Board

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Diane Ireland (she/her)

Board Chair

Diane Ireland is the Associate Director, Facilities and EH&S at Pliant Therapeutics, Inc., a biotechnology company developing breakthrough treatments for fibrotic diseases. Previously, Diane worked for Samsung Research America and Joie de Vivre Hospitality.

Diane has a Hospitality Management Degree from California Culinary Academy, a BS in Organizational Behavior from University of San Francisco, an MBA from Saint Mary’s College, and a Master of Legal Studies from American University. Diane served on the Alumni Board of Directors at USF for four years, and has served as President and Treasurer for her HOA.

Diane joined HealthRIGHT 360 Board of Directors in March, 2019 after being a longtime friend and supporter of the organization. 

Sankar Venkatraman (he/him)

Board Vice-chair

Director of Product Marketing, LinkedIn Talent

Sankar Venkatraman is Chief Evangelist at LinkedIn Talent Solutions. As part of this role, he is responsible for bringing the voice of the customer to the organization and driving product development to help create economic opportunity for LinkedIn’s members.  Sankar has a Ph.D. in Biochemical Engineering from Rutgers University and an MBA from Cornell and is based out of Sunnyvale, CA office.  When he is not working Sankar is an avid traveler, hiker, and a vegetarian foodie.  Previously to his board role at HR360, Sankar was on the board of Community Health Awareness Council (CHAC) of Mountain View, CA. 

Linda Smart (she/her)

Board Secretary

Linda Smart is the Chief Information Officer for Southland Industries one of the nation’s largest MEP building systems experts providing engineering, construction, service and energy service solutions.  

Linda has her bachelor’s degree in information and computer science as well as biological science from the University of California, Irvine and a master’s degree in business administration from the California State University, Fullerton.

Linda lives in Los Angeles and joined HealthRIGHT 360 Board of Directors in Spring 2020

Daniel Binder

Treasurer

Daniel is an independent Management Consultant focused on Retail projects globally. He sits on Private Equity investment boards and is often engaged as a strategic Advisor in restructuring and business transformation initiatives. Daniel was employed at DFS, a luxury global Travel Retailer, and most recently their President overseeing Supply Chain, Retail Planning and Digital Transformation based in Hong Kong.

Daniel lives in Seattle, Washington.

Yener Balan, MD, DFAPA (he/him)

Board Member

Yener Balan, MD, DFAPA is a board-certified psychiatrist and is currently the Vice President of Behavioral Health and Specialty Services for Kaiser Permanente, Northern California. 

He provides health plan oversight and direction to the NCAL Behavioral Health Program and Specialty Services as they develop an integrated model of 21st-century 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 and specialty services workforce. 

Natalie Beaulieu (she/her/hers)

Board Member

Natalie is a Senior Product Marketing Manager at Adobe. She previously launched a women’s wellness app called Sanity & Self that helped over 1 million women alleviate mental health stressors. She joined the HealthRight360 Board of Directors in March 2022 after feeling compelled to do more to help the community of San Francisco.

As a Bay Area native, Natalie is passionate about providing equal access to healthcare and quality education and additionally volunteers as an after-school and writing tutor at 826 Valencia. Outside of work, she loves weight lifting, meditating, hiking, rollerblading, and tinkering with new recipes.

Bryan B.C.I. Graham

Board Member

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. 

Chris Gurley (he/his)

Board Member

Chris Gurley is an attorney at Crowell & Moring LLP, where he practices in the Antitrust & Competition Group. Chris’ practice focuses on pursuing and maximizing claims in complex antitrust settlements on behalf of a broad range of national and international clients. Chris is also an experienced tax attorney with several years of substantial experience in both tax controversy and tax transactional work. Chris has provided tax services, tax reduction strategies, legal planning, business consulting, and compliance services for businesses, high net worth individuals, and entrepreneurs. Additionally, Chris served as an attorney advisor and law clerk to the Honorable Joseph Robert Goeke at the United States Tax Court.

Chris received his B.A. from Morehouse College, his J.D. from the Howard University School of Law, and his LL.M. in taxation from Georgetown University Law Center. Chris lives in Inglewood, CA with his wife and their 3 children.

Chris joined HealthRIGHT 360 Board of Directors in Spring 2020.

Kathryn Holmes

Board Member

Information coming soon

Raquel Macfarlane

Board Member

Senior Manager, The Walt Disney Company

Natalie Mitchell

Board Member

Information coming soon

Talia Pierluissi (she/her)

Board Member

Talia is a partner at Aspiriant where she serves clients as a wealth manager.  Prior to Aspiriant, Talia worked in fundraising for the Stanford University School of Engineering and served on the founding teams of two successful start-ups.  Talia is a Certified Financial Planner®, with an MBA from the University of California, Los Angeles, and a B.A. from the University of Chicago.

Karen E. Pointer

Board Member

Karen E. Pointer is a Partner with Lerman & Pointer 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.  

Alex Pugh

Board Member

Alex Pugh joined the HealthRIGHT 360 Board of Directors in November 2018 after being a longtime supporter of the organization. 

Alex Pugh is a partner at Lubin, Olson & Niewiadomski, LLP, practicing in its real estate, construction, finance and business law groups. Alex represents clients in a wide range of transactions, including debt and equity financing, real estate acquisitions and sales, real estate construction and development, commercial and industrial leasing and ground leases, workouts, mortgage loan repurchase transactions, and UCC and mortgage foreclosures.

Alex has a B.A. from Trinity College and a J.D. from Columbia University School of Law. Alex lives in San Francisco with his wife and two children.  Alex was previously a member of the board of directors of Streetside Stories.

Ahmad Thomas

Board Member

Ahmad Thomas is the CEO of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, a business organization of hundreds of Silicon Valley’s most dynamic companies working to shape the innovation economy of California and the nation.  His work is focused on driving market-based outcomes and public policy solutions to enhance business competitiveness with an emphasis on infrastructure, diversity + inclusion, tax and regulatory policies, and climate change.  Prior to joining SVLG, Thomas worked for over a decade as an investment banker where he specialized in structuring and financing public infrastructure and social impact projects across multiple sectors.  Thomas previously served as a senior aide to U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein in Washington, D.C.  He holds a B.S. from Cornell University, Master’s degree from the London School of Economics, and M.B.A. from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Timothy Torres

Board Member

Timothy is the Chief Security Officer at TriNet. With over 20 years of experience in security and technology, Timothy brings a rich perspective on how organizations can fulfill their mission and safely serve their customers and communities.  Timothy is an author and frequent guest speaker.  His most recent work on medical device cybersecurity was published by the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI).  

Timothy holds a BS from Azusa Pacific University and an MBA from the University of Southern California. In addition to holding numerous certifications, Timothy studied at Harvard University and MIT on Cyber Security and Technology Strategy & Innovation.