Jim has lived in the Watsonville area for over 20 years and taught swimming to thousands of children and adults in that time. He has served on the Board of the Pajaro Valley Shelter Services and was President of that Board. During his tenure there the Board was very active and raised over half a million dollars. Jim has served on and Chaired the Private Industry Council (PIC now called Workforce Investment Board).

Judith is Vice President/Director of Marketing for Journeyworks Publishing, a respected national publisher of health education materials for public health departments, schools, hospitals and youth-serving groups.  A longtime marketing professional, Judith previously worked in the publishing division of ETR Associates, a national nonprofit health education organization and as a publicist in the Boston area.  She is a past Board President of Pacific Collegiate School and currently serves on the Board of Directors of Beacon Education Network, which operates Ceiba College Prep in Watsonville. 

Javier joined the Trust Board of Directors in June 2007. He has worked for the California Diabetes Program since 2005. As the Area Health Promotion Specialist for the Greater Bay Area, Javier works to provide linkages between the California Diabetes Program and health plan/provider groups, healthcare professionals, people with diabetes and community organizations to assist with the implementation of the diabetes care guidelines to improve the lives of those affected by diabetes. Javier earned his Bachelor's degree in Health Science and a Master's of Public Health degree in Health Education & Promotion from California State University, Fresno.

Before joining the Health Trust Board, Javier was an active member of the Trust’s Regional Diabetes Collaborative (RDC) and played an important role in helping to bring grant funding to the RDC from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the California Diabetes Program.

Cathleen has been committed to working with underserved and low-income patients in the Pajaro Valley since 1986. She has a consulting business evaluating and promoting health and well being for individuals. Born and raised in Southern California, Cathleen first worked in a rural health program in Costa Rica. She attended Princeton, then transferred and received a BA in Public Health from University of California at Southern California. She holds an RN degree from Cabrillo and a Family Nurse Practioner/Physician’s Assistant Degree from Stanford. She has also taken undergraduate and graduate classes at San Jose State University in Exercise Physiology. She resides in the area with her husband and twin daughters and enjoys cooking, gardening, ceramics, running, swimming and surfing.

Dr. Chibrás is the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) at SPLG, a position he has held since 2002. He has been with SPLG since 2000, and in addition to his administrative responsibilities, he also practices internal medicine. A resident of the Central Coast since 1996, Dr. Chibras is an active member of the community and serves on various community organizations. He has volunteered at various medical facilities to stay up-to-date on clinical conditions/diagnosis, including: Natividad Medical Center; University of California Davis; University of California Santa Cruz; San Jose State University; and Stanford University School of Medicine. For the past 15 years, Dr. Chibrás has dedicated time to working in Federally Qualified Health Centers with the neediest populations. He also has extensive experience working with migrant populations.

Caroline has lived in the Watsonville area since 1990, when she joined the pharmacy staff at Watsonville Community Hospital. She worked at WCH for ten years, the last five as Director of Pharmacy Services. Caroline's experience in local healthcare as well as her family business in berry farming give her a unique perspective into both employers and workers' healthcare issues.

Dr. Hajduk is a physician in partnership with the Emergency Medical Group at Watsonville Community Hospital. He served on the Watsonville Community Hospital Board of Directors for several years and has been active in the American Heart Association and Rotary. He has lived in the Pajaro Valley for twenty-five years. Dr. Hajduk sees the medical needs of the community first-hand through his work as an emergency services physician. He is very knowledgeable about the details of the hospital sale and the establishment of the new Trust.

Rosie was raised in Watsonville where she attended local schools including Hall Elementary School, Pajaro Middle School and Watsonville High School. She obtained her degree in Agriculture Business with an emphasis in sales and marketing from California State University Fresno in 2007. She plans to pursue a master’s degree in Agriculture Business from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Currently Rosie works in sales and supply management for a produce company in the Salinas Valley.

Rosie is very thankful for the support and encouragement she has received from her family, teachers and others over the years as she pursued her higher education goals. With this in mind, she has been seeking an opportunity to give back to the community. She chose to serve on the Health Trust Board of Directors because she wanted to help improve access to health care, particularly for workers in her industry.

Ron has been a long-time member of the community and a teacher at Watsonville High School for 40 years. He has served on the Board of the Pajaro Valley Federation of Teachers and is currently on the Watsonville High School Foundation Board. Ron was the Advisor for the Model United Nations team and in that capacity was a successful fundraiser. Ron brings his extensive knowledge of the education community to the Board along with a commitment to now give back to the community that has supported him and his students.

