Our Team
Our Staff
Office of the President
President and CEO
David Sandman
President and CEO
David Sandman
David Sandman, Ph.D., is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the New York Health Foundation (NYHealth), a private foundation dedicated to improving the health of all New Yorkers, especially the most vulnerable. Since 2006, NYHealth has invested nearly $174 million in initiatives to improve health care and the public health system in New York State. Equally important, the Foundation is committed to sharing the results and lessons of its grantmaking; informing policy and practice through timely, credible analysis and commentary; and serving as a convener of health care leaders and stakeholders throughout New York State.
Dr. Sandman was named President and CEO in 2016, after serving as NYHealth’s Senior Vice President. Previously, Dr. Sandman was appointed by the Governor of New York as Executive Director of the Commission on Health Care Facilities in the 21st Century, also known as the “Berger Commission.” The Commission was a nonpartisan, broad-based panel charged with evaluating and reforming the State’s health care delivery and financing systems. It developed recommendations to reconfigure the supply of hospitals and nursing homes to best respond to community needs for high-quality, affordable, and accessible care.
After serving as Executive Director of the Berger Commission, Dr. Sandman became a Managing Director of Manatt Health Solutions, where he advised health care providers, foundations, payers, associations, government, and companies regarding development of new health care programs, services, and restructuring plans. Earlier, he was a Vice President at Harris Interactive, a global research and consulting firm. Prior to joining Harris Interactive, Dr. Sandman served as Assistant Vice President at the Commonwealth Fund, where he was responsible for projects related to health care coverage and access, health care in New York City, Medicare, and quality of care issues. He also served as a policy analyst with the City of New York Department of Health; at a number of community-based HIV/AIDS organizations; and as a researcher at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C.
Dr. Sandman received his Bachelor of Arts degree, Phi Beta Kappa, from Haverford College, and his Master of Public Administration degree and Ph.D. from New York University’s Wagner School of Public Service. He is a Fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine and a member of the Herman Biggs Society; he also serves on Philanthropy New York’s Board of Directors.
Visiting Fellow
Dave A. Chokshi
Visiting Fellow
Dave A. Chokshi
Dave A. Chokshi, M.D., is a Visiting Fellow at the New York Health Foundation (NYHealth), where he provides counsel on a range of issues. He will advise the Foundation on opportunities and strategies for promoting the adoption and spread of overdose prevention centers within New York State; increasing primary care access and capacity statewide and promoting racial health equity through primary care; preventing veteran suicide and meeting veterans’ health needs; and responding to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Prior to joining NYHealth, Dr. Chokshi was the 43rd Commissioner of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Before this appointment, Dr. Chokshi served as the inaugural Chief Population Health Officer at NYC Health + Hospitals. Earlier, he worked at the New York State Department of Health and the Louisiana Department of Health, before and after Hurricane Katrina. He also served as a White House Fellow and was the principal health advisor to the U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs. He has taken care of patients as a primary care physician at Bellevue Hospital since 2014 and is a clinical professor of population health and medicine at NYU.
Dr. Chokshi trained in internal medicine at Brigham & Women’s Hospital, where he received the Dunne Award for Compassionate Care, and was a clinical fellow at Harvard Medical School. During his training, Dr. Chokshi did clinical work in Guatemala, Peru, Botswana, Ghana, and India. He received his M.D. with Alpha Omega Alpha distinction from the University of Pennsylvania, where he was elected by his peers to win the Joel Gordon Miller Prize. He also earned an M.Sc. in global public health as a Rhodes Scholar at the University of Oxford, and he graduated summa cum laude from Duke University.
Executive Assistant
Olivia Williams
Executive Assistant
Olivia Williams
As Executive Assistant to the President and CEO of the New York Health Foundation (NYHealth), Olivia Williams is responsible for directly supporting the president and assisting in the facilitation and execution of administrative responsibilities for NYHealth. Her duties include coordinating meetings and travel arrangements; preparing correspondence and reports; maintaining schedules; and assisting with managing the executive office. Ms. Williams also serves as liaison to the Board of Directors.
Prior to joining NYHealth, Ms. Williams worked in the education industry for 10 years. She served as a high school teacher at Westfield Ninth Grade Center, Westfield High School, and Dekaney High School in Houston, Texas. She taught 9th–12th grade math to students in general education, special education, and the English as a Second Language (ESL) program, specializing in working with students with emotional disturbances.
Ms. Williams earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Accounting from the University of Houston, a teaching certificate from Texas Teachers, and a Master of Public Administration degree from Rutgers University’s School of Public Affairs and Administration.
