8th Annual Latino Health Conference

Uniendo Nuestras Voces | Uniting Our Voices

Resilience. Solidarity. Collective Care.

October 16-17, 2026 | Loyola University Chicago Health Sciences Campus

The following program details are subject to change.

Friday, October 16, 2026

Time
Program
12:00-1:00 p.m.
Welcome & Opening Program

Opening remarks, conference logistics, light lunch/coffee, and student/community cultural programming.

1:00-5:30 p.m.
Concurrent Featured Symposia (A & B)
5:30-6:00 p.m.
Break & Exhibition Fair
6:00-6:30 p.m.
Welcome from Loyola & MOLA Leadership
6:30-8:00 p.m.
Academic Poster & Networking Event

Poster presentations, networking, and reception-style gathering.

Symposium A: Connected Systems, Collective Care: Advancing Cardiovascular-Kidney-Metabolic (CKM) Health

1:30-1:40 p.m.Welcome & Introduction to CKM Health

Speakers: Geraldine Luna, MD and Maria O'Connor, PA-C

1:40-2:10 p.m.Keynote: Understanding the CKM Continuum: From Prevention to Heart Failure

Speaker: Carlos Vergara Sánchez, MD, Cardiologist and Advanced Echocardiography Fellow, Mayo Clinic

2:10-2:30 p.m.Session I: Prevention, Risk Identification & Early Intervention

Speaker: Edgar Torres Fernández, MD, Cardiovascular Disease Fellow, Northwestern University

2:30-3:30 p.m.Session II: Emerging Therapies Across the CKM Continuum

Speakers: Mónica Bianco, MD, Pediatric Endocrinologist, Lurie Children’s; Rod Marianne Arceo-Mendoza, MD, Endocrinologist, Loyola University Medical Center

3:30-3:40 p.m.Break
3:40-4:10 p.m.Session III: Case-Based Management of CKM Disease

Speakers: Marco Bonilla, MD, Nephrologist, University of Chicago; Carla Valencia Ochoa, MD, Nephrology Fellow, University of Chicago

4:15-5:00 p.m.Interdisciplinary Panel: The Future of CKM Health & Q&A

Panelists: Carlos Vergara, MD; Edgar Torres Fernández, MD; Rod Marianne Arceo-Mendoza, MD; Diana Cabrales, MSN, APRN, FNP-C; Marco Bonilla, MD; Octavio Vega, MD
Moderator: Geraldine Luna, MD or Maria O'Connor, PA-C

5:00-5:30 p.m.Closing Remarks

Symposium B: From Screening to Survivorship: Addressing Breast Cancer Inequities in LHS+ Communities

1:30-1:40 p.m.Welcome & Introduction

Speaker: Jonathan Moreira, MD

1:40-2:15 p.m.Keynote: The State of Breast Cancer Equity in LHS+ Communities: Challenges, Progress, and Opportunities

Speaker: Chantal Reyna, MD, General Surgeon and Surgical Oncologist, Loyola Medicine

2:15-2:45 p.m.Advancing Equity in Breast Cancer Screening, Early Detection, and Diagnosis

Speaker: Patricia Robinson, MD, Medical Oncologist, Northwestern Medicine

2:45-3:15 p.m.Closing the Gaps: Advancing Breast Cancer Equity Through Public Health, Policy, and Community Partnerships

Speaker: Abigail Silva, PhD, Public Health Epidemiologist and Health Equity Researcher, University of Illinois Chicago

3:15-3:30 p.m.Break
3:30-4:00 p.m.Breast Cancer Beyond Treatment: Supporting Patients After Chemotherapy and Endocrine Treatment

Speaker: Paola González, DMSc, MPAS, PA-C, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

4:00-4:30 p.m.Pain Management and Supportive Care

Speaker: Judith Paice, PhD, RN, Northwestern University

4:30-5:15 p.m.Panel Discussion & Audience Q&A: Beyond Treatment - Survivorship, Navigation, and Community-Centered Models of Care

Panelists: Chantal Reyna, MD; Patricia Robinson, MD; Abigail Silva, PhD; Paola González, PA-C; Judith Paice, PhD, RN
Moderators: María León-Camarena, MD and/or Jonathan Moreira, MD

5:15-5:30 p.m.Concluding Remarks

Saturday, October 17, 2026

Time
Program
7:30-9:00 a.m.
Mentorship Breakfast hosted by LMSA
Exhibitors Arrive
9:00-11:30 a.m.
Opening Plenary

President's welcome; keynote speakers Lilia Cervantes, MD, Colorado School of Medicine, and Senator Celina Villanueva, Illinois State Senate; and members of the Illinois Latino Legislative Caucus.