Gerald has operated a private dentistry practice in Watsonville for 28 years during which time he has served on numerous non-profit boards.  He is a founding member of Watsonville Taiko and Kokoro no Gakko, a Japanese Cultural Summer School program.  Dr. Kondo has also served as the presiding board member for the Japanese American Citizens League and the Watsonville Buddhist Temple.  His perspective as a leader within Watsonville's community coupled with his experience as a dentist allow him to offer  guidance for the Trust's Oral Health Prevention and Access funding and advocacy programs.

David is the Finance Manager for the Monterey County Health Department, and is the county's appointee to the Trust Board. A resident of Prunedale, he has worked in California County government for 24 years, including the counties of Napa, San Benito and Monterey. David will complete a Masters in Public Administration this summer. In his current position, a post he has held since February 1999, he is responsible for the oversight and integrity of the fiscal activities of the Monterey County Health Department's nine divisions. In addition to his Board service, he also serves on the Trust's Finance/Investment Committee.

Suzanne Mine-Eguchi

Suzanne is a CPA and General Accounting Manager at Hutchinson & Bloodgood. Her prior employment includes over 10 years in public accounting performing auditing services for not-for-profit organizations, public and private corporations, and partnerships.  Suzanne is the fourth generation in her family to live in Watsonville and was eager to return to California after graduating from Texas Christian University. She also currently serves on the audit committee for the United Way of Santa Cruz County. Suzanne resides in Watsonville with her husband Matt and their two French Bulldogs, Louie and Lizzie.  

Eduardo Montesino, the City of Watsonville’s appointee to the Health Trust Board, is currently the Mayor of Watsonville, elected in November 2010 to the City’s fourth district’s council seat. He has been a bus operator for the last 12 years and is also a union representative for about 200 bus operators and para-transit operators. He has lived in the Pajaro Valley for more than 11 years where he and his wife are raising three wonderful kids.

Richard Otto

Rich is a financial advisor for Edward Jones, which provides financial services for individual investors in the United States with affiliates in Canada and the United Kingdom. Previously, Rich owned his own business as a Life, Health and Long Term Care insurance agent. He has also held senior management and sales positions with IBM, Hitachi, SUN Microsystems and Amdahl. He holds a BA cum laude from Seattle University and a MBA from St. Mary’s College in Moraga.

Rich joined the Community Health Trust Board in November 2007 and is also currently involved with the Watsonville Rotary, the American Legion Post 0419 and the San Jose Fly Casters. He has been a member of the Board of Catholic Business Professionals Association (Santa Clara Diocese) and the Alameda Business Association Farmer’s Market Committee. Rich brings to the Board strong financial and business expertise.

Dr. Barbara Palla is currently medical consultant to the Santa Cruz Health Improvement Partnership with a focus on improving the transition from hospital to outpatient care for high risk individuals.  From 2000-2007, Dr. Palla served as the Medical Director of the Central Coast Alliance for Health and was responsible for quality oversight, utilization management, and the development of health programs for diabetes, asthma and obesity.  Prior to 2000, she was Medical Director of Santa Clara Family Health Plan, and Chief of Ambulatory Pediatrics at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center (SCVMC).

Dr. Palla, along with husband Larry and son Geoff, runs Meder Street Farms, supplying organic produce to several area restaurants and farmers markets.  They have four grown children, Steve, Mike, Geoff, and Julie.

Carlos is an associate attorney with the law firm of Grunsky, Ebey, Farrar & Howell. Carlos received his Bachelors of Science degree in Marketing from Santa Clara University in 1994 and his law degree from San Francisco Law School in 1999. Prior to his employment at the Grunsky law firm, Carlos worked in-house at a commercial property management company where his work involved real estate and business related matters. Carlos practices in the area of litigation and business and real estate transactional matters. As a Watsonville native, joining the Trust organization is a great opportunity for me to give back to a community which has been a memorable part of my life. 

Michele was appointed to the Trust Board by the County of Santa Cruz Health Services Agency. She has lived and worked in Watsonville for almost 10 years. Michele is a practicing physician and the Medical Director of the Watsonville Health Center, one of two primary care clinics operated by the County of Santa Cruz. Prior to this, Michele lived 20 years in Venezuela where she worked as a physician in community health care.