Management Team
La Maestra strives to build a strong team of staff and physicians, many of whom have been with the organization since its inception. The current Chief Executive Officer, Zara Marselian is one of the original founders of La Maestra along with Liz David, Chief Financial Officer. The Chief Operating Officer Alejandrina Areizag who joined the staff in 2001 has more than 20 years of the healthcare administrative experience and manages the daily operations of all three Centers. The Management Team is a cohesive group that works closely with the Board of Directors in implementing its mission and strategies for the organization.
Chief Executive Officer - Zara Marselian
Ms. Marselian is responsible for the overall management, development, and program review of LA MAESTRA. She founded LA MAESTRA in 1990 as an outgrowth from the La Maestra Amnesty Center and has over 15 years of healthcare administration experience. In addition to being an experienced and successful grant writer-having led the capital fundraising campaign to start the Clinic and purchase the buildings that are currently owned-Ms. Marselian negotiates and monitors ongoing operational contracts with managed care plans, with State and Federal agencies. Her program development work includes job training, job placement, health, housing, outreach, fund development, capital campaigns, and collaborative programs. Ms. Marselian holds an MA in Organizational Management and a BA in Sociology and serves on numerous Boards of local community development and health organizations. She also speaks Spanish, Italian, French and English fluently. Ms. Marselian has been personally recognized locally and nationally as an ambitious champion for the cause of serving the uninsured.
Chief Financial Officer - Elizabeth David
Ms. David has been with La Maestra since its inception in 1990 and has previous experience in numerous capital projects. At La Maestra, she developed, implemented, and maintains the accounting systems, accounting controls, and financial analysis reports. In addition to being responsible for program budgeting, Ms. David analyzes productivity statistics and makes financial projections. She holds a BA in Economics and a Certificate in Accounting. Ms. David was born in the Philippines, speaks fluent Tagalog and English.
Chief Operations Officer - Alejandrina Areizaga
Ms. Areizaga joined La Maestra in January 2001, bringing 25 years of prior healthcare administration experience to the organization. In addition to overseeing the daily operations of La Maestra, she has utilized her background in sales and marketing to fund-raise for La Maestra's various capital projects. Ms. Areizaga has a Masters Degree in Business Administration, and is bilingual in Spanish and English, speaks French and is studying Italian.
Board of Directors
La Maestra Community Health Centers consists of 12 Board of Directors for 2006-2007. Based on federal guidelines, more than 51% must reflect the patient composition of La Maestra. Many board members are local business owners and residents of the communities La Maestra serves. This ensures a high level of community involvement in the strategic direction of the organization and a unique responsiveness to the communities needs.
The Board of Directors for La Maestra Community Health Centers includes the following members:
Carlos Hanessian, Chairman
Michael Delgado, Vice Chairman
Alexei Ochola, Secretary
Samuel Mireles, Treasurer
Ahmed Abdulahi
Charlene Castro
Carolyn Courtney
John Lethin
Antonio Mendivil
Rodolfo Pagsolingan
Graciela Putzoli
Jessica Quiroz
Medical Team and Staffing
Dr. Mumatz Almansour Medical Director heads up a highly qualified team of physicians and staff that represent the cultures and the community they support. On his team is one full-time pediatrician, two full-time family practice physicians and partnerships with 15 physician specialists. Staff members include nurses,
Its more than 40 physicians and staff speak 19 languages and are selected to work at La Maestra based on their cultural expertise as well as their medical training. Many of the staff are recruited from the community and are immigrants themselves. This creates an even greater benefit of providing residents with professional development opportunities
Physician "medical residents" are recruited from partnerships with Children's Hospital and Health Center, University of California San Diego, ScrippsHealth and Sharp HealthCare as well as from hospitals throughout the country. La Maestra has expanded into a main Center in the nation where professionals can receive culturally competent professional training. It is hoped that these healthcare providers will apply their new to other diverse communities.
Medical Director - Mumtaz Almansour, M.D.
Dr. Almansour joined La Maestra in 1999 as the Medical Director. He has over 10 years of health care administration experience in the United States, working with community health centers and urgent care facilities and has been involved in medical research. Dr. Almansour currently maintains a private practice in addition to his work at La Maestra. He is a Board Certified M.D. specializing in Family Practice. Dr. Almansour is an immigrant from Iraq and interchangeably speaks English and Arabic and Chaldean meeting the needs of the growing Chaldean populations. He is currently studying Spanish.
Dental Director - Pauline Tran, D.D.S.
Dr. Tran joined La Maestra in 2000 and has been practicing Dentistry for 8 years and specializes in pediatric dentistry. Prior to La Maestra Dr. Tran worked at Western Dental. She is of Vietnamese descent and speaks English, Spanish and Vietnamese.
Medical Director, Women's Clinic -
Behavioral Medicine Director - Sonia Carbonell, PsyD,
Dr. Carbonell obtained training as a cultural psychologist at the California School of Professional Psychology, Alliant International University, in the Culture and Human Behavior Program, including a Diversity Training and Technology track (1998-2002). She has a Masters of Arts in Psychodynamic Psychotherapy from Antioch University and a certificate of specialization in treatment of adolescents and children from The Cook Institute and Wilson Center (1982-1984). She obtained a Bachelor degree at the University of Wyoming (1982). She is licensed to practice psychology in Minnesota since 1990 and in California since 2004. Born in Colombia, Dr Carbonell is a bilingual, Spanish/English psychologists, with 22 years of clinical experience working with Latino populations in the United States and her publications reflect her interest, i.e.; a Minnesota Practice with Latinos (2000); Exploring disparity in Latino behavioral health services through cultural psychology and narrative of Latina psychologists (2002) and Immigration and Hardship: living with fear (2005). Her experience includes working in Minnesota and California in public, community and private setting and researching disparity in Latino mental health services (in California, Minnesota, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and Washington DC). In addition to being a forensic and clinical psychologist, Dr. Carbonell is, by training a cultural psychologist. Dr. Carbonell has provided training, workshops and teaching on cultural competence and diversity since 1984. Her administrative and behavioral health programming development experience began in Minnesota in 1985 (while working at Centro cultural Chicano). In 1997, Dr Carbonell was a Provider Member of the State Advisory Council on Mental Health, State of Minnesota.