The Center for Learning and Innovation

Catalyzing innovation and investing in people who are advancing public health

Our Vision

Foster a culture of learning, trust and innovation.

About CLI

CLI conducts a range of projects internally and externally to support DPH programs and objectives, build capacity and promote a diverse and talented workforce. Our vision is to foster a culture of learning, trust and innovation. We do that in a number of ways: from sharing information and resources to experimenting with new and innovative technologies, to training and coaching staff and partners, building partnerships across sectors and mentoring public health professionals.

CLI also offers technical assistance and support to branches within the Population Health Division of the San Francisco Department of Public Health. We continuously strive to foster a culture of learning, trust and innovation, and to support our public health colleagues in promoting health equity.

Explore this webpage for more! And get in touch to let us know how we can support your work!

How can I?

• Learn about Capacity Building for External Partners?
• Take an online course?
• Get information on internships?
• Learn more about CLI

• How can we help?
• Our Team
• Contact Us

Capacity Building Assistance for External Partners

• Capacity Building Assistance Project for Health Departments—CLI hosts a CDC-funded project to assist health departments in building capacity to promote high-impact HIV prevention. Our CBA program, which capitalizes on the expertise within DPH, is funded to provide assistance in HIV Testing, Prevention for High-Risk Negative Persons and Policy.


• Our philosophy is to provide customized, peer-to-peer technical assistance that engages participants face-to-face and online. We offer peer-to-peer mentoring, site visits, resources and toolkits, online learning communities, live chat office hours and webinars. You can follow us on Twitter for the most recent updates. Learn more about CBA.


• Interested in learning more about how we work with external partners on high-impact HIV prevention? Contact Gary Naja-Riese: gary.naja-riese@sfdph.org; 415.437.6226. Find more information at www.getSFcba.org.

Online Learning Opportunities

• Learning Management System: A learning management system (LMS) is a software application or Web-based technology used to plan, implement, and assess a specific learning process. Typically, a learning management system provides an instructor with a way to create and deliver content, monitor student participation, and assess student performance. A new LMS has been created and launched for PHD use at www.learnsfdph.org. This LMS is maintained by PHD's newest Branch, the Center for Learning and Innovation (CLI). CLI leads and coordinates professional development activities across PHD to assure a competent public health workforce and with community partners locally, nationally and world-wide. CLI works with internal and external partners to create on-going novel training opportunities and develop the public health workforce of tomorrow. Go to the Learning Management System.


• Good Participatory Practices: The Good Participatory Practices (GPP) on-line course was developed through a partnership between AVAC and the Center for Learning and Innovation at the San Francisco Department of Public Health. This course aims to support trial site staff and key advocates in understanding and applying the Good Participatory Practice (GPP) guidelines to the clinical trials they are involved in planning or helping to implement. Through this course, learners will become familiar with the guidelines document and the 16 topic areas it covers. Learners will also complete the GPP Blueprint, a document that helps prioritize and plan stakeholder engagement activities at a trial site.

Interested in more online learning opportunities? Contact Gary Naja-Riese: gary.naja-riese@sfdph.org; 415.437.6226

Internship Information

• SHARP (Summer HIV/AIDS Research Program) is an innovative 12-week summer mentored internship and learning experience designed to inspire students from underrepresented communities to pursue further studies and careers in public health-oriented clinical, socio-behavioral, and community-focused research. SHARP is a paid internship program; participating scholars will receive a stipend of approximately $11/hour. Learn more about SHARP.


• Other Internship Opportunities: CLI facilitates the process of connecting students interested in interning with the Population Health Division with PHD staff who would like to host an intern. If you're interested in internship opportunities within the Population Health Division, contact us!

For all internship questions, please contact Aminta Kouyate: aminta.kouyate@sfdph.org; 415.437.6327

How Can We Help?

• CLI conducts a range of projects internally and externally to support DPH programs and objectives, build capacity and promote a diverse and talented workforce.


• Our vision is to foster a culture of learning, trust and innovation. We do that in a number of ways: from sharing information and resources to experimenting with new and innovative technologies, to training and coaching staff and partners, building partnerships across sectors and mentoring public health professionals.

• CLI offers a number of trainings for SFDPH staff:

• Inspiring Trust
• Results-Based Accountability (RBA) Training
• Project Management Training
• Interpersonal Communication
• PHASES (Public Health Advancement Strategies Enhancing Success)

• Technical Assistance
• CLI also offers technical assistance and support to branches within the Population Health Division of the San Francisco Department of Public Health. We continuously strive to foster a culture of learning, trust and innovation, and to support our public health colleagues in promoting health equity.


• Alecia Martin manages all of our internal workforce development and training initiatives.

