PHFE owes its success to a "hands on" Board of Directors nationally recognized in their respective fields and professions. The Board, like the Staff, are fully engaged in supporting every client.

2007-2008

Azhar K. Qureshi, MPH, MD, DrPH

Dr. Azhar Qureshi is a well-known leader in public health and hospital administration, currently serving as Vice President, Department of Clinical Quality for the Saint Joseph Health System headquartered in Orange, California. St. Joseph Health System (SJHS) is a non-profit health care organization that owns and operates fifteen hospitals, three home health agencies and multiple physician groups in California, Texas and New Mexico. SJHS is an industry leader in providing quality care. Prior to accepting this position, Dr. Qureshi served as Assistant Vice President/Chief Research Scientist in the Research & Development Department for the St. Joseph Health System, as well as Project Director and Principal Investigator on a Diabetes Disease Management Project, also located in Orange County, California.

Dr. Qureshi has published numerous studies and research manuscripts, including: "Glycemic Control and Quality of Life in Diabetes Mellitus", "Azithromycin vs. Doxycycline for Treatment of Genital Chlamydia Infection: A Meta-analysis of Randomized Clinical Trials", "Self-rated Health and Its Relationship to Functional Status and Well-being in a Group of Elderly Guatemalan Subjects", "Efficacy and Safety of Sumatriptan in the Treatment of Acute Migraine: A meta-analysis" and . "A Technical Report on the Imputation of Household Income Data for the Orange County Health Needs Assessment Survey" to name a few.

Dr. Qureshi received his Doctor of Medicine at the University of Karachi, Karachi-Pakistan, his Masters of Public Health at the California State University at Northridge, and his Doctor of Public Health from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). Dr. Qureshi has received numerous awards and honors including JACHO's National Codman Award for Clinical Quality.

Ellen R. DiGiampaolo, RD

Ellen R. DiGiampaolo, RD has served on the Board of Directors of PHFE since 1997. Ms. DiGiampaolo brings with her recognized expertise in the health and nutrition fields, as well as in program management and finance. Ms. DiGiampaolo currently serves as the Director of Food & Nutrition Services at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center where she is responsible for the administration of Nutrition Services in a 500+ facility serving over 2,000 meals per day.

During her career in the nutrition field, she has been a guiding force for developing community partnerships between Harbor-UCLA and Senior Feeding Programs in City of Gardena, Southbay/Torrance YMCA, Child Day Care Centers, as well as multiple Adult Day Care Centers in Los Angeles. Her programs are also affiliated with Los Angeles Unified School District providing meals to probation high schools in South Central LA. For more than 20 years, her programs have provided training for dietitians in AP4 programs throughout the Los Angeles area.

Ms. DiGiampaolo is actively involved in the American Dietetic Association and California Dietetic Association where she has held office at local, state and national levels. She is also a member of American Society of Parenteral & Enteral Nutrition. Ms. DiGiampaolo is a recognized member of Who’s Who Registry of Global Business Leaders and the National Association of Female Executives.

She received her BA Degree in Home Economics with an emphasis on Nutrition from San Diego State University in 1971. Thereafter, her initial internship was from Mercy Hospital & Medical Center, San Diego. Other accomplishments include: Editorial Board of Nutrition & the MD since 1978; contributing editor/writer for Diabetes in the News; Manager of the Year 1990 for Morrison’s Custom Management; Harbor-UCLA Chapter of National Management Association Manager of the Year 1999, and Harbor-UCLA Chapter of NMA Member of the Year 1998.

Annette T. Drake

Annette T. Drake comes to the PHFE Board of Directors with a wealth of experience as an Administrator in the for-profit and nonprofit sectors. As Director of Administration for The California Wellness Foundation, Ms. Drake oversaw all facets of administration - from hiring staff, managing the performance review/evaluation process and ensuring compliance with state and federal laws, to facilities planning and purchasing oversight. In addition to preparing and monitoring the controllable expenses of the budget, Ms. Drake negotiated benefit contracts and oversaw the planning of organizational-wide events and staff meetings. Prior to joining The California Wellness Foundation, Ms. Drake was Firm Administrator at the Southern California offices of BDO Seidman, an international CPA firm with over 120 employees. In this capacity, she managed all aspects of the firm's administrative functions, including human resources, budget development and facilities. Ms. Drake holds a B.A. in Political Science from UCLA.