Program
Program Assistant
Penelope Campos
Program Assistant
Penelope Campos
As Program Assistant, Penelope Campos provides administrative support to the Vice President of Programs, as well as program support to the Empowering Health Care Consumers and Special Projects Fund teams. She is responsible for assisting in grants management, grantee communications, event coordination, and research. She works closely with NYHealth staff to develop and design grant opportunities.
Prior to joining NYHealth, Ms. Campos was a planning and coordination intern for the Human Services Coalition, an organization dedicated to enhancing the delivery of health and human services in Tompkins County. She supported leadership development programming, information and referral services, and outreach projects for the agency’s health planning council. Ms. Campos also worked within education management as an intern for Public Preparatory Network, where she supported the talent and operations teams.
Ms. Campos holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Government from Cornell University.
Program Officer
Derek Coy
Program Officer
Derek Coy
As Program Officer, Derek Coy focuses on expanding veterans’ access to community-based services; leveraging federal and private funds to increase the dollars available to returning veterans in New York State; and serving as a thought leader, convener, and advocate to improve the health of returning veterans and their families.
Prior to joining NYHealth, Mr. Coy served as the development manager at The Doe Fund, an organization dedicated to breaking the cycles of recidivism and homelessness, where he revamped and modernized its fundraising efforts. Before that role, Mr. Coy was the annual fund officer at the American Civil Liberties Union, helping produce STAND, the organization’s bi-annual magazine, and its annual appeals. Mr. Coy has considerable experience working in the veteran space, and used his role as senior development associate at Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America to advocate for changes in our nation’s capital.
Mr. Coy received a Bachelor of Arts degree, Phi Alpha Theta, from the University of Houston Clear Lake, and a Master of Arts degree in Middle Eastern History from the City College of New York, where he focused on 20th century Iranian history. He is also a former Sergeant in the United States Marine Corps, and served a yearlong deployment to Iraq’s Anbar Province in 2005.
Administrative Assistant
Blandine Etienne
Administrative Assistant
Blandine Etienne
As Administrative Assistant, Blandine Etienne is responsible for supporting NYHealth’s team of program officers. Her duties include coordinating travel arrangements; assisting with meeting and event planning; tracking expenses and submitting expense reports; and providing general administrative assistance.
Prior to joining NYHealth, Ms. Etienne has used her customer service and administrative skills in the telecommunications, allied health, and publishing industries.
Ms. Etienne has an Associate’s degree in Biology from Kingsborough Community College and a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from Cornell University.
Program Officer
Ali Foti
Program Officer
Ali Foti
As a Program Officer at the New York Health Foundation (NYHealth), Ali Foti leads NYHealth’s priority area of empowering health care consumers, which focuses on ways to engage patients as partners in their health care decision-making and increase transparency in the health care system.
Ms. Foti is a public health practitioner with diverse experience in health philanthropy, consumer advocacy, and health care provider education. Prior to joining NYHealth, Ms. Foti was a program officer with the Mt. Sinai Health Foundation in Cleveland, Ohio. Ms. Foti formulated Mt. Sinai’s strategic grantmaking strategies in maternal and child health, early childhood mental health, and Medicaid financing of population health initiatives. Previously, Ms. Foti worked with the Institute for Patient-Centered Initiatives and Health Equity at the George Washington University Cancer Center, where she designed clinician trainings on equitable and patient-centered approaches to cancer treatment and research. At the National Partnership for Women & Families, she coordinated federal government relations on behalf of a national coalition of consumer advocates striving to increase consumer access to their health information and incorporate consumer voices into health care payment and delivery system reform.
Ms. Foti holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of Michigan and a Master of Public Health degree from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
Vice President of Programs
Avital Havusha
Vice President of Programs
Avital Havusha
As Vice President of Programs at the New York Health Foundation (NYHealth), Avital Havusha, M.P.H., oversees and develops the Foundation’s programs and priority areas, Empowering Health Care Consumers and Healthy Food, Healthy Lives, as well as its Special Projects Fund and focus on Veterans’ Health. Ms. Havusha plays a leadership role in developing and implementing the Foundation’s goals and strategies and in ensuring quality and accountability of its grantmaking. She promotes synergy across all of the Foundation’s grantmaking, contributes to the Foundation’s proactive policy agenda, and builds partnerships with other foundations and stakeholders.
