Advisory Committee Bios

Teri J. Brown, MD

Teri Brown was appointed in July 2000 by the Tulare County Board of Supervisors as Commissioner for First 5 Tulare County (formerly the Tulare County Children and Families Commission). In July 2005, she was elected to the position of chair of the Commission. Dr. Brown has been a clinical preceptor for the Family Nurse Practitioner Program at California State University, Fresno, and has served on Child Development and Allied Health Advisory Boards at Porterville College and San Joaquin Valley College, Inc. She was selected as an expert medical reviewer for the Medical Board of California and served as a specialty peer review/utilization management consultant for Aetna Government Health Plan. In September 2002, Dr. Brown was honored by Blue Cross of California as a “Community Hero” for her contribution to improving the lives of low-income families. She received her MD degree from the University of Southern California School of Medicine. Dr. Brown is a board-certified pediatrician, practicing at Sequoia Family Medical Center, a rural health clinic in the city of Porterville.

Calvin Freeman, MA

Calvin Freeman is Principal of Calvin Freeman and Associates, a health policy consultant firm dedicated to promoting improvements in the health status of multicultural communities. He also serves as Vice President of Global Visions Consortium, a strategic emergency management consultant firm. Mr. Freeman was the first Chief of the Office of Multicultural Health in the California Department of Health Services, where he was part of a team that formulated the most significant language access standards of the time for Medicaid managed care contractors in the United States. He has also been the Vice President for Strategic Resources in The California Endowment and the Interim Executive Director of the Community Technology Foundation of California. Mr. Freeman has a Bachelor’s in Mathematics and Economics and a Master of Arts in Teaching from Reed College in Portland, Oregon, with additional graduate work at the University of Wisconsin.

Rita Ledesma, PhD, LCSW

Rita Ledesma is Associate Professor of Social Work at the California State University Los Angeles, School of Social Work. She has extensive direct practice and consultation experience working within the Latino and American Indian communities of Los Angeles, and regularly provides training and consulting services to community-based organizations. Her research interests include issues associated with American Indian/Alaska Native and Latino children and families, loss/bereavement, health policy, child welfare and bicultural/cross-cultural social work practice. Dr. Ledesma has also been an active member of the University community, making significant contributions in the development of the CSULA MSW program, leading health and education focused initiatives for the Edmund G. “Pat” Brown Institute of Public Affairs, and directing the CSULA PALS Program (Partnership for Academic Learning and Success), a peer-mentoring program for freshmen and transfer students. Dr. Ledesma received a B.A. in History, M.S.W., and Ph.D. in Social Welfare, all from the University of California, Los Angeles. She is also a licensed Clinical Social Worker.

Matthew Marsom

As PHI's first director of public health policy and advocacy, Mr. Marsom is responsible for monitoring and influencing public health policy, legislation and regulations that affect PHI projects and interests. "This new role is about moving strategically and acting as a voice for PHI on state, federal and global public policy issues that support our larger mission," Mr. Marsom said. "Given the changes in Washington, this is an opportune and exciting time to enhance our role." Mr. Marsom positions PHI to cultivate understanding and support for public health, primarily at the state legislative and administrative levels, but also as appropriate with Congress, federal agencies and community organizations. Previously, he was chief of the Policy, Partnerships and Planning Unit of the Cancer Prevention and Nutrition Section of the California Department of Public Health, providing support for policy development, legislative analysis and external relations. He also oversaw the policy and partnership activities of the Network for a Healthy California. Mr. Marsom, originally from the United Kingdom, was an advocate for community-based child care organizations and an advisor for policy and strategy within the Early Years and Childcare Unit for the Department of Education and Skills in London. He received his bachelor's degree with First-Class Honors in political science from the University of Stirling in Scotland and postgraduate certificates in Russian and research methods from the University of Glasgow in Scotland.

Sandra Shewry, MPH

Sandra Shewry is the founding president & CEO of the California Center for Connected Health. Ms Shewry has held a number of senior leadership positions within California state government. She most recently served as director of the California Department of Health Care Services, which administers California’s Medicaid program (Medi-Cal) and the California Children’s Services program and provides financial support to the state’s health care safety net. Other programs under Ms. Shewry’s leadership have included public health, emergency preparedness, and licensing of health facilities. Ms. Shewry served as the executive director of the California Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board from 1996 to 2002, and was a member of the ream responsible for development and implementation of California’s high-risk pool (MRMIP); a subsidized pregnancy coverage program (AIM); a small employer purchasing cooperative (HPIC); and the state’s SCHIP program (Healthy Families). Ms. Shewry is a member of the Commonwealth Fund’s Commission on a High Performance Health Care System. She earned graduate degrees in public health and social welfare from the University of California at Berkeley.

Mildred Thompson, MSW

Mildred Thompson, Associate Director at PolicyLink, leads the work of the organization's health team and participates in research focused in understanding community factors that impact health disparities. She has been involved in research and advocacy projects such as the federal Healthy Start Program, authored several reports and journal articles focusing on effective ways to impact policy change, and served as the Director of the Alameda County Public Health Department’s Community Health Services Division. Ms. Thompson has been a speaker at a number of national conferences, a recipient of numerous awards and serves on several boards and commissions including the Alameda County’s Children and Families Commission and The Zellerbach Family Foundation. She is also a Robert Wood Johnson Health Initiative Fellow. Ms. Thompson’s undergraduate degrees are in Nursing, Early Childhood Education, and Psychology. She received her graduate degree in Social Work from New York University. In addition to her schooling, she has taught classes at Mills College and at San Francisco State University.

Helen M. Thomson, RN

Helen Thomson was elected to the Yolo County Board of Supervisors in March 2002, and currently serves on the Yolo County Advisory Board, Commissions, Committees, and Councils. Prior to her position with the Board, she held a seat in the California State Assembly from 1996 to 2002. During that time, Ms. Thomson established a strong legislative record in health care, mental health, water, public education, transportation, and local government finance. Most notably, she authored AB 88, the mental health parity bill that ends the historic discrimination in insurance benefits for those who suffer from severe mental illnesses, and AB 1421, "Laura's Law," establishing a court ordered program of Assisted Outpatient Treatment for the severely mentally ill. While in the Assembly, Ms. Thomson held a number of positions: Chair of the Assembly Health Committee and the Select Committee on Mental Health; Standing Committee Member to Agriculture, Appropriations, Business & Professions, Local Government, and Water, Parks & Wildlife; Select Committee Member to the California Indian Nations, California Ports, California Wine, Protection of Inland Waterways and Rural Economic Development; and Majority Floor Whip and Assistant Speaker Pro Tem. Ms. Thomson received her R.N. degree in 1961 from the McLean Hospital School of Nursing in Boston, Massachusetts.