Mark J. Bertler, CAE
President & Chief Executive Officer, Ex Officio

Mr. Bertler has served as Preseident/CEO since May, 2008. He brings over 40 years of experience in public health, human services and non-profit management.

Mr. Bertler began his career as a community organizer in Oakland County, Michigan developing youth recreation programs, crisis centers, free clinics and programs for runaway and homeless youth.

His interest in public policy eventually took him to the state capitol in Lansing where he represented the state network of Planned Parenthood affiliates and most recently served as the Executive Director of the Michigan Association for Local Public Health representing Michigan’s network of local public health departments where among other projects he participated in the development of one of the nations first local public health accreditation programs.

Mr. Bertler’s national activities have included work with the Public Health Informatics Institute, the Turning Point Information Technology Collaborative, the National Association of Local Boards of Health and the National Association of County and City Health Officials where he most recently chaired the Public Health Marketing Strategic Direction Team.

Michael S. Ascher, MD, FACP

Dr. Ascher, a native of Illinois, graduated from Dartmouth and Harvard Medical Schools. He trained in Internal Medicine, Infectious Disease and Immunology at Bellevue Hospital Center in New York City. He served in the U.S. Army as Chief of Medicine and in the Bacteriology Division at U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) and as a traveling fellow at the Royal College of Surgeons of England. He joined the Division of Infectious Disease at the U.C. Irvine College of Medicine in 1978. In 1985, he moved to Berkeley as a Public Health Medical Officer in the Viral and Rickettsial Disease Laboratory of the California Department of Health Services and was appointed Chief of the Laboratory in 1995. He is a Lecturer in the School of Public Health of the University of California, Berkeley and an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Medicine of the University of California, Davis. In the fall of 2001, he joined the Office of Public Health Preparedness, Immediate Office of the Secretary, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in Washington as the special assistant for laboratory and technical issues. In 2003, he retired from the State of California and went to work in the Biology and Biotechnology Program of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory/University of California. From that position, he served on detail to the Office of Science and Technology Policy of the Executive Office of the President and as the Senior Medical Advisor of the Science and Technology Directorate of the Department of Homeland Security. He is currently based at Livermore working on host response markers of infection.

In the area of biological defense, he has 30 years experience, starting with his active duty tour at USAMRIID. He chaired the Disease Control Subcommittee of the Armed Forces Epidemiological Board during the Gulf War and served on an interagency advisory panel on Biological Warfare Preparedness for the 21st Century. He currently consults in this area of biological defense preparedness to the Department of Defense, Department of Health and Human Services, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Mitre Corporation, the National Domestic Preparedness Office of the FBI, the Association of Public Health Laboratories, the Nuclear Threat Initiative, the National Research Council and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. He is a founding member of the Working Group on Civilian Biodefense of the Center for Civilian Biodefense Studies of the Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health. He is a member of the bioterrorism subcommittee of the Emerging Infections Committee of the Infectious Diseases Society of America and the Infectious Disease Committee of the Association of Public Health Laboratories. He is a founding member of the board of Epi-X, the electronic epidemiology information exchange of the CDC. Prior to joining HHS, he was the lead medical officer for biological defense activities in the California Department of Health Services and Principal Investigator of the CDC cooperative agreement to the state for preparedness and response to bioterrorism.

Dr. Ascher’s research interests include mechanisms of protective immunogenicity of microbial vaccines, advanced methods for diagnosis of infectious diseases and fundamental issues of HIV pathogenesis. He is a member of numerous scientific societies and has over 100 publications.

Eugene F. Carpino

Eugene F. Carpino is a political and governmental advisor/consultant with eighteen years experience in State and Local government. Mr. Carpino currently serves as the Director of Operations for the House Republican Organization in Illinois, where he manages all financial operations of the organization and coordinates efforts with the Republican National Committee, the Illinois State Republican Party, and the Senate Republican Campaign Committee. Mr. Carpino also serves as the Chief of Staff to Illinois State Representative Angelo "Skip" Saviano of the 77th District. Mr. Carpino holds a Masters of Science in Management Information Systems from Dominican University. He holds additional board positions with the Illinois Department of Professional Regulation and the Illinois State Crime Commission.

