WELCOME NEW MEMBERS!

Paul Leon is Founder, CEO and President of Illumination Foundation (IF), a non-profit 501(c)(3), which provides targeted, interdisciplinary services for the most vulnerable homeless adults and children in order to disrupt the cycle of homelessness. More than 55,000 people are homeless in Southern California each year. IF works daily to help homeless individuals in these areas: emergency housing, healthcare, children, post-hospital, and need help. Its Street2Home initiative uses innovative programs, integrated care, and unique partnerships to help homeless clients find lasting stability. In addition to leading IF, Paul pioneered IF’s Recuperative Care Program, now the country’s largest program, to manage the discharge of homeless patients from hospitals. Paul has been recognized for IF’s work with the PIMCO Leadership Circle Award and the James Irvine Foundation Leadership Award. He was named one of ten AARP Well-Being Champions from across the country, an award launched by AARP Public Policy Institute to “recognize those championing change across America in the areas of health and well-being.” Paul, as a Public Health Nurse with the County of Orange Health Care Agency, spearheaded a unique program to bring health access and wrap-around services to the underserved homeless population in Orange County. He was instrumental in the conception and development of the Comprehensive Health Assessment Team for the homeless (CHAT-H) and the Mobile Unit Teams (MUT), which bring targeted services to the underserved at the individual, family, community, and systems levels of practice. On a national level, Paul has served as a speaker and consultant for pioneering innovative funding methods for recuperative care with the Health Resources and Services Administration across the U.S. and in Puerto Rico. Paul has joined the ABL-Health Orange County Round Table.

Bonnie Preston is Acting Regional Director of US Health & Human Services – Region 9, representing HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra in CA, NV, AZ, HI and the US Affiliated Islands of the Pacific, in support of the mission to enhance the health and well-being of all Americans. And, once the president appoints a new RD, Bonnie will remain the Executive Officer for HHS, Region 9. Bonnie has over 25 years of experience in public health and healthcare at the local, state, and federal levels. She joined her office in 2012 to help implement the Affordable Care Act; ever since then, she has worked closely with government and private sector partners in California, Hawaii, island territories and freely associated states to achieve more equitable, higher quality, coordinated healthcare and public health services. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the Unaccompanied Children emergencies in Region 9, Bonnie has been particularly involved in connecting state and community-based partners to Federal COVID-19 resources for testing, contact tracing, vaccinations and treatments. She has played an instrumental role in the development and operation of all three Region 9 Emergency Intake Sites in California, which together have reunited over 12,000 children with families or other sponsors. Bonnie earned her AB degree in Political Science from UC Berkeley, and her MSPH from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Bonnie has joined the ABL-Health San Francisco Round Table.

UPCOMING ABL HEALTHCARE ROUND TABLES

• 1/05 – Orange County ZOOM Table – Discussion Topic: The Implications of COVID’s Latest Variant/s – Featured Member Presenter: Uri Blackman, CEO of GIDEON Informatics Inc.
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• 1/11 – Silicon Valley ZOOM Table – Discussion Topic: Using Incremental Improvements to Achieve a Remarkable 2022 – Featured Guest Presenter: Dionne Mejer, Founder & CEO of Inside Sales by Design
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• 1/12 – San Francisco ZOOM Table – Discussion Topic: What Do Healthcare Employees Want? – Featured Guest Presenter: Terri Convey, Covered California’s Director of Outreach & Sales for individuals and Small Businesses
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• 1/20 – Oakland ZOOM Table – Discussion Topic: Where Does Health in Alameda Go from Here? – Featured Member Presenter: Debi Stebbins, Exec Director, City of Alameda Health Care District
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• 1/21 – Los Angeles ZOOM Table – Discussion Topic: The Implications of COVID’s Latest Variant/s – Featured Member Presenter: Uri Blackman, CEO of GIDEON Informatics Inc.

Mimi Grant’s Vlog:

Since to Err is Still Human, Healthcare Could Use a Little Help

Mimi shares how embracing new processes, tools, and approaches – including a National Patient Safety Board – could dramatically reduce hundreds of thousands of lives lost each year when harm IS done in the hospital.

CLICK HERE to watch Mimi’s 5-minute vlog.

Guest Blog by Dave Berkus

Can You Be an Adaptive Business Leader?

ABL President Mimi Grant’s foreword: Dave Berkus – a successful entrepreneur, CEO, angel investor, and more – explains his choice to participate in ABL Organization, and shares several specific ways the insights garnered there have helped him become a more successful business leader.

Dave’s Blog: The title of this insight happens to be the name of a CEO roundtable organization I belong to and have been a member since 1989 (Adaptive Business Leaders Organization – or ABL). The organization, like Vistage, manages roundtables of CEOs meeting monthly in small groups, where they discuss their mutual challenges and help solve each other’s complex problems, acting as an informal board of advisors. Unlike other groups, ABL members all belong to either healthcare or technology industry-focused roundtables.

HOW DO ROUNDTABLES OPERATE?
At these roundtables, members not only discuss their business issues, but significant business-changing trends facing their industry. Since I am chairman of the Technology side of the Organization, I attend more than one ABL group each month, and estimate that I’ve now attended more than six hundred half-day roundtables over the years.

MY MOTIVATION TO SPEND TIME WITH THIS SMART COHORT
Why would I spend so much time networking with other CEOs, discussing mutual problems and solutions? The answer is that I am the recipient of many insights from fellow CEOs that sometimes strike like lightning bolts when least expected. It was an Internet CEO roundtable in early 2000 (almost a year before the crash of the stock market) where it became obvious before the public was aware, that the bubble was just beginning to burst for such tech businesses. And it happened again in early 2008, as CEOs reported the first evidence of order slowdowns and issues with customer payments – right before the ‘great recession.’

CLICK HERE TO READ THE REST OF DAVE’S POST.