Tania Pacheco-Werner, PhD

Dr. Tania Pacheco-Werner is the Executive Director at the Central Valley Health Policy Institute at Fresno State. Dr. Pacheco-Werner is also a member of the California Air Resources Board and the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District.  She is a medical sociologist by training and received her Ph.D. in sociology from the University of California, San Francisco.

As a health policy researcher, Dr. Pacheco-Werner is focused on the social determinants of health (SDOH). She has published articles on SDOH issues pertaining to maternal-child health and using the community health worker model to increase the healthcare workforce. In addition, she has numerous policy publications on the policies and practices that can help overcome segregation. She is an expert in community engagement for policy efforts, and has worked with a wide range of agencies and systems to integrate community engagement practices into their decision-making processes. She is the co-creator of the COVID-19 Equity Project in Fresno County, which used the community health worker model in the pandemic response. The curriculum for this model was adapted in other counties and was the basis for other models in the region.

Dr. Pacheco-Werner is a Mexican immigrant who grew up in the Central Valley. She hopes her work helps ground policy in the everyday practical challenges faced by communities in California. She lives with her husband and sons in Sanger, California.