Andrea Schwab-Galindo, CEO, Tiburcio Vasquez Health Center, CHCN Board Chair
Andrea Schwab-Galindo joined TVHC in January 2013 and has grown with the organization from her role as Compliance and Risk Management Manager to Director of Quality and Compliance, to Chief Administrative Officer, to her current role as CEO.
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As CEO, Andrea oversees all departments of the health center and is responsible for developing and implementing the organization’s strategic plan, developing relationships with community groups and members, and advocating for TVHC and other community health centers.
Andrea has over 15 years of experience in community health and nonprofit program management. Prior to her work at TVHC, she held various positions at other community health centers, where she managed programmatic and compliance components of federal contracts and programs. She has worked with various nonprofits in South America, implementing microfinance, sustainability, and community health projects. Andrea has also served on multiple nonprofit boards throughout Alameda County.
Andrea received her Bachelor’s degrees from the University of California, Berkeley in Legal Studies and Latin American Studies, a Master’s degree in Public Health from San Jose State University, and a Masters Certification in Corporate Health Care Compliance from George Washington University. She is also a graduate of the Healthforce Center at UCSF, Clinic Leadership Institute.
Andrea is also a recipient of the 2019 Emerging Leader Award from the Geiger Gibson Program in Community Health Policy and the National Association of Community Health Centers.
Originally from Cartagena, Colombia, Andrea made the Bay Area her home over 25 years ago. She enjoys spending time with her family and friends, traveling abroad, and being crafty. With her firm belief that healthcare is a human right, Andrea works with passion toward advancing health equity, civil rights, and empowering the future of the community health center workforce. She resides in the East Bay with her husband, son, and two mischievous dogs.
Erika Simpson Akpawu, CEO, West Oakland Health, CHCN Board Vice Chair
Erika Simpson Akpawu joined West Oakland Health in 2019 as its Chief Operating Officer and was appointed to Chief Executive Officer in 2021.
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Erika Simpson-Akpawu is a proud native of East Palo Alto, CA where she grew up in a multi-cultural family and attended African-centered schools. She is the product of an immigrant and professional dancer from Colombia South America and an African American Bay Area resident and master drummer.
Erika was inspired to career in healthcare by her mother who passed away of breast cancer at the young age of 46. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Anthropology from Howard University, Washington, DC. Erika’s early post-graduate career in health led her to the Community Breast Health Project in Palo Alto (currently Bay Area Cancer Connections), where her mother previously received advice and care regarding her cancer
diagnosis. There, she worked as an interpreter and advocate for women under 40 to receive breast cancer screening and diagnostic services.
Her growth and success working in community health advanced her to a position at Ravenswood Family Health Network in 2003. Over the course of 15 years, Erika was promoted and held various leadership positions contributing to the growth and success of the new community health center that ultimately achieved over 55,000 patient visits annually. She oversaw the formalization of the clinic’s Chronic Disease Management
program, established and managed their neighboring health center satellite clinic, was the main instrument behind their community volunteer program, and assured culturally and linguistically competent services for their diverse multi-lingual community members.
Erika earned a master’s degree in Public Health from Touro University in Vallejo, CA. Her academic and career advancement studies included a 3-month global public health capstone project in Ethiopia that focused on researching contraception use amongst college-age women and completing an executive leadership program through the UCSF’s Clinic Leadership Institute.
Erika currently resides in Oakland, CA with her husband and 4 children. She is fluent in English and Spanish enabling her to communicate effectively within the primarily Black and Brown communities she serves. Erika’s volunteer experience includes several years of working with underserved youth promoting and teaching leadership and community activism, and mentoring young girls through a rite of passage program, Ase Institute, of Oakland CA. Her passion for promoting health equity and social justice in underserved communities allowed her to be selected as the first recipient of the Geiger Gibson “Emerging Leader” award from George Washington University.
Martin Waukazoo, CEO Native American Health Center, CHCN Board Treasurer
As Chief Executive Officer of the Native American Health Center (NAHC), a community-based nonprofit organization with an all Indian Board of Directors.
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Martin Waukazoo has boldly addressed health disparities and loss of culture for American Indians living in the San Francisco Bay Area. He has provided leadership in building and sustaining successful medical, dental and behavioral,health programs that integrate state-of-the-art professional care with cultural values, traditions and services.
Raised in Rapid City, South Dakota, Martin was an High School All-American basketball player and earned a scholarship to attend Black Hills State University. He graduated in 1973 and relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area. An enrolled member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, Waukazoo was raised in a family of activists.
