Board

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Trisha Walsh

Board Chair

Trisha Walsh has over 15 years experience leading technology teams in production support.  She is currently an IT Director at Yelp Inc. managing Information Technology (IT) support and delivery across the enterprise.   Her present role includes providing an end user help desk & second level support, IT logistics and audio visual for all Yelp employees globally.  She does this by monitoring and improving internal applications that technology teams utilize to improve service quality, people leadership and evaluating metrics for service level management across operations.

Trisha had previously been employed at Gap Inc., where she managed Global Services Strategy for IT Operations.   Ms. Walsh holds a BA degree in Sociology/Social Work from Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, North Adams and an MsBA in Computer Information Systems and Quantitative Business Methods from California State University, East Bay.

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James McElwee

Board Vice Chair

James McElwee is an independent venture capitalist with more than 35 years of experience in venture capital and private equity.

He has been a board member of numerous private and public companies. Mr. McElwee was formerly the Treasurer of SFJAZZ responsible for the construction of the SFJAZZ Center. He currently is a member of the Board of Trustees of Claremont McKenna College and a member of the Wharton Entrepreneurship Advisory Board.

Bryan B.C.I. Graham

Board Secretary

Bryan B.C.I. Graham is the Senior Facility Engineer Manager for Gap Inc. corporate offices. As graduate of Penn State Architectural Engineering program, he has worked as a mechanical engineering consulting in the Bay area for various MEP consulting firms before coming the in house engineer for Gap Inc. corporate facilities.

He spends his time designing, building, managing and evaluating potential corporate facilities. As the Secretary of the board, he looks forward to assisting HealthRIGHT 360 with the new San Francisco clinic and help evaluate opportunity for future growth at many of their other facilities.  

Dr. Yener Balan

Board Member

Yener Balan, MD, FAPA is a board-certified psychiatrist and is currently the Executive Director of Behavioral Health for Kaiser Permanente, Northern California. 

He provides health plan oversight and direction to the NCAL Behavioral Health Program as they develop an integrated model of 21st century behavioral health care – investing in technology, people and research to drive market leading performance; engaging members and families in quality improvement efforts; implementing processes that focus on proactive intervention and prevention; and engaging with organizations in the community to help shape the growth, education, and training of the behavioral health workforce. 

He is a fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, has extensive years of experience working in high volume community emergency departments, is an expert on hospital operations, and has given lectures and workshops worldwide. 

He is the bestselling author of the “Big Book of Emergency Department Psychiatry: A Guide to Patient Centered Operational Improvement.” 

Dr. Balan was born and raised in New York City, and while he still misses the East Coast, has made a home for himself in Oakland, CA, where he lives with his wife and 6-year-old son. 

Deborah Koski

Board Member

Debbie is a grantmaker with more than ten years of experience in affordable housing and nonprofit finance. She is currently the Housing Senior Program Officer at Tipping Point Community, where she invests in impactful nonprofits.

Most recently, Debbie was a Senior Investment Officer at Nonprofit Finance Fund, where she financed nonprofits across a wide range of sectors. She was also Assistant Vice President at Union Bank, and originated debt and equity financing for affordable housing development. She holds a B.A. and Masters in Public Policy from the University of California Berkeley.

 

Barbara Kostick, MD, FAAFP

Board Member

Dr. Kostick is a board certified family physician, who practiced in the Bay Area for over 35 years. She taught both Stanford and UCSF medical students.  She was the first woman Chief of Staff (President) of Washington Hospital Medical Staff in Fremont, CA and the third woman to be president of the California Academy of Family Physicians.

She was on the Board of Directors of over 400 medical doctors to contract for healthcare services with the insurance industry. For over five years, she hosted original programming on various health matters and spoke on various medical topics.   For over ten years, she participated and supervised a volunteer tattoo removal program.  She was the national family physician representative in a CDC taskforce to reduce accidental overdoses in children under five years of age.  To her, HealthRIGHT 360 presents an opportunity to continue her volunteering in a meaningful way.

