Jake-Pacheco, DMD — Washington, DC
- Jed Kazel, M.D. — San Francisco, CA
- Ryan Keen, Ph.D. — Boston, MA
- Jeanne Kennedy — Palo Alto, CA
- Hannah Valantine, M.D. — Palo Alto, CA
- Gregory Vaughn — Corvallis, OR
- Phuong Vo, M.D., MPH — San Ramon, CA
- Elizabeth Ward, M.D. — San Francisco, CA
- Paul Wesson, Ph.D. — San Francisco, CA