Dr. Angel Pichardo Almonte is a professor, medical doctor, and social movement leader from Santo
Domingo, Dominican Republic. A practicing physician, Dr. Pichardo is the director of the health clinic
Asesoria Nutricional para el Desarrollo Armonico (ANDA). He brings a holistic approach to health care,
integrating nutrition, reiki, medicinal plants, and Chinese medicine into his repertoire for healing. His
clinic facilitates the formation of support groups and education circles for patients with similar health
problems, which address social, cultural, and economic factors that contribute to general health or
illness in communities. He is an accomplished researcher and practitioner on eliminating violence
against women and developed community practice methodologies according to the tenets of
participatory action research (PAR). Dr. Pichardo is the lead Dominican partner in the summer servicelearning program that hosts Cornell undergraduates in the Dominican Republic via collaboration with
thee Cornell Global Health Program and CUSLAR.
Dr. Esther Valdera is a primary care physician at a public Dispensario Medico in Santo Domingo Norte,
Dominican Republic. A graduate of Cuba’s rigorous Escuela Latinoamericana de Medicina (ELAM), Dr.
Valdera has returned to the Santo Domingo neighborhood where her family still lives to practice in the
public sector. Her specialties include treatment of tuberculosis and monitoring high-risk pregnancies.
She is a partner in the Cornell Global Health/CUSLAR global service-learning program each summer.