Board of Directors

Is the fifth executive director and the first Hispanic to lead the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health since its creation in 1940. The foundation’s grants and programs support mental health services, research, policy analysis and public education projects in Texas. He currently serves on the Institute of Medicine’s Committee on the Mental Health Workforce for Geriatric Populations, and is also on the board of the National Partnership for Action to End Health Disparities Region VI Health Equity Board. Dr. Martinez is a Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and a member of the American College of Mental Health Administration, the National Hispanic Medical Association, the American Public Health Association, and the Texas Society for Psychiatric Physicians. From 2002 to 2006 he served as a Special Emphasis Panel Member for the National Institutes of Health, National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities. He is a recipient of the Adolph Meyer, M.D. Research Award in recognition of contributions in minority health and efforts to improve the mental health of all citizens regardless of socioeconomic status. Dr. Martinez is also licensed to practice medicine in Texas and North Carolina and is a diplomat of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.

retired from Siete del Norte Community Development Corporation (Siete) where he served as President and Chief Executive Officer for 35 years on December 31, 2013. Siete del Norte is a private, non-profit, community-based organization established to combat poverty and to stimulate economic and human development in northern New Mexico. Siete activities have focused on economic and community development, housing, community service, health, social services and elderly programs, substance abuse treatment, employment and training, policy analysis, and advocacy. Prior to joining Siete in 1977, Mr. Atencio was with New Mexico’s Home Education Livelihood Program for 11 years. He has been a long-time advocate for social justice and civil rights. He has served on numerous boards of directors of national and regional advocacy groups and coalitions, including: the National Council of La Raza; the National Congress for Community Economic Development; the United Presbyterian Church’s Council on Church and Race; La Raza Presbyterian Caucus, Western Region; and the United Presbyterian Health Education and Welfare Association. He currently chairs the Advisory Board for the National Development Council, created to generate investment in underserved communities across the U.S.

Was born in Havana, Cuba and is currently a resident of Dade County, Florida. He holds a Masters Degree from Columbia University and a B.A. from St. Francis College, in New York City. At present, Guarione M. Diaz is President Emeritus of the Cuban American National Council, Inc. (CNC), a private nonprofit organization involved since 1972 in policy analysis, leadership development, education, employment, housing, healthcare, financial literacy, and community development. The Cuban American National Council is based in Miami-Dade County, Florida and has regional offices in Washington, DC; and Union City, NJ. CNC serves 5,000 individuals yearly, has a professional staff of 47, and is governed by a Board of Directors from various states who are elected annually. Mr. Diaz was President of CNC from 1978 to 2012. Since his relocation in the Greater Miami area in 1978, Mr. Diaz has been actively involved in many community organizations. He has served on the Board of Directors of Children Have All Rights: Legal, Educational, Emotional (CHARLEE); HACR; National Association for the Hispanic Elderly; National Council of La Raza; The National Hispanic Leadership Agenda; The Florida Commission on Education Reform and Accountability; the National Hispana Leadership Institute; and on the advisory committees of the U.S. Census; Burger King; and Verizon. More recently, Mr. Diaz was appointed to the Comcast/NBCUniversal Joint Diversity Council; and Nielsen Joint Advisory Council. In the last decade, Mr. Diaz has authored a book on Cuban Americans, edited a textbook on the social and physical geography of Puerto Rico, and written over thirty research and policy papers, as well as dozens of articles for newspapers and magazines.

