NACHC Leadership – Staff Leadership

Dr. Kyu (“Q”) Rhee, MD, MPP, joined NACHC in 2023 to lead efforts to advance health equity and support the mission of community health centers, which provide high-quality, affordable, transdisciplinary primary care services to more than 31.5 million people at over 14,000 sites across the nation.

As a purpose-driven physician executive, scientist, teacher, and entrepreneur, Dr. Rhee has a reputation synonymous with leadership, innovation, and transformation across the nonprofit, public, and private sectors. Throughout his career, Dr. Rhee has actively worked to advance primary care, public health, and health equity for underserved populations.

Before joining NACHC, Dr. Rhee held the position of Senior Vice President and Aetna Chief Medical Officer at CVS Health. He led a team of over 1,500 doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and other health professionals in the integration and delivery of clinical and population health solutions to improve the health and deliver the “Quintuple Aim” for up to 65 million people via commercial, Medicare, Medicaid, behavioral health, digital health, student health, vision, dental, and voluntary health plans. Dr. Rhee served for a decade as the Chief Health Officer at IBM, where he and his team led IBM’s global efforts to transform health using data, analytics, artificial intelligence, services, and research.

During the time of the Affordable Care Act, Dr. Rhee held the office of Chief Public Health Officer at the Health Resources and Services Administration. Dr. Rhee also worked at the National Institutes of Health as the Director of the Office of Innovation and Program Coordination.

Prior to his public service, Dr. Rhee was Chief Medical Officer at Baltimore Medical System and worked as a National Health Services Corps primary care physician and Medical Director for Unity Health Care.

Dr. Rhee was Chief Resident and completed his medical residency training in both internal medicine and pediatrics at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles with dual-board certification. He earned his medical degree from the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California. Dr. Rhee also holds a master’s in health care policy from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. He has a Bachelor of Science degree from Yale University in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry.

Orlando L. Ashworth, SHRM-SCP, SPHR, MHRM, leads and oversees all human resources and workforce strategies for NACHC, including talent acquisition, benefits, professional development, and workforce planning. He also leads the implementation of NACHC’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) strategies and initiatives. Prior to joining NACHC, Orlando served as the Vice President, Human Resources Consulting for AARP where he was responsible for providing HR leadership, vision, strategy, and service delivery for AARP’s more than 2,500 employees. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice Administration from Park University; a Master of Arts in Human Resources Management and another in Management and Leadership from Webster University; a Certificate in Human Resources Management from George Mason University; an Executive Certificate in Compensation Studies from Cornell University; and a Certificate in Executive Compensation from Lorman’s Education Services. Orlando is a graduate of the Marine Corps Expeditionary Warfare School, the Marine Corps Command and Staff College (Non-Resident), and the Executive Leadership Program at Georgetown University. He holds both the SHRM-SCP and SPHR certifications.

Before joining NACHC, Jason Bellamy spent 19 years with the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA). Most recently, Jason served as Senior Vice President of APTA’s Member Experience Unit, overseeing membership development and marketing, component relations, customer service, branding and communications, and conferences and events. Jason’s work at APTA includes developing award-winning public awareness campaigns, revamping APTA’s national special interest group structure, implementing a unified brand strategy, and serving on the Obama Administration’s opioid working group.

Gina Capra leads a talented team responsible for the development, implementation, and evaluation of education, training, and technical assistance services for 1,400 Community Health Centers across the country. Gina coordinates training and technical assistance across NACHC and with state/regional Primary Care Associations, Health Center Controlled Networks, and other national organizations who advance access to care through their technical assistance to community health centers. Training domains include financial management, practice operations, performance improvement, strategic planning, and leadership development. Prior to joining NACHC, Gina completed 20 years of federal service with the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and Veterans Administration implementing health care access programs.

A two-time graduate of the George Washington University, Joe Dunn has spent the last 20 years in Washington, D.C., on Capitol Hill and in a variety of government relations roles. Joe joined NACHC in January 2021 as Senior Vice President for Public Policy and Research from Cigna. Prior to this he was in senior positions with two offices in the federal delegation representing Connecticut . Joe began his work on behalf of the people of Connecticut in 2010 when he joined then Representative Chris Murphy in 2010 as his Legislative Director. In 2012, when Congressman Murphy was elected to the Senate, Joe transitioned to being his Senior Policy Advisor. In that role, Joe oversaw all aspects of health policy and was the point person for Sen. Murphy’s Mental Health Reform Act, which was signed into law by President Obama in December 2016.

