Board of Directors
Leah Adams
Leah Adams is the Founder and Partner at Linton Group Consulting delivering trauma-informed solutions to schools and organizations. She serves as the Vice President of Engagement at the Institute for Spirituality and Health at the Texas Medical Center, an independent, interfaith organization. In this role, she fosters awareness of the Institute’s mission and work. She collaborates on public and private projects, developing lasting relationships and creating meaningful programs. Leah is a trained and certified facilitator with the Center for Mind-Body Medicine and facilitates support groups for children and adults. She holds a Project Management Professional designation from the Project Management Institute, with more than twenty-five years experience leading programs and delivering global projects with top-tier organizations. Leah enjoys collaborating in the community. She is a contributor to Rice University’s Best Boards Conference. She is currently participating on a select team for crisis intercept mapping for suicide prevention for US veterans. She enjoys ongoing collaboration with the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Houston Grand Opera, Houston Methodist Hospital, and other meaningful organizations as a thought leader in trauma-informed care.
Marian Cabanillas, MBA (Chair)
Marian Cabanillas serves as the CEO of UnitedHealthcare Community & State’s South Texas Health Plan. She is responsible for Medicaid products including the STAR, CHIP, STAR Kids and STAR+PLUS programs which generate approximately $4 billion in revenue annually. Marian leads initiatives at the health plan that result in growth through strategic relationships and innovation. Her team consists of more than 1,000 diverse employees that are responsible for provider, member, community and employee engagement. Marian is committed to addressing the issues of healthcare and disparities in the communities she serves.
Dr. Salil Deshpande
Dr. Salil Deshpande is the Chief Medical Officer of the UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Texas, an $8 billion health plan with over 500,000 Medicaid, CHIP and dual-SNP members statewide. He leads clinical quality and affordability initiatives, facilitates design and implementation of alternative payment models for physicians, home health agencies, behavioral health clinics and other providers, and develops innovative strategies, including telehealth and community collaborations, for optimizing population health. Dr. Deshpande has been with UnitedHealthcare for seventeen years, previously as the Market Medical Director for the South Texas health plan.
Before joining UnitedHealthcare, he held management roles as Medical Director at Healthcare Partners IPA and MSO in New York, and as Director of Administrative Services at The Valley Hospital in Ridgewood, New Jersey. Board certified in internal medicine, Dr. Deshpande is on the clinical faculty at Baylor College of Medicine, where he completed medical school and residency training. A native Houstonian, he received his undergraduate biology degree at the University of Southern California, and his MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Kathryn E. Hayden (Secretary)
Kathryn E. Hayden is a financial advisor with Raymond James and, along with Robert Wayne Jamail, Sr., created the Jamail Hayden Group. The team provides holistic wealth planning, investment portfolio construction, performance analytics, and monitoring for high-net-worth individuals and families. She has more than 35 years of experience and has held managerial, marketing, training, and consulting positions in both the broker/dealer and investment advisory industries.
Katie Jackman
Katie Jackman is a seasoned marketing professional with over 25 years of experience spanning both non-profit and corporate sectors. In 2019, she founded Hey Jackman MKTG, a consultancy specializing in marketing, strategy, and project management. Katie has collaborated with notable clients such as Children’s Museum Houston, Houston Habitat for Humanity, Family Houston, Houston Botanic Garden, and Alexander Jewish Family Service. She has spearheaded marketing departments at the Alley Theatre, Lone Star Flight Museum, and Seattle Repertory Theatre, and her commercial theater experience includes roles with Clear Channel Entertainment and Cirque du Soleil. Additionally, Katie has contributed her expertise to Marketing Planning at CenterPoint Energy and Target Corporation. She holds a Certificate of Distinction from the Leadership Institute of Non-Profit Executives at the Glasscock School of Continuing Studies, Rice University.
Shawn Alex Nemeth
Shawn Alex Nemeth is a talented speaker, author, and entrepreneur with almost 20 years of nonprofit leadership experience. He is also the Founder and CEO of Chester Street Foundation, a nonprofit he established to shine a light on childhood trauma through education and awareness. Having suffered horrific abuse as a child, Nemeth threw himself into nonprofit work as an adult, compassionately working around the world to help others heal while the child inside suffered in silence. In 2009, he was hospitalized with PTSD and learned that severe trauma had been encoded in his brain and body during the many years of abuse and neglect. With treatment, courage, and self-compassion, Nemeth began the long road to recovery and set out on a mission to give traumatized children a voice by educating the community about childhood trauma issues. In addition to sharing his inspiring story with audiences large and small as a professional speaker and through his work with Chester Street Foundation, Nemeth has also chronicled his experiences in his book, Thorns of Chester Street.
