Claudia G. Corchado is the Program Manager for Cultiva La Salud Merced County. Cultiva La Salud is dedicated to creating health equity in the San Joaquin Valley by fostering changes in communities that support health equity. Cultiva La Salud is among a growing number of programs in the nation who use a policy and environmental change approach to help community members gain access to the healthy foods, safe places to be physically active and to achieve healthy equity in communities most underserved.

In this role Ms. Corchado has built and trained almost 280 grassroots community leaders (primarily non-English speaking residents) through a twelve-month Powerful People curriculum. Through these trainings’ residents begin to understand the power of local, state and federal government and how their decisions impact their health. She has worked with many different communities in the Central Valley addressing issues such as safe, clean, cold drinking water at schools and improving community parks. She has worked at decreasing crime in communities of color, so children can go outside and play and created community improvement plans that make public areas more walkable and bikeable. She has also worked on safe routes to school programs, so children can also walk or bike safely to school and ensured parents are part of Local Control Funding Formula process at their child’s school. She also opens school gymnasiums so hundreds of low income residents can have access to safe/organized physical activity opportunities.

During the pandemic, Cultiva La Salud Merced County has worked with a network of 20 promotoras to increase access, availability and equity to COVID-19 testing, vaccines and services in the Central Valley. Ms. Corchado is the grant writer, grant manager and evaluator in a variety of different grants that help support health equity in the Central Valley.