Bruce Y. Lai

Bruce Y. Lai is the Chief of Staff as the CIO of the New York Public School System. Formerly the Chief of Staff for New York City Council Member Gale A. Brewer, Bruce oversaw all policy and legislative initiatives and acts as a liaison to Committee policy and legislative staff and the Council Speaker's office. Key initiatives he has spearheaded during his tenure include Expanding Digital Equity in New York City, Increasing the Openness and Transparency of Government and increasing the Strategic Use of Technology in Government. Previously, Mr. Lai worked for the City of New York's Human Resources Administration. He serves as a Board Member for The Floating Hospital Foundation and the TechNews Editorial Board. Mr. Lai holds a Masters in Public Policy from Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government.

Alicia Lara

Alicia Lara currently serves as the Program Director for the United Way for Los Angeles County. Alicia also provides development and strategic planning, operations, program design, and capacity building consulting to nonprofit organizations and foundations through her firm, Lara Consulting. Formerly a Vice President at The California Endowment, Ms. Lara has managed several statewide funding initiatives, including initiatives targeting uninsured children and issues of obesity and asthma. With her experience in the areas of AIDS funding, minority health and community initiatives, she brings a wealth of expertise and insight to PHFE Management Solutions' Board of Directors. She also serves on the Board of Directors of Women and Philanthropy, the Los Angeles United Methodist Urban Foundation, St. Joseph Health System Foundation, and the Public Health Institute.

Senator Deborah Ortiz (retired)

Deborah Ortiz is the California Vice President of Public Affairs for Planned Parenthood Mar Monte. A former State Senator, Ortiz served the 6th Senate District (Sacramento) from 1998 to 2006. Ortiz was the Chair of the Senate Health Committee for six years and established herself as a nationally recognized leader in health and education. She authored the first law in the nation that protected embryonic stem cell research and also authored the state's landmark program guaranteeing college scholarships - Cal Grants - for students with good grades and financial need. As author of the state law banning the sale of soda in grade schools and junior high, her early work on childhood obesity prevention served as the model for the rest of the nation. An outspoken advocate for those facing catastrophic illness, Ortiz wrote legislation directing millions of dollars into ovarian and prostate cancer research and awareness programs.

Ortiz is nationally recognized in the area of women's health and reproductive health. Her efforts include the creation the Women's Gynecological and Cancer Information Program, the law the allows criminal prosecution of those who threaten patients, staff and volunteers at abortion clinics, laws guaranteeing that pharmacists cannot deny women the morning after pill based on their religious beliefs, as well as partner treatment of Chlamydia.

Ortiz' background is in local government. She served in the California State Assembly representing the City of Sacramento as well as on the Sacramento City Council where her work focused on making neighborhoods safer. She authored the Sacramento ordinance prohibiting the sale of firearms in neighborhoods and requiring gun dealers to register with the police department. Born and raised in Sacramento, she attended the University of California at Davis and graduated from McGeorge School of Law.

Robert D. Westfall

Robert D. Westfall brings a diverse and distinguished business career, having served in various leadership positions for several renowned financial institutions. Additionally, Mr. Westfall served in the U.S. Department of State serving as a Foreign Service Officer, Political Officer, Economic Officer and Vice Consul in Washington, D.C., Lima, Peru, Tokyo, Japan, La Paz, Bolivia, and Belize, British Honduras. Mr. Westfall is also a veteran, having served in the U.S. Army. Mr. Westfall received a B.A. in International Relations from UCLA.

After a successful career in the finance and government sectors, Mr. Westfall joined the Executive Service Corps of Southern California as a Volunteer Executive providing consultation services to non-profit organizations. Currently, Mr. Westfall is an Executive Advisor for the Salvation Army Southeast Community Corps and a Consultant for the International Printing Museum, Bright Faces Child Center, Pacoima Urban Village and the City of Azusa Head Start Program. Mr. Westfall also serves as a member of the Sister City Commission, City of Arcadia and he is affiliated with the International Executive Service Corps.

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