Alice! Health Promotion Directory

Sylvie Nyamu is a Program Specialist for Epidemiology Surveillance at Columbia University. In this capacity, she works collaboratively to design and implement surveillance techniques to monitor and control infectious disease transmission. She previously worked as a Contact Tracing Manager at Columbia University. In that role, she coordinated disease surveillance efforts through systematic implementation of outbreak control measures, including overseeing case investigations and tracing undertakings. She continues to support contact tracing efforts.

Prior to joining Alice! Health Promotion, she managed clinical research initiatives in Infectious Diseases and Emergency Medicine. Sylvie's primary research interests include epidemiology and pathogenesis of zoonotic infectious diseases, the deployment of interventions for infection control, and the use of electronic laboratory reporting for disease surveillance and population health management.  

In her free time, Sylvie is an avid runner, explores hiking trails, practices yoga, and cherishes travelling with friends and family. She also enjoys getting lost in a good book.

Shaye Samp joined the Alice! Health Promotion team in February 2023 as a Health Promotion Specialist. In her role, Shaye oversees the day-to-day content management and logistics of the Go Ask Alice! health Q&A website.

Prior to joining the Alice! team, Shaye worked with the Peace Corps as a Health Education Specialist in Shinyanga, Tanzania. There, she worked on a variety of projects related to health education and ultimately fell in love with interacting with youth while providing them with sexual and reproductive health education.

Shaye grew up in Southeastern Idaho, before moving to New York City in the summer of 2020. When not at work, Shaye can be found traveling, enjoying food and/or live music with friends, having lengthy phone conversations with family, or curled up on the couch watching TV with her cats (Janie & Binx).

Sarah Albrecht (she/her) joined the Alice! Health Promotion team in January 2023 as the Well-Being & Coaching Specialist before transitioning into her current role as the Health Promotion Specialist for Wellness Coaching. As a board-certified wellness coach, Sarah partners with students to explore their wellness goals and co-creates tailored plans to help them flourish in and out of the classroom.

Before joining Columbia Health, Sarah coordinated and facilitated a virtual health and wellness coaching program for family child care educators through the University of Delaware and provided support for several research and evaluation projects. 

Sarah is originally from Delaware and moved to Brooklyn with her partner and two cats in the summer of 2022. When not at work, Sarah loves baking, taking spin classes, and scouring the city for the best chocolate croissant.

Padma Entsuah is the Director, Well-Being and Health Promotion at Alice! Health Promotion. She joined the team in June 2015 as a Health Promotion Specialist before transitioning to Senior Health Promotion Specialist. In these roles she supported a number of the peer-led initiatives such as the ROAR @ Columbia Facilitators, the Columbia Health Peer Ambassador Network, and the Keeping Our Community Healthy Ambassadors. She also helped create and facilitate the “Well-Being and the First Year Experience” Physical Education course. Currently, Padma oversees the Health Promotion strategy functional area within Alice!, working to create a campus culture centered around well-being.

Originally from Maryland, Padma has lived throughout the East Coast. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends, staying active, traveling, and exploring all the great food New York City has to offer.

Nicole joined the Alice! Health Promotion team in September 2020 as the Manager of Operations. In her role, she supports the operational, communication, recruitment, and administrative needs of the Alice! team. This includes collaborating with her team to increase efficiencies, streamline processes, and build communication pathways both within Alice! and across units of Columbia Health towards our vision of integration.

Prior to joining the team at Columbia, she was the Program Coordinator for the College of Arts & Sciences Career Development Office at Cornell University. There she focused on marketing, communications, operations, and supporting student career needs. At Cornell, she was also a facilitator for the Enhanced Assess Acknowledge Act program, a sexual assault resistance program for first-year college women. Her health promotion work has focused mainly on sexual violence prevention and hazing prevention.

Originally from central Alabama, Nicole has made her way up the east coast—previously living in Charlottesville, VA and Ithaca, NY—now enjoys living the city life in Williamsburg, Brooklyn with her husband (her high school sweetheart!). In her free time, she enjoys rock climbing and yoga; creating art, especially photography and drawing; and exploring the sights, sounds, and tastes of the city. 

James (Lee) Daniel joined the Alice! Health Promotion team in November 2022 as the Resource Specialist. In this new role, Lee works to connect students to both on- and off-campus resources. His work focuses on developing strategic partnerships across the University to streamline referral pipelines and cultivate a community that empowers students to care for their health & well-being. 

Prior to joining the Alice! team, Lee worked in first-year experience and student retention; academic advising and support services; and COVID-19 response. 

Lee grew up in North Carolina before moving to New York in summer 2021. Outside of work, Lee loves reading, cooking and baking, puzzles, and exploring the city to find hidden green spaces!

Katherine McAvoy is the Assistant Director for Public Health Initiatives for Alice! Health Promotion. They first joined the Alice! team in 2020, serving as Manager for Contact Tracing through September 2021. In that role, Katherine built and oversaw the University contact tracing program for the Morningside, Manhattanville, Lamont-Doherty, and Nevis campuses; they approached this work with a trauma-informed and intersectional framework, with the ultimate goal of supporting all members of the Columbia community throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. 

