Meet Our New Board Members
Welcome Gabriela, Briana, and John!
Please join us in welcoming HEAL Utah’s three newest board members, Gabriela Portugal, Briana Kobor, and John R. Contreras.
We are thrilled to have these three on our team. Learn more about them below:
Gabriela Portugal was born and raised in Mexico City, where she studied medicine and worked in clinical research for over 15 years. She later moved to Salt Lake City, where she became the Director of Cancer programs for Alliance Community Services and later joined the IMC Community Board and the Mexican Consulate Medical Consulting group.
In her little free time as a mom of three, she enjoys CrossFit gym with her teenage son (sometimes her husband joins), traveling, attending concerts, and spending time with her dog Moshi.
She is excited to be part of HEAL because the impact of the environment on our health is of the utmost importance and is a priority that needs to be addressed from many points of view, including a health standpoint.
Briana Kobor grew up in California and moved to Utah with her family in 2017. She has spent her career in energy policy in various positions, including energy regulatory consulting, nonprofit rooftop solar advocacy, and private sector decarbonization efforts.
She enjoys taking in all the natural beauty that Utah offers in her free time–hiking, climbing, skiing, and exploring with her partner and two young kids. Living along the Wasatch Front, she sees daily how vulnerable our communities are to climate change, air pollution, and other environmental threats. She is honored to be joining the board at HEAL to help support the critical work they are doing every day to give voice to our communities and safeguard a healthy environment for all Utahns.
John R. Contreras is from Nogales, Arizona. He is an epidemiologist and has worked for the Arizona Department of Health. He moved to Utah in 1997 to attend the University of Utah and subsequently attended Johns Hopkins University and Arizona State University. He is the Chair and Director of the MPH Program for Westminster College. He has a depth of experience in environmental health research and has conducted numerous studies here in Utah.
John enjoys riding his mountain bike and spending time with his son (who currently attends the University of Utah).
He is very excited to work with HEAL’s board members and serve on the Board.