Rachel joined the staff of the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) in January 2020 as the Senior Vice-President for Western Operations. Prior to joining NACHC, she served as CEO of Community Health Development, Inc. (CHDI). Rachel’s involvement with CHDI began while serving as one of its founding board members in 1983. In 1984, she accepted the position of Executive Secretary, and in 1986, she was appointed CEO. In addition to overseeing CHDI’s operations and significant growth, Rachel focused on improving access to affordable, quality health care for people from all social classes, including those from rural areas, agricultural workers, and veterans. Rachel has served as a board member for the Texas Association of Community Health Centers and was elected as Chair of the Board of Directors at NACHC, with the distinct honor of being the first Hispanic female to serve in that position. Rachel currently serves as the Interim Chief Operations Officer of NACHC.

Mary Hawbecker directs the financial, accounting, IT, conferences, and administrative activities of NACHC; and also provides training and technical assistance to health center boards of directors and senior staff regarding audit requirements and fiscal responsibilities. Mary is lead staff to the NACHC Audit and Finance Committee. She is a licensed CPA, received a Bachelor of Science degree from George Mason University, and is an active member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Maryland State Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

Lori Riti, MS Ed., facilitates and supports strengthening of NACHC internal operations to address current and future demands on the organization. Prior to joining NACHC, Lori used her organizational development expertise in the education arena, founding and leading several non-profit organizations focused on increasing access to high quality, individualized education and therapies for K-12 students with autism and learning disabilities, regardless of ability to pay tuition and fees. Lori is a certified in Florida and Virginia in Educational Leadership. She holds a Master of Science in Educational Leadership from the University of Notre Dame, a Master of Science in Special Education from Barry University, and a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education from the University of South Florida.

Merrill is Senior Vice President of Development & Innovation at the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC.) Merrill leads NACHC’s efforts to develop and leverage opportunities for health centers to prepare for and address challenges to their core mission of advancing access to health care and health equity in the United States. She works across NACHC and with external partners to equip health centers with innovative strategies, tools and resources to achieve improved health outcomes and health equity.

Merrill was Senior Vice President of Philip W. Johnston Associates and for 22 years consulted with NACHC, Primary Care Associations, health centers, and other health organizations on federal affairs, development and other areas. Merrill ran the global health nonprofit, Health eVillages, which collaborates to advance health access by providing grants and mobile technology to organizations serving vulnerable communities around the world. Merrill began her career at the nonprofit Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights managing its awards programs and fundraising events. Merrill earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a master’s degree from Johns Hopkins University.

Angelique A. Wilkins, MPS, has nearly 30 years of executive-level experience managing domestic and international communications, marketing, and training events for nonprofit organizations.

Prior to joining NACHC, Angelique served as the vice president of communications and meetings for Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA), a global nonprofit substance use and misuse prevention trade association. She was responsible for managing the planning and execution of CADCA’s strategic communications, branding, marketing and public relations, and national meetings and special events. Previous positions included serving as director of meetings and facilities at the Mathematical Association of America, a nonprofit trade association of practitioners of mathematics, and the vice president of conferences and meetings at the Futures Industry Association in Washington, an international futures and securities trade association. She earned a BA from Georgetown University and also holds a master’s degree from Georgetown in public relations and corporate communications and is a regularly invited speaker at industry forums on marketing, communications, and events.

Ron Yee, MD, MBA, FAAFP, brings his passion for patient care and health equity to NACHC’s clinical affairs. Throughout his distinguished career, 20 years of health center service, and experience as a key member of NACHC’s executive team, Dr. Yee uniquely blends clinical practice and care team excellence into organizational growth. He has expanded funding for initiatives to improve the leadership, quality, productivity, and efficiency of health centers from $1.5 million (2015) to $34 million (2023). As the Spokesperson for NACHC’s clinical affairs, Dr. Yee represents NACHC with national partners, stakeholders, and the media.

Before joining NACHC, Dr. Yee was employed for 20 years by United Health Centers, Inc in Parlier, CA which is an eight-site Community-Migrant Health Center. He obtained his medical degree from Oral Roberts University School of Medicine and completed his Family Practice residency and Chief Resident position through the University of CA San Francisco in Fresno. He obtained his MBA from Golden State University, San Francisco. Dr. Yee’s accomplishments include the distinguished Degree of Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians; faculty and team coach positions for two Bureau of Primary Health Care (BPHC) Patient Visit Redesign Collaborative and two Institute of Healthcare Improvement (IHI) Redesign-Finance Collaboratives; and completion of the NACHC EXCELL Leadership Program. Dr. Yee was also elected to NACHC’s Executive Committee as Treasurer and served as a member of the National Advisory Council for the National Health Service Corps (NHCS).