As Medical Director, Dr. Kent Imai works with the medical leadership of Community Health Partnership’s 12 member community health centers and the county’s health care system.  He completed his undergraduate degree at Stanford University and graduated from medical school at Wayne State University in Michigan.  Dr. Imai completed his internship and residency at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center (SCVMC), and in between training years served in the US Army Medical corps during the Vietnam conflict. After completing residency training, he joined the staff at SCVMC as First Chief of the Primary Care Division in the Department of Medicine.  

Among his many accomplishments, Dr. Imai served as the President of the Medical Staff at Valley Medical Center, and was the first Medical Director of Valley Health Plan.  In 2007, he left Valley Medical Center and Valley Health Plan to work for the Federal Receiver for California Prison Healthcare Reform as a medical consultant in matters of peer review, quality of health care and medical staff organization.  For the California Prison System, he led the design and completed the implementation strategy for a Patient Centered Medical Home. 

Angelica Diaz joined the Partnership as the Communities United for Women’s Health Project (CUWHP) Coordinator, a health education initiative, conducted in Spanish, on five women’s health topics including breast health, nutrition, mental health, sexual health and physical activity for Latino women in the county of Santa Clara. She is currently in the Masters of Public Health Program at San Jose State University, where she received her Bachelor of Science degree in Health Science. Her experience and interests have been in health education and promotion with and outside of Community Health Partnership, Inc.

Carlos Jimenez is responsible for producing monthly financial statements, processing payroll, accounts payable, and billing. In this role, Mr. Jimenez provides timely and accurate accounting information to Program Managers, Vice President of Finance, and the CEO. Prior to joining the organization, Mr. Jimenez worked with various non-profit organizations in the areas of Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, and General Ledger. Mr. Jimenez holds a B.S. in Accounting from San Jose State University.

Danielle Yerman is the Emergency Preparedness Coordinator at Community Health Partnership. In this role, Ms. Yerman coordinates emergency preparedness activities and provides technical assistance to the Partnership’s member community health centers. Prior to joining the organization, Ms. Yerman worked within the social service and medical fields providing case management, trainings and sharing knowledge about preventative health, policy, social service and health care delivery systems. Ms. Yerman holds a B.A. in Social Work from Humboldt State University, a Masters of Social Work with an emphasis in Policy, Planning, Administration and Community Development, and a Graduate Certification in Gerontology from Arizona State University.

Ms. Alcala is a public health educator with 14 years experience in health education and promotion, cancer control, evaluation, training, and administration. She received her B.S. in Biological Sciences at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo and her M.P.H. in Community Health Education from San Jose State University. As the Project Coordinator for the Community Mammography Access Project (CMAP) and Cancer Detection Program: Every Woman Counts at the Community Health Partnership, Ms. Alcala is committed to improving access to and awareness of quality breast cancer screening services for medically underserved women among the exiting safety net of healthcare providers. Prior to her role as the CMAP Coordinator, for five years Ms. Alcala worked at SRI International, as an Evaluation Technical Assistance Coach for First 5 California, providing data collection trainings and individual evaluation technical assistance with ten counties to incorporate statewide evaluation requirements into their local evaluation plans.

Grace-Sonia Melanio is responsible for the coordination and execution of health policy activities. In this role, Ms. Melanio advocates for the Partnership’s member community health centers and the populations they serve. Prior to joining Community Health Partnership, Ms. Melanio worked with various health and human service organizations in the areas of advocacy, communications, and development. Ms. Melanio holds a B.A. in Communication Studies, and is currently a Masters of Arts candidate at San Jose State University.

Juliann Corona provides administrative and operational support to Community Health Partnership’s staff and programs.  Described by her colleagues as a “Jill of all trades”, Juliann assists in all aspects of maintaining office operations.  Prior to joining Community Health Partnership, Juliann was an administrative assistant at the Learning and Loving Educational Center in Morgan Hill. 

Katherine Contreras' professional development has been nurtured in the heart of Silicon Valley as an Information Systems Manager for Community Health Partnership, Inc. There she has been responsible for the management of information systems, including planning, implementation and maintenance of central agency information technology systems and remote functions of partnership member clinics. Contreras is currently involved in projects that are focused on health information exchange and electronic health information that benefit Partnership’s clinic membership. She leads health system roundtables and user groups which focus on quality and application training. Outside of the demands of the social services sector she is currently pursuing a B.S in Web Design & Development at Full Sail University and expects to graduate in the fall of 2011. In 2005 she successfully completed a comprehensive IT Management training course whose curriculum included training for obtaining Comptia A+, MCSE/MCSA and CCNA certifications.

Linda Pham is a Health Educator for Community Health Partnership - Cancer Detection Programs Every Woman Counts (CDP:EWC). Ms Pham serves Monterey, San Benito, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties and provides tailored education about breast cancer and cervical cancer prevention in local communities to women who are 50 and older, have low income, and have rarely or never been screened. In addition, Ms. Pham received Master in Public Health at San Jose State University and aspires to improve community health.

Lori Salmiery joined the Partnership team in June 2007. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Health Science with an emphasis in Health Education and a minor in Gerontology from California State University, Chico in 2007. Lori completed an intensive internship at Butte County Public Health Department in the Communicable Disease and Emergency Response Division. During this time, she provided health education and outreach to target populations, participated in event planning, and conducted client interviews and partnership notification through their STI prevention program. Lori is currently a health educator in HIV Services at Community Health Partnership, Inc. Lori coordinates and executes provider trainings surrounding HIV and conducts the annual HIV Care and Prevention Conference. She is a member of SOPHE and APHA, and is working to complete her MPH at San Jose State University.

Maripaz Nazareno is the Clinical Coordinator for the Cancer Detection Program (CDP), and has been with the Partnership since January 2006. Previous to being the Clinical Coordinator, she worked on different programs related to HIV, Health Information Technology, and Emergency Preparedness. Maripaz obtained both RN and MD degrees in the Philippines, and is a current licensed RN in California. She is a firm believer and advocate of reproductive health.