Nearly three dozen clinical leaders have been chosen to participate in the California HealthCare Foundation Health Care Leadership Program to expand their leadership skills and meet the challenges facing our state's health care system, the foundation announced today.

The CHCF Health Care Leadership Program is a part-time fellowship that offers clinically trained health care professionals the experiences, competencies, and skills necessary for effective vision and leadership of institutions.

Fellows attend seminars six times during the two-year program and participate in ongoing learning activities. Graduates broaden management skills and sharpen leadership capacity while gaining unique insight into the trends and challenges facing health care in California.

Entering its second decade, the program has trained more than 300 doctors, dentists, nurses, pharmacists, and other health care professionals. It is led by nationally recognized health care and leadership development experts from the Center for Health Professions at UCSF and the UCLA Anderson School of Management. Alumni become part of a network across California that continues to collaborate and develop their skills.

"We can't solve the nation's health care crisis without building strong leadership in our health care institutions," said Mark D. Smith, MD, MBA, president and CEO of the California HealthCare Foundation. "Leadership skills are usually not included in clinical training, but our clinical leaders must have them to succeed."

"This fellowship was the single most important professional experience I have ever had," said alumnus Sang-ick Chang, MD, MPH, chief medical officer of the Alameda County Medical Center. "Years later, the lessons I learned about the importance of vision, political savvy, and self-knowledge are fresh in my mind and help me daily."

Applications for the fellowship are accepted each spring. 

Watch a video about the program. 

CHCF Health Care Leadership Program
Class of 2011-13

Merrillyn Allen, RN, PHN
Director of Clinic Operations
Center for Elders Independence
Oakland

Christopher Avelino, MD
Chairman, Medicine
Facey Medical Group
Valencia

Taft Bhuket, MD
Vice-Chief of Medical Staff; Division Chief, Gastroenterology; Director, Endoscopy Unit
Alameda County Medical Center
Oakland

Peter Broderick, MD, MEd
Program Director/DIO
Valley Consortium for Medical Education
Modesto

Jennifer Carton-Wade, MOT, OTR/L
Director of Occupational Therapy
Laguna Honda Hospital and Rehabilitation Center
San Francisco

Ellen Chen, MD
Medical Director
Silver Avenue Family Health Center
San Francisco

Jose Chibras, MD
Chief Medical Officer
Salud Para La Gente
Watsonville

Ricky Choi, MD, MPH
Pediatrics Department Head
Asian Health Services Community Health Center
Oakland

Cyndie Cole, MSN
Chief Nurse Executive
Ventura County Medical Center/Santa Paula Hospital
Ventura

Guillermo Diaz, MD
Chief Medical Officer & Chief Medical Information Officer
QueensCare Family Clinics
Los Angeles

Mark DuLong, MD
Assistant Physician-in-Chief
The Permanente Medical Group
Santa Clara

David Eibling, MD
Associate Medical Director
Health Plan San Joaquin
French Camp

Patricia Fajardo, RN, MPH
Vice President Clinical Services
Planned Parenthood Santa Barbara, Ventura & San Luis Obispo Counties
Santa Barbara

John Fisher, MD, MBA
Medical Director
Kern Health Systems
Bakersfield

Steven Grolnic-McClurg, MSW, LCSW
Director of Mental Health and Wellness
Rubicon Programs
Richmond

William Huen, MD, MS, MPH
Associate Chief Medical Officer & Hospitalist
San Francisco General Hospital
San Francisco

Margaret Hutchison, CNM, MSN
Associate Clinical Professor, Director of Outpatient Services
Nurse-Midwives of San Francisco
San Francisco

Allan Johnson, MPT
Director, Quality & Accreditation
Shriners Hospitals for Children Northern California
Sacramento

Helen Kao, MD
Medical Director, Division of Geriatrics
University of California, San Francisco
San Francisco

Sara Levin, MD
Department Chair, Internal Medicine
Contra Costa Health Services; Contra Costa Family Medicine Residency
Martinez

Ted Li, MD
Associate Medical Director
North East Medical Services
San Francisco

Alison Moore, MD, MPH
Professor
Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA
Los Angeles

Elizabeth Morrison, MSW (LCSW)
Director of Behavioral Health Services
Golden Valley Health Center
Merced

Laura Mosqueda, MD
Chair, Professor
University of California, Irvine School of Medicine
Orange

Julio Porro, MD
Associate Medical Director
Central California Alliance For Health
Scotts Valley

Neel Patel, MD
Medical Director, Pediatrics
San Mateo Medical Center
Redwood City

Mary Ramos, PharmD
Manager, Clinical Support
Hill Physicians Medical Group
San Ramon

Jehni Robinson, MD
Chief Medical Officer
The Saban Free Clinic
Los Angeles

Pamela Simms-Mackey, MD
Associate Director, Graduate Medical Education
Children's Hospital & Research Center Oakland
Oakland

Cherryl Smith, RN, PHN
Director of Nursing
Shasta Community Health Center
Redding

Roberto Solis, MD
Medical Director
Marshall Medical Center
Cameron Park

Francisco Trilla, MD
Chief Medical Officer
Santa Rosa Community Health Centers
Santa Rosa

About the Center for 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 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 futurehealth.ucsf.edu.