Our Team

Anne Kelsey Lamb, MPH, Director

Anne Kelsey Lamb is the Director of RAMP. Serving as the Director since 2002, Anne provides overall leadership in establishing RAMP’s vision and mission and ensuring success in achieving the goals and activities developed as part of our strategic plan. With a strong interest in both chronic illness and social inequities, she leads all components of the organization’s efforts to reduce the burden of asthma with a focus on equity including: building capacity of the field, creating linkages among stakeholders, and advocating for policy and systems change. Under Anne’s guidance and direction, RAMP has evolved as an organization, significantly expanding its breadth, scope, and impact, as well as acquiring funding from diverse foundations and agencies. Previously, Anne was a Health Educator at Kaiser Permanente in Oakland, CA. Other previous professional affiliations include: the National Tay-Sachs & Allied Diseases Association, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health Genetics Program, and the Prevention Center of Boston. Anne is a graduate of Bowdoin College and received a Master’s degree in Public Health from the University of Michigan.

Connect with Anne at anne@rampasthma.org.

Joel Ervice, Associate Director

Joel Ervice is the Associate Director of RAMP. In partnership with RAMP’s Director, Joel manages organizational development, financial sustainability, and communications activities in support of RAMP’s mission of reducing the burden of asthma with a focus on health equity. Joel also manages two strategic areas: 1) Healthy Air for All, which shapes policies to reduce air pollution in inequitably burdened communities; and 2) Healthcare equity, which increases access to prevention-oriented services within healthcare, and advances workforce development for asthma professionals. Joel leads the California Asthma Financing Workgroup, a network of diverse stakeholders committed to improving the financial sustainability for asthma education and in-home environmental trigger reduction. Prior to joining RAMP in 2003, Joel was a public health media advocacy trainer for the Berkeley Media Studies Group and worked on child care and economic development policy for the National Economic Development and Law Center. After graduating from Whitman College, he served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Ecuador, South America.

Connect with Joel at joel@rampasthma.org.

Brandon Kitagawa, MS, Senior Policy Associate

Brandon Kitagawa is a Senior Policy Associate for RAMP. He leads RAMP’s work to improve housing quality through leadership of the California Healthy Housing Coalition, which brings together diverse stakeholders to advance state-level solutions to substandard housing conditions. He also collaborates with partners who work on tenant protections and preservation of affordable housing to advance the broad and comprehensive goal of housing stability and supports local healthy housing projects that can serve as models and be scaled statewide. Brandon also leads Community Action to Fight Asthma (CAFA), a network of asthma stakeholders in California focused on peer learning and collective action on a comprehensive range of both clinical and environmental policy priorities. Prior to joining RAMP, Brandon was a Community Organizer in Sacramento, CA working with local communities on youth development, neighborhood safety, and affordable housing. Between his undergraduate and graduate degrees, Brandon served as a Peace Corps Volunteer assisting environmental education, monitoring, and protection efforts of a marine reserve in Belize, Central America. Brandon is a graduate of Santa Clara University and received his MS degree from UC Davis.

Connect with Brandon at brandon@rampasthma.org.

Sharifa Brooks-Smith-Lowe, MS, Research Associate

Sharifa Brooks-Smith-Lowe is a Research Associate for RAMP. She supports RAMP’s work to reduce the
impact of wildfire smoke, preparing resources along with facilitating the input of Community Health Workers and experts on air filtration units, asthma, and wildfire smoke. Through this work she continues to deepen her understanding of environmental issues as they relate to asthma and is committed to building community resilience. Sharifa’s interest in public health began during her gap year where she volunteered in several community run projects in her home country, Grenada. After graduating from Goucher College with her BA, she received her Master of Science degree in Medical Anthropology and Sociology from the University of Amsterdam.

Connect with Sharifa at sharifa@rampasthma.org/

Nilo Ventura, Program Administrator

Nilo Ventura joined RAMP as Program Administrator in June 2015. Nilo has been a Program Administrator for the Public Health Institute (PHI) since February 2014. Prior to joining PHI, Nilo worked in higher education including CSU Los Angeles, CSU East Bay and CSU Sacramento. At CSU Los Angeles, he served as A/P Manager and Management Analyst for the University Auxiliary Services Inc. Contracts and Grants Department. At CSU East Bay, he served as Fiscal Manager/Programmer Analyst for the Division of Continuing and International Education, where he developed an integrated financial system designed to monitor the Division’s $12M operation. He also consulted with the English Language Institute at CSU Sacramento where he created a database system for student enrollment, grades, and course management. Nilo retired from the U.S. Navy and served on both active and reserve duties. In the Navy, Nilo fulfilled various assignments as Disbursing Officer, Controller, Military Pay Auditor, and Fiscal Manager. Nilo holds a B.S. Degree in Computer Information Technology from Mt. Sierra College, Monrovia, CA.

Connect with Nilo at nilo@rampasthma.org.

Melanie Newcomb, Administrative Assistant

Melanie Newcomb is RAMP’s Administrative Assistant. She serves as a point of contact for general RAMP inquiries, provides meeting and event support, helps produce the RAMP Digest, and keeps www.rampasthma.org/ up to date. In addition, she oversees RAMP’s operations and provides administrative support to RAMP program staff. Concurrently with her work with RAMP, she assists transgender individuals with updating their identification paperwork and speaks to nursing students about transgender issues related to healthcare. Melanie holds a B.S. Degree in Physiological Sciences from UCLA.

Connect with Melanie at melanie@rampasthma.org.