Health Leads Appoints Carmita Padilla as Chief Program & Sites Officer

BOSTON, Feb. 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Health Leads announced the promotion of Carmita Padilla to the position of chief program and sites officer. In her new role, Padilla will lead the organization's diverse range of programs, services, and community partnerships to advance Health Leads' pursuit of improving the living conditions that benefit people's health and increasing access to essential needs. Padilla, based in New York, brings more than 20 years of healthcare and corporate leadership experience spanning the non-profit and for-profit sectors to this role.

"The programs and interventions to address 'social determinants of health' looked very different when I joined Health Leads nine years ago. Today, we're no longer attempting to address social needs in isolation," said Padilla. "Together with community members and partners at the helm, I'm proud to continue to help pave the way for the collaborations that will unearth and address the deep societal roots of health inequity and disease."

Since joining the organization in 2011, Padilla has held various leadership roles within Health Leads. Most recently, she served as the vice president of partnerships and initiatives, where she oversaw various key partnerships, including redefining the organization's collaboration with long-time funder Robin Hood Foundation around a shared mission to eliminate the systemic barriers to individuals' health. Previously, as the national director of program expansion, she led the launch of Health Leads' partnerships and programs across the country, including California and Cleveland. As the New York executive director, Padilla played an integral role in working across sectors to build strong partnerships and drive initiatives with community organizations, foundations, health systems, and other key stakeholders.

"Carmita is a strategic and deeply empathetic leader who sets an example for so many of us at this organization," said Alexandra Quinn, Health Leads' CEO. "With multi-sector partnerships at the core of what we do in each community, the high level of trust Carmita has built with our partners has been critical to our strategy and work in community. Carmita is also a seasoned and fearless builder - and as we continue to chart new territory against our shared vision for what health equity could look like in this country, we are excited to have her expertise in this new role as we continue to innovate  and evolve our programs and services."

Padilla started her career in the for-profit sector at AT&T and Deloitte Consulting. After 13 years, she shifted her relationship, operations, and business management expertise to roles in the non-profit sector. As executive director for Women's Health & Counseling Center, Padilla led the organization through a strategic planning phase, re-defining its role in the community and leading the organization on its first capital campaign. She has also held development leadership roles including director of alumni relations and annual fund for Hunter College and manager of individual giving for the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund.

Padilla began her new role in October 2019 and is based in New York.

About Health Leads

Health Leads is a U.S.-based non-profit organization working toward a vision of health, well-being and dignity for every person in every community. For more than 20 years, we've worked closely with hospitals and clinics to connect people to essentials like food, housing and transportation alongside medical care. Today, we're partnering with communities and their local organizations to address systemic causes of inequity and disease. We do this by removing barriers that keep people from identifying, accessing and choosing the resources everyone needs to be healthy. Learn more at healthleadsusa.org, and follow us on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

SOURCE Health Leads