Senior Management

Mary A. Pittman, DrPH

President and Chief Executive Officer

A nationally recognized leader in improving community health, addressing health inequities among vulnerable people and promoting quality of care, Pittman assumed the reins at PHI in 2008, becoming the organization's second president and CEO since its founding in 1964. Her primary focus has been guiding the development of a strategic plan that builds on existing PHI program strengths to achieve greater impact on public policy and practice in public health. "In a changing environment, strategic planning is an ongoing process, not an end product," she said. Pittman's overarching goal is for PHI to become known for leadership in creating healthier communities. To this end, PHI continues to work closely with the state on many programs, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and the California Cancer Registry. What's more, she advocates that all PHI projects take the social determinants of health into account to better address health disparities and inequities. Under Pittman's leadership, PHI has emphasized the integration of new technologies, creating Dialogue4Health.com, the online platform for conferencing and social networking that aims to build communities of interest for health. Other top priorities are: increasing advocacy for public policy and health reform, addressing health workforce shortages and the impacts of climate change on public health, and recognition of PHI as a preferred place to work. "I passionately believe that public health is an important component of health reform and has to have a stronger voice at the table," Pittman said. She strives for PHI's independent investigators to work together to achieve a synergy in which the sum of their contributions is greater than the whole.

Pittman has deep, varied and multi-sectoral experience in local public health, research, education and hospitals. Before joining PHI, Pittman headed the Health Research and Educational Trust, a Chicago-based affiliate of the American Hospital Association, from 1993 to 2007. Previously, she was president and CEO of the California Association of Public Hospitals and a director of the San Francisco Department of Public Health. Pittman has authored numerous peer-reviewed articles in scientific journals and two books. She has served on the PHI board of directors since 1996. Pittman also serves on numerous boards and committees, including the World Health Organization's Health Worker Migration Global Policy Advisory Council and the National Patient Safety Foundation's board of governors.

Matthew Marsom

Director of Public Health Policy and Advocacy

As PHI's first director of public health policy and advocacy, Marsom is responsible for monitoring and influencing public health policy, legislation and regulations that affect PHI projects and interests. "This new role is about moving strategically and acting as a voice for PHI on state, federal and global public policy issues that support our larger mission," Marsom said. "Given the changes in Washington, this is an opportune and exciting time to enhance our role." Marsom positions PHI to cultivate understanding and support for public health, primarily at the state legislative and administrative levels, but also as appropriate with Congress, federal agencies and community organizations. Previously, he was chief of the Policy, Partnerships and Planning Unit of the Cancer Prevention and Nutrition Section of the California Department of Public Health, providing support for policy development, legislative analysis and external relations. He also oversaw the policy and partnership activities of the Network for a Healthy California. Marsom, originally from the United Kingdom, was an advocate for community-based child care organizations and an advisor for policy and strategy within the Early Years and Childcare Unit for the Department of Education and Skills in London. He received his bachelor's degree with First-Class Honors in political science from the University of Stirling in Scotland and postgraduate certificates in Russian and research methods from the University of Glasgow in Scotland.

Carmen R. Nevarez, MD, MPH

Vice President for External Relations and Preventive Medicine Advisor

A long-standing voice for the public's health, Dr. Nevarez is responsible at PHI for developing relationships with health and public health organizations and interests, incubating new project areas and advocating for public health issues. In this capacity, she positions PHI for further partnerships and initiatives domestically and internationally. Nevarez currently leads development of Dialogue4Health, a Web-based conferencing center that uses webinars, a social network and other resources to encourage collaboration between the prevention community and those communities whose work impacts health. "We intend to be the public forum for people concerned about health, the place you go to share ideas," Nevarez said. She serves as president of the American Public Health Association, the nation's oldest and largest public health organization. Before coming to PHI, she served as the director, health officer and environmental health director for Berkeley's Health and Human Services Department. As director, she had responsibility over a department that provided integrated public health services and a wide range of community programs. After leaving the city of Berkeley, she worked for the dean at the UC Berkeley School of Public Health. Nevarez helped develop university participation in community-based public health projects. She also developed and taught a graduate course in multicultural competence. A gynecologist and preventive medicine specialist, Nevarez maintains a part-time clinical practice.

Diana M. Pascual, MA

Vice President of Human Resources

Pascual is responsible for the strategy and execution of human resources work at PHI, where she oversees the recruitment, assessment, development and deployment of talent across the organization. Before being promoted to vice president, Pascual served as PHI's director of human resources for 10 years. Before joining PHI, she spent more than 15 years in the corporate world, working for Levi Strauss, General Electric and Matthew Bender Co., a legal publisher headquartered in New York. Throughout her career, she held progressively responsible leadership roles in human resources. Her work has covered: recruitment, training and organizational development, compensation and benefits, labor relations/collective bargaining, and employee relations. Pascual obtained her bachelor's in psychology from the University of Santo Tomas in the Philippines and a master's in career development from John F. Kennedy University in Orinda, CA.

James B. Simpson, JD, MPH

General Counsel

Simpson is responsible for a wide variety of legal and regulatory matters at PHI. He advises the president and CEO and the other members of the management team on major transactions, relationships with other institutions, policy development and new business initiatives. He also serves as PHI's compliance officer and assistant secretary of the corporation. "Our legal department takes its cue from the public health approach: The best problem is one that doesn't happen," Simpson said. "The best solution is simple and quick." He has more than 20 years of experience advising nonprofit organizations. A member of the State Bar of California, Simpson received his law degree from the University of California at Berkeley and his master's degree in public health from the University of California at Los Angeles.

Donna S. Sofaer

Vice President of Development, Communications and Public Relations

Sofaer has spearheaded PHI's development and communications operations since 2001. She couples expertise in all aspects of submitting bids and proposals with a keen interest in business development and effective communication. Sofaer represents PHI as well as individual PHI people and projects to organizations, government and philanthropy and develops ideas that fit the available funding or circumstances. "I screen incoming opportunities, whether they are human capital or funding opportunities," she said. "Development is about matching vision, mission and goals so we're well positioned to be funded and can do the work we have a passion for. It's also about understanding value from the donor's point of view." In addition, Sofaer oversees PHI's compliance with regulations, leads communications initiatives and manages public relations and fundraising activities. She has worked for PHI or its predecessor organizations since 1993, most recently as director of development. Sofaer, who wrote her first grant proposals in college, comes to public health from a business background. Before joining PHI, she was a business owner and had an active consulting practice writing and developing grant proposals for health, social service and environmental health organizations throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.

Bob E. Wolfson, CPA

Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer

Wolfson provides the administrative oversight and financial management for PHI's operations. Since he joined PHI in 2000, the organization has nearly doubled in size, both in personnel and revenue. With this growth has come a corresponding complexity in maintaining consistent, uniform operating systems for PHI's very diverse operations. "This diversity is our strength as well as our challenge," he said, "because when one financial area such as the state is constrained, we're lucky to have many areas of funding that provide significant stability." Previously, from 1984 to 2000, Wolfson was executive director of the Old Dominion University Research Foundation in Virginia. He has also been director of business affairs for Eastern Virginia Medical School and director of budget and accounting for York County in Virginia.