The California HealthCare Foundation (CHCF) has announced the selection of 32 health professionals for the eighth class of its Health Care Leadership Program. The program helps talented professionals acquire the skills needed to positively influence health care policy and delivery in California. Sponsored by CHCF, it is administered by The Center for the Health Professions at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).

"These leaders bring a broad range of experience as medical directors, administrators, and supervisors, as well as diverse fields of expertise including medicine, nursing, pharmacy, dentistry, clinical informatics, public health, and business," said Mark D. Smith, M.D., M.B.A., president and CEO of the California HealthCare Foundation. "In the eight years that we've supported this effort, we've been impressed with participants' sustained commitment to improve the quality and efficiency of health care in California," he said.

Over the course of two years, fellows convene in seminars led by nationally recognized health care and leadership development experts and faculty associated with UCLA's Anderson School of Management. The program addresses health care issues from business, leadership, and public policy perspectives. Participants learn to build and lead teams, manage complexity and change, understand and use financial management tools, and respond to the changing health care environment.

"The CHCF Health Care Leadership program helped me develop self-knowledge, business skills, and friendships that will last a long time; most importantly, it made me a lifelong student of leadership," said alumnus Sang-ick Chang, M.D., M.P.H., CEO of the San Mateo Medical Center. "I firmly believe that this program, by creating an ever-growing cadre of idealistic and well-trained health care professionals, is having a great impact on shaping the future of health in California."

About The Center for Health Professions

The Center for Health Professions at UCSF assists health care professionals, health professions schools, care delivery organizations, and public policy makers in educating and managing the health care workforce. For more information about the CHCF Health Care Leadership Program, visit http://futurehealth.ucsf.edu/Public/Leadership-Programs/Home.aspx?pid=145.

CHCF Health Care Leadership Program Class of 2008-2010

Jeanette Aviles, M.D.
Medical Director of Primary Care Services, San Mateo Medical Center
San Mateo

Bev Ching, R.N., M.S.
Clinical Services Manager, Inland Regional Center
San Bernardino

Jill Cook, R.N., M.S.
Health Services Administrator, Solano County
Fairfield

Russ Cucina, M.D., M.S.
Associate Medical Director of Information Technology; Assistant Professor of Hospital Medicine, UCSF
San Francisco

Nirmaljit Dhami, M.D.
Associate Medical Director, Chief of Psychiatry, El Camino Hospital
Mountain View

Laura Epstein, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Communicative Disorders Program, San Francisco State University
San Francisco

Sylvia Espinoza, M.D.
Medical Director, Sequoia Teen Wellness Center, San Mateo Medical Center
Redwood City

Lisa Gil, M.D.
Associate Medical Director; OPC Champion; Best Practice Coordinator, Golden Valley Health Centers
Modesto

Betsy Ha, B.S.N., M.S.
Chief Nurse Executive, California Prison Health Care Receivership Corporation
Sacramento

Angel Hopson, R.N., M.S.N., M.P.H.
Fetal and Infant Health Program Coordinator, Los Angeles Department of Public Health
Los Angeles

Carol Kimball, M.D.
President, Woodland Clinic Medical Group
Woodland

Brandon Koretz, M.D.
Associate Chief, Inpatient and Outpatient Programs, Division of Geriatric Medicine, UCLA School of Medicine
Los Angeles

Dinesh Kumar, M.D., F.C.C.P.
Lead Hospitalist, HealthCare Partners Medical Group
Torrance

Alexander Li, M.D.
Medical Direcor, Medical Management, LA Care Health Plan
Los Angeles

Lynn Liu, M.D.
Medical Director, Asian Americans for Community Involvement of Santa Clara County
San Jose

Mary Lopez, B.S.N., M.S.N.
Vice President, Quality Initiatives, Hospital Council of Northern and Central California
Fresno

Alison Lum, Pharm.D.
Director of Clinical Services, San Francisco Health Plan
San Francisco

Miles Masatsugu, M.D.
Chief of Staff, Orange County Division, AltaMed Health Services Corporation
Costa Mesa

Sarita A. Mohanty, M.D., M.P.H.
Medical Director, COPE Health Solutions
Los Angeles

Nancy Morioka-Douglas, M.D., M.P.H.
Clinical Professor and Clinic Chief, Stanford University School of Medicine
Stanford

Kim-Anh Nguyen, M.D., Ph.D.
Medical Director, Blood Centers of the Pacific
San Francisco

Patricia Padilla, M.D.
Physician in Charge, Rohnert Park Kaiser facility; Associate Clinical Professor, UCSF Family and Community Medicine
Rohnert Park

Kim Pardini-Kiely, R.N., B.S., M.S.
Administrative Director, Quality Improvement, Patient Safety and Case Management, Stanford Hospital and Clinics
Stanford

Margarita Pereyda, M.D.
Medical Director, Share Our Selves Free Medical Clinic/ Hoag Hospital
Costa Mesa

Berenice Perez, M.D.
Co-Medical Director, Alameda County Medical Center
San Leandro

Doreen Samelson, Ed.D.
Psychologist and Director, Kaiser Permanente
Stockton

Ana Sampera, A.D.N., B.S.N., M.S.N.
Nursing Director, Medicine, ACE and SNF, San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center
San Francisco

Eric Snoey, M.D.
Program Director, Emergency Medicine, Alameda County Medical Center
Oakland

Susan Stone, M.D., M.P.H.
Director of Palliative Care, Los Angeles County Medical Center
Los Angeles

Laurel Trujillo, M.D.
Co-Director Regional Quality, Palo Alto Medical Foundation
Palo Alto

Leslie Waxman, M.D.
Assistant Area Medical Director, Southern California Permanente Medical Group, Bellflower

Patricia Zayas, M.D.
Medical Director, La Clinica de la Raza
Oakland