Biographies

2006 TCWF Sabbatical Honoree Bios

Speranza Avram

Executive Director, Northern Sierra Rural Health Network
Nevada City

In the mid 1990s, leaders of clinics and hospitals from a four-county region came together to discuss common issues — from that the Northern Sierra Rural Health Network (NSRHN) was established in 1997 as a regional clinic consortium, with Speranza Avram as its director and first employee. Since that humble beginning, the consortium has grown under Avram’s leadership into a support network serving more than 40 members from the rural counties of Lassen, Modoc, Nevada, Plumas, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Tehama and Trinity. She earned a BA in community studies from UC Santa Cruz and a MPA from the University of San Francisco. In addition to her responsibilities at NSRHN, Avram serves as board president of the California State Rural Health Association.

Louis Chicoine

Executive Director, Tri-City Homeless Coalition
Fremont

Louis Chicoine has served as the executive director of Tri-City Homeless Coalition (TCHC) since 1994. Under Chicoine’s leadership, it has become a multifaceted organization that serves more than 1,500 clients and operates 150 units of permanent, supportive housing that include comprehensive support services such as health care and substance abuse programs. TCHC also operates a mobile health and social services clinic that travels to many locations where homeless people congregate. Chicoine received a BA in philosophy and psychology from Holy Names College in Oakland, a MA in pastoral studies from Seattle University and a MSW in social work from California State University, Sacramento. Among his many community service activities, he is the founder and board president for Allied Housing, Inc. and a board member of the City of Fremont Redevelopment Advisory Council.

Brian Contreras

Executive Director, 2nd Chance Family & Youth Services
Salinas

In 1989, Brian Contreras created 2nd Chance Youth Program to address gang issues in Monterey County. Under Contreras’ leadership, 2nd Chance has earned the respect of the community for its impressive track record at reaching youth at risk — in a region of California with an exceedingly high murder rate and frequent school violence. Contreras and his staff relate well to the young people they work with because many of their backgrounds are similar to the target population. Contreras, a former gang member, is now a respected expert on violence prevention, who, in addition to his responsibilities with 2nd Chance, also serves on the Monterey County Park and Recreation Commission and Monterey County Juvenile Justice Commission, is a member of the Mayor’s Gang Task Force (Salinas) and is on the board of directors of the United Way of Monterey County.

Xavier Flores

Executive Director, Pueblo Y Salud, Inc.
San Fernando

In 1986, Xavier Flores co-founded the Latino Coalition on Alcohol Issues of the San Fernando Valley (it became Pueblo y Salud in 1991), bringing with him more than 10 years of experience working for California mental health and substance abuse prevention and recovery centers. Pueblo y Salud’s mission is to improve the social conditions of the Latino community in Los Angeles by increasing and creating opportunities for self-empowerment. Working with residents to advocate for healthier and safer communities, the organization has accomplished the reduction (by almost half) of tobacco and alcohol availability, contributing to the decline of DUI arrests in Pacoima — as credited by the Foothill Division of the Los Angeles Police Department — and conducted alcohol prevention education activities to more than 40,000 youth in the San Fernando and Antelope Valleys of Los Angeles County. Flores is active as a board member for a number of local and statewide organizations including the San Fernando Valley Partnership and the California Latino Alcohol and Drug Coalition.

Harry Foster

President & CEO, Family Healthcare Network
Visalia

Harry Foster has decades of experience in health care planning and administration. He became the executive director of Porterville Family Health Center in 1982, which became the Family Health Care Network in 1996. Under Foster’s helm, the agency grew from a staff of eight to 625 and from a single clinic to a multisite health network serving more than 81,000 patients — in one of the poorest regions of the state. He earned a BS in psychology from Weber State University of Utah and a MS in community medicine from University of Utah’s College of Medicine. Foster is a sought-after advisor on developing primary care delivery systems and serves on many boards and panels of regional, state and national health associations, including as board president of the Central California Health Systems Agency; founding member and treasurer of the California Primary Care Association and as vice board chair and treasurer for the National Center for Farm Worker Health.

Michael Green

Executive Director, Center for Environmental Health
Oakland

In 1996, Michael Green founded the Center for Environmental Health (CEH) in Oakland, bringing with him more than 13 years of professional and volunteer experience working on behalf of underrepresented people. Under Green’s leadership, CEH has made a name for itself working at the intersection of health and the environment — reducing pollution and promoting alternatives to toxic chemicals that can cause health problems such as cancer, asthma, learning disabilities and birth defects. CEH is at the forefront of the Health Care Without Harm coalition, which works to make health care facilities safer and less toxic, advocating for regulations that ensure corporations that use health-endangering toxic chemicals are held accountable. He received a BS from the UC, Berkeley’s College of National Resources and a Master of Public Policy and a MS in international natural resource policy from the University of Michigan. Green is active as a board member with a number of nonprofit associations, including the Environmental Justice and Health Union and is a steering committee member of the California League for Environmental Enforcement Now.

Rojane Jackson

Founding Executive Director, Community Interface Services
Carlsbad

Rojane Jackson founded Community Interface Services in 1983 to provide services, support and advocacy for adults with developmental disabilities in San Diego County. Community Interface Services staff is trained to serve as health advocates and has assisted nearly 500 individuals with access to health and social services, housing and vocational training. Under Jackson’s leadership, Community Interface Services has grown steadily to become a strong human service agency of 100 full-time staff. She received her BS from San Diego State University in child psychology and a Master’s of Rehabilitation Administration from University of San Francisco’s Mc Laren Graduate School of Business. Jackson’s many community involvement activities include serving on the advisory committee to the board of directors of the San Diego Regional Center for the Developmentally Disabled and on the steering committee for the Regional Center’s Self Determination Project.

Pheng Lo

Executive Director, Lao Family Community of Stockton, Inc.
Stockton

As a Hmong refugee, Pheng Lo worked with other refugees in Denver in 1980. Moving to Stockton a few years later, he continued working for nonprofit organizations serving disenfranchised Southeast Asians and joined Lao Family Community (LFC) in 1986. LFC provides health and social services to more than 500 clients each year, teaching them to navigate the local community, providing health education and health access, medical translation and transportation services. Under Lo’s leadership, LFC has built strong relationships with local officials to help improve health and social service delivery systems to better address the needs of immigrants, and Lo himself is sought-after as an advisor regarding the health and human service needs of recent immigrants, serving on advisory committees of The Record newspaper of Stockton, the California Youth Authority, the Stockton Unified School District and the Health Plan of San Joaquin. He also serves as a director to the boards of the San Joaquin Indochinese Association and the Asian Advisory Council of Stockton.