Lia Margolis
President and CEO
Lia Margolis & Associates

Born and raised in poverty in East Los Angeles, Ms. Margolis knows first hand what it is like to seek access to care without resources. One of ten children, she was taken out of school at the age of 13 to help support the family, returning several years later to become the only one of ten siblings to go on to college for a degree in Business.

Lia Margolis & Associates (LM&A) was established in 1998 offering expertise in healthcare management, experience in serving communities of color and consensus building and conflict resolution skills. LM&A has gained respect and built a reputation for effective, quality professionalism with government, corporate, community based and non-profit organizations. Having enjoyed a successful career Ms. Margolis felt a personal commitment to "give back to the community." For two and one half years she served on a "pro bono" basis with the Latino Coalition for a Healthy California. Recently, she returned to her consulting firm that provides services to a wide range of clients.

She was appointed as the President and CEO of the Latino Coalition for a Healthy California and quickly moved the organization to the forefront in policy and consensus building in Sacramento. In her short tenure, she took the organization to heights never imagined and secured the LCHC's status as the leading voice for Latino health in California. Prior to joining LCHC Ms Margolis served with great pride in executive posts with the Los Angeles County Health Department to include Associate Executive Director, LAC+USC Healthcare Network one of the largest public health components of the LA DHS and in the nation. She also served as hospital administrator and health center CEO for 12 health centers in East LA. She completed major projects that provided access to care to a constituency that was largely Latino and other people of color including:

• The establishment of the Harbor/UCLA Medical Center MRI Clinical Research Center
  
• As Chief of Administrative Services, Public Health, LA County, administered millions of dollars in public health, community organizing and outreach contracts.
  
• Administrator, Newborn at the Women's Hospital, LAC+USC developing the Neonatal Intensive Care Nursing Care Training program, establishing a stable cadre of specialty trained nurses in the NICU.
  
• Healthy LA 2000 coordinating outreach with over 500 agencies and community based organizations.
  
• Public Health Week that is now celebrated each year in Los Angeles and in 42 states nationally.
  
• A full-scale marketing/media plan to include implementation, to provide health information and access to care for the uninsured in the Central and Eastern portion of Los Angeles.

Ms. Margolis has received numerous awards for community advocacy and is most proud of the American Public Health Association, Latino Caucus Community Service Award, the California Latino Medical Association and the most recent National Hispanic Medical Association Award. She has appeared on televised programs, presented in national conferences and she has produced several videos on health promotion and access to care. She was featured in the Latina Style magazine as one of four women leaders in California legislature, corporate and community based settings. Ms. Margolis has been published in the Jacho Magazine, LACMA Physician Magazine and has written several chapters in nationally recognized books, articles and publications including the soon to be published "Serving California's Latinos and Other People of Color" for the DHHS Office of Minority Health. She serves on several statewide health committees, legislative Task Forces and federal Advisory Committees. She was also Chair, Program Committee, DHHS Office of Minority Health-National Health Disparities Summit that drew over 2,400 participants to Washington DC in July 2002.