Our Mission

The incredible woman above is Kevin Travia's grandmother, Kathy Minardi. During the holidays, she takes the train from Connecticut to small town, North Carolina, to visit. One time, she spoke about all the abandoned train cars she saw on the side of the rails and the opportunity to use them for good. It's important to give her full credit for the idea of Railcare Health, as she has been the inspiration behind the whole organization. And just like that Railcare Health was born with the goal of converting an abandoned train into a mobile healthcare clinic. We are starting out small with a more sustainable and mobile clinic that operates out of a shuttle bus, but the dream of increasing rural healthcare access is still at the heart of our mission. By working together with a network of doctors, medical students, and the local community, we hope to make a difference in the lives of many North Carolinians.  

Leading Railcare Health from day 1, Kevin Travia is a full-time student at UNC and has countless hours of volunteering and community development from far away places like Panama to the local community in Chapel Hill. Kevin has worked tirelessly to create Railcare Health from the ground up. "Leadership is unlocking people's potential to do better." -Bill Bradley. This quote is so important to who we are because everyone that has gotten involved in our mission had the potential for greatness before they even knew what Railcare Health was. It takes leadership and hard work to unlock that potential and build the impactful project Railcare is today. We are very excited for the direction and perspective that Kevin will continue to provide us.

 Railcare Health is built on the idea that different perspectives are key to making the dream work. The person responsible for making sure our operations aren't running wild is the same person that ensures this diverse thinking is at the forefront of any decision making. Marissa is a biology major with a heavy interest in public health that shows with her years of dedication to the YMCA Camp Weaver. She is involved with cutting edge research at various international universities and volunteers her time as a tutor for students that may be struggling in certain science classes. As the COO, Marissa will strengthen the core values we've built at Railcare Health and push us towards a prosperous future: shaping the healthcare landscape to one where everyone has access to the care they need. 

Dr. Fozia Khan, MD is an internal medicine specialist in Burlington, NC. She graduated from Nishtar Medical College and completed her residency in internal medicine at SUNY Buffalo School of Medicine. She brings more than 20 years of medical experience, and has already started a free clinic of her own in Burlington called the AL-AQSA clinic committed to serving those without insurance. Her life has been dedicated to serving those in the community and we all share a similar sense of urgency to help rural individuals in North Carolina.  We value her expertise and insight into patient care and together have crafted our practice to reflect only the best quality of care our patients deserve. Because she believes in our mission of serving the community, we have been able to open our doors and make this dream into reality. 

Katie Travia is a hard-working student at UNC with an aspiration to pursue a law degree.  In her role at Railcare Health, Katie will utilize her knowledge and passion for law to keep Railcare Health out of legal trouble.  She will be responsible for Ethics, Quality and Compliance at Railcare Health where she will assist the board in overseeing and ensuring the quality of clinical care, patient safety, and customer service provided throughout the organization. She shall be responsible for overseeing the management of risks relating to quality and compliance matters, including compliance with applicable legal, regulatory, operational, health and safety requirements as well as high ethical standards.  Katie's attention to detail and legal eye provide Railcare with the tools needed to continue to help others.  We would like to formally welcome Katie to Railcare Health and are excited to see the perspective she brings. 

Ricky Zheng has been a critical cog in our wheel of success because we wouldn't be where we are without him. Ricky has been an active part of Railcare Health since the first day the idea took shape and has provided invaluable information and support to the board.  Ricky is the Communications Chair for Railcare and has the job of contributing expertise to assist staff in establishing organizational marketing, branding, and communication plans.  He is responsible for developing various  marketing and communication channels as well as balancing public relations.  In addition to all of this, Ricky is is a full-time student  at UNC and has volunteered for countless hours at the hospital as well as another no cost medical clinic called SHAC. We are delighted that Ricky is a member of our team and cannot wait to hear more from him on how to get Railcare Health of it’s feet.

Without the leadership and experience that Rob Travia provides to Railcare Health, we would not be anywhere near where we are today. Rob Travia has spent over two decades in the aerospace industry all the while learning what makes a business tick. All of these years of impressive business experience has provided Rob and elite set of skills few possess.  He graciously provides Railcare Health a critical perspective that keeps our doors open for many years to come.  With the ability to look at problems using a careful eye, Rob is vital to the success of our organization.  Rob will be responsible for the ongoing review of the board of directors including any actions taken, thus enhancing the  quality and future viability of Railcare Health. 

