Nixon R. Arauz, Class of 2013
B.S. in Biology & Society, Global Health and Latino Studies Minors
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Nixon is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Social and Behavioral Sciences (SBS) at Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine. His interest in SBS is fueled by his enthusiasm to address systemic disparities that are primarily responsible for creating the persistent, social determinants of health. He is particularly focused on improving the health of vulnerable populations like Hispanic/Latinx, refugees, and newly arrived immigrants to the United States. Prior to starting his doctoral studies, Nixon was a Fellow at the Office of Health Equity (OHE), in the Division of STD Prevention. Nixon’s focus was to provide critical support to enhance and expand STD prevention services to adolescents and young adults within the Hispanic/Latinx communities by building health promotion and partnerships with national and local organizations. During the summer of 2020, Nixon worked closely with the first all-Hispanic/Latinx Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) response team to respond to a COVID-19 outbreak among Hispanic/Latinx communities in Richmond, VA. After his role with the CDC’s COVID-19 public health emergency response, Nixon joined the Richmond City Health District (RCHD) and Henrico County Health District (HCHD) emergency task force to respond. Specifically, he works with community health workers at the community resource/health center. This resource/health center has a clinic that provides a variety of preventive medical services to marginalized communities of Richmond, VA’s southside. Nixon holds a B.S. in Biology & Society with minors in Global Health and Latino Studies from Cornell University. Additionally, he holds an M.A. in Public Health Education Promotion from Columbia University.

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