Board of Directors

Floribella Redondo-Martinez, began her journey as a Promotora (CHW) in early 1990s, educating her farmworker peers on HIV and STDs in the agriculture fields of Arizona and California. She is Co-Founder/President and Chief Executive Officer of the Arizona Community Health Workers Association (AzCHOW), a state appointed CHW Advisory Board member for Arizona CHW Voluntary Certification, Co-chair of the Arizona CHW Coalition, Co-chair of the national CHW Core Consensus (C3) Project Advisory Council, member of the National CHW Common Indicators project team, Founding Board member for the National Association of CHWs, and American Public Health Association CHW Section Chair.

Patty B. Molina, MPH is the Senior Director of Community Health Services at Mariposa Community Health Center, a Federally Qualified Health Center in Nogales, Arizona. The department was founded in 1991 and has a well-established Community Health Worker delivery model to implement a spectrum of health promotion and disease prevention programs based on model programs and best practices adapted to the Spanish-speaking, Mexican American and Mexican immigrant community served in Santa Cruz County Arizona.

Vanessa Guzman is a dedicated professional with 9 years of experience in Behavioral Health Services. Vanessa has a strong passion for helping others and has developed a deep understanding of the complexities of Mental Health. Vanessa is known for her compassionate approach and her ability to connect with clients on a personal level. She has a proven track record of success in engaging with the community, and leading a team of Peer Supports, Supported Employment Specialist, and Community Health Workers.

Maria Velasco is a Community Health Worker who resides in Tucson Arizona as a Community Health Advisor with twenty-five years of experience working at El Rio Community Health Center, she has been a frontline worker that modeled her work from the late Patient Advocate Julia Soto and from her experience as a Health Educator in HIV / AIDS prevention. She graduated in 2019 from Prescott College with a master’s in social justice and Community Organizing and is currently a student pursuing her second Masters in Sustainable and Resilient Communities also at Prescott College. As the former Co- Chair of the Community Action Board of the Arizona Prevention Resource Center she forms part of the CBPR team. Maria Velasco formed part of the ADHS advisory board that worked on advising on voluntary certification for Community Health Workers. Her passion in experiential learning guides her ability to create change and her work as a CHW has provided inspiration for creating opportunities to advocate for health equity, human rights, and social justice which ties into her role in the Pima County CHW Coalition of building individual and community capacity.

Samantha Sabo, DrPH, MPH is an Associate Professor in Health Sciences and a researcher with the Center for Health Equity Research. For more than a decade, she has focused on the role and impact of Community Health Worker (CHW) workforce interventions and advocacy to improve the social determinants of chronic disease and maternal and child health. She has completed several CHW workforce studies to support building and sustaining the CHW workforce in Arizona and nationally.

Community Health Worker supervisor for the Equality Health Care Management team and a Promotora at heart. Nora has served diverse communities for the last 20 years, she values the ability to connect every day with individuals and communities in need, as assists them to increase their knowledge about how to better care for their health through outreach, education, awareness, support, and compassion. Nora understands the strengths and challenges of the communities she serves, this personalized relationship allows her to serve as a liaison between the individuals and the health and social services available for them in the community.

Josy Torrealva is the Lead Community Health Worker for the Community Benefit and Health Equity Department at St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center. Josy is a state-certified Community Health Worker with a passion for developing and participating in equitable efforts towards improving the health of our communities. She manages community-based health and wellness programs aimed to improve quality of life through preventative education and improved access to social needs and she is currently pursuing her Bachelor’s degree in Health Sciences.