NACHC Candidates’ Forum 2024

Candidate for Vice-Speaker of the House

(This Executive Committee Office is held for a two-year term)

Veronica Clarke
Chief Executive Officer
TCA Health, Inc.
Chicago, IL

Dear Colleagues,

Today I introduce myself and ask for your support as I seek another term as Vice Speaker of the House. I look forward to the opportunity to continue representing you and your community health centers on the NACHC Board of Directors.

I have served as the President & CEO of TCA Health, Inc. NFP, in Chicago since 2006. TCA Health caters to a diverse patient community across the far Southside of Chicago and under my leadership has extended its reach into Northwest Indiana, therefore broadening its impact.

In addition to my executive duties, I have held the position of Vice Speaker of the House for one year while also sitting on the Executive Committee. I have always held firm to my commitment to my community and hold past roles as Board Chair of several nonprofits in the Chicagoland area. I hold a Master of Science degree from Eastern Illinois University and am currently pursuing a PhD in Public Policy and Administration. I have also completed the prestigious Johnson and Johnson/UCLA Healthcare Executive Program.

I firmly believe that healthcare is a fundamental human right, not a privilege reserved for the few. By prioritizing inclusivity, cultural competence, and proactive community engagement, we can create a healthcare landscape that is truly equitable and accessible to all.

It would be a great honor to continue serving as the Vice Speaker of the House on the NACHC Board and I look forward to earning your vote of confidence.

Candidate For Vice-Speaker of the House

(This Executive Committee Office is held for a two-year term)

Henry Tuttle
President/Chief Executive Officer
Health Center Partners of Southern California
San Diego, CA

I seek the vice speaker position on the board. With 40 years of transformative leadership, I have driven meaningful change in nonprofit and for-profit sectors. I am excited to facilitate innovation that ensure we become employers, providers, and partners of choice.

Twenty years ago, I left a Fortune 100 company to revitalize a failing FQHC in MA. Despite significant challenges, the dedicated staff inspired me to lead the turnaround. Their passion for the mission taught me that our greatest asset is our people. In leading multi-site FQHCs since, I have balanced capital needs and revenue generation, expanded facilities and service areas, while delivering high-quality health care to ensure greater access to care for underserved populations.

Ten years ago, I was called to lead Health Center Partners of Southern California which we have grown into a family of companies with a consolidated operating budget of $181M. We support 16 members including FQHCs, Indian Health Organizations, and Planned Parenthood, serving 650,000 patients annually. We focus on health policy, patient advocacy, training and education, technical assistance and resources. Our CIN achieved top HEDIS scores and became a Risk Bearing Organization with over 400,000 lives under management.

I would bring to the board a unique perspective on future opportunities, identifying and pushing the developmental edge for advancements in equity. My goal is to braid diverse ideas into one future direction, with strategies for implementation. Our challenge lies in re-imagining traditional paradigms to develop new business models, revenue streams, and opportunities for growth. Our mission is righteous, our work imperative, and our impact profound. To ensure we are the employers, providers, and partners of choice, we must create the environment wherein our employees feel valued and empowered, leading to remarkable outcomes for our patients and communities.

If you share this vision, I’d appreciate your vote.

Candidate For Secretary

(This Executive Committee Office is held for a two-year term)

Sue Veer
Chief Executive Officer
Carolina Health Centers
Greenwood, SC

I am pleased to announce my candidacy for a second term in the office of Secretary of the Board of Directors for the National Association of Community Health Centers.

Serving as the Secretary of the NACHC Board of Directors and on the Executive Committee for the past two years has been extremely rewarding. In 2022, I promised to be a strong advocate for transformational leadership – leadership that positions Community Health Centers to be at the center of our nation’s health care delivery system now and into the future. I made that promise at a time when NACHC was on the precipice of its own transition, and I feel fortunate to be actively participating in the leadership and cultural transformation of an organization as vital to the health centers as NACHC. I hope to continue supporting and contributing to our ongoing transformation by serving a second term as your Board Secretary.

For those who don’t know me, I will briefly introduce myself:

I have served as the CEO of Carolina Health Centers, Inc., a health center serving seven rural counties of South Carolina, for 18 years. Prior to that, my career included three community
hospitals, a major academic medical center, a private OBGYN practice, and the South Carolina Primary Health Care Association. The common thread throughout my career has been patient
advocacy and ensuring access for those who are underserved, and it was at the SCPHCA that I first learned about community health centers. There I found my home in the health center movement and have never looked back!

My extensive and diverse healthcare background, the past 20+ years in the community health center movement, and my consistent work on multiple NACHC committees, provide a strong foundation for continuing to serve in a leadership position on the NACHC Board.

Candidate For Consumer/Board Member Representative

(This Executive Committee Office is held for a two-year term)

Virginia (Ginger) Fuata
1st Vice Chair, Board of Directors
Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center
Waianae, HI

With heartfelt gratitude and humility, I seek your continued support as I stand for re-election as your Consumer/Board Member Representative on the NACHC Executive Committee.

My life’s work has been shaped by a legacy of mālama, caring deeply for our ʻohana (family), our ʻāina (land), and our kaiāulu (community). My journey through public service, has been a path of dedication and advocacy. My roots in our local culture guide my vision and service. From overseeing my own wholesale business endeavors to contributing a decade of meticulous work as an AAFES auditor, my diverse experiences have honed a keen sense of responsibility and leadership.

