Health Leadership Program Alumni members engage in development to strengthen their organizations and communities

Fall 2013 Health Leadership Program alumni programs kicked off with the theme of Developing the Next Generation of Leaders. Elfego Gomez III, Principal of Gomez & Associates, facilitated the day-long session at Sierra Health Foundation. He discussed how to create a culture of enthusiasm and ownership, how to create inclusion across generations and ways to attract top talent. A recommended book for some of these topics was Daniel Pink’s, Drive. Joe Ayer (Class V), Administrative Director of BloodSource, was a keynote speaker and shared his experience in developing people to strengthen an organization. The day provided alumni members with a variety of tools and resources to take back to their organizations.

There were also two webinars in the fall. The first was on Leading Nonprofits Toward the Future, presented by Nancy Lee, Attorney at Murphy Austin Adams Schoenfeld, LLP, BoardSource trainer and Sierra Health Foundation board member. Nancy shared her expertise to help alumni members gain a clearer understanding of the three most important opportunities and challenges for nonprofit leaders going forward, as well as the knowledge to position themselves and the organization to be more effective in the future.

The year was wrapped up with an informative webinar on the Impacts of the Affordable Care Act in California. Robert Phillips, Director of Health Programs at Sierra Health Foundation, facilitated our panel of experts, which included Toby Douglas, Director of the California Department of Health Care Services, and Anthony Wright, Executive Director of Health Access California. Toby highlighted changes in Medi-Cal as we move into 2014. Anthony left us with ways to fulfill the promise in our communities: educate, engage, maximize federal dollars, aggressively implement the Low-Income Health Program, be ready to get coverage, transform the safety net and use the new tools in the law to focus on the reforms of cost, quality, and safety and equity; and build health in all policies.

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UC Davis and University of San Francisco selected to co-direct new Health Leadership Program

After a two-year hiatus, the Health Leadership Program will be back in 2014.

The redesigned leadership program for nonprofits and public agencies will be jointly led by the UC Davis Institute for Population Health Improvement and the University of San Francisco’s School of Management.

Program details and applications for participation in the Health Leadership Program will be available this spring and classes will begin in the fall.

The 2014 program will build upon the previous 10 years with a focus on improved organizational outcomes, such as effectiveness, quality, financial stability, partnership development, governance and sustainability.

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Team improves patient care

Congratulations to Mindy Danovaro (Class III), Executive Director of Sutter Auburn Faith Hospital Foundation, and her team for raising more than $300,000 as part of a Sutter Health Matching Grant to procure a $1.2 million 128-slice CT scanner to improve patient care in their rural community!

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Celebrating 50 years of service

Submitted by Brian Broadway (Class X), Business and Community Liaison, Sacramento Job Corps

On Jan. 15, 1965, 85 young men arrived to Camp Catoctin, Maryland, as the very first enrollees of the newly created Job Corps program. As we prepare to enter Job Corps’ 50th year of operation, our program’s mission hasn’t changed that much. We’re still charged with assisting the most economically deprived young men and women, helping them develop effective work habits and training them to become productive, skilled, credentialed members of society.

Visit the Job Corps web site for more information or e-mail Brian.

Photo: Original Job Corps members

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HLP Alumni Spotlight: Tony Sauer

Recently, we had the opportunity to catch up with Tony Sauer (Class IV), former Director of the California Department of Rehabilitation. Tony retired from this position in December 2013, and is transitioning to retirement with humility and candor. We reached out to Tony to hear about his reflections on his incredible career, and to learn about what’s next.

Read what Tony had to share with us on the HLP web page.

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Introducing the Arcade Community Center:
A joint project led by the Mutual Assistance Network

Submitted by Katy Robb (Class X), Director, Mutual Assistance Network of Del Paso Heights

Mutual Assistance Network (MAN) is continuing its expansion and has recently established a community center in the Arden-Arcade neighborhood of North Sacramento. In October 2013, MAN was awarded a contract from the First 5 Sacramento Commission to re-establish the Birth & Beyond program in the Arden Arcade neighborhood. Building upon the 30 years of community work in Arden Arcade by St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church, MAN partnered with the First 5 Sacramento Commission and the Child Abuse Prevention Center to introduce the Arcade Community Center, located at St. Matthew’s Church.

Read more on the HLP web page.