Is president of the Aetna Foundation. In his role, Dr. Graham is responsible for the Foundation’s philanthropic work, including its grant-making strategies to improve the health of people from underserved communities and increase their access to high-quality health care. Dr. Graham previously served as deputy assistant secretary in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, where he also led the Office of Minority Health. In that capacity, he introduced new federal grants programs to address inequities in health care and health outcomes among the nation’s minority and vulnerable communities. Immediately prior to joining the Aetna Foundation, Dr. Graham was the assistant dean for health policy and chief of health services research at the University Of Florida School Of Medicine in Gainesville. There he was the principal investigator on a number of grants related to improving health outcomes in underserved populations. Dr. Graham is a widely recognized researcher, writer and editor on health disparities. He has authored articles that have been published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, Health Affairs and Circulation. His book, The Role of Decentralization in Strengthening Equity in Healthcare, was published in 2009. He has served on the faculty of the University of Florida School of Medicine and Harvard Medical School. Dr. Graham holds a medical degree from Yale School of Medicine, a master’s in public health from Yale School of Public Health and a bachelor of science in biology from Florida International University in Miami.

Is a founding director of the Edward R. Roybal Institute on Aging at the University of Southern California (USC). Mr. Lambrinos has been actively involved in the field of aging for more than 30 years, developing programs and services that benefit the aging community. He spent several years in Washington, D.C. serving as the House Select Committee on Aging staff director, and as Congressman Edward R. Roybal’s chief of staff, helping the California congressman restore funding for low-cost health programs and expand public housing programs for seniors. After returning to California, Mr. Lambrinos was named director of the Roybal Institute for Applied Gerontology at California State University, Los Angeles, and stayed at the helm when it moved to USC in 2007. He is a member of the AARP California executive council and also was appointed to the California Commission on Aging. Mr. Lambrinos is also a veteran of the U.S. Army, having served in Operation Desert Shield, Desert Storm and Provide Comfort.

Is the founder of Accelerating Change Group in Bethesda, MD. ACG works to generate social change through innovation, awareness, and design. She also serves as the Waldemar A Nielsen Chair in Philanthropy at the Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy. Margaret led the Consumer Health Foundation for 14 years as its founding president and CEO. The foundation is the principal private, non-profit health foundation serving the Washington, DC metropolitan region. A past fellow of the Kellogg National Leadership Program, Ms. O’Bryon has extensive experience in public health, philanthropy, and urban and regional planning, She has served as past chair of the Grantmakers in Health Board of Directors, chair of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Community Health Leaders’ National Advisory Committee, and past chair of the Washington Regional Association of Grantmakers. She is a recipient of the Terrance Keenan Leadership Award from Grantmakers in Health. The award honors outstanding individuals in health philanthropy whose work is distinguished by leadership, innovation, and achievement.

Is one of the U.S.’s strongest community leaders and advocates, bringing 30 years of government experience to NHCOA. Ms. Padilla has a background in community organization, environmental protection, and volunteer mobilization. For over two years, Ms. Padilla served as an appointee of President Barack Obama, as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of Aging in the Administration of Aging, Department of Health and Human Services. Ms. Padilla came to her appointment in the Obama Administration after an long career in public service in New Mexico. Ms. Padilla recently retired from her position of Environmental Services Division Director for the City of Santa Fe, New Mexico. Ms. Padilla holds a Bachelor’s of Social Work and obtained her graduate studies in Public Administration from the University of New Mexico.

Is the Executive Director of the Hispanic Economic Development Corporation (HEDC) in Kansas City, Missouri. Established in 1993, HEDC is a non profit economic development corporation that exists to improve economic opportunities for the greater Kansas City area. Mr. Ramirez is responsible for the daily operations of the corporation including program planning that follows a strategic vision measured through accountability to various stakeholders. Prior, Mr. Ramirez was the Associate Director of Finance and Development for the Guadalupe Centers, Inc (GCI) responsible for the agency’s accounting and resource development. In addition, he was responsible for the agency’s operations including areas such as Information Technology, Human Resources, and Facilities Management. Bernardo was also responsible for the completion of the administrative building, a 24,000 square foot anchor in Kansas City’s historic Westside neighborhood. He has more than 20 years experience working with community-based organizations and advocating on behalf of Americans of Hispanic descent. From 1997 through 2001, Mr. Ramirez was the Deputy Vice President for the National Council of La Raza’s (NCLR), Office of Technical Assistance and Constituency Support in its Washington, DC headquarters. Mr. Ramirez managed and coordinated the programs of NCLR’s five regional offices in Chicago, Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Antonio, and Washington, DC. Prior to that he served as the Director of NCLR’s Midwest Regional Office in Chicago, IL providing various levels of assistance to more than 50 NCLR Midwest affiliates. In 1993, Mr. Ramirez left NCLR to obtain a master’s degree in business administration. He graduated from Rockhurst College in Kansas City, Missouri in 1996.