Prior to joining NYHealth, Ms. Havusha held a number of leadership roles in the public health and health care sectors in New York State. At the Primary Care Development Corporation (PCDC), Ms. Havusha oversaw operations, strategy, project execution, and business development for PCDC’s capacity-building and technical assistance programs, supporting primary care practices to provide patient-centered and coordinated care. At Public Health Solutions, Ms. Havusha oversaw and managed large-scale health and human service programs in the areas of food and nutrition, reproductive health care, maternal and child health, and health care access. Earlier, at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, she played a lead role in coordinating the department’s response to federal and State health care reform and was a member of the leadership team that developed the Take Care New York policy agenda. Ms. Havusha has also held roles at Yale University’s School of Public Health and at an anti-hunger organization in Massachusetts.
Ms. Havusha holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Washington University in St. Louis and a Master of Public Health degree from Yale University, with a concentration in health policy and administration.
Senior Program Officer
Julia McCarthy
Senior Program Officer
Julia McCarthy
As Senior Program Officer, Julia McCarthy helps lead NYHealth’s Healthy Food, Healthy Lives priority area, the goal of which is to create a more equitable food system that connects all New Yorkers with the food they need to thrive.
Prior to joining NYHealth, Ms. McCarthy served as the deputy director of the Laurie M. Tisch Center for Food, Education & Policy at Teachers College of Columbia University, where she oversaw operations, strategy, and project execution. Ms. McCarthy also held policy roles at the Center for Science in the Public Interest and the Natural Resources Defense Council.
Ms. McCarthy holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Georgetown University and a Juris Doctor degree from New York University School of Law, where she was a Root-Tilden-Kern scholar. She has served on the advisory committee on public policy for the Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior and on the food retail advisory board for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
Program Officer
Sophia Silao
Program Officer
Sophia Silao
As Program Officer, Sophia Silao manages the New York Health Foundation’s (NYHealth’s) Special Projects Fund, a funding portfolio that allows NYHealth to respond to shifts in the health care environment, especially to innovative ideas that emerge from the health field.
Ms. Silao has broad experience in philanthropy, nonprofit capacity building, and health care administration. Prior to joining NYHealth, Ms. Silao was administrative director of the oncology service line, and later for pediatrics, at NewYork-Presbyterian Queens. She led teams to optimize clinical care coordination, expand patient engagement initiatives, and develop growth strategies and key performance indicators. Ms. Silao was also manager of its grants program, helping to launch several hospital projects, including outpatient antibiotic stewardship, clinician trainings in advance care planning, and pediatric primary care screenings for social determinants of health. Ms. Silao was associate director for Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy and program officer for New York Women’s Foundation and North Star Fund. Her portfolios included workforce development, gender-based health and safety, youth programming, and community organizing.
Ms. Silao holds a Bachelor of Science in Political Science from Binghamton University and a Master of Public Administration degree from New York University’s Wagner School of Public Service. She co-chaired the NY Chapter of Asian Americans Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy.
Senior Program Officer
Bronwyn Starr
Senior Program Officer
Bronwyn Starr
As Senior Program Officer, Bronwyn Starr helps lead NYHealth’s Healthy Food, Healthy Lives priority area, with a goal to create a more equitable food system that connects all New Yorkers with the food they need to thrive.
Prior to Healthy Food, Healthy Lives, Ms. Starr managed the Foundation’s Building Healthy Communities priority area, supporting residents, community-based organizations, and government agencies to improve neighborhood health. She has also supported county health departments in reducing health disparities and preventing chronic disease; expanding primary care access and capacity in the most rural parts of New York State; and increasing recruitment and retention of New York State’s primary care workforce.
Prior to joining NYHealth, Ms. Starr led a program at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene that helped primary care providers improve medication adherence for their patients. She previously worked in the international health sector with Catholic Relief Services and Planned Parenthood, and was a New York City emergency medical technician for 10 years.
Ms. Starr holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of Oregon and a Master of Public Health degree from New York University. She serves on the steering committee for Community Food Funders and The New York State Council on Hunger and Food Policy.
Senior Program Assistant
Liz Ward
Senior Program Assistant
Liz Ward
As Senior Program Assistant, Liz Ward supports the Healthy Food, Healthy Lives and Veterans’ Health program areas. She assists program staff and senior management with grants management, grantee communications, event coordination, and programmatic research. She works closely with program staff to help design and develop grant opportunities.
