Since it was established in 2000, more than 600 clinicians have participated in the CHCF Health Care Leadership Program. This two-year, part-time fellowship provides clinically trained health care professionals with the leadership and management skills needed to tackle health policy issues in collaboration with health care leaders. Most of the alumni continue their work today and are part of an extraordinary and growing community.

Following a competitive admission process, 32 fellows have been selected for the program’s next round. While participating in the program, they will continue to work in their home organizations. The fellows are diverse in many ways — racially, ethnically, geographically, and professionally. This year’s cohort has the highest representation so far of Black and Latino/x fellows, and more than 70% are from safety-net organizations.

The training is led by national experts in health care and leadership development from Healthforce Center at UCSF. Each fellow’s experience culminates in a California Health Care Improvement Project that showcases what they have learned and how it benefits their sponsoring organizations.

I’m proud to oversee CHCF’s support for this important program, and I look forward to learning from members of the newest cohort as they create and realize their visions for making California’s health care system work better for all of us.

The fellowship program’s 23rd cohort begins its work in December.

Incoming Fellows for Cohort 23

Here are the new fellows (in alphabetical order) with their organizational affiliations and a link to their LinkedIn profile, if available:

Iliniza (Nisa) Baty, MSW, Director of Behavioral Health, Venice Family Clinic

Kim Bower, MD, Medical Director, Blue Shield of California Promise Health Plan

Mai Bui-Duy, MD, Director of Health Information and Population Health, Salud Para La Gente

Anna Chodos, MD, MPH, Director, Whole Person Geriatrics, San Francisco Health Network

Katrina DeLeon, MD, Geriatric Medicine Division Head, Scripps Clinic Medical Group, and Medical Director for Post-Acute Care, Scripps Health

Jonathon Diulio, MD, Medical Director, San Joaquin Health Centers

Magdalen Edmunds, MD, MPH, Deputy Chief Medical Officer, LifeLong Medical Care

Alex Edwards, MD, Assistant Physician in Chief, The Permanente Medical Group (Kaiser San Francisco)

Alissa Erogbogbo, MD, Chair of the Maternal Child Health Department, El Camino Health

Shellena Eskridge, MSW, LCSW, Executive Director, Homeless Prenatal Program

Meredith Evans, MS, Chief Behavioral Health Officer, Peach Tree Health

Eric Fein, MD, MS, Director of Outpatient Pediatrics Quality Improvement, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center/LA County Department of Health Services

Christopher Hiromura, MD, Associate Medical Director, Family Care Specialists Medical Group

Daniel Kozman, MD, MPH, Director of Health Equity Partnerships and Assistant Dean for Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA

Yoshi Laing, MD, MPH, Medical Consultant in the Division of Quality and Population Health Management, California Department of Health Care Services

Albert Lam, MD, Medical Director for Geriatric Medicine, Palo Alto Foundation Medical Group

Rob Larcina, MSN, Deputy Director of Nursing Inpatient Services, San Mateo Medical Center

Sefanit Mekuria, MD, MPH, Medical Director and Contra Costa Deputy Health Officer, Contra Costa Health Services

Tegwin Millard, MPA, LMFT, Director of Community Mental Health, CommuniCare Health Centers

Priya Motz, DO, MPH, Quality & Health Equity Transformation Branch Chief, California Department of Health Care Services

Mychi Nguyen, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Asian Health Services

Andrew Oh, MD, MBA, Medical Director of the Emergency Department, Los Angeles General Medical Center

Jorge Otañez, MD, Associate Chief Medical Officer, TrueCare

Alison Pachynski, MD, MPH, Chief Medical Executive, San Quentin Rehabilitation Center, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation

Ryan Pedigo, MD, MHPE, Emergency Medicine Residency Program Director, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center/LA County Department of Health Services

Katie Penninga, MSW, Director of Behavioral Health Operations, San Ysidro Health

Liz Renteria, MSW, MS, Chief Clinical Officer, Tri-City Mental Health Authority

Lorin Scher, MD, Director, Integrated Behavioral Health Services, UC Davis Health

Trinidad Solis, MD, MPH, Deputy Health Officer, Fresno County Department of Public Health

Rachel Stern, MD, Ambulatory Care Chief Quality Medical Officer, Ventura County Health Care Agency

Lello Tesema, MD, MS, Unit Chief, Food and Waterborne Disease, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health

Alison Wu, MD, Director of OB/GYN Hospitalist Program, Hoag Hospital Irvine

Michelle Schneidermann

Michelle Schneidermann, MD, is director of CHCF’s People-Centered Care team, which works to ensure that Californians — particularly those enrolled in Medi-Cal — receive responsive, comprehensive, and coordinated care that supports their health and well-being. She leads CHCF’s efforts in maternity care, end-of-life care, and the care of populations with complex behavioral health and medical conditions. Read More

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The Intersection of Trauma and Homelessness, 32 Clinicians Selected for Next Round of CHCF Leadership Program, For One in Five Californians, Homelessness Is Personal, CHCF Survey Finds

Harrison Hill

Harrison Hill is a documentary photographer and filmmaker based in Los Angeles, California. His work focuses on social justice issues centered around communities of color in the US.