NACHC Leadership

Paloma Izquierdo-Hernandez is President and Chief Executive Officer of Urban Health Plan (UHP), a system of community and school-based health centers located in the South Bronx, Corona, Queens and Central Harlem. Paloma has dedicated her professional life to eliminating health disparities and improving the lives of the people in the communities that she serves. Under her leadership, services have been developed assuring that the medically frail and elderly have access to integrated and well-coordinated care. Paloma currently serves as the Secretary of the Board of Directors of NACHC. Paloma holds two Masters from Columbia University’s Teachers College and Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, and two Honorary Doctoral Degrees in Social Sciences from Boston College and Humane Letters from Metropolitan College of New York.

Michael R. Taylor has been employed by the Cornell Scott-Hill Health Center (CS-HHC) of New Haven, CT, since 2010 and served as its Chief Executive Officer since 2012. Michael is a creative entrepreneur who is deeply passionate about community health’s capacity to improve the quality of people’s lives. His tenure at CS-HHC can best be described as a time of rededication to the legacy created by Cornell Scott and, with that, one of innovation, renaissance and growth and development. Under his guidance, CS-HHC’s leadership team fortified the health center’s financial position; blazed a trail of care integration; quality and patient centeredness; renovated and expanded or replaced existing care sites added new care sites and services; and bolstered internal systems and infrastructure such that CS-HHC is projected in the next two years to direct 700+ staff members who serve almost 55,000 greater New Haven residents annually.

Michael earned a B.S. degree in Accounting and Finance from Northeastern University and supplemented his education with coursework in healthcare management. He serves on the Boards of Directors of the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce, the Community Health Center Association of CT, Community Health Network of CT and the National Association of Community Health Centers.

Michael Holmes has served as the CEO of Scenic Rivers Health Services, a Community Health Center located in northern Minnesota, since 1979. Under his leadership, Scenic Rivers Services has grown from a single, modest site to a center that today operates 6 medical clinics and 4 dental clinics in an 8,000 square mile service area. He has testified before Congress numerous times, advocating for a strong primary care infrastructure and the need to support health centers as they are increasingly called upon to respond to public health crises. Holmes has held posts as NACHC Treasurer and past Parliamentarian, in addition to membership on NACHC’s Finance and Health Policy Committees. Holmes also serves as Treasurer of the Minnesota Association of Community Health Centers and chairs the Breakwater Health Network. Holmes holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Ambassador College.

Kimberly Chang MD, MPH is a Family Physician and Human Trafficking and Healthcare Policy Fellow at Asian Health Services (AHS) in Oakland, California. As a Fellow in Minority Health Policy at Harvard Medical School, she completed a policy practicum addressing the role of health centers in caring for victims of human trafficking. Kimberly has provided care for many commercially sexually exploited children; and has trained thousands of U.S. and international front-line multidisciplinary professionals on the health care intersect with human trafficking. She has also provided expert testimony to Congress on “Best Practices in Rescuing Trafficking Victims.” In 2021, she was appointed by President Biden to the President’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders (WHIAANHPI) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Veronica Clarke is the President and CEO of TCA Health, Inc. a Federally Qualified Health Center deep in Chicago’s South Side since 2006. She is currently the Board Chair of the South Side Healthy Community Organization (SSHCO), which is comprised of 13 health care organizations – safety net hospitals, health systems and Federally Qualified Health Centers – on the South Side of Chicago. She is past chair of the Illinois Primary Health Care Association (IPHCA). She is currently a member of NACHC’s Health Care in Public Housing Task Force, Legislative Committee, Health Policy Committee, LGBTQ Health Task Force and Subcommittee on Health Center Financing. She is the current Co-Chair of AllianceChicago and IPHCA Health Center Controlled Networks (HCCN) Collaborative for Technology-Enabled Transformation in Community Health (P-Tech) Committee which represents Illinois-based FQHCs. Veronica earned a MS from Eastern Illinois University. Currently, she is completing her PhD in Public Policy with an emphasis in Health Care Administration.

Sue Veer has served as the President/CEO for Carolina Health Centers, Inc. (CHC) since 2006. CHC serves as the medical home for over 27,000 patients with 12 primary care practices located throughout a seven-county area of South Carolina. The CHC in-house 340B pharmacy, opened in 2005, has grown to a robust pharmacy program, dispensing 30,000 prescriptions per month throughout CHC’s service area. Sue has led the development of several NACHC initiatives to support 340B strategy and compliance. Her professional background includes management roles in private practice and community hospitals, as well as at the University of Pittsburgh.

John Santistevan serves as Salud Family Health’s President and CEO, establishing the strategic vision for the organization and overseeing all operations. Prior to this position, John served as Salud’s Deputy President/CEO and Chief Financial Officer. He joined Salud in 1996 and since that time, he has been on the front lines promoting expanded access to all members of the community, with a focus on health equity. He currently serves as a Board member on the National Center for Farmworkers Health Association, the Colorado Health Provider Association, Colorado Community Health Network, Colorado Community Managed Care Network, Community Health Provider Association, Community Health Association of Mountain/Plain States, and the Trinidad Miners Baseball Alumni Association. The Board of Commissioners in Adams County proclaimed October 25, 2022 as “John Santistevan Day” in Adams County, while Governor Jared Polis proclaimed September 26, 2022 as “John Santistevan Day” across the State of Colorado.
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Virginia Fuata has served as the Strategic Initiative Liaison of Lili’uokalani Trust located on Oahu Island, Hawaii, since 1996. Virginia is currently a member on NACHC’s Agricultural Worker Health Committee, Rural Health Committee. Virginia currently serves as First Vice Chair of the Board of Directors of Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center and chairs the Quality Assurance, Patient Engagement, and Corporate Compliance committee, along with the Chuck Wothke Scholarship committee (Member), and Board Director of ‘Elepaio Social Services. Virginia is also Co-Founder/Board Member of Waianae High School and Community Foundation, and Consumer Board member of HPCA – Hawaii Primary Care Pay for Performance committee, as well as the Advisory Committee Board Representative for AHARO – Accountable Healthcare Alliance of Rural Oahu.

Aaron Todd has served as the CEO of the Iowa Primary Care Association, INConcertCare, and IowaHealth+ since 2019. Aaron leads a staff of 48 who are working to support the evolution of a statewide, community-health-focused system of care that envisions health equity for all, including the 252,000+ Iowans who receive care at Iowa’s community health centers annually. Previously, Aaron worked for the Iowa Legislature, leading research and negotiations on health and human services policy and budget decisions on behalf of the Senate Majority. Prior to his work in healthcare policy, Aaron’s career focused on economic and community development, a passion of his that he now pursues through service with nonprofit organizations and government commissions. Aaron earned a Master of Health Care Delivery Science from Dartmouth College, Master in Public Policy from Rutgers University, and a Bachelor of Science from Iowa State University.