Jessica Leston, MPH | Pamela Aguilar, CHR

Jessica Leston, MPH is the Clinical Programs Director the Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board (NPAIHB) where she focuses on systems and policy change. She began her public health career working at the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium in 2004 and has worked in tribal health since then. She believes strongly in learning from traditional indigenous ways of knowing to help guide, direct and strengthen our public health systems. Her mother’s side of her family are settlers to Turtle Island, originally from Germany, Sweden and Ireland. Her Father’s side of the family is originally from Austria, Finland and Tsimshian from British Columbia/Southeast Alaska. She grew up in Chicago but spent many summers in Southeast Alaska with her Grandmother’s family – climbing Deer Mountain, picking huckleberries around Ward Lake and watching the salmon make their way to the Ketchikan Creek Falls. In her life and work, she honors the Alutiiq cultural value, “we are responsible for each other and ourselves.”

Pamela Aguilar is a member of the Chickasaw Nation and lives within their boundaries in Wynnewood, Oklahoma. Her background is in the field of nursing, but has worked in the Community Health Representative (CHR) arena since 1999. She has more than 18 years’ experience working with the RPMS Community Health Representative (CHR) Package. Her knowledge of the CHR Program has led to numerous consultations and participation with Indian Health Service and others. Her knowledge of the CHR Program provides a bottom-line understanding of the challenges faced by those she trains. She is dedicated to delivering exceptional training to the Community Health Representatives (CHR) Programs.