Mark Diel, CHI’s Executive Director, holds a Master of Public Health from the University of Hawaii, School of Public Health. Mark is bi-lingual in Spanish and has lived and worked in Costa Rica, Brazil, Spain, and Palau.
The majority of Mark’s work experience has involved building community partnerships. Mark managed WIC services, literacy, nutrition, fitness, health education, health access, and family strengthening programs for Yolo County Department of Health for four years. In this role, he was the executive liaison between Yolo County Department of Health, Yolo County Department of Employment and Social Services, Women Infant and Children Program, Child Health and Disability Prevention Program, Yolo County Library, Woodland City Library, Food Bank of Yolo County, Yolo County Family Resource Center, Knights Landing Family Resource Center, Dixon Family Clinic, Communicare Clinics, Grafton Elementary School, Yolo High School, Cache Creek High School, Head Start, Yolo County Housing Authority, Planned Parenthood, and Migrant Education.
Earlier, Mark was employed by QueensCare, the second largest medical provider in Los Angeles, to improve health access to their network of community clinics and hospitals, which provides health care services to the low-income, uninsured populations, who are between 133% to 200% of FPL. Reaching out directly to children in inner-city schools and families across QueensCare geographical area, Mark also developed mobile medical, dental, and optometric clinic and created Promotores Comunitarios, a program which fosters leadership through training and deploying of community health promoters.
As the first Executive Director of the Children’s Health Initiative Napa County, Mark has lead the development of the organization’s infrastructure, hired highly qualified staff to carry out administrative and program plans, lead fund raising efforts that have secured over $3 million in financial resources for the organization in just over one year of operations, oversaw the development of a comprehensive communication plan, and guided Napa County into a leadership role at the state level of efforts to provide affordable health insurance to every children in California, regardless of race, ethnicity, or family income.