The Faces of Our Leadership Team
Meet the dedicated leaders behind Health Career Connection—passionate change-makers driving our mission to build a stronger, more equitable health workforce.
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Driven by Passion, Experience, and a Shared Vision to Make a Lasting Impact.
Our team brings decades of experience in public health, healthcare, education, and workforce development, united by a shared commitment to equity, opportunity, and impact. They guide Health Career Connection with vision and purpose—shaping strategies, forging partnerships, and creating pathways that empower the next generation of health leaders.
Executive Leadership
Board of Directors
Our Board of Directors combined have over 150 years of experience and leadership in healthcare management, workforce development, and mentorship.
Shelby Decosta, MHA (HCC Alum)
SVP, Chief Business Development Officer, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc. and Hospitals
Montrece Ransom, JD, MPH, PCC, BCC
Director of the National Coordinating Center for Public Health Training, National Network of Public Health Institutes
Advisory Board
The HCC National Advisory Board informs HCC’s Programs, organizational development and provides support to HCC interns and alumni. Many also host HCC interns and lead HCC workshops.
- Kevin Barnett, Dr. PH, MCRP, Senior Investigator, Public Health Institute
- Esther Dyer, D.L.S., Managing Director, Partners in Philanthropy. Principal, ExecHQ
- Francis X Garcia, Co-Founder, Health Career Connection
- Kathy Kwan, MBA, MPH, Former President, Eustace-Kwan Family Foundation, HCC 30th Anniversary Sustaining HCC Champion Awardee
- Margaret Lapiz, MBA, MPH, CEO & Co-Founder, Under One Roof
- Tomás Magaña, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor & Medical Director, Samuel Merritt University; Lead Physician La Clinica de La Raza, Oakland; Francisco Founding Director, FACES for the Future Coalition, HCC Champion Awardee
- Ike Mmeje, MHSA, FACHE President and Chief Executive Officer, USC Arcadia Hospital (HCC Alumnus)
- Bob Montoya, MD, MPH Consultant
- Arnab Mukherjea, Dr PH, MPH, Professor of Public Health, Faculty Director, Health Sciences, Chancellor’s Office, California State University, East Bay
- Gail Orum-Alexander, PharmD., Dean, Marshell B. Ketchum University, College of Pharmacy
- Edgar Quiroz, MPH, Partner, Chief Operations and Senior Administrative Officer, Ace Home Health Care Services, HCC Champion Awardee
- Raul Ruiz, MD, MPH, MPP, Director of Coachella Valley Health Care Initiative, Coachella, CA, Congressman to CA 36th District
- Sheila Thornton, President and CEO, OneFuture Coachella Valley, HCC Champion Awardee
- Monica Valdes-Lupi, JD, MPH, Managing Director, Health, The Kresge Foundation, Detroit, MI
- Ronny A. Bell, Ph.D. MS., Fred Eshelman Distinguished Professor and Chair of the Division of Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Policy in the Eshelman School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, Chair, North Carolina American Indian Health Board, HCC Champion Awardee
- Jeffery Simms, MSPH, MDiv, Associate Chair and Assistant Clinical Professor, Department of Health Policy and Management, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill Gillings School of Global Public Health
- Linda Lombardi, Ph.D., President, Leslin Healthcare Foundation
- Paul Meissner, MSPH, Director, Research Program Development, Montefiore Medical Center
- Nancy Turnbull, MBA, Senior Associate Dean for Professional Education, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, HCC Champion Awardee
- Catherine West, MPA, Founder and Principal, 43 Strategic Consulting (HCC Alumnus)
Join Us in Shaping the Future of Health
Together, let's build a strong health workforce and improve
community health nationwide.
