About Us: People

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

    • Nancy Martone
      Administrative Director
      of Human Resources, Eastern CT Health Network
      Manchester, CT

    • President

    • Katherine McCormack, RN MPH
      Director of Emergency Management, City of Hartford, CT

    • Secretary
       

    • René
    • Rodriguez
      President & Founder, Babbalu.com LLC
      Hartford, CT

    • Member

    • Gualberto
    • Ruaño
      President & CEO, Genomas, Inc.
      Hartford, CT

    • Member

    • Jill
    • Davies
      Deputy Director, Greater Hartford Legal Aid, Inc.
      Hartford, CT

    • Member

    • Kevin
    • Kinsella
      Vice President,
      Hartford Hospital,
      Hartford, CT

    • Member

    • Ramon
    • Jimenez, MD FACS
      Surgical Oncologist Specialist, Hartford Hospital
      Hartford, CT

    • Member

    • Richard
    • Duenas, D.C.
      Chiropractic Physician, Westside Chiropractic, LLC
      West Hartford, CT

    • Member

    • Jeannette B.
    • DeJesús
      President and Chief Executive Officer Hispanic
      Health Council, Inc.,
      Hartford, CT

    • Member

    • Catherine
    • Medina PhD, M.S.W.
      Assistant Professor of Puerto Rican/Latino/a Studies, UConn School of Social Work
      West Hartford, CT

    • Member

ADMINISTRATION

    • Jeannette B. DeJesús
    • President and Chief Executive Officer

    • Jeannette B. DeJesús is the President and CEO of the Hispanic Health Council. Ms. DeJesús has more than 20 years of experience in program management, policy development, research and evaluation, state and local lobbying, leadership development and advocacy. She has established a reputation for building coalitions in communities and with the public and corporate sectors. She has experience in the fields of public health, social justice, education policy and economic development. She serves on the board of Hartford Hospital and is a member of the City of Hartford's Public Health Advisory Council. Ms. DeJesús holds a master of social work degree from New York University School of Social Work and a master of public administration degree from Harvard University.

    • jeannetted@hispanichealth.com

    • 860-527-0856 ext. 300

    • Grace Damio
    • Director of the Center for Community Nutrition and the Center for Women and Children's Health

    • Grace Damio is director of the Center for Community Nutrition and the Center for Women and Children's Health at the Hispanic Health Council. Her major areas of work include prenatal case management, pediatric care coordination, nutrition, breastfeeding, food security, nutrition education, diabetes and diversity training. As coordinator of many of the council's direct service programs, Grace has a wealth of experience in implementation, evaluation, dissemination, and replication of culturally tailored, evidence based interventions intended to address inequities in health. She is the author or co-author of many articles published in peer-reviewed journals. Grace earned a master of sciences degree in public health nutrition at Columbia University and a bachelor of sciences in community nutrition at The University of Connecticut.

    • graced@hispanichealth.com

    • 860-527-0856 ext. 274

    • Rebecca Grady
    • Chief Administrative Officer

    • Rebecca Grady has been the chief administrative officer at the Hispanic Health Council since 2008. Her role includes oversight of all internal operations at the Council including finance, technology and human resources. Rebecca has 15 years of experience working in the non-profit arena. Prior to coming to the Council, Rebecca was the CFO for St. Mary's Food Bank Alliance, the largest non-profit in the state of Arizona. She also has experience working with government commissions, member associations and health care non-profits. Rebecca received her MBA from Seattle University and a JD from Concord University School of Law.

    • rebeccag@hispanichealth.com

    • 860-527-0856 ext. 263

    • Hilary Waldman
    • Director of Community Relations

    • Hilary Waldman joined the Hispanic Health Council as director of community relations in 2008 after more than 25 years as a reporter for newspapers in Connecticut and New York. Most recently, she was a health writer for The Hartford Courant, where she won numerous awards for intimate narrative stories that illuminated public health issues such as emergency room overcrowding, infant mortality in Hartford, critical care for young children, mental health care, and countless others. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in American literature from the State University of New York, College at Purchase and a master of public health from the University of Connecticut Health Center.

    • hilaryw@hispanichealth.com

    • 860-527-0856 ext. 310

    • Virginia Ruiz
    • Associate Center Director

    • Virginia Ruiz is associate director of the Center for Risk Reduction at the Hispanic Health Council and living proof of how the Council supports its employees as well as its clients. Virginia joined the Hispanic Health Council as a van driver in 1990, but quickly grew beyond that assignment. While working as a coordinator for several HHC programs for substance-abusing women, Virginia completed a bachelor's degree in human services through the weekend adult program at Springfield College. As associate director of the Center for Risk Reduction, Virginia is responsible for programs that encompass parenting support, substance abuse prevention and treatment, and health care for migrant farm workers.

    • virginiar@hispanichealth.com

    • 860-527-0856 ext. 225

    • Sofia Segura-Pérez
    • Associate Center Director

    • Sofia Segura-Pérez is associate director of the Center for Community Nutrition at the Hispanic Health Council. The center coordinates numerous projects including a successful outreach program that seeks to increase participation in the SNAP (formerly known as food stamps) program by working poor and low-income Latinos. She also coordinates a CEHDL study assessing the efficacy of peer counseling services for the management of Type 2 diabetes among Latinos. She is a member of the Hartford Food Policy Commission and has authored several scientific articles published in peer reviewed journals. She graduated in 1987 with a B.S. in Nutrition from the Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana-Xochimilco in Mexico City. She completed her masters in Nutritional Sciences at the Centro de Investigación en Alimentos y Desarrollo (CIAD) located in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico. She completed the coordinated dietetic program at the University of Connecticut, Department of Allied Health, which led her to become a registered dietitian.

    • sofias@hispanichealth.com

    • 860-527-0856 ext. 260

STAFF

Administration

Center for Community Nutrition

Center for Risk Reduction

Center for Women's and Children's Health

Finance Department

Center to Eliminate Health Disparities among Latinos (CEHDL)

   
GO