Prior to joining NYHealth, Ms. Ward was an executive assistant for a woman-owned, New York City-based lobbying firm, responsible for event coordination, communications, public relations, and general administration. She also worked in Boston as a paralegal for the Consumer Assistance Program at Health Law Advocates and as a development intern at Health Care for All. She also interned for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Outreach and Enrollment Program at the Western MA Food Bank, where she assisted people with their SNAP benefits applications and helped organize community outreach events.
Ms. Ward holds a Bachelor of Science in Public Health, a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, and a certificate in Public Policy and Administration from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. She is currently pursuing a Master of Public Administration degree, concentrating in Urban Development and Sustainability, at CUNY Baruch’s Marxe School of Public and International Affairs, with an expected graduation date of May 2021.
Policy and Research
Director of Policy and Research
Mary Ford
Director of Policy and Research
Mary Ford
As Director of Policy and Research at the New York Health Foundation (NYHealth), Mary Ford, M.S., works in close partnership with the Foundation staff to develop the evidence-base for a proactive policy agenda that advances and magnifies outcomes in the Foundation’s key programmatic areas of Healthy Food, Healthy Lives; Empowering Health Care Consumers; and Veterans’ Health.
Ms. Ford joins NYHealth after more than a dozen years leading health care research and evaluation work that has advanced policy, programs, and health equity. Most recently, Ms. Ford was the Director of Evaluation and Analytics at the Primary Care Development Corporation, where she built a new research capacity examining primary care access that used this evidence to support advocacy and policy at State and local levels. Additionally, she partnered with staff across the organization to implement organizational impact and program-specific evaluation efforts.
Previously, Ms. Ford has held leadership roles at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, including the evaluation of a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Health Care Innovation Award and a collaboration with two large health care systems and Medicaid managed care organizations on a value-based payment model for an evidence-adapted hepatitis C care coordination program. Prior to that, she managed and expanded outcomes evaluation for a diverse portfolio of health grantees, simultaneously conducting community-based research to inform grantmaking strategies, at St. Luke’s Episcopal Health Charities in Houston, Texas.
Ms. Ford holds a Master of Science degree in Epidemiology and Biostatistics from the University of Texas Health Science Center and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology and Policy Studies from Rice University.
Communications
Vice President of Communications
Maureen Cozine
Vice President of Communications
Maureen Cozine
Vice President of Communications
Maureen Cozine
As Vice President of Communications, Maureen Cozine oversees all communications activities for the New York Health Foundation (NYHealth). She is responsible for developing the overall communications strategy to advance NYHealth’s mission to improve the health of all New Yorkers, especially the most vulnerable. The Foundation’s key communications priorities include sharing the results and lessons of the Foundation’s grantmaking; developing and disseminating timely, credible analyses of and commentary on pressing policy issues; and serving as a convener of health care leaders and stakeholders throughout New York State.
Prior to joining NYHealth in 2010, Ms. Cozine held a number of positions at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), most recently as senior communications officer and director of policy connections. In that role, she managed RWJF’s relationships with federal policymakers and worked with grantees to communicate effectively and build relationships with elected officials, the media, and other key audiences.
Ms. Cozine holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Colgate University and a Master of Public Health degree from Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. She serves on the board of the Communications Network, a national membership organization for communications professionals working in the social sector.
Communications Intern
Sarika Dasraj
Communications Intern
Sarika Dasraj
As the Public Health Communications Intern, Sarika Dasraj works to support the Foundation’s marketing and communications initiatives. She helps the communications department in maintaining the Foundation’s website and editing NYHealth written materials, publications, grantee profiles, and grant outcome reports.
Prior to joining NYHealth, Ms. Dasraj co-founded a South Asian Health and Research Club at New York University, with a focus on reducing health disparities in South Asian communities across New York City and the nation through research. In addition, she is currently working on a graduate research project centering on dietary intake and implementation of a better nutrition assessment tool for South Asians.
Ms. Dasraj holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Life Sciences from the New York Institute of Technology. She is currently pursuing a Master of Public Health degree, with a concentration in Global Health, at New York University’s School of Global Public Health.
Communications Officer
Stephany Fong
Communications Officer
Stephany Fong
As Communications Officer, Stephany Fong supports NYHealth’s communications strategies through capturing and sharing stories, news, and information relevant to NYHealth’s mission. She is responsible for developing the Foundation’s social media presence, updating and streamlining website content, promoting the Foundation’s work, and drafting and editing written materials for external and internal audiences.
Prior to joining NYHealth in 2015, Ms. Fong served as a Health Promotion Assistant at Columbia University’s Alice! Health Promotion office, developing and implementing health initiatives to improve physical activity, nutrition, and healthy relationships among students. Previously, Ms. Fong interned at Camino Public Relations, American Heart Association, and Orange County Health Care Agency.
