About Us: People

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

    • Nancy Martone
      Administrative Director
      of Human Resources, Eastern CT Health Network
      Manchester, CT

    • President

    • Katherine McCormack, RN MPH
      Director of Emergency Management, City of Hartford, CT

    • Secretary
       

    • René
    • Rodriguez
      President & Founder, Babbalu.com LLC
      Hartford, CT

    • Member

    • Gualberto
    • Ruaño
      President & CEO, Genomas, Inc.
      Hartford, CT

    • Member

    • Jill
    • Davies
      Deputy Director, Greater Hartford Legal Aid, Inc.
      Hartford, CT

    • Member

    • Kevin
    • Kinsella
      Vice President,
      Hartford Hospital,
      Hartford, CT

    • Member

    • Ramon
    • Jimenez, MD FACS
      Surgical Oncologist Specialist, Hartford Hospital
      Hartford, CT

    • Member

    • Richard
    • Duenas, D.C.
      Chiropractic Physician, Westside Chiropractic, LLC
      West Hartford, CT

    • Member

    • Catherine
    • Medina PhD, M.S.W.
      Assistant Professor of Puerto Rican/Latino/a Studies, UConn School of Social Work
      West Hartford, CT

    • Member

ADMINISTRATION

    • Jose Ortiz
    • President and Chief Executive Officer

    • Jose joined Hispanic Health Council as the President and Chief Executive Officer in 2011. Prior to joining the Hispanic Health Council, he was the director of the Office of Multicultural Affairs at the Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services. He has over thirteen years of experience in the public segment creating programs that delivers high quality of care to underserved populations with mental health and substance abuse problems. He earned a B.A. in psychology from Charter Oak College in Hartford, an M.S. in community mental health from Trinity College in Vermont and, an M.B.A. from Sacred Heart University in Bridgeport. Jose is also a licensed alcohol and drug counselor substance abuse clinician.

    • joseo@hispanichealth.com

    • 860-527-0856 ext. 300

    • Grace Damio
    • Director of Research and Service Initiatives

    • Grace joined Hispanic Health Council in 1986. She has developed and overseen many of HHC’s research and service initiatives in the areas of maternal and child health, food security, nutrition and breastfeeding, health care access, chronic disease management, obesity prevention and cross cultural training. She has a wealth of experience in implementation, evaluation, dissemination, and replication of culturally tailored, evidence-based interventions intended to address inequities in health. She is the author or co-author of many articles published in peer-reviewed journals. Grace earned an M.S. in public health nutrition from Columbia University and a B.S. in community nutrition at the University of Connecticut.

    • graced@hispanichealth.com

    • 860-527-0856 ext. 274

    • Rick Galarza
    • Director of Finance

    • Rick joined Hispanic Health Council in 2011 as the director of finance. He is responsible to oversee all financial affairs of the organization. Prior to joining the Hispanic Health Council, Rick worked as Director of Management and Budget for the City of Hartford. Rick earned a Distinguished Budget Presentation Award from The Government Finance Officers Association while working with the City of Hartford. Rick has extensive experience working in the areas of finance, budget management and strategic planning. He holds a B.A. from Central Connecticut State University and an M.B.A from the University of Hartford.

    • rickg@hispanichealth.com

    • 860-527-0856 ext. 304

    • Leticia Marulanda
    • Director of Programs

    • Leticia joined Hispanic Health Council in 2011 as the director of programs. She is responsible for the oversight and programmatic operations of all programs and projects in the Units of Risk Reduction, Women and Children’s Health, and Community Nutrition. Prior to joining Hispanic Health Council, she was the Deputy Director of the City of Hartford Department of Health and Human Services where she worked for 17 years managing and developing programs. Leticia earned an M.D. in family medicine from the University of Cartagena in Colombia, South America.

    • leticiam@hispanichealth.com

    • 860-527-0856 ext. 310

    • Sylviana Lopez
    • Director of Human Resources

    • Sylviana joined Hispanic Health Council in 2011 as the director of human resources. She is responsible for developing, leading and managing the overall processes of the human resources administration for the organization. Prior to joining the Council, she worked for a transit system and gained experience in personnel training and development. She has experience working for the program welfare to workforce in the Town of Hamden and, she has worked as a medical case manager for a non for profit organization that serves HIV+, substance-abuse, and mental health clients. Sylviana earned a B.A. in communications from Sacred Heart University in Puerto Rico and an M.B.A. in human resources management from the University of New Haven.

    • sylvianal@hispanichealth.com

    • 860-527-0856 ext. 256

    • Joan Cruz
    • Director of Special Projects

    • Joan joined Hispanic Health Council in 2003. She was promoted to director of special projects in 2011. She is responsible to manages multiple facility functions, including provides oversight to physical environment of the Hispanic Health Council, coordinating the information technology support, and overseeing fundraising activities and community events. Joan previously worked in various roles with the research department and the Center for Eliminating Health Disparities Among Latinos, as the assistant coordinator to the Community Connections Core. In addition, she serves as the IRB administrator for the Hispanic Health Council. Joan earned a B.A. in administration from the Inter American University of Puerto Rico and a M.S. in management from Saint Joseph College in West Hartford, CT.

    • joanc@hispanichealth.com

    • 860-527-0856 ext. 253

STAFF

Administration

  • Helen Pena
  • Administrative Clerk
  • helenpe@hispanichealth.com

  • 860-527-0856 ext. 315

  • Waleska Miranda
  • Finance Clerk
  • waleskam@hispanichealth.com

  • 860-527-0856 ext. 305

    • Manuel Meléndez
    • Building Maintenance

    • Finance Department

    Community Nutrition Unit

    Risk Reduction Unit

    Women’s and Children’s Health Unit

    Research and Services Initiatives

       
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