11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
Concurrent Breakout Sessions
  • LMSA's Blueprint for Community Healing, Advocacy, and Collective Power
  • Health Management & Leadership Symposium (Part 1)
1:30-2:30 p.m.
Lunch and Exhibition Fair
Annual MOLA Board Meeting and Conference Awards Ceremony
2:30-5:00 p.m.
Concurrent Breakout Sessions
  • Nursing Track
  • Mental Health: Caring for Ourselves While Caring for Others
  • Immigrant Health: Where Medicine, Law, Policy & Advocacy Meet
  • Health Management & Leadership Symposium (Part 2)
  • LMSA House of Delegates Meeting (invitation only)
5:00-6:00 p.m.
Networking Reception hosted/led by NALHE & Concluding Remarks
Exhibition Fair Continued

Health Management & Leadership Symposium

The second annual symposium brings together emerging and established LHS+ healthcare leaders to explore leadership development and the financial, technological, regulatory, workforce, and equity challenges shaping healthcare.

11:00-11:10 a.m.Opening: Leadership Across Generations

Speaker: Óscar Iván Zambrano, MPH, MBA

11:10-11:45 a.m.Keynote

Speaker: Iris Romero, MD, inaugural Executive Vice Dean of the Biological Sciences Division and the Pritzker School of Medicine

11:45 a.m.-1:00 p.m.Leadership Across Generations

Speakers: David Martínez Vicenttin, MHA, Cleveland Clinic; Ana Victoria Ortiz, MHA, Cleveland Clinic; José Escalante, MHA, Northwestern Medicine; Mervin Dino, MPH, DrPHc, Assistant Commissioner for Health Equity, Chicago Department of Public Health; Rocío Olvera, DNP, RN, Advocate Health; Iliana Mora, President, Advocate Condell Medical Center
Moderator: Paola González, DMSc, PA-C

1:00-2:00 p.m.Lunch
2:00-3:20 p.m.AI & Healthcare Innovation

Speakers: Francisco Iacobelli, PhD, Loyola University; Erick Tarula, MD, Neurologist, UW Health

3:20-3:30 p.m.Break
3:30-5:00 p.m.Panel - Leading Systems, Shaping Futures: Managing the Future of Healthcare

Speakers: Heidi Ortolaza-Alvear, CEO, IWS Family Health; José R. Sánchez, President and CEO, Humboldt Park Health; Mervin Dino, Chicago Department of Public Health; Richard Griego, VP of Strategic Development, Aramark Healthcare; and additional leaders representing insurance and healthcare law
Co-Moderators: Paola González and Óscar Iván Zambrano

Immigrant Health: Where Medicine, Law, Policy & Advocacy Meet

This track explores how healthcare professionals, legal and policy advocates, community organizations, and trainees can work together to protect immigrant patients, strengthen welcoming healthcare environments, expand equitable pathways into healthcare careers, and advance immigrant health through advocacy and systems change.

2:30-2:40 p.m.Welcome & Introduction

Speakers: Stephanie Soriano-Cruz and Ángeles Almaraz Villanueva, Students, Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine

2:40-3:10 p.m.Health Justice at the Intersection of Medicine & Law

Speakers: Martha Laura García-Izaguirre, JD, Loyola University School of Law; Amy Blair, MD, Assistant Dean and Family Physician, Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine

3:10-3:40 p.m.Protecting Immigrant Patients in Healthcare Settings

Speakers: Luvia Quiñones, MPP and/or Edith Ávila Hesser, MPP, Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights / Illinois Alliance for Welcoming Healthcare

3:40-3:50 p.m.Break
3:50-4:20 p.m.Pathways to Medicine: Immigration, Education & Advocacy

Speakers: Pre-MED and medical school DACA recipients + immigrant student/trainee perspective

4:20-5:00 p.m.What Does Advocacy Look Like in Medicine?

Speakers: Multidisciplinary roundtable + audience Q&A

5:00 p.m.Closing Takeaways & Call to Action

Mental Health: Caring for Ourselves While Caring for Others

Mental Health & Wellness Track - Draft

2:30-3:15 p.m.Re-Authoring the Clinician's Narrative: Using Story to Transform Burnout and Cultural Conditioning

Speaker: Kelly Santoyo, PsyD

3:15-4:00 p.m.Mental Health & Wellness Session

Speaker: Alfredo Marulanda, LCSW

4:00-4:10 p.m.Break
4:10-5:00 p.m.Roundtable: Caring for Ourselves While Caring for Others

Moderator: Fabiana Araújo, PhD. Planned perspectives include clinical psychology, clinical social work, inpatient mental health, marital/couples therapy, and psychiatry.