National maternal mental health think tank announces the election of Carla Eckhardt Taracena, as Board Chair and the expansion of its board of directors
Washington, DC, November 4, 2024
Today the Policy Center announced the election of Carla Eckhardt Taracena, MSc, as Board Chair and the election of seven additional members to its board of directors: Christian Williams, Dominique George, MBA, CPA, CFE, Kathryn Santoro, MA, Len Nichols, PhD, Rana Nabati, MBA, Sara Howard, JD, and Carole Mendoza, MBA, MPH.
Ms. Eckhardt Taracena is a seasoned senior manager with over 30 years of leadership experience in non-profit, academic, and for-profit healthcare organizations. She is a graduate of Yale University and holds a master’s degree in business and global management. She has served in numerous roles and organizations that have shaped her ability to thoughtfully facilitate impact at the Policy Center, including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. She is Sr. Vice President of Clinical Operations at Visana Health, a cutting-edge comprehensive women’s health telemedicine startup company. Ms. Eckhardt Taracena is passionate about the Policy Center’s mission.
With excitement, the Policy Center also welcomes Dominique George, MBA, CPA, CFE, who works for Ernst & Young as the Americas Assurance Learning Delivery Leader. In this capacity, Ms. George is dedicated to facilitating the “ah-ha” moment and the development of nearly 14k employees under her purview. She has served on several regional and national steering committees tasked with increasing awareness of DEI, and non-profit boards of directors. Ms. George looks forward to contributing her financial expertise as a CPA, as well as her insights about DEI and leadership.
The Policy Center also welcomes returning board member and former board chair, Carole Mendoza, MBA, MPH. Ms. Mendoza has spent 25+ years in corporate benefits, including medical and mental health plan design, for multinational Fortune 500 companies, including IBM and Amgen. In 2021, Ms. Mendoza joined Voya Financial as the Vice President of Benefits, where she crafts the enterprise benefits strategy, expands employee retirement readiness initiatives, collaborates with business leaders, and champions DE&I and health equity across the organization. Ms. Mendoza serves on Voya’s Enterprise Leadership Team.
With excitement, the Policy Center welcomes Len M. Nichols, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of Health Policy at George Mason University and a health economist. Dr. Nichols has been intimately involved in health reform debates, policy development, and communication with the media and policymakers for 30 years. Through testimony, publications, public speaking, and technical advice, he has helped shape the opinions of policymakers, researchers, journalists, and policy analysts. Dr. Nichols’ research focus now is on incentivizing collaborative financing of social determinants of health. Dr. Nichols has served on the Board of Directors of the National Committee for Quality Assurance and has been an advisor to various state and federal policy agencies.
The Policy Center is also pleased to welcome Rana Nabati, MBA, to the board. Ms. Nabati currently serves as a management consultant in PwC’s Operations Strategy and Transformation practice, where she leads initiatives for Fortune 500 clients, focusing on operational, organizational, and digital transformations. As a board member, Ms. Nabati will leverage her experience to contribute to the organization’s strategic planning, governance, and operational efficiency. Her unique blend of expertise in large-scale transformations and entrepreneurial consulting, along with her dedication to impactful change, allows her to bring innovative perspectives that support our mission and long-term growth.
The Policy Center is pleased to have Kathryn Santoro, MA, join the board of directors. Ms. Santoro is the Senior Director of Programming at the National Institute for Health Care Management (NIHCM) Foundation, a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization dedicated to transforming healthcare through evidence and collaboration. Ms. Santoro currently leads NIHCM’s programs to highlight market and policy innovations, including webinars and Capitol Hill briefings and directs the organization’s journalism and population health programs. Ms. Santoro holds a master’s degree in Public Policy from George Washington University with a focus on women’s health policy. She previously served as a project consultant for Women in Government and has worked for a health policy consulting firm and a women’s and children’s policy research organization.
The Policy Center also welcomes Christian Williams to its board. Mr. Williams is a second-year graduate student studying Political Science and will graduate with his master’s degree in May 2025. Mr. Williams has served as a U.S. Congressional intern for multiple state representatives and senators and as a crisis counselor for the Crisis Textline since June 2022. Mr. Williams is passionate about mental health and how to make it more accessible for Americans, especially new moms and their families. He is excited to continue this mission as a board member.
“The election of these new board members further adds to the expertise of the Policy Center’s board and staff, bolstering our ability to lead policy and systems change to improve the detection and treatment rates of maternal mental health disorders in the U.S.,” said Joy Burkhard, MBA, CEO.
“I am honored to serve as board chair and welcome additional board members to our organization. We are well positioned to continue to catalyze the field of maternal mental health and to close gaps in maternal mental health care delivery,” said Carla Eckhardt Taracena, MSc, Board Chair.
Contact:
310-955-1081
About the Policy Center
The Policy Center is working to prevent the suffering of mothers, babies, and families associated with untreated maternal mental health disorders, like postpartum depression. The Policy Center has driven the national conversation from one centered around raising awareness to one focused on closing gaps in the healthcare delivery system. The organization’s work centers around scaling change through content for cross-sector audiences which defines barriers and opportunities and identifies evidence-based and emerging provider practice and policy solutions.
Learn more at www.PolicyCenterMMH.org
