FOUNDED BY LATINOS

FOR LATINOS

LATINOS
FOR
LATINOS
FOR
LATINOS
FOR
LATINOS
FOR
LATINOS
FOR

We aim to be the trusted source for health care
within the Latino community.

Our Story

Zócalo Health was established following the meeting of our two founders, Erik Cardenas and Mariza Hardin, who had a vision of bringing much needed improvements to primary care in the communities they were born and raised in. What formed is an innovative healthcare service designed by Latinos, for Latinos. Together, we are building a team that will help remove barriers to healthcare by offering convenient, transparent, and culturally-aligned care to our members. Because we matter.

The time to fight for culturally relevant, compassionate care for Latinos is now. Because we matter.

Erik Cardenas
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01
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05
Co-Founder, CEO

Erik was born and raised in Houston, TX. He currently lives in Seattle, WA with his wife and three kids.

His healthcare experience spans 20+ years and includes stints at Tenet Health, EverlyWell, and Amazon Care.

When not building Zócalo Health, Erik enjoys spending time with his family exploring the outdoors or playing sports.

He likes to unwind by making a family recipe such as his mom's chiles rellenos or his dad's carne guisada.

His favorite food is that which is served at a backyard carne asada with great music and great friends.

Our Team

Founders

Erik was born and raised in Houston, TX. He currently lives in Seattle, WA with his wife and three kids. His healthcare experience spans 20+ years and includes stints at Tenet Health, EverlyWell, and Amazon Care.

When not building Zócalo Health, Erik enjoys spending time with his family exploring the outdoors or playing sports. He likes to unwind by making a family recipe such as his mom's chiles rellenos or his dad's carne guisada.

His favorite food is that which is served at a backyard carne asada with great music and great friends.

Erik Cardenas
Co-Founder, CEO

Mariza was born and raised in New Mexico and later moved to Washington DC for graduate school.

She found herself moving to the west coast to explore career opportunities in digital health with a focus on solutions for vulnerable populations.

She worked for the US Health and Human Service Department, Optum/Alere Health, Omada and most recently Amazon/AWS. Currently, Mariza lives in Seattle, WA with her family, 2 dogs, and 2 chickens. She loves hiking, biking, and exploring different towns in the PNW.

Being a Native New Mexican, her favorite foods will always be Hatch green chile enchiladas served with a side of sopapillas.

Mariza Hardin
Co-Founder, Head of Strategy and Operations

Zócalo Familia

Felicia grew up in Banning and Redlands, CA before moving to the San Francisco Bay Area. She currently lives in Sunnyvale, CA and has been a certified health and wellness coach since 2019.

Her healthcare experience includes roles at Covered CA, Omada Health, Apple, Anthem, and others. She writes poetry and has participated in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) for 6 years in a row; she credits writing as an important part of her own personal health and mental wellness journey.

Her favorite foods include eggplant parmesan casserole, iced whole milk lattes, and taquitos with guacamole and salsa.

Felicia Becerra
Lead Promotora de Salud

Adrianna was born in Eastern, PA and spent her time growing up there and in NJ before attending the University of Pittsburgh to obtain her degree in Health Information Management & Computer Science.

She has 10+ years of experience in the healthcare industry. She worked as a pharmacy technician in college and then in product management roles for CVS Health, Amazon Care, Amazon Pharmacy, & Capsule where she has built virtual and in-person healthcare products for scale from the ground up. Additionally, she has been featured in the Journal of AHIMA as a workforce advocate in the non-traditional HIM space and currently serves as an Education Advisory Board Member for HIM at the University of Pittsburgh.

She currently resides in Boston, MA where she can be found spending her free time on the beach or at a sporting event with her family, friends, and 2 Golden Retrievers.  
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Her favorite foods are arancini, chicken chimichangas, and blueberry cheesecake.

Adrianna Rota Melosky
Senior Product Manager


Ricardo Perez was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. He is a rising senior at the University of Southern California where he is majoring in Law, History, and Culture with a double major in Spanish.

