Our Team
We are extremely proud to have a dedicated and hard-working team of staff and volunteers.
Executive Director
Rosa Soto
Rosa Soto has served as Executive Director of the LAC+USC Medical Center Foundation, Inc. (Foundation) and The Wellness Center at the Historic General Hospital in Los Angeles, California since 2015. In her role, Rosa is responsible for guiding the organizational policies, programs, partnerships and infrastructure to support the mission, vision, and direction of the Foundation, The Wellness Center and the LAC+USC Medical Center.
For more than 20 years, Ms. Soto has focused her passion to empower underserved children and their families by improving health and wellness opportunities across the community. She has championed important public health issues including: teen pregnancy prevention, relationship violence, child safety, mentoring, and addressing the childhood obesity epidemic. Before joining the Foundation, Rosa served as Assistant Director of the California Center for Public Health Advocacy (CCPHA) where she was responsible for guiding and directing programs, operations and policy and led the efforts to create CCPHA’s evidence-based community engagement and advocacy model. In addition, she advocated for the passage of the strongest sugary beverage and snack food policies in the county of Los Angeles and the State as well as led the development of a national model for local health policies and initiatives.
Associate Director
Heather Hays
Heather Hays is Associate Director of the LAC+USC Medical Center Foundation, Inc. and The Wellness Center at the Historic General Hospital. Heather is a non-profit professional with 20 years' experience leading teams, programs and projects designed to improve the quality of life for community residents in Los Angeles. Heather is proud of the collective work achieved by the Foundation and its partners to address issues of health equity and improve systems of care. At The Wellness Center, Heather is privileged to work with an incredible team of community-health advocates who work tirelessly to improve the health and well-being of our clients every day. Prior to joining the Foundation, Heather worked at FAME Corporations as the Director of Health Services, as Director of Chapter Education for the Young President's Organization, and at the UCLA Anderson School of Management in several roles including program manager of Executive Education.
Meet the Care Coordination Team!
This amazing team will greet you as you enter The Wellness Center and are eager to provide the best service to clients.
Melina Castelan
Care Team Supervisor
Cynthia Mendoza
Senior Care Coordinator, Team Lead
Linday Alvarez-Tobias
LAC+USC Supervisor Social Worker
Soledad Abundis
LAC+USC Community Health Worker
Erica Bañuelos
Care Team Lead,
Facilities
Magaly Garcia
Wellness Navigator
Michelle Zamora
Wellness Navigator
Jazmin Gutierrez
Wellness Navigator
Meet the Communications Team!
Elijah Flores
Communications Coordinator
Anahi Barajas-Orozco
Communications
Meet the Tobacco Team!
Christina Cardenas
Senior Program &
Policy Manager
Belinda Campos Bresnahan
Senior Project Manager & Policy Analyst
Dr. Julia Ruedas
Senior Project Manager & Policy Analyst
MEET THE COMMUNITY PUBLIC HEALTH TEAM!
Jacqueline
Alvarado-Perez
Data Analyst
Kenya Ruiz Toscano
Community Health Worker