Board Member Spotlight: Welcoming Pamela Torresdey!

The Healthcare Foundation is extremely pleased and grateful to be welcoming five outstanding individuals to its Board of Directors in 2025. This month we spotlight Pamela Torresdey, who joined Rachel Glitz, Rosa Gonzalez, Zenia Lemos Horning, and Jed Weissberg, M.D., as the Healthcare Foundation’s newest Board members in January. (Stay tuned for conversations with our other new Board members in the weeks ahead.)

Pamela arrived in Sonoma County two years ago and is currently an Operations Supervisor at Providence, where her work has encompassed all three of its hospitals across Sonoma County, in Healdsburg, Petaluma, and Santa Rosa. 

A native of San Diego and the daughter of immigrants from Mexico, Pamela holds a Master in Public Health degree from UC Berkeley and a Bachelor of Science from UCLA. In addition to her day job, she volunteers as a mentor to college students embarking on a career in healthcare and is an active member of the National Association of Latino Healthcare Executives (NALHE). 

Pamela comes to the Healthcare Foundation with pertinent lived experience as well as strong expertise in policy advocacy, stakeholder engagement, and data-driven decision-making. We spoke with her recently about what draws her to the work she does at Providence and, now, as part of the Board of the Healthcare Foundation.

Can you tell us how you came to the Healthcare Foundation Board?

I learned about the Healthcare Foundation through a friend here at Providence who is also on the Board. I had fallen in love with northern Sonoma County—the beach, the redwoods, the mountains, there is such beautiful nature here. But also the people. It feels like a real community. People look out for each other here. They truly are invested in the health of their community and in helping their neighbor succeed. I love the ethic of collaboration here. From a healthcare perspective, I want to help promote that, especially because Sonoma County, and in particular northern Sonoma County, has vulnerable populations that don’t have a lot of access to healthcare.

Promoting that access for vulnerable populations and promoting equity in healthcare, has been really inspiring to me. It’s what we strive towards at Providence and it’s exactly what the Healthcare Foundation does—through initiatives like the Mental Health Talent Pipeline, or the bicultural clinical traineeships, and more. The work that the Healthcare Foundation is already doing runs in parallel with the work I’m doing at our Providence hospitals, so I was thrilled to find out about it and now to be a part of it.

“I’ve had a lot of experiences [that] parallel experiences of the population we’re serving here in Sonoma County. That inspires me to advocate for language access and other forms of equity in our healthcare system.”

Pamela Torresdey

How far back does your background in healthcare go?

I consider my background in healthcare to encompass my whole life, honestly. I have a sister who is 15 years older than me and is also in the public health/healthcare scene. I was exposed at a very young age to the idea of a profession in healthcare because of my sister. On weekends, I would volunteer at health fairs where I would support blood pressure and glucose screenings. That was where I fell in love with community work. Another part of my passion for working in healthcare stems from my parents. Growing up, there have been many times I’ve acted as their translator, related to their access and understanding of healthcare. I think this is a common experience for many families like my own; often having children interpret for their parents and close family members. I’ve had a lot of experiences like this, which parallel experiences of the population we’re serving here in Sonoma County. That inspires me to advocate for language access and other forms of equity in our healthcare system.

What specific health equity issues do you see as among the biggest challenges for the region?

Because I grew up near a U.S. border, I’ve seen the challenges facing immigrant working-class communities as well as successful programs for these working communities. Although we’re not a border town, we do have a large immigrant population, and similar challenges, including work shortages and transportation limitations, and we confront geographic isolation for healthcare services and affordable healthcare services. The type of population that we’re working with, along with the geographic isolation, as well as the fact that we have an aging population in northern Sonoma County—all this will continue to take a lot of informed and specific work. 

The Healthcare Foundation has already been taking steps in this area, like producing a Mental Health talent Pipeline, and making sure our elderly populations are supported and embraced through initiatives like the ECO Group in Cloverdale. I am excited to be joining the effort to advance such work and see how we can further support communities across the region.

What are your hopes as you prepare to step onto the Board?

The Board members I’ve already met are clearly dedicated people, truly excited to do this work and to connect with the community. I know I will be learning a lot from these individuals. But, I also think I have an individual and unique perspective I can contribute. The Healthcare Foundation’s mission and vision align so well with my own personal as well as professional journey. I’m a first-generation graduate; I’ve experienced firsthand the challenge of navigating systemic barriers to care. So I’m inspired and eager to be able to give back through my Board service, and to share a perspective based on my background that can inform new strategies to promote culturally responsive care. 

Do you have a personal wellness practice you’d like to share?

I love exploring the small towns of the region and their different communities. Every small town has a unique charm. I like to try different restaurants and find new foods. I’m also a very outdoorsy person and love to hike, especially now that I live here among the redwoods. I have a dog, which motivates me to get out of the office at a decent hour so I can take him and me out into nature. There are great hikes just five minutes from my house, which is amazing.