Our Team

	Dr. Jonathan Fuchs, MD, MPH Director Dr. Fuchs is a UCSF trained, board certified internist who, over the past 12 years, has led CDC- and NIH-funded clinical research efforts in HIV vaccine and non-vaccine prevention. He also leads the internationally recognized training and technical assistance program for the NIH HIV Vaccine Trials Network (HVTN). In that role, Dr. Fuchs has organized and led curriculum development, training, peer-to-peer mentoring, and technical assistance efforts to support over 30 U.S. and international clinical trial sites. He has extensive experience in eLearning and organizing mentoring programs. In 2012, Dr. Fuchs was named the Director of the highly regarded Early Stage Investigator Mentoring Program at UCSF’s Center for AIDS Research.
	Gary Naja-Riese, MSW Manager, Capacity Building Initiatives Mr. Naja-Riese brings over 20 years of experience in public health, policy development and implementation, community organizing, training and technical assistance and public and private sector management to our team. He previously directed the Community Transformation Initiative for San Francisco, a three-year project to transform places and empower people to reduce heart disease and stroke. As Director, Mr. Naja-Riese oversaw the management, implementation and evaluation of the initiative, provided training and technical assistance to 14 partner organizations and 23 members of the SFHIP Steering Committee, and managed the initiative’s staff. Mr. Naja-Riese also developed and managed the Prevention Hub at the County of Marin’s Department of Health and Human Services. The Prevention Hub is a cross-collaboration of all the county’s prevention efforts all working together using the collective impact model to reduce injury and chronic disease in Marin County.
	Dr. Oliver Bacon, MD, MPH Deputy Director and Lead Trainer, CBA Project Dr. Bacon is an Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine at UCSF in the HIV Division at San Francisco General Hospital, Deputy Director of the Capacity Building Assistance program for high impact HIV prevention at the San Francisco Department of Public Health, and a co-investigator on the U.S PrEP Demonstration Project. He trained in Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases. His areas of interest include antiretroviral therapy, management of opportunistic infections, new HIV testing strategies, early treatment of HIV infection, and biomedical and prevention of HIV transmission.
	Mateo Lumbreras Distance Learning Specialist Mr. Lumbreras has over ten years of experience providing community-based, clinical, and non-clinical public health program development, implementation, education, and training. He has worked on public health issues such as HIV, Hep C, substance use, domestic violence, and sexual assault prevention with a special focus on youth, MSM and transgender communities. Since 2004, he has developed and implemented several programs such as syringe exchange, HIV testing and counseling, social marketing campaigns, and linkage retention and navigation services. Mr. Lumbreras previously worked as the Youth Project Coordinator at The California Prostitutes Education Project in Oakland and provided program management oversight for the substance use prevention and workforce development programs. He has served on numerous boards and committees including the California Department of Public Health - Office of AIDS Latino Advisory Board. During his tenure he worked alongside state-wide public health officials to develop and present recommendations about best strategies in delivering HIV Prevention and C.A.R.e services to Latinos within the State of California.
	Mehroz Baig, MIA, MS Communications Specialist Mehroz Baig is leading the communications initiatives for the Center for Learning and Innovation. She brings with her experience as a journalist and communications professional, having most recently been a Fellow in Communications and Public Policy at the Commonwealth Club of California. Her journalistic work spans both traditional and public media. Previously, Ms. Baig worked at CNN’s Fareed Zakaria GPS to produce a documentary on the politics and the economy of India. She has also done research and program management at the County level, having worked with both the Economic Development and the Workforce Investment Board at the County of Sonoma.
	Jeannie Balido Project Manager Ms. Balido is responsible for coordinating and managing strategic and action planning projects for the Division’s reorganization activities and for developing and implementing communication strategies to promote internal and external professional development trainings for the Center for Learning and Innovation. Ms. Balido's expertise spans 20 years of experience in project management, conference and event planning, fundraising, strategic development, social marketing and public relations. She has worked on public health issues such as emergency preparedness, tobacco control, breast cancer, nutrition, and health promotion for underserved communities. Ms. Balido previously worked as the Program Manager for the UC Berkeley Center for Infectious Diseases & Emergency Readiness (CIDER)/Cal PREPARE and provided project management oversight for multiple research projects, academic courses and trainings, and communication activities.
	Aminta Kouyate Evaluation Specialist and Intern Coordinator Aminta Kouyate is the Coordinator of Internships & Evaluation at the Center for Learning and Innovation at SFPDH. She comes with seven years of experience working within health systems in the Bay Area. Ms. Kouyate previously coordinated the Alameda County Public Health Department online emergency alerting system, which included developing and implementing trainings at hospitals, long-term care and skilled nursing facilities throughout Alameda County, participating in statewide medical health exercises, and reporting to the state and federal government. Additionally, she has experience in event planning, fundraising, community engagement and education, and HIV test counseling and administration. Ms. Kouyate currently sits on the executive board of Health Initiatives for Youth and the advisory board for the San Francisco Unified School District Career Technical Education Programs.
	Wesley Dayton Program Coordinator & CLI Branch Admin Mr. Dayton provides administrative support to CLI staff and coordinates CBA program work with external health departments. A graduate from UC Santa Cruz, Mr. Dayton brings public sector experience supporting sustainability programs. Before joining CLI, he worked with a portfolio of clients at a private company focused on improving user experience for their websites and mobile applications.

Contact Us

CLI staff are available and happy to assist you with any needs you may have. Please contact any CLI staff who may be best suited to assist you.

We look forward to hearing from you!