New Class of Emerging Leaders Joins Clinic Leadership Institute

Program will train its sixth cohort of next-generation leaders in community health

San Francisco, CA (January 9, 2013) – Blue Shield of California Foundation announced today a sixth cohort of the Clinic Leadership Institute’s Emerging Leaders program.  Made up of 29 community health professionals from across California, the new class will participate in an intensive 18-month leadership training program.  A signature project of Blue Shield of California Foundation, Clinic Leadership Institute (CLI) Emerging Leaders program aims to equip up-and-coming leaders in California’s safety net with the skills, networks, and guidance they need to be successful in a changing healthcare environment. 

“To ensure that community health centers are providers of choice today, tomorrow, and beyond 2014, we need effective leaders to drive them forward, "said Peter Long, Ph.D., president and CEO of Blue Shield of California Foundation. “I am confident that this year’s cohort will emerge from this program fully prepared to lead our safety net to a sustainable future that guarantees access to high-quality care for all low-income Californians."

CLI’s Emerging Leaders program was launched in 2007 to contribute to a thriving and vibrant clinic system in California by preparing promising leaders in community health centers for executive positions. Participants engage in interactive and instructive activities focused on strategic thinking, financial management, health policy, and other essential leadership skills. Since the program’s inception, CLI has trained more than 100 emerging leaders. 

This year’s participants were selected for their leadership potential and dedication to building a strong safety net system in California. The additional experience gained during their CLI training will enable participants to improve the performance of their host clinics, and provide an even higher quality of care for the families and individuals in their community.

The Center for the Health Professions at the University of California, San Francisco is the administrator for CLI Emerging Leaders. 

Clinic Leadership Institute Emerging Leaders Class of 2014: 

North Coast

  • Elizabeth Land - Six Rivers Planned Parenthood
  • Elizabeth Lara-O'Rourke - United Indian Health Services, Inc.

Far North

  • Charles Kitzman - Shasta Community Health Center

Bay Area

  • Maureen Boland - Women's Community Clinic
  • Miguel Castanon - Community Health Clinic Ole
  • Jack Cheng - Haight Ashbury Free Clinics
  • Evelyn Crespo - La Clinica de La Raza
  • Gabriela Leroi - Santa Rosa Community Health Centers
  • Julia Liou - Asian Health Services
  • Njeri McGee-Tyner - Alameda Health Consortium
  • Sarah Ross - Community Clinic Consortium
  • Gina Schellenberg - Tiburcio Vasquez Health Center
  • Dana Valley - West County Health Centers
  • Stephanie White - Petaluma Health Center
  • Johnson Wong - North East Medical Services

Central Coast

  • Storey La Montagne - Santa Cruz Women's Health Center

Central Valley

  • Deborah Arvay - Chapa-De Indian Health Program, Inc.
  • Yolanda Latham - MACT Health Board, Inc.
  • Harpreet Ma - Communicare Health Centers-Peterson Clinic
  • Norma Verduzco - Family HealthCare Network

Los Angeles

  • Elvia Delgado - AltaMed Health Services Corporation
  • Nomsa Khalfani - St. John's Well Child & Family Center
  • Karen Lauterbach - Venice Family Clinic
  • Stephanie Love - The Children's Clinic Serving Children and their Families
  • Flora Poladyan - Comprehensive Community Health Centers, Inc.
  • Maria Sandoval - Bartz-Altadonna Community Health Center
  • Jessica Sigaran-Calderon - Eisner Pediatric & Family Medical Center

Riverside & San Bernardino 

  • Corina Velasquez - Borrego Community Health Foundatio

Southern California

  • Myrna Valentin - North County Health Services

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About Blue Shield of California Foundation

Blue Shield of California Foundation is one of the state’s largest and most trusted healthcare grantmaking organizations. Our mission is to improve the lives of all Californians, particularly the underserved, by making health care accessible, effective, and affordable, and by ending domestic violence. For more information, visit www.blueshieldcafoundation.org.

The Foundation was formed by Blue Shield of California, a not-for-profit corporation with more than 3.4 million members, 4,700 employees and 20 offices throughout California. For more information about the company, please visit www.blueshieldca.com.

About the Center for the Health Professions at UCSF

Since 1992, the Center has been dedicated to transforming health care by delivering leadership programs to empower change agents at every level and within all sectors of the health care system; and by producing nationally and internationally recognized, unbiased research to help health care decision makers understand today's workforce issues and design actionable strategies to solve them. For more information about the Center, visit: http://futurehealth.ucsf.edu/

Press Contact: 

Christine Maulhardt
(415)-229-6145  
Christine.Maulhardt [at] blueshieldcafoundation.org

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