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About the dedicated staff of the Sexual Health Clinic
Cat Casey (she/her), RN, BSN
Cat Casey is a nurse at the clinic. Cat is passionate about destigmatizing sexual health, promoting sex education, and creating a welcoming space for people to access care, especially those within the LGBTQ+ community. She enjoys crafting, thrifting, and being outside!
Language spoken: English
Darryl “Chad” Elliott (he/him), Family Nurse Practitioner
Darryl "Chad" Elliott is a board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner who joined the Sexual Health Clinic team in 2022. Before coming to Harborview, Chad worked at a Federally Qualified Health Center in Alabama providing primary care, sexual health care, and addiction management services in isolated rural areas and socioeconomically disadvantaged urban communities. He initially started his career in 2014 as a Registered Nurse before graduating with his Master of Science in Nursing degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 2019. His clinical passions are improving access to healthcare for socioeconomically disadvantaged individuals and providing high-quality, compassionate care for members of the LGBTQIA+ community.
Language spoken: English
Ben Garfinkle (he/him), Physician Assistant
Ben Garfinkel, PA-C is a 2020 graduate of the Duke Physician Assistant Program. Prior to Harborview, he worked in interventional pain management, addiction psychiatry, and emergency medicine. Ben prioritizes fostering a patient-centered environment through trauma-informed care, harm reduction education, and respect for patient autonomy. His clinical interests include social determinants of health, LGBTQIA+ healthcare, and health equity.
Language spoken: English
Susannah Herrmann (she/her), Nurse Practitioner
Susannah provides direct patient care, diagnoses and treats STIs, prescribes PrEP, and treats Hep C. Susannah believes that everyone should have access to sexual healthcare in a warm, welcoming environment. She wants every patient to know we're glad they came, and we are here to support them in their sexual health. Outside of work, Susannah likes to get outside, go birding, read, knit, and eat good food with friends and family.
Languages spoken: English, Spanish
Cheryl Malinski (she/her), PrEP/Doxy PEP/ EPT Coordinator
Cheryl is a PrEP/Doxy PEP/ EPT Coordinator at the Sexual Health Clinic. She loves the work she does. She loves working with the LQBTQ community. Her philosophy is making things easier for our patients. Outside of work, who has time for fun! I love spending time with friends and family. I knit, read, love a good road trip, and skiing when it was cheaper.
Language spoken: English
Erin Morton (she/her/hers), Nurse Practitioner
Erin provides direct patient care at the Sexual Health Clinic. Erin's clinical and research interests include sexual and reproductive healthcare with a specialty focus on sexually transmitted infections, women's health, and contraception. She is passionate about creating an environment where patients feel safe, heard, and empowered to be active participants in their healthcare. Outside of work, Erin's two small children keep her and her husband busy. In her spare moments, Erin enjoys hiking, gardening, and reading.
Language spoken: English
Chelsea Nuñez (she/her), RN, BSN
Chelsea Nuñez, RN, BSN, became a registered nurse in 2012 after attending Shoreline Community College, then earned a BSN at Western Governor’s University. She began helping adults with developmental disabilities in long term care, then transitioned to community health ambulatory nursing with a focus on obstetrics and preventative care. She joined the King County Sexual Health Clinic in 2023 to continue work in infectious disease and reproductive health care. She is passionate about providing quality, affordable care to patients of all ethnicities and socioeconomic backgrounds.
Languages spoken: English, Spanish
Negusse Ocbamichael (he/him), Physician Assistant
Negusse Ocbamichael, PA-C, graduated from the University of Washington Medical School, PA program. His clinical experience and interests are in infectious diseases, reproductive and sexual health. For over 34 years, he has worked at the King County Sexual Health Clinic, University of Washington, Virology Research Clinic, HIV Prevention Trials Network and International medicine clinic at Harborview medical center, as a clinician, researcher and administrator. He also served as a faculty member, speaker and advisory committee member for Seattle STD/HIV prevention and training center.
Languages spoken: English, Tigrinya, Amharic, Arabic
Rafael Padilla (he/him), Nurse Practitioner
Rafael provides direct patient care, diagnosing and treating patients at the Sexual Health Clinic. His patient/client care philosophy/clinical passions are equitable access to healthcare and fostering shame-free spaces. Outside of work, Rafael enjoys PC and tabletop games, and the occasional anime binge.
Language spoken: English
Laura Rishel (she/her), Nurse Practitioner
Laura Rishel, MSN, ARNP, is a nurse practitioner at the Sexual Health Clinic at Harborview. Prior to coming to Harborview in January 2018, she worked in primary care at community health clinics in Bellingham and in Maine, where she most enjoyed working in preventive care, sexual and gynecologic health, transgender care and homeless access to health. Her clinical interests include sexual health, transgender care, women's health, and contraception. Laura earned her Master’s in Nursing in 2012 from Yale University School of Nursing, and her Bachelor’s degrees at the University of Washington.
Language spoken: English
Juan Palacios Moreno, PhD, (he/him), DRIS, PrEP Navigator
Juan Palacios Moreno joined Public Health and the Sexual Health Clinic in 2021 with a background in pharmacy, biomedical research, and neuroscience. He received his first degree at Universidad de Valparaiso, Chile in 2008, and his Ph.D at the University of Montana in 2016. He decided to change career paths to work on his passion for Public Health and providing services to communities that face barriers accessing healthcare. His interests include supporting the LGBTQIA+ community, HIV and STI prevention and treatment, gender- and neurodiversity.
Languages spoken: English, Spanish
Tim Roghaar (he/him/his), DRIS, PrEP Navigator
Tim Roghaar is newer to public health and is currently working as a PrEP navigator at the Sexual Health Clinic at Harborview. Tim is committed to ending the HIV epidemic by providing patient centered care, combating stigma and shame through education, and focusing on harm reduction. In his free-time, Tim loves exploring all the pacific northwest has to offer with his pug, Jupiter.
Language spoken: English
Shannon Winters, MN, ARNP (she/her), Nurse Practitioner
Shannon Winters is a board-certified Adult Nurse Practitioner and joined the team at the Sexual Health Clinic in 2020. After graduating from the University of Washington in 2009, she spent the first 9 years of her career working in federally funded family planning clinics in Wyoming and Northern Colorado. Her current clinical interests include STI clinical care and research, HIV PrEP management, transgender care, and contraceptive management including the management of intrauterine devices (IUDs) and contraceptive implants (Nexplanon). In her spare time, Shannon enjoys reading, playing with her mini goldendoodle, and watching reality TV.
Language spoken: English