As Health Outreach Partners starts fiscal year 2020-2021, we would like to welcome several new Board members and say farewell to a fixture on HOP’s board for the last several years.
First and foremost, we want to extend our eternal gratitude and thanks to retiring board member Jana Eubank. Jana has served HOP since 2012. She provided leadership and support to our organization during a time of transition through her strong, steady, yet kind leadership. She has demonstrated dedication to our mission for over 8 years, through her commitment to community health centers and access to care for vulnerable communities.
Jana recently became the executive director for the Texas Association of Community Health Centers. Congratulations Jana – they are so lucky to have you! We will miss you but know your dedication and passion will improve health access for all people in the state of Texas. This is not good-bye, as we know we will continue to work with you in support of community health centers but we will miss your presence as part of our leadership team.
HOP is also excited to announce the additions of several new members of our Board! You can find their biographies and photos below:
Leslie Barron-Johnson:
Leslie Barron-Johnson has 20 years of progressive experience as a vice president and senior leader at Planned Parenthood Northern California. Her main area of expertise is creating new initiatives, taking solutions from concept design to strategy development. Leslie built many operational functions from the ground up, starting Planned Parenthood Northern California’s first IT, HR, training and compliance programs. After leaving Planned Parenthood Northern California in March of 2019, Leslie worked as a consultant designing and implementing a leadership development program and a patient experience initiative. Leslie accepted a position in March 2020 as Integrated Behavioral Health Manager at Clinica de la Raza. Leslie also has worked as a volunteer on political campaigns, Girls Inc. and Project Literacy in San Leandro. Leslie currently resides in Oakland, California.
Kersten Burns Lausch, MPP:
Kersten Burns Lausch is Director of Policy and Strategy at UnitedHealthcare Community & State (UHCCS), a division of UnitedHealth Group. UnitedHealthcare’s community plans proudly serve 6.4 million Medicaid members in 32 states, plus Washington, DC. In her role, Kersten is responsible for developing strategic positions to improve access to care and shape the direction of programs that serve complex populations. Prior to joining UHCCS, Kersten was with the National Association of Community Health Centers where she directed the organizations engagement with federal agencies and efforts to equip community health centers with resources to inform and shape state policy so they may sustain and enhance access to high-quality, cost-effective care for the more than 29 million patients they serve. She also previously worked for the Center for Health Research & Transformation and the American Academy of Dermatology, and served as a case manager and patient navigator at a community health center in Michigan.
Kristin Williams, JD:
Kristin Williams is an attorney at Kirschenbaum Law, a boutique firm in downtown Oakland. She represents clients in a variety of civil matters with an emphasis on general corporate disputes, banking, and real estate. She also works closely with corporate boards, identifying, evaluating, and mitigating risks.
Kristin is also the vice-chair of the American Heart Association’s Bay Area Young Professionals and an active member of the Black Women Lawyers Association of Northern California. She is a member of the California State Bar and received her Juris Doctor degree from University of California Hastings.
Kristin speaks French, is avid reader and cinephile. Today, she resides in San Francisco, California.
Denis Vega Tapia, MBA:
Mr. Vega actively volunteered for various community organizations serving in the Inland Empire, served 6 years as a COPE Health Solutions clinical care extender, and as the president of PODER (Providing Opportunities Dreams Education Resources) at UC Riverside where he advocated to establish the first ever undocumented student program department on campus. Upon graduating from undergraduate studies, Mr. Vega joined Community Health Systems, Inc. (CHSI) in 2013, during the implementation of Medi-Cal expansion and Covered CA, placing CHSI in the top 150 enrollment sites in the state. He has a strong background in leadership and management with over 14 years of experience in healthcare—half of which have consisted of Federally Qualified Health Centers. As the Director of Community Relations, he developed innovative action plans that foster collaboration and strategic partnerships in all clinical service areas. He then transitioned to Director of Business Initiatives and Government Relations and has led organization-wide initiatives such as a successful HRSA Operational Site Visit, Uniform Data System, strategic planning, and integrating new lines of business. He engages in federal/state health policy and advocacy while focusing on health care trends that affect corporate strategies and healthcare delivery. As a graduate of the Clinic Leadership Program, Mr. Vega was involved in the creation of the Clinic Leadership Network, a hub in which all graduates of leadership programs stay connected and assist each other in adapting to the forever-changing challenges of California’s safety net.