01.16.2004
THE CALIFORNIA WELLNESS FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES NEW BOARD APPOINTMENTS
Woodland Hills, CA – The board of
directors of The California Wellness Foundation (TCWF) today
announced three new appointments: Earl G. Mink, chair, Douglas
X. Patiño, vice chair, and Barbara C. Staggers, M.D.,
new member.
“Earl’s and Douglas’ seasoned board leadership
skills and Barbara’s fresh perspective and energy
will help the Foundation carry out its mission of improving
the health and wellness of Californians,” said Gary
L. Yates, TCWF president and CEO.
Mink joined TCWF’s board in 1992 and served as its
chair in 1996 and 1997. He was group insurance manager for
Lockheed Corporation for 25 years. Prior to that position,
he worked for Hughes Aircraft Company and was a county commissioner
for the Los Angeles Health Planning and Development Agency.
He has served on the boards of the Delta Dental Plan of
California, Health Net and on the California Chamber of
Commerce Health Policy Committee.
“TCWF has always been mindful of its responsibility
to California’s most vulnerable people,” Mink
said. “Given today’s stagnant economy, high
unemployment rates and unprecedented state budget deficit,
the Foundation’s role takes on even greater importance.
I look forward to working with my fellow board members to
guide this important philanthropic institution.”
Patiño, who joined TCWF’s board in 1997, previously
served as vice chair in 2002 and 2003. He is vice chancellor
emeritus for the California State University (CSU) system,
a professor of social welfare at CSU Los Angeles and president
of the Patiño Group. Among his many community service
activities, Patiño is a trustee of the Charles Stewart
Mott Foundation, a presidential appointee to the Enterprise
for the Americas Board, and a member of the board of directors
of Hispanics in Philanthropy, the Marguerite Casey Foundation
and Association of Black Foundation Executives.
“TCWF’s commitment to improving the health and
well-being of people throughout the state is something I
take very seriously,” said Patiño. “I
look forward to renewing my role as vice chair of the Foundation’s
board.”
Staggers, director of the Division of Adolescent Medicine
at Children’s Hospital and Research Center at Oakland,
brings more than 20 years of experience in pediatric and
adolescent health care to the Foundation. She also co-directs
the hospital’s Health Professions Internship Partnership
and is a physician consultant to City of Berkeley’s
Department of Public Health. Previously, she worked for
10 years as an adolescent specialist and director of school-based
clinics for the Oakland Unified School District. Staggers
has received numerous awards for her work, including the
Child Labor Committee’s Lewis Hine Award and recognitions
from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the California
State Senate.
“As a physician, I was attracted to TCWF’s focus
on addressing the health needs of traditionally underserved
populations, including low-income individuals, people of
color, youth and residents of rural areas,” said Staggers.
“I am happy to serve on the board of this distinguished
statewide health foundation that has goals closely aligned
with my own.”
The California Wellness Foundation is a private, independent
foundation created in 1992, with the mission of improving
the health of the people of California by making grants
for health promotion, wellness education and disease prevention.
The Foundation prioritizes eight issues for funding: diversity
in the health professions, environmental health, healthy
aging, mental health, teenage pregnancy prevention, violence
prevention, women’s health, and work and health. It
also responds to timely issues or special projects outside
the funding priorities.
Since its first year of operation, TCWF has awarded 3,417
grants totaling $426 million. It is one of the state’s
largest private foundations, providing an average of $40
million in grants each year in pursuit of its mission. Please
visit TCWF’s website at www.tcwf.org
for more information.
top
