About Us
We want to use technology to improve the way public health works.
Sentient Innovation was formed by Jorge Montoya, Noah Bardach, and Aaron Plant in 2013. Coming from a large public health department and experiencing the limitations of legacy case management systems, we came together to develop CHAMP, a system that uses innovative web technology to improve the way we capture and use client data from HIV testing to linkage and retention in care.
Jorge A. Montoya, PhD
Combining extensive government sector, commercial, and academic experience, Jorge Montoya specializes in planning and evaluating public health and education programs. After getting his PhD in social psychology from the University of Southern California in 2000, Jorge served as a Research Analyst at Frank N. Magid Associates where he conducted quantitative and qualitative branding and consumer research across the US and Latin America. Jorge next served as Director of Communications and Program Evaluation for the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health Sexually Transmitted Disease Program from 2002-2011. In this role, he directed the development, implementation, and evaluation of a number of large-scale community interventions including the I Know and Check Yourself. He also developed outreach programs for STI testing and prevention and innovative internet-based programs including a county wide, free home STI test kit for women. During his tenure in the Department of Public Health, Jorge worked on several programs that required the development and use of web-based systems to capture and tabulate client data. Since 2007, Jorge has worked as a public health consultant for government, non-profit, and private sector clients including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Population Media Center, and AIDS Healthcare Foundation, among others.
Noah Bardach, PhD has over a decade of experience working in the fields of healthcare informatics, functional graphic design and web engineering. During a 12-year career at Philips Healthcare, Noah designed and developed life and business-critical applications that are used extensively in the healthcare enterprise, including the Philips Picture Archive Communication System (PACS) and the Healthcare Informatics Customer Portal. He is highly skilled in the disciplines of database architecture, web application engineering, user interface design, user experience design, and project management. Noah holds a PhD in art history and critical theory, specializing in visual propaganda analysis. This unique academic focus informs his approach to human interactive design, grounding all of his work in the best practices of usability and intuitive presentation.
Aaron Plant, MPH has worked in public health and technology for over 15 years. After getting his BA in folklore from UC Berkeley in 1998, he began working at UC San Francisco as a website producer for the award-winning website, HIV InSite. From there, he moved between the private and non-profit sectors, working as a website project manager for health websites like WebMD and nonprofit organizations like GMHC. After receiving his Master’s in Public Health from UCLA in 2003, Aaron worked for seven years at the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health STD Program, where he was fortunate to work with a small team of people doing ground-breaking research and programs. Aaron's team launched community-wide STD testing social marketing campaigns, including I Know, Check Yourself, and Stop the Sores. He helped develop the I Know free home STD testing program (the first program in the nation to include both test ordering and results online) and helped to set up the program in four other counties. His team also developed a video-based online support system for men newly diagnosed with HIV and established an internet partner notification program for L.A. County. Since 2007, Aaron has worked with Jorge Montoya as a public health consultant for government, non-profit, and private sector clients including the Los Angeles Unified School District, American Heart Association, and AIDS Project Los Angeles.
Sentient Innovation was formed by Jorge Montoya, Noah Bardach, and Aaron Plant in 2013. Coming from a large public health department and experiencing the limitations of legacy case management systems, we came together to develop CHAMP, a system that uses innovative web technology to improve the way we capture and use client data from HIV testing to linkage and retention in care.
Jorge A. Montoya, PhD
Combining extensive government sector, commercial, and academic experience, Jorge Montoya specializes in planning and evaluating public health and education programs. After getting his PhD in social psychology from the University of Southern California in 2000, Jorge served as a Research Analyst at Frank N. Magid Associates where he conducted quantitative and qualitative branding and consumer research across the US and Latin America. Jorge next served as Director of Communications and Program Evaluation for the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health Sexually Transmitted Disease Program from 2002-2011. In this role, he directed the development, implementation, and evaluation of a number of large-scale community interventions including the I Know and Check Yourself. He also developed outreach programs for STI testing and prevention and innovative internet-based programs including a county wide, free home STI test kit for women. During his tenure in the Department of Public Health, Jorge worked on several programs that required the development and use of web-based systems to capture and tabulate client data. Since 2007, Jorge has worked as a public health consultant for government, non-profit, and private sector clients including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Population Media Center, and AIDS Healthcare Foundation, among others.
Noah Bardach, PhD has over a decade of experience working in the fields of healthcare informatics, functional graphic design and web engineering. During a 12-year career at Philips Healthcare, Noah designed and developed life and business-critical applications that are used extensively in the healthcare enterprise, including the Philips Picture Archive Communication System (PACS) and the Healthcare Informatics Customer Portal. He is highly skilled in the disciplines of database architecture, web application engineering, user interface design, user experience design, and project management. Noah holds a PhD in art history and critical theory, specializing in visual propaganda analysis. This unique academic focus informs his approach to human interactive design, grounding all of his work in the best practices of usability and intuitive presentation.
Aaron Plant, MPH has worked in public health and technology for over 15 years. After getting his BA in folklore from UC Berkeley in 1998, he began working at UC San Francisco as a website producer for the award-winning website, HIV InSite. From there, he moved between the private and non-profit sectors, working as a website project manager for health websites like WebMD and nonprofit organizations like GMHC. After receiving his Master’s in Public Health from UCLA in 2003, Aaron worked for seven years at the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health STD Program, where he was fortunate to work with a small team of people doing ground-breaking research and programs. Aaron's team launched community-wide STD testing social marketing campaigns, including I Know, Check Yourself, and Stop the Sores. He helped develop the I Know free home STD testing program (the first program in the nation to include both test ordering and results online) and helped to set up the program in four other counties. His team also developed a video-based online support system for men newly diagnosed with HIV and established an internet partner notification program for L.A. County. Since 2007, Aaron has worked with Jorge Montoya as a public health consultant for government, non-profit, and private sector clients including the Los Angeles Unified School District, American Heart Association, and AIDS Project Los Angeles.