Board of Directors
Board of Directors
Our Board of Directors ensures CHP stays connected to the heartbeat of the communities we serve.
Patient feedback is a core principle of the community health center model, providing a patient voice at the highest level of decision-making with patients serving on CHP’s Board of Directors. Over half of CHP board members also are patients. This model of community empowerment allows patients to be involved in health center oversight and planning.
Susana Castro
Board Chair
Susana Castro, RN, M.S., has worked for Northwestern Memorial Hospital since 1989. Currently, she serves as manager of the patient representative department. From 2005 to 2010, Susana was appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services to the National Advisory Council on Migrant Health (NACMH), where she served as chair from 2009 to 2010. She was recently reappointed to serve once more on this distinguished advisory council. In 2009, Ms. Castro was honored by the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) with the Outstanding Migrant Health Center Board Member Award. She has been a CHP Board member since 1996.
Gelacia Leija
Board Secretary
CHP Aurora Health Center
Gelacia Leija has been a member of the CHP board of directors since 1996. She works for the Del Valle Migrant Head Start Center in Oswego, Illinois, as the education services coordinator. Ms. Leija recently completed her baccalaureate degree in early childhood education at St. Augustine University in Chicago, Illinois.
Kevin Wood
Board Treasurer
CHP Harvard Health Center
Mr. Kevin Wood is a retired Volunteer Fireman originally from upstate New York. He currently volunteers at the local food pantry and senior center. Kevin joined CHP’s board of directors in February 2021.
Reina Montes
Member
CHP Harvard Health Center
Ms. Montes joined CHP’s board of directors in 2017. She volunteers in her local community raising funds for luncheons and gifts for aged women in the Mexico Town (Coatepec). Reina promotes CHP services to friends, families, coworkers and the Harvard community at large.
Lorenia Lara
Member
CHP Kankakee Health Center
Ms. Lara joined CHP’s board of directors in 2023, where she contributes her deep knowledge of and connection to the Latino community.
Cristina Dávalos
Member
CHP Kankakee Health Center
Cristina Dávalos joined CHP’s board of directors in 2005. Ms. Dávalos resides in the Kankakee area, where she promotes CHP’s healthcare services with coworkers and neighbors who work in the area packing houses and farms.
Jaime Chávez
Member
CHP Mendota Health Center
A passionate advocate for agricultural workers and families in the Mendota service area, Mr. Chavez joined CHP’s Board of Directors in 2019. He resides in Rochelle, Illinois with his family, where they are active in community and school affairs.
Amelia Garza-Vela
Member
CHP Harvard Health Center
Amelia Garza-Vela joined the Board of Directors in 2022. She was born and raised in Harvard. She works for Sauk Valley Bank as a Business Service Coordinator. Her goal as a Board member is to make sure that the great services that CHP provides are improve. She also wants to find ways to help increase funds, programs, sponsorships for the staff, patient and the sites.