Staff
Executive Team
Erica Murray, MPA
Prior to being appointed President and CEO in 2013, Ms. Murray served as Senior Vice President and was responsible for leading the organization’s policy and government relations efforts. She has been with CAPH since 2005, with a focus on developing and implementing financing structures that catalyze delivery system improvements, drawing on the expertise of CAPH’s affiliate, the California Health Care Safety Net Institute (SNI).
Prior to joining CAPH/SNI, Ms. Murray served as health policy Legislative Assistant for former U.S. Senator John Edwards (D-NC). From 1997 to 1999, she served as a consultant to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, where she helped launch the AIDS Drug Assistance Program, a $1.4 billion federal program that provides access to HIV/AIDS medications for uninsured low-income individuals. Ms. Murray holds a Masters of Public Policy and Administration from Columbia University, and received a Bachelor of Arts degree from McGill University in Montreal, Quebec.
Giovanna Giuliani, MBA, MPH
Giovanna Giuliani joined the California Health Care Safety Net Institute (SNI) as Executive Director in 2016. Ms. Giuliani has a wealth of experience on a wide range of issues most pertinent to California’s public health care systems. Most recently, she served as the Associate Director of Improving Access at the California Health Care Foundation (CHCF) and helped to develop strategies and programs to improve access to coverage and care for low-income Californians. Prior to CHCF, Ms. Giuliani served as Director of the California Quality Collaborative at the Pacific Business Group on Health, where she developed and executed a wide range of statewide programs to improve patient experience, clinical quality, and efficiency among California’s delegated physician groups. She has also held quality improvement roles at Kaiser Permanente in Northern California and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, in addition to having worked in health plan product development at Blue Shield of California. Giovanna received both an MBA and an MPH from the University of California at Berkeley and a BA from Swarthmore College.
Richard Rubinstein, JD, MPH
Since 2012, Mr. Rubinstein has served as the General Counsel and Vice President for CAPH, providing leadership on crucial legal and technical financing issues facing CAPH and its membership. Prior to CAPH, Mr. Rubinstein served as General Counsel for San Francisco Health Plan, the local Medi-Cal managed care plan serving Medi-Cal beneficiaries in San Francisco county. He also spent time as a consultant focusing on hospital operations and financing, as well as numerous years in various analytical and financial positions with Brown and Toland Medi-Cal Group, a large IPA based in San Francisco. Mr. Rubinstein received a Juris Doctor from University of Pennsylvania Law School, a Master’s Degree in Public Health from University of California at Berkeley’s School of Public Health, and a B.A. from Duke University.
CAPH Staff
Erica Fornshell
Erica joined CAPH/SNI in 2011 and is responsible for Operations and Human Resources. Erica’s work focuses on the operational effectiveness of the organization by collaborating with senior management to develop and achieve long-term strategic aims as well as the operating budget. Erica manages the operations staff responsible for administrative support, facilities, information technology and other operational functions. She also leads the management of grants, financial services trainings, the annual conference, and external operational partnerships, vendors and consultants.
Leossie Hernandez
Leossie Hernandez joined CAPH/SNI in 2019 as the Accounting Manager. In this role, she provides accounting services to CAPH/SNI that include accounts receivable, accounts payable, financial reporting, and other accounting related-functions. Ms. Hernandez brings over 15 years of experience serving as an accounting manager in non-profit community health services.
Gina Lenhart
Gina Lenhart joined CAPH and SNI in 2014 as the Office Manager. Gina oversees the general office operations and reception, and manages all office vendors. She provides administrative support to both the CAPH and SNI organizations. In addition to managing the office, she assists with internal and external communications efforts, including keeping the CAPH website regularly updated. Gina also leads registration for the CAPH/SNI annual conference. Prior to CAPH/SNI, she spent 15 years in the coffee industry where she worked in learning and development as a training partner, and most recently as an instructional designer.
Haleigh Mager-Mardeusz, MPH
Haleigh Mager-Mardeusz joined CAPH in 2017. Haleigh’s work focuses on developing, shaping, and advancing policies that aim to strengthen public health care systems’ ability to deliver equitable high-quality care, including policies related to Federally Qualified Health Centers, telehealth, pharmacy, workforce, health information exchange, and other areas. Prior to Haleigh’s role on the policy team, she worked as the Senior Government Affairs Analyst, responsible for implementing advocacy and government affairs efforts at the state and federal level. Previously, Haleigh worked for the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, specializing in public health insurance programs and spent a summer working for the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, where she analyzed federal financing reform options for long-term services and supports. Haleigh holds a Master of Public Health in Health Policy from the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, Delta Omega, and a Bachelor of Science in Public Health, Minor in Developmental Disabilities, Magna Cum Laude, from the California State University, Los Angeles.