In their current role, Katherine's work focuses broadly on building multi-level systems and equity-driven public health infrastructure to tackle burgeoning public health issues, mitigate threats to health, and promote student well-being and flourishing.

An Indiana native, Katherine is a long-time East Coast transplant and new-ish New Yorker. When not at work, they enjoy the Brooklyn food scene, adventures with friends and family, browsing bookstores, and petting other people's cats.

As the Director of Direct Services, Jaclyn oversees initiatives for mental health and well-being, alcohol and other drugs (AOD), health education and wellness coaching. Jaclyn initially joined the Alice! Health Promotion team as a Health Promotion Specialist in 2018. Her professional background spans over several functional areas in higher education and student affairs. Some of those experiences focus on social justice education, mental health, residence life, and leadership development. In addition, she has served as an instructor for both undergraduate and graduate populations.

Jaclyn grew up in the Golden State, California, and is excited to support student health and well-being through a trauma-informed and intersectional lens. When not at work, Jaclyn enjoys spending time with her fur-child, Captain, and being out and about exploring all that the community has to offer!

Gina Orlando is the Senior Health Promotion Specialist at Alice! Health Promotion. She joined the team in June 2017 as a Health Promotion Specialist before transitioning to her current role. In her current role, she supports the development and implementation of health literacy initiatives. As a member of the Health Promotion Strategy team, she works with her colleagues to create a campus culture centered on well-being. Prior to her focus in health literacy, Gina acted as the project manager of Go Ask Alice!, Columbia’s health Q&A website. 

Gina is originally from northwest New Jersey. In her spare time, Gina can often be found reading, seeing musicals, spending time with friends, playing board games, or wandering around bookstores

Darlene (she/her) joined the Alice! Health Promotion team as a Health Promotion Specialist for community well-being in January 2023. In her role, Darlene focuses on Health Promotion strategic initiatives to identify student needs, forge relationships with campus partners, and create a culture that centers and prioritizes well-being for the campus community.  

Prior to joining the Alice! team, Darlene’s work spanned quantitative analyses of complex health issues and health communication. She has always been passionate about how information is translated to various audiences, both in the health tech space and healthcare consulting.  

Darlene is originally from central New Jersey. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, drawing, collecting a variety of plants, and trying different recipes. She enjoys exploring different neighborhoods in the city and trying lots of different foods!

Daniel joined Columbia Health in 2001 when he began volunteering as a Peer Advocate at the Gay Health Advocacy Project (GHAP) while a PhD student in GSAS. He began working full time with Columbia Health in 2005 and served as the Coordinator and Assistant Director until 2016 when he started his current role as Associate Director. In 2020, GHAP programs and services were integrated with Alice! Health Promotion.

In his role, Daniel oversees the GHAP peer advocacy services; manages GHAP’s HIV treatment and prevention initiatives; evaluates and develops Columbia Health policies pertaining to LGBTQ care and sexual and reproductive health; and facilitates support groups for the Columbia student community. Additionally, Daniel provides Tobacco Cessation counseling for students considering quitting or reducing smoking/vaping. 

Outside of his day-to-day work, he occasionally teaches Music Humanities, part of Columbia’s Core Curriculum.

Bianca Boiano is a Manager for the Contact Tracing program at Alice! Health Promotion. She first joined the Alice! Team as a Contact Tracer in August 2020 after graduating from Columbia’s School of Social Work. In her role as a Contact Tracer, Bianca conducted COVID-19 case interviews/contact notifications using a trauma-informed, culturally respectful approach. While working as a Contact Tracer, Bianca also held a full-time position as a Social Worker at BronxWorks’ Jackson Avenue Family Residence where she partnered with Yale School of Public Health to decrease depressive symptoms for overburdened and under-resourced mothers living within the shelter system.

In her current role, Bianca serves as a supervisor for a team of Contact Tracers, providing training, oversight, and mentorship. Working alongside the manager team, she communicates relevant updates regarding CDC/NYS guidance & ensures that the Columbia community is being kept safe.

In her free time, Bianca loves traveling, spending time with her two fur-babies (Casper & Mila), going to museums, and enjoying quality time with family & friends

Alicia K. Czachowski is the Senior Executive Director of Alice Health Promotion. In their role, they manage the Alice Health Promotion team including Direct Services, Health Promotion, and Public Health initiatives. Alicia also works with the Senior Leadership team of Columbia Health on strategic planning; diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging efforts; and ongoing holistic health and well-being work supporting the Columbia community.

Originally from Syracuse, Alicia has lived in Philadelphia and New Orleans, and is excited to return to living in New York City. They enjoy spending their free time with family and friends, their dog McKinney, traveling, indulging in anything Star Wars or Doctor Who related, and going to Broadway shows.