About Us

The lack of health literacy is a serious issue facing our communities, and it does not discriminate against socioeconomic status, ethnicity, gender nor level of education. The Health Literacy Initiative (HLI) aims to help our​ communities understand and navigate our complicated and often confusing health system by organizing​ seminars, workshops and campaigns on areas such as health insurance and access to care. We hope to promote a platform for tomorrow’s health providers to have a direct​ impact on public health today through civic engagement in our campus and community. Access to health is​ a right, but unfortunately, properly navigating it has become a privilege restricted to few; and with this​ initiative, we hope to change that.

Founding Members & Current E-Board

2021-2022 E-Board

President (2020 - present)

My name is Sonal Thukral, and I am a Macaulay Honors scholar majoring in Neurobiology and minoring in Sociology. I am a senior on the pre-optometry track. I like to read, am in and recently adopted two kittens! I joined HLI because I’ve seen firsthand the importance of health literacy through my experience volunteering in the Emergency Room at a Veterans Hospital and a hospital in Forest Hills, Queens, an immigrant-heavy community. I’ve been an empathetic ear to frequent admissions that medical staff is not very prone to staying with a patient long enough to explain a situation clearly and have been a frequent communicator with translator services and social workers. By making this extra effort, I’ve gotten so close to the patients I helped and helped prevent a serious situation, but I know others were not so lucky to have a volunteer at hand. My goals are to increase membership within the club, take advantage of nearby institutions and collaborate with the staff there, and host informative events within the community, whether by handing out pamphlets or by having panel events where we discuss the serious implications of a lack in health literacy.

Vice-President (2021- Present)

My name is Nisma and I’m currently a junior in the Macaulay Honors program at Hunter on the pre-med track. I’m pursuing a major in Behavioral Neurobiology and a double minor in sociology and human rights. I first joined HLI as a freshman as the director of social media. The mission and goals of HLI were especially important to me as one of my priorities as a future healthcare worker is to mitigate the gap in healthcare quality that exists on a global scale among people of varying socioeconomic backgrounds. I believe improving health literacy is the first step to helping more people better understand their health problems, obtain more easily accessible health information, and properly understand their doctor’s recommendations. Through the health literacy initiative, I hope to work with the rest of the e-board to host discussion events on important topics in health literacy, invite guest speakers to facilitate workshops, provide internship opportunities, and better educate pre-health students on the importance of health literacy.

Secretary (2021 - present)

Hi all! My name is Reya! I am a senior majoring in biochemistry and hoping to go to dental school after I graduate. I will be serving as secretary for the 2021-2022 school year here at HLI. I began attending the meetings at the Health Literacy Initiative due to my interest in learning more about the lack of health literacy in America. I think engaging in these conversations is essential as future healthcare providers, leaders, and overall as responsible members of society. For many individuals, navigating the health care system can be difficult—whether it has to do with not being able to understand medical terminology, a language barrier, or just hesitancy with trusting health professionals due to our long history of implicit bias in the healthcare system. This in turn has an immediate impact on the ways in which these individuals receive care and through this club, we hope to encourage other future health care professionals to become proponents for patient advocacy and access to care for all.


Treasurer (2021- Present)


Director of External Affairs (2021 - present)

My name is Gazi, currently a Senior majoring in Biochemistry on the premed track. Health literacy and preventive medicine became very near and dear to my heart as I saw my father struggling with diabetes and hypertension. When I started my volunteering at a non-profit organization and a senior center, it became more apparent how much more needs to be done in spreading knowledge about healthcare and preventive medicine as I saw most of the elderly South Asian population having potential life-threatening conditions such as hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes, etc, most of which can be controlled through lifestyle changes. As Director of External Communication, I would love to be able to utilize my experiences and carry out my shared desire with the members of the Health Literacy Initiative, which will undoubtedly help us bring a change in our communities.


Director of Internal Affairs (2021- Present)

My name is Naomi Chin and I am a sophomore Yalow Scholar on the pre-health track at Hunter College. I am majoring in Biochemistry as I aspire to become a genetic counselor. I love to take pictures of everything whether it be a beautiful sunset or a stray cat on the street or a group pic with my family and friends. I think that there is so much value in taking photos and capturing the little moments. Another thing that would be nice to keep track of is our health. However, many people are not as successful in this area because of the lack of health literacy. I joined HLI because I want to help more people, including myself, become educated about health-related information and promote health literacy so children and adults can help their parents and their families understand what they are signing and make better choices with their health. While participating in the HLI meetings, I learned that there is so much more to health literacy than what you may think of. Patients deal with bias related to race and ethnicity, language barriers, and medical faculty who may not have your best interests at heart. Therefore, it is so important to make sure that people are educated about their own health, healthcare, and how the healthcare system works. With this team here at HLI, we can make the world, or at least New York City, a more health literate place. We must start small to make a big change happen. When that happens, the overall health of people will improve and that is the goal. My goals as Director of Internal Affairs are to spread awareness about health literacy through our various events and recruit new members to join this community. I am so proud to be a part of this club and I can't wait to see what we can do together!