Liz Mullen
Liz Mullen joined CAPH in 2022 as Associate Director of Finance, responsible for financial analytics and strategy in support of the association’s public health system providers. Liz brings years of experience in health care data analytics and reporting, provider payment methodologies and finance strategy. Most recently she worked for Sutter Health, an integrated delivery network where she managed system-level, complex projects addressing affordability and quality improvement initiatives. She previously worked as revenue cycle manager for the Department of Pediatrics at UCSF, and as a clinical informatics analyst for San Francisco Health Plan. Liz has an MBA in Health Services Management from Golden Gate University and a BS in Health Science from San Francisco State University.
Malavika Narayan
Malavika Narayan is the Associate Director of Finance at CAPH, focusing on safety net financing mechanics and strategy. Malavika has extensive experience in healthcare financing, analytics and strategy. Prior to joining CAPH, Malavika spent 10 years at Stanford Children’s Health, helping grow the physician network and supporting financial and strategic planning for the physician network, as well as analytics related to acquisitions, joint ventures and other partnerships. She has also worked as an analyst with Santa Clara Valley Health and Hospital System, and was a consultant with Deloitte Consulting, working with global healthcare clients. She has a Master’s in Business Administration from the Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode, and has an undergraduate degree in Chemical Engineering.
Jill Perez, MS, BSN, RN, PHN
Ms. Perez has a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from UCLA and a Master of Science degree from Touro University International, College of Health Sciences, with an emphasis in public health. She is a Registered Nurse and Certified Public Health Nurse. Ms. Perez is also a graduate of the Johnson and Johnson/UCLA Health Care Executive Program and the UCSF Center for the Health Professionals, California Health Care Foundation (CHCF) Health Care Leadership Program Fellowship. She is a California State Association of Counties (CSAC) Credentialed County Senior Executive and Institute Fellow. Ms. Perez is a 2019 Congressman Garamendi Women of the Year awardee.
Ms.Perez has over 28 years of county government experience including 21 years in Public Health. She has worked in the public hospital system, Federally Quality Health Centers and a Medi-Cal Managed Care Plan. Ms. Perez served as President of the County Health Executive Association of California (CHEAC), Board Commissioner for Partnership HealthPlan of California (PHC) and served as a County Medical Services Program (CMSP) Governing Board member. She has special expertise in board governance, strategic planning, and performance management. Her primary interests are public health, healthy equity, serving vulnerable populations, and quality improvement.
Katie Rodriguez
Katie Rodriguez joined the California Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems (CAPH) as Senior Director of Policy in 2023. In that role, Katie serves as the lead for CAPH’s policy portfolio. Katie has extensive experience in public policy, public affairs and advocacy. Prior to CAPH, Katie served as the Associate Director of the California Health Care Foundation’s State Health Policy Office where she led CHCF’s efforts to advance policy that improved health care for low-income Californians. Katie previously worked at the federal level for a Member of Congress and in the White House Domestic Policy Council. In those roles, she worked on the passage and implementation of the Affordable Care Act. She has also worked at the local level as policy advisor for former Alameda County Supervisor Wilma Chan. Katie holds a Master of Public Policy Degree from the University of Michigan Ford School of Public Policy and a Bachelor of Arts from the College of William & Mary.
Ardelia Taylor
Christian Vierra
Christian Vierra joined CAPH in 2021 as the Senior Government Affairs Analyst. Mr. Vierra’s work focuses on advancing the association’s state and federal advocacy agenda. Prior to joining CAPH, he worked in various roles at the American Heart Association, including Director of Government Affairs, where he helped coordinate and lead efforts to advance the association’s public policy agenda. Mr. Vierra also spent several years working in the California State Assembly as a legislative assistant for Assemblymember Evan Low and Assembly Health Committee Chair Dr. Jim Wood. Mr. Vierra received his B.A. in Political Science from Cal Poly Humboldt.