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Funding supports primary care workforce

Submitted by Lupe Alonzo-Diaz (Class IV), Deputy Director, Healthcare Workforce Development Division, OSHPD

On Jan. 18, 2013, The California Endowment (TCE) announced its commitment of $225 million to help California implement the Affordable Care Act. TCE is dedicating approximately $70 million to “fund efforts to expand the primary care health workforce.” Of that amount, TCE is investing $52 million in Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD) healthcare workforce development programs, including $21 million for the Song-Brown Program and $31 million for health professional scholarships and loan repayments administered through OSHPD’s Health Professions Education Foundation. This grant will support the deployment of primary care practitioners to underserved communities in California. For more information, e-mail Lupe Alonzo-Diaz.

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Leaders on the move

Amelia Adams (Class V) has retired from her role as Deputy Director at Community Partnership for Families of San Joaquin. She will continue her journey in full-time ministry and community transformation.

Joe Ayer (Class V) was named by The Record Searchlight in Redding as one of the top 20 under 40 emerging leaders “who are leaving an imprint on the Redding area through their professional and philanthropic efforts.”

Kristal Chichlowska PhD, MPH (Class X) is a Research Scientist at the Center for Innovation (CFI), California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS). The CFI is responsible for providing thought leadership in the retirement and health fields for CalPERS and serving as an innovation incubator.

Kurt Chismark (Class V) retired from Catholic Social Service Solano/Sacramento and has relocated to North Carolina.

Sergio Cuellar (Class IX) is now the Community Engagement Coordinator at the University of California Davis, Center for Regional Change.

Galen Ellis (Class IX) is growing capabilities and clientele at Ellis Planning Associates, setting the stage for an exciting new business model. EPA will emerge the first quarter of 2014 as a closely held California corporation with an extensive new capacity for web-based facilitation, online focus groups and event planning services. Visit the Ellis Planning Associates web site for more information.

Leslie Ferreira, MPA (Class V) received a promotion at the California Department of Public Health, California Tobacco Control Program. Leslie is now Chief of the Health Equity and Local Programs Unit.

Andrew Frishman (Class IX) is in the process of wrapping up the last semester of a doctoral program in Education Leadership run jointly through the Harvard Graduate School of Education, the Harvard Kennedy School, and the Harvard Business School. This academic year he is engaged in a residency with Big Picture Learning, the network that includes the Met Sacramento High School where he worked when he participated in the Health Leadership Program. After graduation in June 2014, he will officially join the leadership team at Big Picture, and transition into co-leadership effective at the organization’s 20th anniversary in 2015. He’s been excited to work with a number of communities in Northern California and is eager to connect with HLP alumni members interested in innovating and improving secondary education.

Adela Gonzalez del Valle (Class IX) is the Community Liaison at Tahoe Truckee Unified School District.

Lucy Hernandez (Class X) is now the Director of Healthy Communities at Community Action Partnership of Sonoma County. She also works as an associate for the Kiely Group.

Laura Leonelli (Class V) accepted a new position at the California Mental Health Planning Council as a Staff Analyst supporting the Continuous System Improvement Committee. The Planning Council advocates for adults and children who receive mental health services, makes policy recommendations, researches emerging trends in mental health and reports on the effectiveness of service delivery in the public mental health system.

Shamus Roller (Class VIII) was named one of the top 14 for 2014 Sacramentans to watch this year by the Sacramento News & Review.

Alicia Ross (Class X) will be joining Rocketship Education as its National Director of Parent Leadership in February. Alicia will be developing a parent organizing and leadership development model for Rocketship to empower the low-income communities served by its high-performing charter schools. Alicia will be based out of San Jose, but will also work in Rocketship’s expansion areas, including Washington, D.C., Indianapolis, Milwaukee and Nashville.

Shelley Rouillard (Class IV) was appointed Director at the California Department of Managed Health Care.

Tony Sauer (Class IV) has retired from his role as Director of the California Department of Rehabilitation.

Peter Simpson (Class VII) has retired after 14 years as the Executive Director of Harm Reduction Services.

Petra Stanton, MPH (Class III) is now Manager of Community Health at St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Stockton.

Pedro Toledo (VIII) was named 2013 MillerCoors Líder of the Year and awarded a $25,000 grant to implement a Hispanic leadership project with MillerCoors for the Redwood Community Health Coalition.

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