Community Outreach and Engagement Coordinator, UCLA Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Equity
Board Member
After 30-plus years reporting and delivering the nightly news in Los Angeles, Sylvia Lopez transitioned to the world of public health, with an emphasis on reducing health disparities experienced by disadvantaged populations. She currently serves as the Coordinator of Community Outreach and Engagement for the UCLA Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Equity, housed at the Fielding School of Public Health, and the UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center.
In her role, Sylvia leads efforts to implement and disseminate evidence-based interventions and programs through education and research. Additionally, she works to strengthen ties with community stakeholders and to build community capacity to prevent and control cancer.
Prior to joining UCLA, Sylvia anchored the evening news on KCAL9 and CBS2 in Los Angeles and reported and produced stories from across the greater Los Angeles area and around the world. She filed live reports from Rome on the election of Pope Francis, from Germany for Pope Benedict’s first international trip, from Washington D.C for the first Million Man March, and from Mexico’s southern border on the Guatemalan refugee crisis, receiving several Emmy and Golden Mike awards.
In 2015, Sylvia left broadcast news to pursue a master’s degree in public health, graduating from California State University Northridge in December of 2017. She is married to Joe Ferullo, a former television news executive and contributing columnist at The Hill. They have two grown daughters, Daniella and Bella. Sylvia enjoys the outdoors, cooking, spending time with family and friends, and working on her Lindy hop dance technique.