Ms. Fong holds a Master of Public Health degree from Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health and a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology from the University of California, San Diego. She serves on the editorial board of Philanthropy New York’s PhilanthroPost and on the Engagement Advisory Council at The New York Women’s Foundation.
Communications Officer
Michele McEvoy
Communications Officer
Michele McEvoy
As Communications Officer, Michele McEvoy is responsible for supporting the New York Health Foundation’s (NYHealth’s) communications initiatives. Her duties include assisting with press releases and Foundation-related announcements, editing NYHealth publications and materials, and maintaining the Foundation’s website. Ms. McEvoy serves as the liaison for reporters and researchers seeking information about the Foundation’s work.
Ms. McEvoy has more than 10 years experience in the nonprofit field. Prior to joining the Foundation in January 2011, Ms. McEvoy was director of communications and fundraising at Grace Institute, a nonprofit providing tuition-free job training to underserved New York City-area women. Ms. McEvoy has also worked for the American Society for Microbiology as part of the production team for Microbe, the Society’s monthly magazine.
Ms. McEvoy holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Anthropology from University of Maryland at College Park and a Master of Arts degree in Journalism from New York University.
Finance, Operations, and Investment
Grants Assistant
Delali Ayivor
Grants Assistant
Delali Ayivor
As Grants Assistant, Delali Ayivor provides the Grants Manager with administrative support for NYHealth’s grants management processes and assists program and finance staff in all grants-related activities. In this role, she creates and monitors reporting schedules, deadlines, and requirements. She also serves as a primary point-of-contact for grantee organizations and applicants.
Prior to her role at NYHealth, Ms. Ayivor was a development coordinator at the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, where she assisted the fundraising team in crafting appeal campaigns, managed professional development opportunities for alumni of the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, and developed qualitative research methods to better understand and serve the Alliance’s donors and constituents.
Ms. Ayivor holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Cultural Anthropology from Reed College in Portland, Oregon. She is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Library and Information Sciences at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn.
Finance Associate
Knika Dass
Finance Associate
Knika Dass
As Finance Associate, Knika Dass is responsible for paying bills and grants promptly, keeping accurate records in the accounting system, reconciling accounts, and supporting the annual audit for the Foundation. Reporting to the Vice President, Finance and Operations, she works closely with the grants management and operations teams, as well as supports the entire staff in financial procedures.
Prior to joining NYHealth, Ms. Dass was an accounting associate for Kiwi Partners, a consulting firm providing accounting services to nonprofit organizations. She has performed bookkeeping for multiple nonprofit clients, including preparing invoices, managing client accounts, preparing reports, assisting with tax auditing, and documenting all accounting processes and procedures to ensure that they complied with company guidelines.
Ms. Dass earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Finance from Zicklin School of Business at Baruch College. She is currently in the process of obtaining her CPA license.
Vice President of Finance and Operations
Amy Driver
Vice President of Finance and Operations
Amy Driver
Vice President of Finance and Operations
Amy Driver
As Vice President of Finance and Operations, Amy Driver oversees finance and operations activities for the New York Health Foundation (NYHealth). She is responsible for implementing policies and procedures that promote good stewardship of the Foundation’s resources. Ms. Driver oversees accounting, human resources, grants management, and facilities. She is responsible for the annual audit and tax returns. Ms. Driver’s priorities are to ensure that NYHealth is an excellent workplace, that its operations are efficient, and that its legal and financial compliance requirements are met.
Ms. Driver has more than 20 years of nonprofit experience in finance, administration, fundraising, and public affairs. She joined NYHealth after 10 years in finance and administration for Children’s Rights, an advocacy organization working to reform the child welfare system nationwide.
Ms. Driver received a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of California at Berkeley and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Russian Area Studies from the University of California at Santa Cruz.
Grants Manager
Lynn Fitzgerald-Tahsir
Grants Manager
Lynn Fitzgerald-Tahsir
As Grants Manager, Lynn Fitzgerald-Tahsir is responsible for developing, implementing, monitoring, and documenting systems and procedures that facilitate the execution of the Foundation’s grantmaking. In addition, she is responsible for NYHealth’s grants management information data systems administration. Ms. Fitzgerald-Tahsir oversees the overall success of the database environment by implementing strategic solutions to continuously enhance NYHealth processes.
