University of Pittsburgh Health Equity Access Lab
Meet Our Team
The dedicated members that make our lab possible!
Dr. Nancy Gauvin (she/her), EdD, CCC-SLP
Principal Investigator
Nancy Gauvin’s professional background is multilayered and diverse which encouraged her path to equity access research, teaching and service. Her passion is to expand experiences as service providers from an equity and access lens to benefit colleagues and patients. Gauvin’s Health Equity Access Lab (HEAL) was established in 2024 to investigate health equity and access in the health sciences education and clinical therapy services for all. The lab does this by identifying barriers to access in all three of these areas. The HEAL team is dedicated to developing equitable practices to successfully increase continuity of care and to improve access to health care for systematically marginalized populations.
Anastasia McMillan (she/her), M.Ed.
Lab Staff, Senior Director of Strategic Programs and Services
Anastasia McMillan manages SHRS’ educational engagement and research for faculty, staff and students with respect to equity, diversity and inclusion topics. Along with SHRS leadership, she also plays a role in the strategic planning and executing of initiatives, policies, practices and programming at SHRS and the Wellness Pavilion. McMillan became interested in her current role because she was looking for an opportunity to grow in her career and gain experience and knowledge at another health science at the University of Pittsburgh. What she enjoys most about working at SHRS is creating programming for SHRS community members and seeing the impact it makes. Currently, she is involved in Staff Council, Equipoise and Pitt Queer Professionals at the University of Pittsburgh.
Samantha "Sam" Mozden (she/her), MSHEA
Lab Staff, Wellness Pavilion Senior Community Engagement Manager
Samantha Mozden is integral in addressing the needs of the various equity, diversity and inclusion initiatives within each SHRS program including research and education for staff, students and faculty. Moreover, she designs programs that meet the needs of Homewood and the surrounding communities while assisting with program administrative duties within the SHRS Office of Community Engagement & Global Health Initiatives (OCE&GHI) and the Wellness Pavilion. Mozden manages the Wellness Pavilion Clinic, which provides free clinical and rehabilitative services to the surrounding communities. Mozden became interested in her role because she wanted to combine her interest in health care with her interest in community work. Mozden enjoys managing the various programs and initiatives OEDICE supports.
Brandon Garivaldo (he/him), MS, CCC-SLP
Lab Staff, PhD Candidate | Communication Science and Disorders
Brandon Garivaldo began his PhD studies Fall 2021 with Fabiano at the University of Arizona until he transferred to the University of Pittsburgh Fall 2022 to continue his studies with Fabiano. The highlight of his PhD research program is being able to give back to other Latinx communities in a different part of the country through the work of Fabiano’s lab by providing clinical services for community members. After graduation, he hopes to refine his research skills to establish his own research program that will give back to a new community.
Paavna Rangarajan (she/her)
Lab Assistant, Sophomore | Pre-Medicine Student
Paavna Rangarajan is a second-year undergraduate student at the University of Pittsburgh studying Neuroscience and Public Health, with a minor in Chemistry and a certificate in Television and Broadcast Arts. As a pre-med student, she is passionate about exploring the intersection between brain science, communication, and community health. She volunteers at a local vaccination hub, where she helps support public health outreach and patient care, strengthening her commitment to community service and preventive medicine.
Positionality Statements
A positionality statement is a reflection on how a researcher's own identities, experiences, and beliefs influence their research and their understanding of a topic.
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Nancy Gauvin is a Haitian American Black Cisgender woman who was born and raised in New York City. Her work is influenced by health equity, access, clinical education, and community engagement within speech-language pathology and the health sciences.​
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Anastasia McMillan, M.Ed. is a Black, Queer Cisgender woman born and raised in Miramar, Florida. Her work is influenced by health equity, community engagement, student engagement, and serving underrepresented students.​
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Samantha Mozden, MSHEA, is a white Polish and German American Cisgender, Heterosexual woman born and raised in Uniontown, Pennsylvania. Her work is influenced by health equity, community engagement, student engagement, and improving health and wellness across the lifespan.
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Brandon Garivaldo, M.S., CCC-SLP, is a Queer, cis-gender, Chicano/Latino, first generation American individual born and raised in the Inland Empire region of Southern California. He recognizes privilege in being an American citizen, cis-gender and male, and obtaining a higher education. Brandon positions himself within the intersections of queerness, disability, and race/ethnicity. Both of his insider and outsider perspectives influence his work in improving health equity, access, and community engagement with racially minoritized communities and their interactions with speech and language services in medical and education systems. ​
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Paavna Rangarajan brings experience in interdisciplinary research, science communication, and collaborative teamwork, and she is particularly interested in how neuroscience and public health education can be used to promote health equity and accessibility.