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Advancing Community wellness in the Coachella Valley

Desert Healthcare District & Foundation Board begins new year with leadership change

Two rows of the seven Desert Healthcare District and Foundation Board Directors standing and facing the camera. Photo by Lani Garfield
February 7, 2024 - District Staff

The Desert Healthcare District and Foundation Board leadership will remain largely unchanged in 2024, with one exception.



During the annual officer elections at the Board's Dec. 19 meeting, Directors Evett PerezGil, Carmina Zavala and Arthur Shorr were re-elected as president, vice-president, and treasurer, respectively. However, Director Kimberly Barraza was elected to serve as the new Board secretary, a position formerly occupied by Director Carole Rogers.




Rogers will continue to serve on the seven-member Board along with Directors Leticia De Lara and Les Zendle. Each of the Directors represents a zone within the Healthcare District, which encompasses the entire Coachella Valley. They are elected by valley voters to serve a four-year term.

 


Learn more about our Board:

  • Evett PerezGil, president. A 40-year resident of Cathedral City, she is employed as a community health worker (promotora) and has served her community in various volunteer positions. Ms. PerezGil was first elected to the Board in 2018. She represents Zone 4 in the Healthcare District.
  • Carmina Zavala, PsyD, vice-president. Elected to the Board in 2020, Dr. Zavala recently earned a doctoral degree in applied clinical psychology. In 2021, she was recognized as the Association of California Healthcare Districts (ACHD) Trustee of the Year. Dr. Zavala represents Zone 3.
  • Kimberly Barraza, secretary. Elected in 2022, Ms. Barraza is employed as a senior district representative and policy advisor for California State Asssemblymember Eduardo Garcia. She represents the District's Zone 6, one of two new zones added after the District's geographic expansion east of Cook Street in 2018.
  • Arthur Shorr, MBA, treasurer. A management consultant with more than 40 years of experience in healthcare professions, Mr. Shorr was appointed to the Board in 2019 and then was elected by voters in 2020. He represents Zone 5.
  • Leticia De Lara, MPA, Director. Appointed in 2019 following the District's expansion, Ms. De Lara was then elected in 2020 as the Zone 7 representative. In 2022, she was honored as the ACHD Trustee of the Year, among other accolades. Ms. De Lara is employed as the Regional Access Project Foundation CEO.
  • Carole Rogers, RN, MPH, Director. She was elected in 2014, bringing to the Board decades of professional healthcare experience, including prior board service with the Eden Township Healthcare District. Director Rogers represents Zone 2.
  • Les Zendle, MD, Director. A former Board president, Dr. Zendle is a retired physician, specializing in internal medicine and geriatrics, who volunteers at the Coachella Valley Volunteers in Medicine health clinic in Indio. He was first elected to the Board in 2016 and represents Zone 1.









See a map of the Healthcare District to identify zones.

 


Media contact: Will Dean, director of communications and marketing, at wdean@dhcd.org.