Ms. Fitzgerald-Tahsir has more than 15 years of experience in the nonprofit sector, including direct services with homeless families and program management for the NYC Department of Consumer Affairs’ Office of Financial Empowerment. She also served as the Assistant Manager of Programs and Evaluation for Community Education Group, an organization working to promote health equity in Southeast Washington, D.C. Most recently, Ms. Fitzgerald-Tahsir served as the Director of Grants Management and Operations at The New York Women’s Foundation.
Ms. Fitzgerald-Tahsir has a Master of Public Administration degree from George Mason University and a Bachelor of Social Work degree from The City University of New York, Lehman College.
Chief Investment Officer
Nick Smirensky
Chief Investment Officer
Nick Smirensky
As Chief Investment Officer, Nick Smirensky is responsible for managing the New York Health Foundation’s (NYHealth’s) investment portfolio and developing its investment strategy. He works with the Foundation’s Investment Committee to develop asset allocation policy, selects investment vehicles, and evaluates performance.
Prior to joining the Foundation, Mr. Smirensky was deputy chief investment officer and director of alternative investments with the $155 billion New York State Common Retirement Fund. He was director of New York’s College Savings Program and director of budget and financial analysis at the New York State Comptroller’s Office prior to joining the Common Retirement Fund.
Mr. Smirensky holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation, a Bachelor of Arts degree from Columbia College, and a Master of Arts degree from the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences of Columbia University. Mr. Smirensky is a trustee and a member of the Investment Committee of the New York State Teachers Retirement System and an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Public Administration at New York University’s Wagner School of Public Administration. He is also a member of the board of directors of the National Health Law Program.
Receptionist / Senior Office Assistant
Brunnie Urena
Receptionist / Senior Office Assistant
Brunnie Urena
Brunnie Urena has more than 14 years of administrative experience in nonprofit organizations. Prior to joining the New York Health Foundation, Ms. Urena was an administrative assistant at the Salvation Army of Greater New York where she served in the training department and assisted with scheduling, preparing curriculum and training materials, and performing a variety of other administrative tasks.
Our Board
NYHealth is governed by a nine-member Board of Directors, with one-third (respectively) appointed by the State Governor, the President of the State Senate, and the State Assembly Leader. The Board members serve three-year renewable terms. While all Board members participate actively in the governance and guidance of the Foundation, three—Courtney Burke, Ellen Rautenberg, and Robert G. Smith—are voting members.
Ellen Rautenberg (Chair)
President and CEO (Retired)
Public Health Solutions
Courtney Burke
Chief Operating Officer
Healthcare Association of New York State
Mary E. Craig, M.S.H.C.
President & CEO
Mary Craig Consulting Services, LLC
Michelle A. Koury, M.D.
Physician
Crystal Run Healthcare
Francis J. McDonough
Managing Partner
Lightower Capital
Kathleen Preston
Vice President, Government Programs
New York Health Plan Association
Robert G. Smith, Ph.D.
Founder and Chief Investment Officer
Smith Affiliated Capital Corp.
Community Advisory Committee
The Community Advisory Committee serves to broaden community input and perspectives on the development and implementation of activities related to NYHealth’s strategic priorities. Committee members inform the Foundation’s strategies and plans, serve as a source of local expertise and connections in communities throughout New York State, inform the Foundation of organizations that could be productive grantees and partners, and increases the visibility of the Foundation throughout the State. The Committee reflects New York State’s rich diversity in terms of geography, race and ethnicity, and areas of expertise.
Linda Beers
Public Health Director
Essex County Public Health
Chuck Bell
Programs Director
Consumers Union
Lauren Bruckner
Chief Medical Information Officer
Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center
Kate Ebersole
Principal
KEE Concepts Consulting
Anne Erickson
President & CEO
Empire Justice Center
Adrian Fassett
President & CEO
Economic Opportunity Council of Suffolk, Inc.
Janice Harbin, D.D.S.
President and Chief Executive Officer
Anthony L. Jordan Health Corporation
Claire Parde
Executive Director
Healthcare Consortium
Amanda Parsons, M.B.A., M.D.
Vice President, Clinical Services
Healthfirst
Melissa Spicer
Executive Director
Clear Path for Veterans
Emma K. Tsui, Ph.D., M.P.H.
Assistant Professor
CUNY Graduate School of Public Health & Health Policy
Bridget Walsh
Senior Policy Analyst
Schuyler Center for Analysis and Advocacy
Kimberly A. Williams, L.M.S.W.
President & CEO
Vibrant Emotional Health