July 2021 

We are pleased to introduce Liv O’Keeffe, who recently joined our team to serve as Director of Communications. As a member of the senior management team, Liv will oversee communications and our Conference and Education Center, and will advance policy for Sierra Health Foundation and The Center.

Liv brings more than 20 years of experience in communications, organizational strategy and public policy, working in both the environmental and health care spaces. Most recently, she served as the Senior Director of Public Affairs for the California Native Plant Society, where her leadership included integrated communications and advocacy campaigns for wildfire response, biodiversity protection and equitable access to nature. Prior to her time in the conservation community, she served as a strategic leader in digital marketing, content strategy and wellness initiatives for Sutter Health.

Liv says her new role at Sierra Health Foundation and The Center brings together a career’s worth of passion for the things that matter most to her, both personally and professionally. “I can’t imagine a more effective organization through which to champion equity and well-being at a time when it’s needed most,” Liv said.

We also are pleased to announce the promotion of Sergio Cuellar to Senior Program Officer. Sergio joined Sierra Health Foundation in fall 2017 to manage the California Funders for Boys and Men of Color portfolio, leading the network to align investments and philanthropic leadership to address barriers to opportunity for boys and men of color. Sergio has done an incredible job the past four years of guiding the network and strengthening its impact.

Sergio now will manage the San Joaquin Valley Health Fund portfolio. Born and raised in Patterson and an alumnus of California State University, Fresno, he is a son of the San Joaquin Valley. His deep commitment to the region and its communities makes him the perfect leader to take this work to the next level. As a senior program officer, Sergio will lead the San Joaquin Valley Health Fund team in strengthening our community-centered work in the region through policy and advocacy. A regional director will be recruited later this year to replace current director Ellen Braff-Guajardo, who is retiring. To ensure there will be no disruption to the California Funders for Boys and Men of Color, Sergio will continue to support the network until we are able to fill the program officer position.

The Center is accepting applications from nonprofit substance use disorder providers and mental health providers licensed or certified by the State of California to develop, enhance and/or expand their telehealth infrastructure. Each eligible site may request up to $100,000 for one-year contracts beginning in October. Applications are due by Aug. 1 at 11:59 p.m.

The Telehealth Expansion Project funding opportunity is part of the Department of Health Care Services’ Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) Access Points Project, which is funding a network of organizations throughout California to address the opioid and stimulant crises. The project increases access to MAT and supports prevention, education, stigma and harm reduction, and treatment and recovery services for people with opioid, stimulant and other substance use disorders. The Center assists with the administration of these funds.

Visit the MAT Access Points Project website to access application materials and a funding overview webinar recording.

Sierra Health Foundation and The Center are accepting applications for a senior program officer. Visit our Employment Opportunities page to learn about the position and apply online.

This week, the Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) Access Points Project announced funding awards for two cohorts of community partners, bringing the project’s State Opioid Response round two investments to more than $45 million.

Recovery Housing Expansion Program
The Center awarded funding to six organizations in Northern California and the Central Valley to provide recovery housing and peer support services through transitional housing and recovery residences for individuals experiencing homelessness with opioid use disorder and/or a stimulant use disorder diagnosis. Learn about the funded partners on the MAT Access Points Project website.

Stimulant Use Prevention and Treatment in Communities of Color
The Center awarded funding to 61 organizations to establish and support stimulant use prevention and treatment activities in communities of color throughout California. Learn about the funded partners on the MAT Access Points Project website.

Congratulations to California COVID-19 Community Health Project partner El Sol Neighborhood Educational Center, which received national recognition this month for its crucial work in helping protect the Inland Empire’s most vulnerable residents from the COVID-19 pandemic. Two promotores from El Sol attended a July 4 White House event with President Joe Biden celebrating the nation’s birthday and progress in fighting the coronavirus. The promotores joined first responders and health care workers from across the country.

The White House invitation followed a video message from Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, in which he lauded El Sol for its leadership in expanding access to COVID-19 vaccines among underserved communities in California’s Inland Empire. El Sol is a pioneer in community health worker and promotores programs in the region. Learn more on the El Sol website.

Photo: El Sol promotores Joanina Gazcon, MPH, CHES®, program manager (left) and Natanael Chavez, lead promotor, COVID-19 outreach.

Want to help your friends and neighbors?
The State of California invites all residents to do their part to protect one another through vaccination, proactive measures and factual information sharing. Access the State’s latest resources on California’s COVID-19 Response Toolkit webpage, a hub to connect residents to information and assets organized by targeted topics and efforts.

In November 2016, California voters approved Proposition 64, allowing adults aged 21 years or older to possess and use marijuana for non-medical purposes. Prop 64 created two new taxes, the revenues of which are deposited into the California Cannabis Tax Fund. Current law allocates, after other specified disbursements, 60 percent of the remaining California Cannabis Tax Fund be deposited into the Youth Education Prevention, Early Intervention and Treatment Account. Funds are disbursed to the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) for youth programs focused on education and preventing harm from a substance use disorder.

DHCS established the Prop 64 Advisory Group to share emerging trends in youth substance use, make recommendations to DHCS on best practices for youth substance prevention, and provide feedback on Youth Education Prevention, Early Intervention and Treatment Account-funded program assessment, implementation and evaluation. The Center at Sierra Health Foundation is contracted to support the implementation of Elevate Youth California, one of the statewide programs funded through Prop 64.

DHCS is accepting applications to join the Prop 64 Advisory Group Cohort 2. The application deadline is Aug. 27. Visit the DHCS website to learn more and access the application.

As fall approaches, California’s public schools and colleges continue to grapple with myriad challenges: What does reopening look like, and how will educators address declining enrollment, learning loss, and the health and safety of students and staff? Public Policy Institute of California President Mark Baldassare will host a wide-ranging conversation with State Board of Education President Linda Darling-Hammond and California Community Colleges Chancellor Eloy Ortiz Oakley at an Aug. 10 Speaker Series event starting at 11 a.m. Learn more and register on the Public Policy Institute of California website.

Asthma educators like our Asthma Mitigation Project partners at Regional Asthma Management & Prevention (RAMP) are helping families prepare for this year’s wildfire smoke events. The RAMP team developed a suite of resources to help people with asthma cope with wildfire’s complex mix of dangerous air pollutants. Access RAMP’s Tips for Asthma Educators toolkit and asthma action plans, available in multiple languages.

As part of its mission to protect public health, improve air quality and prevent climate change, the Coalition for Clean Air presents the California Clean Air Day, a unified day of action to create new habits to clear the air for all members of California’s diverse communities. The coalition encourages individuals and organizations to get involved in the event and to take the Clean Air Pledge. Learn more on the California Clean Air Day website.