Press Release

This week brought the first steps in the transition to a new CalOptima Board of Directors. On Tuesday, the Orange County Board of Supervisors appointed six new members and reappointed one member to serve four-year terms that begin in August. Yesterday, during the CalOptima Board meeting, outgoing Board members were recognized for their service since August 2016 or earlier.

CalOptima expressed appreciation to the following directors:

• Paul Yost, M.D., an anesthesiologist affiliated with CHOC Children’s and St. Joseph Hospital, who is the Board chair for the past three years during his current term and was also on the Board previously from 2001–09


• Lee Penrose, a health care executive, who represents hospitals since November 2011 and was previously vice chair for six years


• Dr. Nikan Khatibi, an anesthesiologist, pain specialist and addiction medicine physician, who is the current vice chair


• Ria Berger, CEO of Healthy Smiles for Kids of Orange County


• Ron DiLuigi, a retired health system executive


• Alexander Nguyen, M.D., MPH, a psychiatrist and assistant clinical professor at VA Long Beach Healthcare System and UC Riverside

CalOptima welcomes the following Board members, for terms of August 4, 2020–August 3, 2024. Each director fills a designated seat designed to reflect CalOptima’s broad constituency.

• Victor Jordan, Chief Operating Officer of Providence St. Joseph Health Southern California, filling the seat for a current or former hospital administrator


• Trieu Tran, M.D., an orthopedic surgeon, filling the seat for a licensed medical provider in current practice but not affiliated with a contracted health network


• Mary Giammona, M.D., MPH, a medical director at Molina Healthcare, filling the seat for a licensed physician in current practice who represents a contracted health network


• Clayton Corwin, president of StoneCreek Company, a commercial real estate firm, filling the seat for a legal resident of Orange County


• J. Scott Schoeffel, a health care attorney, reappointed for a second term to fill the seat for an accounting or public finance professional, or an attorney


• Isabel Becerra, CEO of Coalition of Orange County Community Health Centers, filling the seat for a community clinic representative


• Jackie Brodsky, RN, a retired nurse, filling the seat for a CalOptima member or family member of a member

The remaining three seats of the 10-member Board are statutorily filled by two members of the Board of Supervisors and the Director of the Orange County Health Care Agency (HCA). They are Board of Supervisors Chair Michelle Steel, Board of Supervisors Vice Chair Andrew Do and Clayton Chau, M.D., Director of the HCA (non-voting member). Supervisor Doug Chaffee is an alternate.

“CalOptima will benefit from the new Board members’ diverse experience and valuable insight,” said Richard Sanchez, CalOptima Interim Chief Executive Officer. “Orange County’s health care environment has changed dramatically in the past few months, and the staff and I look forward to collaborating with the Board to ensure that CalOptima remains responsive to members and upholds our longstanding commitment to quality care.”

A county organized health system, CalOptima provides publicly funded health care coverage for low-income children, adults, seniors and people with disabilities in Orange County, California. CalOptima’s mission is to provide members with access to quality health care services delivered in a cost-effective and compassionate manner. In total, CalOptima serves more than 737,000 members with a network of more than 8,700 primary care doctors and specialists, as well as 41 hospitals.