Dr. Vernicka Porter-Sales (Chair-Elect)
Dr. Vernicka Porter-Sales is a distinguished Executive Medical Officer with over two decades of clinical experience and 12 years in managed care. As a board-certified pediatrician, Dr. Porter-Sales has served in significant leadership roles, including Chief Medical Officer at Community Health Choice and Regional Medicaid Medicare Director at Aetna. Her extensive experience at United Health Care as Senior Medical Director further underscores her expertise in healthcare management.
Currently, as the Chief of Population Health & Performance Services at Legacy Community Health, Dr. Porter-Sales is responsible for the strategic direction and coordination of all clinical services, population health initiatives, care coordination management, value-based care, and outcome improvement.
Dr. Porter-Sales has a bachelor’s degree in biology from Tuskegee University and a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. Born and raised in the Independent Heights area of Houston, Dr. Porter-Sales is deeply connected to her community. She is a passionate advocate for addressing healthcare disparities and improving health encounters for the most vulnerable members of society.
Albert M. Sanchez, MBA
Albert Sanchez is a dynamic and influential servant leader with a passion for serving others and a track record of building strategic partnerships and leading high-performing teams. He currently serves as the Director of Strategic Initiatives at Central Houston, Inc., where he plays a key role in executing the organization’s strategic alignment plan. With an extensive background spanning over 18 years, Albert has gained valuable experience in the public, private, and non-profit sectors, including 13 years as a Dallas Police Officer. Albert holds an MBA from Texas Wesleyan and has further augmented his expertise through certificate programs at Cornell University (Executive Leadership, Diversity & Inclusion, Financial Success for Nonprofits) and Harvard Business School (Power & Influence for Positive Impact).
Albert is deeply dedicated to tackling childhood trauma head-on. Albert’s passion and determination serve as a guiding force in his mission to create a brighter and more nurturing future for all children, championing their well-being and enabling them to thrive despite their past experiences.
Marlen J. Trujillo PhD, MBA
Dr. Trujillo is the Chief Executive Officer of the Spring Branch Community Health Center (SBCHC), a non-profit community health center that provides low-cost healthcare, social and educational services. Trujillo was one of the community leaders on the founding Board of the community health center in 2003. She was a volunteer at the time serving on the Board as the Secretary while completing her undergraduate studies. She spent many hours planning and fundraising as a board member to reach the objective of opening up a faith based charity clinic.
In May 2004, this charity clinic was opened in the Spring Branch Community, in West Houston Texas, to target the Medically Underserved Population and help reduce healthcare disparities by increasing access to affordable quality prenatal care. The community health center was deemed as a Federally Qualified Health Center in 2005. In recent years, the organization has experienced a population explosion which has increased the need for additional healthcare services in the West Houston area. Currently the organization has 8 locations and two mobile health clinics serving 25,000 individuals in need. Dr. Trujillo was born in Houston, Texas and raised in the Spring Branch Community. Her parents are from Colombia and Mexico. She has been the Chief Executive Officer of SBCHC for 15 years. She truly understands the healthcare needs of her community and is an advocate for reducing health disparities across all populations.
Arlene Wells, MBA (Treasurer)
Arlene is a passionate community volunteer and mother of two. Though not currently taking active clients, she’s the founder and Managing Director of Skylark Resources LLC, which provides to businesses bespoke solutions with a technology focus.
Her early professional years were spent working in management roles, most recently as an internal consultant and business design manager executing global initiatives. Arlene’s experience includes working at a Fortune 50 multinational and for a government association with some of the largest investment bankers and asset managers, as well as leading and growing a multi-million-dollar health consulting startup.
She is a member of the Parks and Recreations Board for the City of West University Place. Arlene serves as the Board Secretary for St. Paul’s School Parents Council and is Chair of St. Paul’s United Methodist Foundation of Houston. Arlene participates on several committees for St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, including Chair of the Ordinary Life Steering Committee and Chair of the Children’s Council. She also serves as a PTO event chair for her child’s school and is actively involved in philanthropy and galas.