retired after 35 years at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) where he held a number of program and administrative positions, and was in the Senior Executive Service from its inception in July 1979. He received a Master of Social Work degree from the School of Social Work, University of Southern California and a Ph.D. from the Heller School of Social Policy and Management, Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. Most of his effort was in the development of social work research pertinent to mental health and mental illness; development of research and research training initiatives; facilitating clinical and research training and mental health services pertinent to minority populations with emphasis on promoting the establishment of local, state and national organizations to address mental health issues. In addition, he facilitated the organization and development of a number of international epidemiological studies on the incidence and prevalence of mental disorders, and physical and mental disabilities with emphasis on Spanish speaking countries. Dr. Ramos was an adjunct professor for 11 years teaching mental health policy at the School of Social Work, University of Maryland. He also taught a two other schools of social work. He has been a long time advocate for the implementation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Dr. Ramos has received recognition from numerous national health and mental health organizations. Since his retirement he has been actively involved as a consultant with the Pan American Health Organization and a large community mental health center interested in establishing a community wellness center in Mexico.

Joined the College of Public Programs at Arizona State University as an Associate Professor in August 2005. She currently sits on the Board of Economic Advisors for the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and is a board member of United for a Fair Economy (UFE). She is the author of numerous books, including her most recent, The Color of Wealth: The Story Behind the U.S. Racial Wealth Divide (New Press, 2006). Formerly, Dr. Robles was a Revenue Estimator/Economist for the Joint Committee on Taxation. She is currently engaged in a five-year survey data collection effort with the Southwest border community-based agencies on financial behaviors and needs for low-resource working families. Dr. Robles teaches graduate courses in Latino Family Financial Fitness and Community Asset Building Policies and Community-University Collaborative Leadership at Arizona State University, and is a research fellow at the Filene Research Institute, the research arm for the Credit Union National Association (CUNA).

is originally from Puerto Rico. He obtained his undergraduate degree in business with a major in finance at the University of Puerto Rico and later his master in Public Administration from the same institution. After serving in the US Army, Rafael started his career in Eli Lilly and Company and he just recently retired in 2015. During his 39 years career at Lilly, Rafael occupied several positions both in the International Division, where he had the opportunity to lead several affiliates outside the US and the Domestic Division, where as part of the Government Affairs Group he dedicated most of his time to develop relations and support the mission and work of Advocacy Organizations representing the Communities of Color and minority population in the US.

Rafael was instrumental and very involved in the creation and leading the Hispanic Health Summit along with the NCLR to bring Latino Leaders together to discuss and address health issues affecting the Latino Communities. The HHS became a strong part of the NCLR annual conference. Rafael also worked with the National Medical Association to create the first African American Health Summit to bring together the lead organizations in the US representing the African American Community to explore and address key health issues affecting the AA population and establish priorities and create a platform of collaboration among key National Groups.

Mr. Robert is passionate about the wellbeing of the Latino Community in the US and have worked with several organizations at the state level that address health issues as mental health and diabetes. Recently retired after 39 years at Lilly, Rafael reside in South Florida with his wife of 44 years and in addition of visiting his four children and eight grandchildren in St. Louis and Minnesota, he likes to spend time kayaking, biking, jogging and reading. He is also supporting some South Florida non-profit organizations developing stronger Board Of Directors and networking strategies.