Valeria Ayala Alonso is a bilingual public health professional with dual roles focused on nicotine and tobacco prevention at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. She serves as a Senior Professional Research Associate for the Community Epidemiology and Program Evaluation Group (CEPEG) in the Survey Research Unit and as a Program Manager on a pilot study of the YES-CAN! Nicotine vaping prevention program for youth, which is a school-based program focused on youth leadership and empowerment.