A Foundation of Strength

Dear Friends,

In addition to a preview of spring, March brings us National Women’s History Month. This year, the theme is “Women Providing Healing, Promoting Hope,” highlighting the importance of healers and caregivers who traditionally have brought hope and help to those in need. Speaking as a Sonoma County native who raised four children, at times as a single mom, it fills me with hope that organizations like the Healthcare Foundation exist to help women and men in our region with everyday struggles as they strive for the best for their families.

In that spirit, we are thrilled to spotlight an extraordinary woman in our Healthcare Foundation community who personifies our priorities with respect to Mental Health and Resilience: Claudia Caballero, a bilingual school-based therapist and participant in our Mental Health Talent Pipeline scholarship program, discusses the advantage of school-based therapy in reaching Spanish-speaking students and families to build trust and provide greater access to mental health services.

In January, the County of Sonoma released “A Portrait of Sonoma County 2021 Update.” Looking back, I recall immersing myself in the original Portrait of Sonoma County report, released in 2014, and I am happy to see the update. While National Women’s History Month strives to increase our understanding of the importance of women’s roles as caregivers and frontline workers, A Portrait of Sonoma County highlights the inequity women face here in our own backyard. I urge you to read more by following the link below, and consider how you can be an agent of change.

Also in this issue, we welcome one of our new 2022 board members, Marc Kahn, who with his wife Jeanie was instrumental in the creation of the Mental Health Talent Pipeline program. We are thrilled he is joining the Healthcare Foundation team.

As we put the pandemic behind us and face potential worldwide instability with a war in Ukraine, we draw comfort and strength from the kindness and generosity of Sonoma County. We are ever grateful for the support and dedication you provide to the Healthcare Foundation and its mission. A special thank you to all my fellow Healthcare Heroes, who have made a three-year pledge of support. Together, we are stronger.

Warmly,

Wanda Tapia
Chair, Program Committee
Healthcare Foundation

Mental Health Talent Pipeline Spotlight on Claudia Caballero

Claudia Caballero graduated last spring with a master’s in Marriage and Family Therapy from USF Santa Rosa. The daughter of immigrants from Michoacán, Mexico, and a mother of three, Claudia works as a school-based therapist in the Santa Rosa public school system, where she uses her training as well as bilingual and bicultural fluency to support the mental health and well-being of middle school students and their families.

“School-based therapy is very different from community-based therapy but I very much love it. We are a familiar face on campus. I’m at two middle schools and one of them is predominantly Hispanic families, so almost every one of my students is bilingual and bicultural,” says Claudia. “I also have students who are monolingual, who only speak Spanish.”

“It’s very important to be able to connect with the children not only in their language but in their culture, and to welcome the parents onboard,” she explains, “especially because mental health is not really something that is talked about within the Hispanic community. Seeing someone within the community working in mental health, talking with them [in Spanish] and being in their children’s school—that definitely opens the door with parents and students.”

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Looking For Creative Volunteers to Help with Our Event Mailing

March 21 – April 7
111 Monte Vista Ave, Healdsburg
Contact Mary at the Foundation for More Info or to Volunteer: 707.395.4928

Introducing The Portrait Of Sonoma County 2021 Update

On January 26, the County of Sonoma released a major new report: A Portrait of Sonoma County 2021 Update. Part of the regional reports supplementing the statewide initiative A Portrait of California 2021-2022: Human Development and Housing Justice, the Sonoma County report builds on work done in the original 2014 Portrait of Sonoma County, which laid the groundwork for a new understanding of the social determinants of well-being in our county and how they varied by neighborhood. Using the American Human Development Index (HDI), the report measures well-being with respect to three key dimensions: a long and healthy life, access to knowledge, and a decent standard of living.

We in north county have an opportunity to continue listening and learning to create change in concert with the experience, knowledge, and expertise in our communities. We urge you to take a look at the report’s findings and be involved in the public effort to create a new Agenda for Action, which will set the priority areas for policy focus and investment in the county over the next several years.
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Welcoming New Healthcare Foundation Board Member Marc Kahn

The Healthcare Foundation is delighted to announce that this month Marc Kahn joined the organization’s Board of Directors. Marc comes onboard with three other colleagues new to the board in 2022—Montserrat Archila, Gary Barth, and Daisy Cardenas.

Hailing from Cleveland, Ohio, Marc earned his undergraduate degree at the University of Cincinnati and went on to earn his master’s in public administration from George Washington University in DC, where he developed a career as the editor of a national publication focusing on all aspects of federal housing policy.

He and his wife Jeanie have together developed a deep background in grant-making dating back to 1979, when they began serving on the board of the foundation established by Jeanie’s family in Baltimore, an important funder that focused on local issues and child trauma. Marc and Jeanie raised their two children in Bethesda.

“We came to Sonoma County because both of our children moved out to the Northwest,” explains Marc in a recent phone conversation. “They wanted us to move out west, but they said don’t move to Seattle or Portland, where they live,” he laughs, “but move to some place nice.”

Sonoma County, it turned out, was the perfect fit.

“We were attracted to the beauty of the area. That’s what brought us out here first,” he recalls. “Once we became established, we realized this is where we belong. It’s just such a welcoming, friendly, wonderful community. We wanted to be involved as much as we can in the community.”

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Click Here to Become a Healthcare Hero

Legacy Circle

A special opportunity: A gen­erous, anonymous donor will contribute $5,000 for the first five new or newly disclosed commitments to the Legacy Circle in 2022. Contact us to­day and multiply your impact!

“My parents gave a large gift to the Healthcare Foundation and Denny and I want to do the same to honor the important work that the Foundation continues to provide for our entire community. Legacy gifts can be the best gift to an organization that is established for a future of great work.”

Katie and Denny Murphy, Legacy Circle Donors