The El Paso Children’s Hospital Board is self-perpetuating. Terms are staggered and limited in duration. To contact any Board member, please call the office of Lawrence Duncan, CEO, El Paso Children’s Hospital (915-242-8600) or send an e-mail to ceo@elpasochildrens.org
Sam Legate, Chairman
Mr. Legate is an attorney in private practice in El Paso. He graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor’s degree in Business and then went on to earn his Doctor of Jurisprudence from the University of Oklahoma Law School. Mr. Legate is a member of the El Paso Bar Association, the Texas Trial Lawyers Association and the National Employment Law Association. He’s also been very active with important community groups, serving seven years as a member of the El Paso County Hospital District, including four years as its Vice Chair, 17 years as a member of the Board of Directors of the Central Business Association, and 12 years on the Board of the El Paso Downtown Management District. Mr. Legate is a Founding Director of El Paso Children’s Hospital.
John Guggedahl, MD, Vice Chair
Dr. Guggedahl is a board certified pediatrician in private practice in El Paso and a Fellow in the American Academy of Pediatrics. After graduating from Coronado High School, Dr. Guggedahl received his Bachelor’s degree from Texas Tech University in Lubbock and then attended medical school at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. He has practiced medicine in his hometown since 1982. Dr. Guggedahl is a member of the American Medical Association, the Texas Pediatric Society, the Texas Medical Association, the El Paso Pediatric Society and the El Paso County Medical Society.
Sadhana Chheda, MD, Secretary
Dr. Chheda is a board certified Neonatologist in El Paso and a Fellow in the American Academy of Pediatrics. After receiving a Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery degree from the University of Ibadan in Ibadan, Nigeria, Dr. Chheda continued her studies in London, England before coming to the United States to do her residency in pediatrics at the Universityof Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. She remained at UTMB for her Fellowship in Neonatology. Dr. Chheda is a member of the Medicaid/CHIP Regional Advisory Committee and serves on the Board of the Texas Perinatal Association. She also served on the Center Against Family Violence and C.A.S.A. , the Court Appointed Special Advocates Boards for several years.
She has practiced medicine in El Paso since 1996.
Anne Semmer-Grieshop
After more than a decade in the television news business as a reporter, anchor and executive producer, Anne Semmer-Grieshop now devotes herself exclusively to her family and community service, so it was only natural that she was one of the first to take up the cause of building a Children’s Hospital in El Paso. As an executive board member of the El Paso International Children’s Hospital Foundation, Ms. Semmer worked tirelessly to raise money, build public awareness and get out the vote on Election Day. She is also extremely active in many other civic endeavors, including the Junior League of El Paso, the Paso del Norte Group, the Susan B. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation and the YWCA.
She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California.
The Honorable Tom Spieczny
Judge Spieczny has presided over Country Court-at-Law #7 in El Paso since 2005 and serves as a member of the Council of Judges. He earned his Bachelor’s degree from Princeton University and then his Doctor of Jurisprudence from Vanderbilt Law School. After completing his education, he and his family settled in El Paso where he has practiced law for more than 30 years. Judge Spieczny is a member of the Board of the El Paso Bar Association and is active in community service projects. For more than 20 years, he has been an avid fundraiser for KTEP public radio. He also is a major sponsor of the annual Nolan Richardson Charitable Gold Tournament and an active participant in the annual Martin Luther King Food Drive.
Mary Lou Camarena
Ms. Camarena is a Certified Project Management Professional with extensive experience in developing and implementing solutions to challenges that governmental agencies often face in providing cost-effective services to the public. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from Harvard, a Master’s degree in Public Policy from Duke University and an impressive track record of public service. She was a legislative analyst for former Congressman Ron Coleman and also spent time in the Georgia governor’s Office of Planning and Budget. Now in the private sector, Ms. Camarena leads teams in developing and implementing project solutions for government entities.
Rosemary Castillo
Ms. Castillo has been the Chief Executive Officer of Bienvivir Senior Health Services since its inception in 1986. The agency is a not-for-profit, community-based program that provides comprehensive, integrated health services (chronic, acute and long term care) to the frail elderly. Ms. Castillo is a graduate of the University of Texas at El Paso with a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology. She has served on numerous local, state and national committees, including the National Advisory Committee to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the National Program of All Inclusive Care for the Elderly, the Texas Statewide health Coordinating Council and the El Paso County Hospital District Board of Managers, where she served as Board Chair from 2003-2007.
