On Health & Equity: PhD Student Anthony Velasco Focuses on LGBTQ+ Communities – University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
Just as Anthony Velasco’s healthcare research regarding the LGBTQ+ community is interesting, important, and unique, so is Anthony Velasco, NP.
Born and raised in the Philippines, Velasco’s parents emigrated to California when he turned 18 to establish a better life for their child. Two of Velasco’s sisters had already moved from the Philippines in pursuit of healthcare careers.
Having established a foothold in America in 2005, Velasco worked two jobs while earning pre-requisite credits at a small community college with a full-time schedule. He transferred his credits to San Diego State University (SDSU) and became a U.S. citizen in 2010.
“I was definitely very motivated,” he says. “I really wanted to earn a degree and to start working. Being in a country where I didn’t have a lot, I wanted to be stable financially.”
While attending SDSU, Velasco earned his bachelor of science degree in nursing and his master of science degree as a nurse practitioner and clinical nurse specialist. During his senior year in college, he worked on an externship at DAP Health. Based in Palm Springs, Calif., and with its roots in activism and social justice for people with HIV, DAP Health is a federally qualified health center (FQHC) that provides a wide range of services from primary care to sexual health.
While working as a clinical nurse at UC San Diego Health, Velasco got involved with a number of evidence-based quality improvement and research projects, which piqued his interests in pursuing a PhD. He is currently enrolled at the University of Colorado College of Nursing, where he is working on his Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Nursing degree with a healthcare systems research focus. He’s scheduled to graduate in 2024 but has already made a name for himself nationally by co-authoring a recent report in the American Journal of Nursing and appearing in a recent podcast.
Velasco also serves as the director at-large with the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care, a leading organization in HIV/AIDS nursing. He is an advisory board member for the Center for Health Equity at the California State University San Bernardino and the Center for Health Disparities Research at the University of California Riverside.
In mid-October, LGBT History Month, Velasco took time from his busy schedule to talk about his life, work, and passion for health equity.