Our Team – USA

Family Physician and healthcare executive Dr. Martha Molina Bernadett has worked for three decades providing direct patient care and creating innovative programs to reduce disparities in access to education and health in communities across the country.  

As founder and CEO of the Molina Foundation, a nonprofit public charity, she has extended her reach as a physician to impact the social determinants of health including literacy and numeracy. The foundation has partnered with First Book, Imagine Science, Cooperative Extension, 4-H, and Code for America to reach over 9 million children and families across the USA. 

Dr. Molina Bernadett served as Executive Vice President and Chief Innovation Officer for Molina Healthcare (NYSE: MOH), where she took the company public in 2003 with her family, the founders of Molina Healthcare. In addition to corporate leadership, Dr. Molina Bernadett has served as principal investigator and delivered research, programs, and solutions for The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Centers for Disease Control, National Governors Association, and First 5 California. 

Dr. Molina Bernadett also serves as a trustee of the Larry and Helen Hoag Foundation, First Book, National 4-H Council, and the Smithsonian Institute Latino Advisory Board. She is an executive member of the Latino Corporate Directors Association and the National Parks Foundation Council, and is on the Board of Governors for Long Beach City College.  

Executive Director Hector De La Torre is a nonprofit and governmental leader who is committed to providing services to the public, particularly in healthcare and to underserved communities. Hector also serves as chairman of the Board of Governors at LA Care, the largest public nonprofit health plan in the United States; member of the Board of Trustees at Occidental College in Los Angeles; and member of the California Air Resources Board (CARB) as a State Assembly appointee.

Hector was a State Assembly member for California’s 50th District from 2004-2010 in Southeast Los Angeles County, and was Chairman of the Budget Subcommittee on Health and Human Services as well as serving on the Health Committee during his tenure. Among his accomplishments as a state legislator were expanding access to doctors in underserved communities, consumer protections against retroactive cancellation of health insurance, and supporting facilities improvements at Children’s Hospitals.

Hector was the Executive Director of the national nonprofit Transamerica Center for Health Studies. He was also Mayor and Councilmember in his hometown of South Gate, California. Hector was an Administrator at the Superior Court in Los Angeles County and a Manager of Communications at Southern California Edison. Prior to those positions, he was Assistant/Chief of Staff to the Deputy Secretary at the U.S. Department of Labor and a Congressional Legislative Director in Washington, D.C.

Lidia Estrada is the US Director of Programs and Research at Gasol Foundation. Lidia holds a Master’s Degree in Public Health, a Bachelor’s Degree in Health Science and is a Certified Health Education Specialist. She has over 10 years of experience working with vulnerable populations in Los Angeles. Lidia has worked in the community as a health educator for children and adults with the topics of obesity prevention, chronic disease management and tobacco cessation. She has also partnered with faith-based centers and coached health promotors on ways to involve the community in health programs. At Gasol Foundation, Lidia collaborated with partners and takes lead in program planning, implementation and evaluation as well as manage opportunities to contribute to scientific research.

Melanise Chapman is head of Marketing and Communications at Gasol Foundation US. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology, with an emphasis on Law and Society, and a minor in Communications from the University of California, Davis. A former fitness entrepreneur and health educator, Melanise spent the last 10 years pursuing her passion of working within the health and wellness industry inspiring and empowering both children and adults on their physical and mental journeys. She made her leap into the marketing world with the hopes of spreading these health messages to families in underserved communities who need it most. After working for a marketing consulting startup company, Melanise has now spent the last few years in her current position at Gasol Foundation. She is responsible for ensuring the foundation’s zero childhood obesity messaging reaches the right people in the right ways by utilizing multichannel marketing strategies, partnerships with local organizations, and digital and awareness campaigns and initiatives, in order to highlight Gasol Foundation’s work and drive the foundation’s mission forward.