It is the deep sense of responsibility to our children that drives my commitment. As part of the Lili’uokalani Trust, I create thriving futures for Hawaiian children. I have extended this mission through my service at WCCHC and have served diligently on the NACHC Board since 2015 and in the health center movement beginning in 2006.

As your Consumer/Board Member Representative, I have upheld the belief in an old Hawaiian proverb, ʻAʻohe hana nui ke alu ʻia, meaning “no task is too big when done together by all.” My approach of “Listen, Plan, Do” emphasizes collective effort, ensuring we appropriately represent the voices of 31.5 million patients served by community health centers so that their needs are heard and met in every policy discussion.

I have a record of successful advocacy and grassroots organizing, including participation, and executing many communities needs during the pandemic, and I stand ready to continue our shared pursuit of health equity. My work with the GAO Tribal and Indigenous Advisory Council have provided me with experience in bridging gaps in accessibility.

I remain committed to advocating for healthcare as a universal right, supporting education, opportunity, and navigating the intricacies between local action and national policy. Let us continue to work together, to strengthen the foundation laid by the leaders and pioneers who walked before us.

Candidate For Clinician Representative to the NACHC Board of Directors

(This is held for a two-year term)

Dan Miller, MD
Senior Advisor
Sun River Health
Peekskill, NY

This is a powerful time for our Community Health Center movement and for NACHC.

During the COVID pandemic, we demonstrated that we are the most effective clinical arm of our country’s public health efforts. When the country sought a way to vaccinate people most at
risk, we were there. When we needed to find a way to treat those with early illness to prevent death and more serious illness, we were there. We were where we have always been – serving
the people and communities most burdened with illness and disease. Community Health Centers were at the center of all of this. It was clear to everyone, and yet today we still struggle
for adequate support and funding to maintain our work, let alone to grow and serve those who need us most.

Our nation’s struggle for justice and equity continues and we are at the center of that struggle. As a Senior Advisor and practicing physician for Sun River Health and as the co-Chair of NACHC’s Task Force on Undoing Racism, I am more convinced of this than ever. This struggle is hard, but we are strong and our vision is clear. Our movement is now poised to grow and to lead our country to true health equity, to demonstrate that this can be done and that when it is done, everyone’s health and well-being will benefit.

This is a powerful moment for us, filled with great opportunity and potential. I have served as a Clinician Representative on the NACHC Board since 2014 and I would be honored to continue this work and serve another term.

Candidate for Health Center Board Member Representative to the NACHC Board of Directors

(This is held for a two-year term)

Malikah Muhammad
Board Vice Chair
The Wellness Center
Detroit, MI

My interest in consumer health is the concern for affordable quality healthcare for all Americans. As a consumer, I believe in good health, nutritional foods, exercise, and regular doctor visits. Healthcare is a necessity that impacts everyone, regardless of geographic location or world view.

Currently, I am NACHC Certified in Health Center Governance. I have been attending Policies and Issues Forums since 2017; I joined NACHC in 2019. At present, I serve nationally on the Consumer, Legislative and Membership Committees. Locally, I serve on the Patient Experience, Nominating and Compliance Committees for The Wellness Plan Medical Centers. I have 31 years of teaching experience, and now retired schoolteacher from Detroit Public Schools, Election Chairman in Detroit; Precinct 150, Certified Consultant for over 40 years, and able to foster peace in an emergency.

The medical staff at The Wellness Plan have taken diligent care of me. My doctors are available to me for personal visits, emails, or telephone calls. Current prescriptions are readily available, as well as completion of forms.

Now, I travel across America and see healthcare in action. Millions of Americans are utilizing these services. As a Health Center Board Member, we oversee the monthly activities of our center: staff, finances, and daily operations, etc. Monthly, we analyze the reports of the respective departments.

I am one of the last recipients of the Certificate of Health Center Governance. Attending NACHC Governance classes was the high point of my involvement: being an educational pursuit.
If I am honored to serve as NACHC Consumer Board Representative on NACHC Board of Directors, I will do my best to advocate for the rights of our consumers. My motto, “Putting the Patient First.”

Candidate For Health Center Board Member Representative to the NACHC Board of Directors

(This is held for a two-year term)

Deborah Woolford
Board Chair
Park West Health System
Baltimore, MD

Greetings to my fellow servants and warriors in the NACHC movement

My name is Ms. Deborah E. Woolford, LMSW, Board Chair, Park West Health Systems, Inc. in Baltimore, Maryland. I have been a member of the National Association of Community Health Centers since 2007 and joined the ranks of lifetime membership in 2021. I have served on the following committees: Consumer Board Member, Health Care for the Homeless, and Service Integration for Behavioral Health & HIV for many years. I am Board Governance certified and a graduate of the Advocacy Leadership Program.

I am seeking to be re-elected as your Health Center Board Member Representative to the NACHC Board. Since joining the NACHC movement, I have used my passion and skills to keep the legacy of our founders alive. I am known as a coalition builder, team player, problem solver, and a tenacious voice for our patients to ensure they have access to outstanding affordable health care regardless of their ability to pay.

As your re-elected Health Center Board Member Representative, I will continue to seek opportunities on the national, state, and local levels to establish or participate in partnerships that extend health care centers abilities to improve the quality of life for the people we serve. In addition to other health care organizations, partners could include schools, food supply centers, housing agencies and economic development corporations. These entities play a major role in the health conditions of our constituents.

There is nothing more important than health which is our principal capital asset. Quality and affordable health care is a human right.

It will be my humble pleasure to continue to serve as our Health Center Board Member Representative.