Jemma Lavarias

Board Member

Jemma Lavarias is Assistant Vice President in Wells Fargo Bank’s Foreign Exchange & International Treasury Management business, where she works on swap dealer compliance and negotiations for secured transactions.  

She graduated from UC Berkeley (GO BEARS!) and received her J.D. from UC Hastings College of the Law. She has found giving back to the community very rewarding through mentoring at risk youth and representing underserved communities. Her recent travels include Bali and Tulum, and she loves sampling new diverse food locally and beyond. 

Anji Mandavia

Board Member

Anji Mandavia is a partner at Mandavia Ephraim LLP. She has over 30 years’ experience as a business litigator, with a concentration in litigation related to the motion picture and television industries.

Anji has represented both plaintiffs and defendants in copyright and trademark infringement actions, and in breach of contract actions relating to motion picture and television production and distribution. She is a member of the Los Angeles County Bar Association, Beverly Hills Bar Association and the South Asian Bar Association of Southern California. She holds a B.A. of Philosophy from Stanford and a J.D from UC Berkeley.

Ann McClanathan

Board Member

Ann McClanathan is a retired health care executive with more than 30 years of diverse executive experience.  Her previous corporate appointments in the insurance industry have included Chief Operating Officer, Executive Vice President of Administrative Operations, and Executive Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Customer Relations for major national companies.  Following her career in the health insurance industry, Ann joined myStrength.com as their VP of Commercial Partnership Development. 

Ann has served on Prototypes Board of Directors since 2008 and was the Prototypes Board Chair from 2010-2016.  Ms. McClanathan received her Master’s in Business Administration from Pepperdine University and has a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Ithaca College.  She has also completed the Non-Profit Leadership seminars sponsored by the Annenberg Foundation, Alchemy and Alchemy Plus.

Melyssa Mendoza

Board Member

Melyssa Mendoza has ten years of experience working with non-profits and women’s rights organizations.

Melyssa was an early member of Save Lyon Martin. Melyssa is also very active in the San Francisco bicycle community. She currently works at a Practice Fusion, a free web-based electronic health records platform. She holds a BA in Art History from Barnard College, Columbia University, and attended the University of California, Hastings College of the Law.

Paul Pitts

Board Member

Paul Pitts is an attorney who lives and works in San Francisco. In his professional life he advises health care providers and life science companies in regulatory matters and business transactions. Paul received his law degree from Tulane University and a Masters in Health Administration from the Tulane School of Public Health & Tropical Medicine. For over five years Paul served on the board of directors of the Women’s Community Clinic in San Francisco. He is an active member of the American Health Lawyers Association, the California Society for Healthcare Attorneys, the Purdue Alumni Association, and several other professional and community organizations.

Karen E. Pointer

Board Member

Karen E. Pointer is a Partner with Lerman Pointer & Spitz LLP, an employment law and business litigation firm in Los Angeles.  She regularly represents her clients in litigation through trial and before state and federal administrative agencies in matters involving claims of discrimination, harassment, wrongful termination, and wage and hour violations.

A Los Angeles native, Ms. Pointer is active in the community.  In addition to the Board of HealthRIGHT 360, she serves on the Board of Directors of Boys & Girls Club of Metro Los Angeles and the African American Alumni Association of Loyola Marymount University. She is also a member of the Emeritus Council of the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, having served for 8 years on the Food Bank’s Board of Directors.  Ms. Pointer holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Loyola Marymount University and a Juris Doctor degree from UCLA School of Law.  

Ramona Shewl

Board Member

Ramona Shewl is a Clinical Case Manager at Homeless Prenatal Program in San Francisco.  She has worked there for over ten years in many different capacities, including as a Peer Mentor Advocate and an Aftercare Case Manager.  Ramona works with clients to provide therapy, help navigate the child welfare system, secure stable housing, and find education and employment opportunities. 

Ramona has her Master’s in Counseling and Psychology from Argosy University. Ramona also works at the Family Independence Initiative in San Francisco as a Lead Fellow to help low-income San Francisco families end the cycle of poverty and work on making social change.  Ramona also serves on HealthRIGHT 360’s Community Advisory Council and is a proud Walden House Graduate of 2005.