About
We’re Not Waiting for the Future of Healthcare — Let’s Build it Together
Our mission is to transform the healthcare system through leadership, research, and education to improve the health of Hispanics.
Our vision is to build a sustainable healthcare system for all.
We partner with public and private entities to raise awareness of challenges, drive change, and create a better, more sustainable future for all.
Our approach focuses on increasing the representation of Hispanic healthcare professionals through leadership development, clinical research, scholarships, and health communications.
Our Values
CULTURALLY COMPETENT HOLISTIC CARE
We champion health equity and inclusivity in healthcare leadership to promote culturally competent care that serves our diverse communities.
SUSTAINABLE
IMPACT
We build sustainable programs and partnerships that shift institutional practices across the healthcare system to ensure Hispanics’ access to healthcare and health equity.
Education, Equal Access, & Representation
We empower Hispanic health representation through scholarships, leadership development, and mentoring opportunities.
Our History
The National Hispanic Health Foundation (NHHF) (501c3) was established in 1994 in Washington, D.C., by Dr. Elena Rios, MD, MSPH, MACP, and a core group of physicians who met at the White House Health Care Reform Task Force meetings. They were seeking to address the question of the underrepresentation of Hispanic health professional leaders at the national level for the national healthcare reform debate.
This led them to establish NHHF as a hub for transformative healthcare leadership to advocate for the health of our communities.
Throughout the 1990s and into the 2000s, the NHHF Board of Directors decided on its strategic vision to have a multi-disciplinary organization to work with all the Hispanic organizations.
In the early 2000s, NHHF made substantial strides in expanding its leadership and partner networks, affiliations, programming, and research arm. From coast to coast, NHHF is proud to gain commitments and support from prominent members of government and academia.
Today, we’re deepening our commitment to advancing Latino health equity through strategic partnerships.
View our timeline below.
Timeline
2003
The NHHF leadership network began
With the support from a Congressional Earmark of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Senator Arlen Specter and Congressman Regula, Rios developed the National Hispanic Health Professional Leadership Network (HHPLN) and the HispanicHealth.info to educate our networks.
2005
NHHF expanded its affiliations
NHHF became affiliated with and located at the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, New York University, and then moved to the New York Academy of Medicine. The same group of physicians established the National Hispanic Medical Association to bring Hispanic physicians and medical students together to develop health communications with its partners.
2011
NHHF Health Education Campaign Began
NHHF received its first big grant in 2011 to start the health education campaign with the Kellogg Foundation focused on developing messaging for Hispanic physicians to decrease childhood obesity.
2021
The National Center for Hispanic Health Research was birthed
NHHF, with its Corporate Advisory Board, developed the National Center for Hispanic Health Research and started a Diversity in Clinical Research Symposia at the NHMA Conferences in 2022-24 and a Webinar Series that continues with support from Johnson & Johnson, Amgen & EQBMED.
Meet the Team
Elena Rios, MD, MSPH, MACP
President
Dr. Rios, a distinguished Medical Doctor with a Master of Science in Public Health, Master of the American College of Physicians, has received multiple national and international awards for her outstanding contributions to health equity. Dr. Rios started her career in 1992 as a policy advisor for the State of California Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development; in 1993 for the White House Health Care Reform Team, where she met physicians to establish the NHMA and NHHF; and in 1994 for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office on Women’s Health.
After 30 years of part-time dedicated service at NHMA and NHHF, shaping their mission and impact, Dr. Rios focuses on leading NHHF’s initiatives. She started the Hispanic Physician Leadership Fellowship, which has resulted in hundreds of Hispanic physician leaders serving in the public and private sectors. Rios earned her BA from Stanford University, MSPH and MD from UCLA School of Public Health and School of Medicine, Internal Medicine Residency from Santa Clara and White Memorial Hospitals, and NIH NRSA Primary Care Research Fellowship from UCLA Department of Medicine.
Guadalupe Pacheco, MSW
Director of Programs
Tamara Telles, MPH
Programs Manager
Lizette Olmos Godfrey, MA
Communications Manager
Roshell Andrade
Senior Programs Coordinator
Andrea Chavez, MPH
Programs Coordinator
Meet the Board of Directors
Mark Diaz, MD
Chairman
National Hispanic Health Foundation Sacramento, CA
Elena Rios, MD, MSPH, MACP
President
National Hispanic Health Foundation Washington, DC
Jo Ivey Boufford, MD
Treasurer
Clinical Professor of Global Health NYU Public Health School New York, NY
Conchita Paz, MD
Secretary
Family Care Associates, P.A. Las Cruces, NM
Jorge G Puente, MD
Board Member
Managing Partner and Co-Founder Pleasanton Pharma Ventures New York, NY
Amelie G. Ramirez, PhD
Board Member
Professor and Director, Institute for Health Promotion Research UT Health San Antonio, TX
Andres Ramirez
Senior Vice President
Forbes Tate Partners,
Washington, DC.
Yvonne Rodriguez
Board Member
Egality Sciences, LLC
San Antonio, TX
Meet Our Corporate Advisory Board
We are proud to partner with leading companies that help guide NHHF program development. Contact Elena Rios, MD at erios@NHHFx.org to join our corporate advisory board. Learn more about the benefits of joining.
NHHF Internship Program
At NHHF, we are committed to fostering the next generation of public health leaders and professionals. Our Internship Program is designed to provide hands-on, real-world experience and professional development opportunities for students and young professionals passionate about advancing health equity within Hispanic communities.
