Staff

Volunteer Staff

Geraldine Abilo, Teaching Assistant

Geraldine Abilo Cardenas, otherwise known as “Babi”, is a Los Angeles native living in Oakland. As the first person in her family to pursue a medical degree, Babi is passionate about reproductive justice, patient advocacy, and health equity, especially for Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) communities. As a teenager, she worked as a theatrical technician with dreams of becoming a lighting designer. However, soon into college, she discovered her love for neurobiology and switched paths. She transferred to UC Berkeley where she worked as a research assistant at the Berkeley Psychophysiology Lab studying dementia pathology, long-term care, and caregiver burnout. She also worked for the Berkeley Student Cooperative where she helped to support low-income housing for college students.

Currently, she volunteers at San Francisco General Hospital where she connects families in San Francisco with community resources that address their social and legal needs. She serves as an advisor to UCSF’s Preterm Birth Initiative where she works to improve basic, interventional, and public policy research on preterm birth. Babi is also an avid powerlifter, and is training to become a coach dedicated to teaching people of all ages and abilities. One day she hopes to work as a primary care provider dedicated to alleviating health disparities through public policy, care, and research.