Ashok is our strategic planning subcommittee chair. He helps plan for the future for Railcare Health by writing grants, reaching out to the community, and overlooking policies for the organization. His initial work with Railcare was working to obtain funding. His work has helped develop many community partnerships to allow Railcare to host its clinic days and fulfill our mission to provide free healthcare. Ashok is currently a senior at UNC, and plans to continue on to medical school after graduation. He is thankful for the opportunity to work with Railcare Health, as it has provided him an opportunity to glimpse into the world of rural medicine in North Carolina.

Samantha is well aware of the struggle that people go through to have access to quality healthcare, as she grew up in rural Western North Carolina. Her experience in volunteering and shadowing in these rural settings makes her a valuable asset to Railcare Health. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and that is an expression that holds true to the individuals she wants to help. She graduated from UNC Chapel Hill in 2018 with an Exercise and Sport Science-Fitness Professional Degree, and is currently attending a Pre-Health Postbaccalaurate Program at Meredith College in Raleigh, NC. As clinic operations director, she assists in coordinating clinic events and various other aspects of Railcare Health.

Sarah is our public health education subcommittee chair. She works with different organizations within the community to coordinate our events and write our education curriculum. Sarah is a sophomore at UNC, with plans to continue on to a Physician Assistant program and work in emergency medicine. As someone who plans to work in healthcare, Sarah thinks it is incredibly important to understand the different populations we work with and how we can change our practices to better serve a variety of people. Joining Railcare has given her an opportunity to contribute to bettering our system by working with people on an individual level to provide preventative health education.

Emma is our public relations subcommittee chair. She is responsible for public outreach to the local communities we serve in. Emma uses a wide range of media and engagement in order to broadcast the mission of Railcare Health. She connects with members in the communities we serve in prior to our clinic days to get the word out about our upcoming events. Emma is a senior at UNC with plans to attend medical school after graduation and pursue a career in rural family medicine. Her upbringing in rural North Carolina has given her a first hand perspective to the health disparities rural towns are faced with. Emma enjoys her role in Railcare Health, as it gives her the opportunity to establish personal connections with local communities. 

Christine is a junior at UNC. She has plans of going to medical school and becoming a physician. Christine is passionate about improving access to healthcare and joined Railcare Health for the opportunity to serve rural communities in North Carolina. Christine is the Chair of the Annual Outreach Committee, which raises public awareness of Railcare’s charitable activities. She is responsible for introducing Railcare Health and its philosophy to businesses and other establishments to hopefully gather financial support for our nonprofit organization. She organizes fundraisers and solicits donations to help with the operating costs of Railcare Health. Without the support from the community and local businesses, Railcare Health would not be able to provide its services to those that need it most. 

Emma is our Human Resource Coordinator. Emma is a junior at UNC on the pre-med path with a passion for helping people who do not have equal access to necessary resources like many of us do. She helps manage the staffing of Railcare Health itself. Emma ensures we are inclusive in our search for the most hardworking and dedicated volunteers possible. She ensures that all volunteers are trained equitably so each volunteer is qualified to provide a patient-focused clinic experience.   She joined Railcare Health because of our mission and dedication to rural North Carolina. Emma ensures that we shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion (creed), gender, gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status, in any of its activities or operations.

Aaron served in the United States Army Reserve for twenty-one years. During his time in the US Army Reserve, he earned degrees in Aviation Technology and Business Management. Aaron worked for General Motors until the company was sold to Rolls-Royce North America. He continued his employment there, retiring from the company with 30 years of service. Upon retiring from Rolls-Royce North America, Aaron continued his career by forming Mueller Business Associates, LLC in 2008. Given his extensive experience with business relations and negotiating, he is able to offer valuable insight to the governance of Railcare Health. Aaron is an asset to Railcare Health and we greatly appreciate the time and effort he contributes to our organization. 

Cory is the director of client engagement at Alcone Marketing Company where he uses his 22 years of brand-development and marketing experience to advance the image of different world-wide companies. He has been generous enough to assist Railcare Health in the world of marketing and assist with our long-term marketing goals. He will contribute to and review the marketing plan to ensure progress toward annual goals as well as provide annual marketing budget recommendations. As an experienced marketing wiz, Cory will greatly increase our positive image to the community and help spread our story. We are blessed as an organization to have Cory’s unique touch and are very excited to hear about his ideas to make Railcare Health a patient-friendly nonprofit that all will trust.