2020 AWARDEES
CLINIC LEGACY AWARDS
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Carole Press
CEO, Mendocino Community Health Clinic, Inc. (MCHC) Recognized for her distinguished career and dedication to community healthcare.
Carole Press served Mendocino Community Health Clinic, Inc. (MCHC) for over 21 years. She served as CEO from June 2015 until February 2020. During her tenure as CEO, MCHC Health Centers has achieved recognition by the National Committee for Quality Assurance as a Patient-Centered Medical Home. In 2017, MCHC’s women’s health and obstetric practice, Care for Her and opioid treatment program were both recognized as a “national best practice” by the Health Services and Resources Administration. In 2019, MCHC opened its fourth clinical site: Dora Street Health Center. |
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Ellen R. Silver, RNP, MSN
CEO, ParkTree Community Health Center Recognized for her distinguished career and dedication to community healthcare.
Ms. Ellen R. Silver is a dedicated healthcare professional with more than 30 years of experience ensuring the delivery of high quality services for families in California. With academic roots steeped in the nursing principles, Ms. Silver is a strong advocate for the unserved and underserved populations of our community. Her health care interests include: ensuring equal access to health care services regardless of ability to pay, mentorship of tomorrow’s generation of health care professionals with an emphasis on the nursing shortage, and payment reform focusing on quality indicators. |
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Deanna Stover, PhD, RN, FNP, CNSCEO
President & CEO, Community Health Association Inland Southern Region Recognized for her distinguished career and dedication to community healthcare.
Dr. Deanna Stover has dedicated her career to public service that includes the betterment of health for underserved communities. Dr. Stover has actively worked in the medical arena for over 40 years with training and expertise in community-based healthcare, health policy, HIV/AIDS, occupational medicine, and advance practice nursing. In addition, she has expertise in rural and correctional health care. Her most recent position was that of President and Chief Executive Officer for the Community Health Association Inland Southern Region, where she is a champion for community health centers and clinics that serve vulnerable populations. In this role she provided strong leadership and direction that propelled the Association to be a premier membership organization. |
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Mary Szecsey
CEO, West County Health Centers, Inc. Recognized for her distinguished career and dedication to community healthcare.
Mary Szecsey, has more than 35 years of experience in health and human services, and she held the position of Chief Executive Officer for West County Health Centers from 1995 until her retirement in March 2020. Ms. Szecsey is recognized as a valuable and effective leader in the healthcare field in Sonoma County and throughout the State. In 2013, she was elected to serve as the Chair of the Board of Directors of the California Primary Care Association, a trade association representing more than 135 safety-net organizations serving 7 million people throughout the State. She also served as an officer on the Board of Redwood Community Health Coalition (RCHC), a regional consortium of safety-net providers, which has been at the forefront of planning and implementing ACA outreach and enrollment, IT infrastructure development and clinical quality improvement initiatives with RCHC member clinics in a four-county region. |
HERO AWARDS
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Deborah Kelch
Recognized for her years of dedication to improving health care in California and for her support of community health centers.
Deborah Reidy Kelch is a writer and blogger living in Elk Grove, Ca. She retired in 2020 after 40 years as a California health policy researcher, expert, and consultant. Deborah’s career focused on public policy analysis and development to improve health care in California, most recently as Executive Director of Insure the Uninsured Project (ITUP). Deborah served as policy and fiscal staff to the California Legislature, including as Chief Consultant to the Assembly Health Committee, and established Kelch Associates, an independent health policy consulting firm. Deborah was the founding executive director of the Central Valley Health Network, a consortium of California community clinics. She received her master’s degree in public policy and administration from CSU Sacramento and her bachelor’s degree in political science from UCLA.
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Joseph D. Gallegos, MBA
Recognized for his support and commitment in his role as the NACHC liaison to the Western Region.
Joe Gallegos is Senior Vice President for Western Operations with the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) in Washington, DC. Joe retired June 2020 after 15 years working for NACHC as the first regional representative to the western U. S. Prior to joining NACHC, Joe was Senior Vice President of Planning and Development and Governmental Affairs with Presbyterian Medical Services in Santa Fe, New Mexico—a rural network of 30 community health centers, two school-based health centers, community mental health centers, Head Start programs serving over 1,200 children, three home care and hospice agencies. Prior to that, Joe was Chief Executive Officer of Health Centers of Northern New Mexico in Espanola, New Mexico for 11 years managing 14 rural health center sites. He began his career in the Fall of 1975 to start-up a free-standing community health center in in El Rito, NM, 17 miles from where he grew up. Joe is the former Chair of the Board of Directors for National Association of Community Health Centers during the period 2003-2004. He has served on numerous boards and committees on health care policy at the state and federal level. |