Welcome Darnell Bowen!

We are delighted to welcome Darnell Bowen to our Board of Directors. Darnell is the co-founder (with his wife Alma Bowen) of Nuestra Comunidad, the northern Sonoma County nonprofit dedicated to improving health, safety, and well-being for all through programs that foster a culture of preparedness and promote a high quality of life in underserved communities.

As the newest member of the Healthcare Foundation Board, Darnell brings deep experience and expertise in finance and accounting, human resources, and administration—he calls himself an “administrative generalist,” focusing on all aspects of program infrastructure.

We spoke with Darnell recently about the development for his work and his love of the place he calls home.

How did you come to learn about, and ultimately join the mission of the Healthcare Foundation?

I was introduced to the Healthcare Foundation as we launched our Nuestra Comunidad programs about four years ago. We went to the Noche de Amor event at the airport Jet Center [in 2018] and I was just blown away by the amount of community support that was generated by the Healthcare Foundation. We shared a mission in wanting to provide equitable healthcare and promote equitable, sustainable, accessible tools for well-being where we live—Santa Rosa, Windsor, all points north. So we found an alignment with our core values, both personally and professionally. I was connected to the Board through some people that I very much respect. When the opportunity to join the Board became available, I contemplated it for a while, spending time with Scott [Hafner] and other Board members. I became really passionate about joining and doing what I could to support the mission.

“I see myself, my family, as representative of underrepresented and often under-resourced communities. We consider ourselves advocates for those communities.”

Darnell Bowen, Board Member, Healthcare Foundation

What do you find most meaningful, hopeful and/or challenging about living in Sonoma County? 

I’ve been in the county almost 23 years. I’m originally from the Central Valley. I was born in Fresno, raised in Sacramento, and settled in Sonoma County. It’s beautiful. I met my wife here, I love it. It’s comfortable, it’s pristine, it’s gorgeous. And it lacks something in terms of diversity. I see myself, my family, as representative of underrepresented and often under-resourced communities. We consider ourselves advocates for those communities. So all of that ties me here. Of course, it frustrates me as well. But we are a part of the new majority. We are working, fighting, promoting, advocating for equitable distribution of resources, for safety and health and disaster response, and for all of the areas that are germane to everyone regardless of age, sex, religion, belief, origin, the whole nine.

How do you see the near-term future with respect to these goals?

I’m hopeful for the future. The future is going to rest on what’s done now. The work that we put in now will support the outcomes of the future, and we will do all we can.