Gérard Gomes joined Check It in 2016. Raised in Trinidad and Tobago, his first experience in New Orleans was Xavier University’s move in day 2005 while dropping his cousin off to college. He kept coming back and is now proud to call New Orleans home. Before working with Check it, he served in the U.S Peace Corps as a community health volunteer in Burkina Faso. Gérard holds a B.A in Biochemistry from the University of Richmond.
Breon Wise, M.S. | (504)-988-2345|bwise2@tulane.eduBreon was born and raised in New Orleans. She received a B.S. in Biology from Howard University and an M.S. in Physiology and Biophysics from Georgetown University. In her spare time, she enjoys rollerblading, listening to true crime podcasts, and kickboxing.
Michelle Palomares| mpalomares@tulane.eduMichelle Palomares is currently pursuing her master’s degree in the Epidemiology Department at Tulane University. She received her BA in Integrative Biology from UC Berkeley and is interested in infectious diseases and social determinants of health. In her free time, Michelle enjoys reading and biking around the city. 
Cedric Ntambwe | cntambwe@tulane.edu
Brenée Wallace was born and raised in “Paradise” aka The Bahamas. She received her B.S. from the Pennsylvania State University and is currently pursuing her Masters in Maternal & Child Health at Tulane University. Standing by the phrase “Be the change you want to see in the world”, she hopes to use her degree to matriculate into medical school and specialize in obstetrics and gynecology. When she isn’t studying, she enjoys reading, watching indie films, and traveling.
Susannah Sirera is a first-year MPH student studying Health Education and Communication in
the Global Community Health and Behavioral Sciences department at Tulane. She was born and
raised in Louisiana and has a deep love for the city of New Orleans. She has experience in
Marketing and Event Management. She hopes to use her degree and past experience to
improve the health of underserved and underrepresented communities.
Norine Schmidt, MPH | nschmid1@tulane.edu Norine Schmidt moved to New Orleans 30 years ago and has been working in sexual and reproductive health for more than 20 of those years. Check it is one of her favorite projects because of the amazing Check it team, community partners and participants.
Principal Investigator
Dr. Patty Kissinger is an infectious disease epidemiologist and a nurse. She has worked both nationally and internationally for more than three decades in the field of HIV, sexually transmitted diseases, and women’s reproductive health in Africa, Haiti, and the US. She has published extensively on many topics about STIs and has been the lead researcher in numerous research studies.
Medical Investigator
David H. Martin, M.D. is Professor Emeritus at Louisiana State University School of Medicine and Adjunct Professor of Epidemiology at Tulane SPHTM. He served as Chief of Infectious Diseases at LSU for nearly 20 years.
