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

Bio

Susana Castro, RN, MS, 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 US 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 1994. She is bilingual.

Lorenia Lara

Board Vice-Chair
CHP Kankakee Health Center

Bio

Ms. Lara joined CHP’s board of directors in 2023, where she contributes her deep knowledge of and connection to the Latino community. She is bilingual.

Kevin Wood

Board Treasurer

CHP Harvard Health Center

Bio

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 2/2021.

Gelacia Leija

Board Secretary

CHP Aurora Health Center

Bio

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.

Cristina Dávalos

Member

CHP Kankakee Health Center

Bio

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 area packing houses and farms.

Amelia Garza-Vela

Development Committee Chair

CHP Harvard Health Center

Bio

Ms. Garza-Vela joined CHP’s board of directors in 2022. She volunteers in her local community and is a member of the Harvard Chamber of Commerce. She is the Business Services Coordinator at Sauk Valley Bank.

Natalie Ojeda

Member

CHP Kankakee Health Center

Bio

Natalie Ojeda joined the Board of Directors in 2023. She is bilingual, a community leader in government who deeply believes in CHP’s mission of bringing high quality care to all.

Linda Ramirez

Member

CHP Kankakee Health Center

Bio

Linda Ramirez joined the Board of Directors in 2024. She is bilingual and a small business owner.

Maria Roach

Member

CHP Kankakee Health Center

Bio

Maria Roach joined the Board of Directors of CHP in 2023. She is a bilingual. Her goal as a Board member is making sure that CHP provides high quality care to patients.

Board of Directors