Director of Mission and Events

(2021 - present)

My name is Sarah, and I am a Biochemistry major in my senior year. I take pride in caring for my communities, and learning more on how I can do my part. I've invested a lot into learning more about community health and our healthcare system- matters I hope to address in my future career. Through volunteering, enrichment seminars, and health internships, I have had a front row seat in learning about issues of access, health disparities, and patient advocacy. I am also a native to New York City, and know of our healthcare system's flaws from personal experience. All in all, combatting these issues is extremely important to me, and it has been amazing joining this initiative and addressing them head-on.


Director of Communications

(2021- Present)

Hi, my name is Neda and I am currently a Junior on the Pre-dental track. I am double majoring in Biology and Studio Arts, as well as minoring in Computer Science. In my free time, I like to exercise and read. I joined the HLI to help educate others and continue improving my knowledge of the healthcare system. As a pre-dental student, I have observed that the healthcare system of dentistry, like many others, is hard to navigate, thus many end up not receiving the proper care they need. Therefore, being able to help one another navigate these healthcare systems can prevent difficulties in the future. As the Director of Communications, I will ensure to update the HLI social media pages on events and seminars that we will be hosting for everyone to have the opportunity to improve their health literacy.

2020-2021 E-Board

President (2020 - present)

My name is Sonal Thukral, and I am a Macaulay Honors scholar majoring in Neurobiology and minoring in Sociology. I am a senior on the pre-optometry track. I like to read, am in and recently adopted two kittens! I joined HLI because I’ve seen firsthand the importance of health literacy through my experience volunteering in the Emergency Room at a Veterans Hospital and a hospital in Forest Hills, Queens, an immigrant-heavy community. I’ve been an empathetic ear to frequent admissions that medical staff is not very prone to staying with a patient long enough to explain a situation clearly and have been a frequent communicator with translator services and social workers. By making this extra effort, I’ve gotten so close to the patients I helped and helped prevent a serious situation, but I know others were not so lucky to have a volunteer at hand. My goals are to increase membership within the club, take advantage of nearby institutions and collaborate with the staff there, and host informative events within the community, whether by handing out pamphlets or by having panel events where we discuss the serious implications of a lack in health literacy.

Vice-President (2020- 2021)

Hello everyone! I’m Liza Roychowdhury and I am currently completing my post-bacc pre-med requirements at Hunter College. I recently graduated from Columbia University, where I majored in History/Persian Literature (Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies) and on the pre-medical track. I like volunteering my time as a Hindi/Urdu/Bengali interpreter and hotline crisis counselor for women’s led organizations and sexual health initiatives. I am interested in researching the correlation between gender biases and poor diagnoses in clinical settings. Based on my personal experiences in clinics and hospitals, I’ve noticed that many patients felt like their doctors ignored them completely. I also noticed that doctors felt like they were unable to properly explain their advice and suggestions to the patients. This lack of proper and clear communication is often due to language barriers, general intimidation from both ends, class, race, gender biases, and other social determinants of health in which patients are left with misinformation related to protecting their health. As the vice president of Health Literacy Initiative, I would love to help in making health information accessible for everyone in the clinical setting through various initiatives. Currently, I am a research assistant at a nutrition lab at Mount Sinai, and I spend my free time helping at a free clinic in Elmhurst, Queens. Besides this, I love reading poetry and being a semi-affable stand-up comedian.

Secretary (2020 - 2021)

My name is Gazi, currently a Junior majoring in Biochemistry on the premed track. Health literacy and preventive medicine became very near and dear to my heart as I saw my father struggling with diabetes and hypertension. When I started my volunteering at a non-profit organization and a senior center, it became more apparent how much more needs to be done in spreading knowledge about healthcare and preventive medicine as I saw most of the elderly South Asian population having potential life-threatening conditions such as hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes, etc, most of which can be controlled through lifestyle changes. As a secretary, I would love to be able to utilize my experiences and carry out my shared desire with the members of the Health Literacy Initiative, which will undoubtedly help us bring a change in our communities.



