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Board of Directors
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BOD 2023-2024
Welcome to the Board of Directors section of the Community Health Worker Coalition for Migrants & Refugees. Our Board, composed of 7 members, is the highest authority in our organization. Their mission is to ensure transparency and uphold our humanitarian mission, bringing experience and promoting fundraising and resource acquisition for the community.
We are a diverse, inclusive, and professional team. We value integrity, transparency, and results. We follow a community-based approach, supporting migrants and refugees and empowering community health workers. Our Board includes public health professionals, experts in philanthropy, social justice, and working with migrants.
Board Chair
Julio Cesar Rios-Guillen
Foundation and Corporate Relations Director at Vine Maple Place
Through community-based efforts I am changing the landscape of work for community health workers in Washington State. I am building Stable Families for single-parent families in South King County Washington
Member & Treasurer
Michael L. Parchman
MD, MPH, FAAFP
Retired Senior Investigator, Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute
Member & Treasurer, Board of Directors for the Community Health Worker Coalition for Migrants & Refugees.
Member and Secretary
Peggy Chin Evans
PhD
Vice President, Community Health Center Performance at Aledade Inc.
Supporting Community Health Centers (FQHCs) across the nation with value based care.
Board Member
Ismael Garcia
English Teacher- Inglemoor High School
Working with young students daily to give them the best opportunity to learn and be themselves.
Board Member
Tatiana Bedell Navidad
RN, BSN
Nurse- Providence Swedish First Hill
I work on a kidney surgical floor in the hospital, providing care to transplant and dialysis patients.
Board Member
Hadda Estrada
Executive Vice President of Equity and Strategy at Better Health Together (BHT)
Deeply committed to promoting anti-racism and equity, and I oversee efforts to enhance program delivery and organizational viability across various departments.
Ex-Officio Member
Ileana Ponce Gonzalez
MD, MPH
Founder and Executive Director Community Health Workers Coalition for Migrants and Refugees
Our position on addressing structural racism is best expressed in the vision for our organization: “Achieve health equity and social justice in migrants and refugees’ communities.” We endeavor to achieve this vision through supporting Community Health Workers and Community Champions. In light of current events, we re-commit ourselves to humbly listening to, honoring, respecting, and supporting these courageous individuals who are dedicated to improving the health of their communities.
Our Executive Director
"Together, we turn our dreams into reality; apart, we can only dream of what could have been."
Ileana Ponce - Gonzalez, MD, MPH, CNC
Ileana Ponce - Gonzalez, MD, MPH, CNC
Founder and Executive Director Community Health Workers Coalition for Migrants and Refugees
Dr. Ileana Ponce-Gonzales is a distinguished professional in medicine and public health, originally from Nicaragua. She earned her Medical Doctor degree from the National University of Nicaragua and specialized in Medical Genetics at the University of Santiago de Chile, where she also practiced clinical medicine. Her career includes clinical exchanges in various Latin American countries and participation in significant research projects in Mexico City, where she began working with migrants and refugees, supporting Nicaraguan compatriots who had fled the war.
Dr. Ponce-Gonzales later obtained a Master’s Degree in Public Health from the prestigious Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, as well as a Certificate of Human Rights and Global Health. For over three decades, she held key roles in the U.S. Federal Government, contributing to agencies such as the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). She has published numerous scientific articles and authored several books. Her expertise extends as a Senior Advisor for Scientific and Strategic Planning at the Migrant Clinicians Network, conducting studies in Puerto Rico.
In the academic field, she has served as a faculty member in the School of Medicine in Nicaragua and the Department of Health Services at the University of Washington, sharing her extensive knowledge with future generations of health professionals.
TIn 2014, Dr. Ponce-Gonzales founded the Community Health Worker Coalition for Migrants & Refugees, an organization dedicated to empowering, training, and supporting migrants and refugees, helping them become Community Health Workers. Her vision and leadership have transformed lives by providing essential community resources and advocating for inclusive public health and social justice for farmworkers, undocumented migrants, and other vulnerable groups in Washington.
Dr. Ileana Ponce-Gonzales is a beacon of hope and change, committed to health equity and improving the living conditions of the most vulnerable.