As CEO of NAHC since 1982, Martin has built a thriving health care delivery system grounded in traditional Native American culture. There were precious few resources to help urban Indian people overcome diabetes, obesity, alcoholism, substance abuse, mental illness and violence. NAHC consists of state-licensed community clinics in Oakland and San Francisco, an outreach center in Richmond, and seven school-based clinics in Alameda County. Services include AIDS prevention, WIC, mental health, substance abuse, health education, traditional Native American healing, and a youth program.
Since 1982, NAHC has increased its annual budget from $800,000 to $23 million. The number of staff has increased staff from 17 to 250 employees. In 1984, Marty oversaw the acquisition of a 4-story human service building in the Fruitvale District in Oakland. In 2007 he organized the funding and construction of 7 Directions, a beautiful new 26,000 square foot medical and dental facility with 38 units of family affordable housing built above, and is currently building a state-of-the-art medical facility, Many Directions, in the Mission District of San Francisco. These facilities, owned by NAHC, provide a solid foundation for sustainability for the Indian community.
Martin’s work has a major impact in improving the quality of life for Native Americans in the San Francisco Bay Area. NAHC serves people in Alameda, San Francisco and Contra Costa counties and is a magnet for Indians seeking services informed by American Indian Culture. Martin is founder of the San Francisco Community Clinic Consortium. Martin has established community clinics in Fresno and Sacramento. He is the founder of the California Urban Indian Health Consortium.
Martin Waukazoo has testified on the needs of urban Indians before the US Senate Subcommittee on Indian Affairs. NAHC is a national leader in offering holistic, culturally appropriate prevention programs. Martin has made a significant impact in health, education, and community development.
Zettie D. Page, III, CEO Bay Area Community Health, CHCN Board Secretary
Zettie D. Page, III, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer (CEO), joined Bay Area Community Health, formerly known as Tri-CIty Health Center, in January 2013.
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Dr. Page is a former FQHC CEO with a career focused on increasing access to care while decreasing disparities in healthcare through stabilizing and transitioning community health centers as primary safety net providers within their service areas.
He has over 20 years of experience working with FQHC’s and recently served as CEO for Salud Para La Gente in Watsonville where he led organizational expansion from 13 to 23 sites, a strengthening of governance, revision to the strategic plan, and implementation of an electronics record system. He also secured nearly $8 million in grants to improve clinics. Dr. Page worked as an Executive Director of Plains Medical Center in Limon, Colorado. Dr. Page speaks fluent Mandarin, holds a doctorate of medicine in general medicine, a doctorate in social work, and three Masters Degrees in Social Work, Health Education and MBA. He has retired from 36 years of military (reserve) service as a Colonel.
Dr. Page is currently the Chairman of HHS’s National Advisory Council on Migrant Health, a member of the board of directors for the CA School Based Health Clinics Association and a well-known leader working with agencies on transformational change. His leadership experience and track record of successfully delivering organization stability is key for BACH to sustain its mission and services to the community in the new health care environment.
Julia Liou, CEO Asian Health Services
Julia Liou, MPH, is Chief Executive Officer of Asian Health Services (AHS). Ms. Liou previously was Chief Deputy of Administration at AHS, where she has served in various roles since 2000.
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Born to immigrants originally from Taiwan and Hong Kong, Ms. Liou has spearheaded key initiatives, programs, and departments at AHS, and in the Oakland Chinatown and Asian community, including the Revive Chinatown Project, and the California Health Nail Salon Collaborative. During her tenure with AHS, Ms. Liou has led the charge in strategic planning, development, the AHS Business Council, communications, advocacy and fundraising campaigns, and with cornerstone relationships.
“Twenty years ago, I fell in love with AHS’ dual mission of advocacy and services,” said Ms. Liou. Whether forging coalitions or calling attention to neglected needs, fundraising for civic engagement or lifting up patient voices to change policies, she says, “I joined AHS with a deep desire to work in the AAPI community. I went on the clinic tour and in the patients I could see my own immigrant grandfather. He didn’t speak English, had a hard time finding a job, and was fortunate to have a provider who spoke his language given the health issues he faced. I have always wanted to carry forward to others the positive impact he experienced.”
In recent years, Ms. Liou has catapulted AHS’ development successes in donor gifts, capital campaign fundraising, events, and grants from government and foundations. She also led planning and implementation of multiple agency strategic initiatives, ensured compliance with federal community health center regulations and standards, and oversaw public relations, branding, and communications.
During the COVID pandemic, Ms. Liou collaborated with the health centers throughout the nation through the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) to successfully advocate for a federal funding stream that seeds innovation and technology for community health centers nationwide. Ms. Liou earned her Bachelors of Art from Wellesley and Masters in Public Health from UCLA, and sits on numerous boards including Kaiser Permanente National Research Board, California Primary Care Association and co-chairs NACHC’s Innovation Advisory Council.