Kristen Cox
Having arrived in the city at the age of six months, Ms. Cox considers herself a native El Pasoan. She graduated from Coronado High School. She earned her Bachelors degree in Computer Science/Math from Texas A&M University and her MBA from the University of Texas at Dallas. She founded Checkpoint Services in 1996, a regional technology company she continues to lead to this day. In addition to running her company, Ms. Cox has been a community volunteer her entire adult life. She has served on the Boards of the Greater El Paso Chamber of Commerce and the Alzheimer’s Association and has been active with the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the Rotary Club of El Paso, Executive Forum and the Junior League. Currently, she is on the Board of the Texas Association of Historically Underutilized Businesses, is serving on the Texas Council for Developmental Disabilities, and is an advisory board member for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Cynthia Vizcaino Villa (ex-officio)
Ms. Vizcaino Villa is positive proof of the University of Texas at El Paso’s commitment to foster its students’ success. After graduating with both a Bachelor’s of Business Administration and a Master’s degree in Education Administration, she has worked at the University for 21 years and is now the school’s Vice President for Business Affairs. She serves on President Diana Natalicio’s Cabinet and, as Chief Financial Officer, directs the administration of the University’s finances.
Hector L. Almeida
Mr. Almeida is a Business Development Officer for BBVA Compass in El Paso, Texas. BBVA Compass is the 15th largest US commercial bank headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama and a wholly owned subsidiary of Banco Bilbao Viscaya Argentaria (BBVA) with more than $750 billion in total assets. Mr. Almeida began his banking career with State National Bank- El Paso in 1971 after serving in the US Army and a tour of duty in Vietnam. Mr. Almeida attended the University of Texas at El Paso and graduated in 1973 with a BBA in Finance. He is a Board Member of the Mt. Franklin Kiwanis of El Paso, Past Chair of the Upper Rio Grande Development Company, Board Member and Past President of the Greater El Paso Chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and Board Member of the University of Texas at El Paso Alumni Association.
Clarence Ansley
Mr. Ansley is a Senior Vice President with Hunt Companies, Inc., a nationwide real estate development and investment company headquartered in El Paso. He has over 16 years of diverse corporate finance experience, encompassing all forms of financial analysis, modeling, valuation, planning, budgeting and capital transactions. Mr. Ansley is responsible for Hunt’s financial analysis and planning efforts, forecasting, valuation, and both enterprise and portfolio risk management. Previously he served as manager of FP&A for Petro Stopping Centers, a nationwide truck stop chain, where he was principally involved with large recapitalizations, acquisitions, and capital investment analysis. Prior to that, Mr. Ansley performed retail delivery analysis and planning for Texas Commerce Bank (now JPMorgan Chase-Texas), where he developed branch and ATM network profitability and location strategies.
James N. Valenti,(ex-officio)
James N. Valenti is President and Chief Executive Officer of University Medical Center of El Paso, the region’s only not-for-profit, community-owned academic medical center. UMC’s other subsidiaries include the UMC Neighborhood Healthcare Centers, El Paso First Health Plans and University Medical Center Foundation. During his tenure at UMC, the medical center has achieved an unprecedented financial turnaround, seen its bond rating upgraded from A+ to AA, achieved Top 100 status, developed a new strategic plan and vision, designed and built the largest campus expansion in UMC’s 97-year history, including the construction of El Paso’s first separately licensed Children’s Hospital, provided leadership and funding in opening the new Texas Tech School of Medicine and School of Nursing, and received accrediting approval for El Paso’s first-ever fellowship programs.
Mr. Valenti’s career in healthcare administration spans more than 30 years. He has distinguished himself as an effective leader at major institutions in Oklahoma, Texas and Missouri. He is a fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives and a 2007 recipient of the college’s Regent’s Award, a national honor that recognizes executive leadership in healthcare. He also is the 2011 recipient of NAPH’s highest honor, the President’s Award, for the extraordinary transformation of UMC. Mr. Valenti earned his Bachelor’s degree from St. Louis University where he graduated Summa Cum Laude and his Master’s degree in Health Administration from Washington University in St. Louis.
Michael Nuñez,(ex-officio)
Jose Manuel de la Rosa, M.D., (ex-officio)
Jose Manuel de la Rosa, M.D., currently serves as the Vice President for Health Affairs and Founding Dean for Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center Paul L. Foster School of Medicine and as the Regional Dean for the TTUHSC El Paso Regional Campus. He supervises a budget of over $200 million and is the lead academic officer for the four-year medical school. Soon after his appointment as Regional Dean for the School of Medicine at TTUHSC-El Paso in 1997, Dr. de la Rosa set a goal of bringing a full-fledged four-year medical school to the El Paso community. After more than ten years dedicated to this initiative, the Paul L. Foster School of Medicine received its LCME accreditation on February 6, 2008 and welcomed its inaugural class of first year medical students in July of 2009. This milestone brought the full resources of both a medical school and health sciences center enterprise to the community. El Paso stands to benefit from the education, service, research, and policy initiatives defined by the health sciences center. As a Professor of Pediatrics, Dr. de la Rosa’s involvement with the community led to the establishment of community partnership clinics, which are school-based clinics that provide services to colonia residents in El Paso’s Lower Valley. Dr. de la Rosa remains active as member of the Catholic Foundation for the Diocese of El Paso, with school based health center initiatives at the local and state level, with the American Association of Medical Colleges, and various other national, state, and local organizations.