After arriving to the U.S in late 2004, Elma first worked as a Community Outreach Coordinator with small, immigrant-owned businesses in south Minneapolis. She later became a Spanish and Bosnian medical interpreter at Hennepin Healthcare, where she has since worked as supervisor of interpreter services, innovations project manager and patient experience project consultant. Her professional and research interests include health communication and person-centered care, minority health and health innovation.

“Working at a large safety-net health system like Hennepin Healthcare has been a truly eye-opening and humbling experience. It has given me the opportunity to understand the complexities of our healthcare systems and see first-hand the many barriers people encounter in leading healthy and fulfilling lives. There is great value in understanding people’s cultural experiences of care, and leveraging diverse approaches to health to address the many health inequalities we collectively face. I am passionate about building supportive communities that will create opportunities for everyone to thrive and contribute, at all stages and paths in life.”

Prior to joining our team, she practiced as a nurse practitioner providing on-site primary care in the long-term care setting. She is involved with various projects including the Residential Care Transition Module (RCTM), PorchLight Project, and Care to Plan.