Treasurer (2020 - 2021)

My name is Natalya Krutovska and I am a third-year, pre-medical student at Hunter College, I’m currently studying Neurobiology and Public Health. I joined HLI because from past work experiences in various clinical settings, I immediately noticed a gap between health literacy and patients. Seeing and hearing patients' stories about their challenges was one of the key catalysts that drove my interest into medicine and public health and wanting to be a part of the change. As an immigrant myself, I was able to resonate with many patients as I often aided in translating and acted as an intermediary between them and healthcare workers. My efforts often helped alleviate the pressures from both parties and made me more sensible and aware, this also unveiled my passion for learning many languages to help wider ranges of populations. As a future physician, I hope to be a good advocate for all patients and be able to bring the necessary healthcare resources to underrepresented groups, both locally and globally. My goals in HLI are to raise awareness for health literacy amongst our student population through seminar and workshop events, while also educating myself. My other aims are to help with building connections with staff from nearby institutions/organizations that share similar viewpoints, and as treasurer, organize necessary funds. In my free time, I try to polish my language skills using Duolingo, listen to varying podcasts, and go hiking with family and friends.


Director of Social Media
(2020 -2021)

Hi, my name is Nisma. I’m a rising sophomore in the Macaulay program at Hunter College and I’m super excited to be part of the Health Literacy Initiative as the Director of social media for the 2020-2021 academic year. I’m currently on the pre-med track with a declared major in Biology, hoping to concentrate in Behavioral Neurobiology and do a minor in both sociology and human rights. I’m really interested in doing research on the way healthcare is implemented in underrepresented communities and would like to explore the way in which people, society, and medicine interact. What drew me to HLI was its primary goal of spreading awareness on healthcare education to more people and communities, which highly resonated with my interests and ambitions. Through this club, I hope to both gain and spread knowledge on prominent healthcare issues we face today on both a local and global level, especially considering the sudden changes many of us have faced with the COVID-19 pandemic. I really appreciate the agenda of the HLI and am looking forward to engaging with our club activities and members this year!

Director of External Affairs

(2019-2021)

Dana Seag is a third-year pre-med student in the Post-Baccalaureate Pre-Health Program and serves as the Director of External Affairs for HLI. Dana graduated from the CUNY Macaulay Honors College at Hunter College in 2016 with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and minor in human rights. During her undergraduate years at Hunter, she co-founded and led the NAMI on Campus club, and she has participated in a range of research and advocacy work in child development, disability rights, and integrated mental health care. A founding member of HLI, Dana is dedicated to continuing to help strengthen the club's impact and network. She works with members to bridge lasting connections with the wider healthcare field, bringing quality educational events and materials to the Hunter community. Dana works as a research associate in the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at NYU Langone Health and is committed to advocating for and providing equitable, quality healthcare for all throughout her career.


Director of Missions and Events

(2020-2021)

My name is Sarah and I am junior undergraduate majoring in Biochemistry. Alongside my pre-health studies, I have taken part in patient-centric volunteering and interned to learn more about our healthcare systems. From it, and from person experience, my interest in matters such as patient advocacy and health literacy only grew. Being apart of a medically underserved community, I am well aware of many of the issues this initiative focuses on, and I align strongly with this its goals. Through this position, I aim to strengthen any outreach this initiative takes on, and help improve health literacy with every event!

Director of Internal Affairs

(2020-2021)

My name is Naomi Chin and I am a sophomore Yalow Scholar on the pre-health track at Hunter College. I am majoring in Biochemistry as I aspire to become a genetic counselor. I love to take pictures of everything whether it be a beautiful sunset or a stray cat on the street or a group pic with my family and friends. I think that there is so much value in taking photos and capturing the little moments. Another thing that would be nice to keep track of is our health. However, many people are not as successful in this area because of the lack of health literacy. I joined HLI because I want to help more people, including myself, become educated about health-related information and promote health literacy so children and adults can help their parents and their families understand what they are signing and make better choices with their health. While participating in the HLI meetings, I learned that there is so much more to health literacy than what you may think of. Patients deal with bias related to race and ethnicity, language barriers, and medical faculty who may not have your best interests at heart. Therefore, it is so important to make sure that people are educated about their own health, healthcare, and how the healthcare system works. With this team here at HLI, we can make the world, or at least New York City, a more health literate place. We must start small to make a big change happen. When that happens, the overall health of people will improve and that is the goal. My goals as Director of Internal Affairs are to spread awareness about health literacy through our various events and recruit new members to join this community. I am so proud to be a part of this club and I can't wait to see what we can do together!