He worked as a human rights organizer for Students United Against Sweatshops, AHRI for Justice, and the Alliance of California for Community Empowerment.

While at these organizations, he helped in the communication efforts and discovered a passion for connecting people to resources through social media and communication channels.

Ricardo has since helped colleges, education technology companies, & non-profits with their social media, content creation, and marketing.

His favorite foods are pasta and Tacos de Birria, and he enjoys pottery and thrifting. When not working, you can find Ricardo spending time with his family.
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Ricardo Perez
Social Media and Content Lead

OUR CLINICAL TEAM

Meet the doctors behind ZóCALO Health

Raquel Rodriguez Martinez, MD, MPP

UCLA
/
Harvard
Bio
Raquel is very excited to be working with the Zócalo Health team.. She was born in Mexico City and grew up in San Diego, but has enjoyed living in different cities across the country including Boston, San Francisco, Los Ángeles, and most recently Oahu. Hawaii was a blast - it is difficult to not love eating poke and paddle boarding all day! Raquel has also spent way too much time in school. She completed her MD/MPP at UCLA and her BA at Harvard. She trained in Family Medicine at Kaiser in LA and was an Assistant Clinical Professor at UCSF for a couple of years after that. She is currently spending the summer in Boston and searching for her next adventure in healthcare!
Areas of Interest

Amber Lara, DO

UCSB
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Western University of Health Sciences
Bio
Hola! Soy Dra. Lara. I am second-generation Mexican-American, the eldest of six children and grew up in the Whittier area of Southern California. I was inspired to be a doctor after seeing the great relationship my mother had with her family doctor, who was respectful and cared deeply for all of us. I graduated from UC Santa Barbara in 2010 with a degree in Biopsychology. After UCSB, I served in AmeriCorps for two years and worked with a non-profit organization to build their volunteer program. I was inspired to study Osteopathic Medicine due to the holistic approach to patient care and graduated from Western University of Health Sciences in Pomona, CA. During my time at WesternU, I was also involved with the Latino Medical Student Association (LMSA) both at my school chapter and in the Western region, to broaden opportunities for Latino students to enter the medical field. I completed my family medicine residency at one of LA County’s safety net hospitals, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Torrance, CA. After residency, I completed a Community Health Fellowship to focus on the care of patients who are or have been incarcerated. I am passionate about family health, mentorship, women’s health, and providing excellent care to patients in the correctional setting. My favorite part of my day is collaborating with my patients to make a health plan that fits within their lives.
Areas of Interest

Manisha Sharma, MD, FAAFP

Albert Einstein College of Medicine
/
St. George's University
Bio
Manisha Sharma, MD, FAAFP is a board certified family medicine physician, who works at the intersection of social justice, patient care, health policy, system design and clinical innovation in healthcare delivery. Dr. Sharma leads and provides strategic advisory support on multiple local, state, and national initiatives geared to dismantle structural racism in medicine and end health inequities. She appears often on several major television networks, including NBC, MSNBC, CNN, CBS, and Fox News addressing topics such as health and racial equity, health in all policy, social justice, wellness, and health. She has organized and led numerous grassroots physician campaigns through the organization Doctors for America where she served as the National Director of Leadership Cultivation. She is a recent graduate of the California Health Care Foundation Leadership and Innovation Fellowship, founding partner of Civic Health Alliance (a non-partisan coalition of health professionals and students, committed to helping peers and patients register to vote and vote safely), and CentiVox Media Group, a social impact PR firm that transforms public health communications by elevating health care providers, scientists, health and racial equity experts as trusted messengers.
Areas of Interest

Mission

In order to deepen our impact on people’s lives, our care will extend beyond the care provided by physicians within the confines of the exam room. We will introduce the Latino community to a long overdue improved experience that is built on trust, community, and a holistic approach that enables members to achieve optimal social, mental and physical well-being. It is a tireless pursuit that will improve the lives of our patients, and will build sustainable, healthier communities.