Our team is dedicated to using the arts as a catalyst for positive social change.
David Gere, PhD
Founder & Director
David Gere is the founding director of the UCLA Art & Global Health Center and is a professor in the UCLA Department of World Arts and Cultures/Dance, where he teaches courses in arts activism. His extensive writing and global curatorial projects address arts-based public health interventions and projects. Through the UCLA Art & Global Health Center, Gere and his students engage local and global communities, from the UCLA Sex Squad’s performances in LAUSD high school to the Through Positive Eyes initiative in cities around the world.
Wilna Julmiste Taylor, MS
Interim Director
Wilna Julmiste Taylor is the interim director at the UCLA Art & Global Health Center and lecturer in the UCLA Department of World Arts and Cultures/Dance. At the Center, she advances its mission to harness the power of the arts to address global health issues. She is also an actor, writer, producer, award-winning filmmaker, and arts administrator. Her work often investigates the intersections of art and culture, social justice efforts, and highlighting her Haitian heritage. Wilna is an alumna of the Negro Ensemble Company in New York. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology at Rutgers University, a Master of Science in Arts Administration from Drexel University, and a Certificate in Diversity and Inclusion from Cornell University.
Isaiah Baiseri, BA
Communications Director & Media Designer
Isaiah Baiseri specializes in visual and written communications, including marketing, graphic design, and web design. He oversees Art & Global Health Center initiatives through all stages of development and implementation, including strategic planning, research, writing proposals, community engagement, campaign advocacy, publicity and marketing, and programmatic evaluation. He has an interdisciplinary arts background and a Bachelor’s degree in Design Media Arts from the UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture. He is also an alum of the UCLA Sex Squad and has worked at the Art & Global Health Center in various capacities for over a dozen years.
Arianna Taboada, MSW, MSPH
Research Advisor
Arianna Taboada earned her MSW and her MSPH with an emphasis in Maternal-Child Health from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is an alum of the UCLA Department of World Arts and Cultures/Dance, which houses the Art & Global Health Center. Having worked with the Center for over 15 years, Arianna applies her expertise to help guide the Center’s research and evaluation efforts. At her full-time job at Hopelab, she leads Learning and Impact where she helps the organization build learning processes to inform programmatic decision making.
Amanda Giuliano, MA, PhD Candidate
Research Fellow
Amanda Giuliano is a doctoral student in the Social Research Methodology Division (SRM) at UCLA’s School of Education & Information Studies. As a member of the Art & Global Health Center team, she acts as a Teaching Assistant for the UCLA Sex Squad and a lead researcher on the Sex Squad program and Up to Us intervention. Her research explores applied theatre as both an innovative methodology to study learning and as a pedagogical tool for building knowledge and intimacy, particularly within sexual health education.
Hanni Ress, MPhil
Through Positive Eyes Community Coordinator
Hanni Ress has over 15 years of experience designing and implementing arts-based educational programs in the US and abroad with a strong emphasis on HIV/AIDS, global health and human rights. She earned her MPhil in African Studies at the University of Cape Town, and she’s also an alum of the UCLA Department of World Arts and Cultures/Dance, which houses the Art & Global Health Center. She was the first employee at the Center when it was founded in 2006 and has consistently supported the growth and development of Through Positive Eyes and its international community of artivists (arts-activists) since the very beginning.
