The Health System Fix

Darrell Steinberg has been at the epicenter of California’s mental health and public policy for decades. He has served in the California State Assembly for six years, the California State Senate for eight years, during which he was President Pro Tempore for six years, and, most recently, as Mayor of Sacramento for eight years. He also founded the Steinberg Institute, dedicated to improving mental health and substance use care in California.Website:https://steinberginstitute.org/Website:https://www.manatt.com/darrell-steinberg

Mark Fackler is an entrepreneur and founder who brings a wealth of experience in executive leadership, organizational turnarounds, and endurance. He has founded Stellcom and worked with TK Foundation. Since his exit, he has worked to develop and coach leaders and CEOs through his roles at Vistage and the Rady Business School.Website: markfackler.com

Mr Jolly Jose Pynadath, is a Startup Enthusiast and a Social Entrepreneur. He is the Founder of HappyMindz Elder care and Easedementia.Easedementia is a Forbes India-recognized organization committed to supporting individuals and families through dementia-focused programs, active aging initiatives, and neurocognitive clinic services. Website: easedementia.com

Liz Harvey is the Founder and Principal of Behavioral Health Outcomes Data Services, a California-based program evaluation and data strategy firm serving behavioral health and human services organizations nationwide. Liz helps organizations drive sustainability and growth in an increasingly competitive environment through several vehicles, including program evaluation, grant and contract strategy, continuous improvement support, and impact storytelling. She has done extensive work helping CCBHCs launch and sustain.Website: https://www.bhods.com/

Dr. Sunita Mutha is a nationally respected physician leader, health workforce strategist, and leadership educator. Sunita is the Director of the Healthforce Center at UCSF and the CHCF leadership program, which trains 32 healthcare leaders each year in California. I was lucky to be in cohort 22 of this amazing training.The applications are now open. Listen to these sections of the podcast to learn more about this unique opportunity.Why you should apply to the CHCF program: 23:22 to 31:44Who is the CHCF program looking for? 31:44 to 36:42Check out the opportunity at: CHCF Health Care Leadership Program | Healthforce Center at UCSF

Royan Kamyar, M.D., MBA serves as Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Owaves, Inc., a digital therapeutics company advancing circadian wellness through artificial intelligence and behavioral science. Website: http://owaves.com

Dr. Luz M. Garcini, PhD., MPH, Licensed Psychologist, and researcher and advocate who studies the health needs of historically marginalized communities. Director, Center for Community and Public Health at the Kinder Institute for Urban Research at Rice University.

Dr. Tasnim Khan is a family medicine and obstetrics–trained physician–executive who has built and run healthcare systems across four continents.She is the Co-founder and CMO at Raya Health, which is an AI-powered maternal health solution that revolutionizes care by connecting patients with an integrated network of providers, including OB-GYNs, lactation consultants, and doulas.Website: https://www.findraya.com/

I am very excited to share the 25th episode of The Health System Fix Podcast with Shefali Razdan Duggal, an Indian-American political activist and diplomat who served as the United States Ambassador to the Netherlands from 2022 to 2025. In 2024, she was nominated for the U.S. Department of State’s prestigious Sue M. Cobb Award for Exemplary Diplomatic Service for her work representing the United States in the Netherlands. She actively engaged in political advocacy, serving as a National Co-Chair of Women for Biden. She has been an advocate for women's health through her powerful position and lived experience. Shefali is currently a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Center for American Progress, the Council of American Ambassadors, the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, and a Board Member of the Netherlands-America Foundation.Website: https://www.shefalirazdanduggal.com/home-pagePLEASE LIKE, SUBSCRIBE, AND SHARE THE PODCAST.

I am very excited to share the next episode of The Health System Fix podcast with Dr. Manisha Sharma.Dr. Manisha Sharma is a friend and a mentor. She is a board-certified family medicine and social medicine physician dedicated to advancing health equity. She works at the nexus of clinical innovation, patient care, and health policy, with a passion for designing care delivery systems that promote health and well-being for all.As a leader in local, state, and national initiatives, Dr. Sharma provides strategic guidance on a range of topics, including clinical care delivery, health equity, and policy, and often appears as a guest on major television and radio networks.Most recently, she co-founded and serves as Chief Care Innovation Officer at MitoKhon Advisors, a women-led, physician-led, and BIPOC-led social impact design firm. She also co-founded Civic Health Alliance, a non-partisan coalition focused on voter registration for health professionals and patients, and Centivox Group, which empowered healthcare providers as trusted messengers in the public health communication space.Website: https://mitokhon.com/PLEASE LIKE, SUBSCRIBE, AND SHARE THE PODCAST.

I am excited to share the 22nd episode of The Health System Fix podcast. Clément Baissat is a bipolar mental-health advocate and founder of HopeStage, a nonprofit created by and for people living with bipolarity. From Sydney, Australia, he builds peer support communities, free tools, podcasts, and psychoeducation programs that help patients and families understand, navigate, and stabilise their daily lives. His mission: make bipolarity less scary, more shared, and far better supported.Website: https://www.hopestage.com/en/about

I am honored to share this special episode on Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2026. Dr. Rodney G. Hood is my guest on the 23rd episode of The Health System Fix podcast.Dr. Hood is a prominent physician and national authority on health disparities, medical history, and the impact of systemic racism on healthcare. With over 50 years of experience in internal medicine, he is currently the Managing Partner of the Careview Medical Group and President of the Multicultural Health Foundation in San Diego. Dr. Hood was the first African American to graduate from the University of California San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine (1973). He served as the 101st President of the National Medical Association (NMA) and also as its board chairman. His contributions have been recognized with the AMA Foundation Pride in the Profession Award and the UCSD Alumni Award for Excellence. He is also the author of a remarkable paper published in 2025, titled, An American Story of a Health System Dilemma: The Slave Health Deficit and Post‑Traumatic Slavery Stress Disorder (PTSSD)Website: https://mhfwellness.org/MUST-READ PAPER: An American Story of a Health System Dilemma: The Slave Health Deficit and Post‑Traumatic Slavery Stress Disorder (PTSSD)Please like, share, and subscribe.

I am very excited to present the 21st episode of The Heath System Fix podcast and the first one in 2026. Please like, subscribe, and share with your network.I spoke with Flow Health cofounders Sriram Muralidharan, CEO & Anirudh Perubotla, CTO. Floe Health is an enterprise AI platform that delivers predictive intelligence, closing the loop on every referral in healthcare.Sriram is a builder who’s been in the room when real systems get made. He started his career at Tesla, where he helped build the first Model X.  Later at Commure, Sriram led enterprise AI initiatives, working directly with large health systems to align product strategy with real operational needs, sitting at the intersection of product, AI, and healthcare economics. At Floe Health, Sriram brings that same systems-first mentality to healthcare coordination. Building infrastructure that actually holds up under scale, regulation, and reality.Anirudh is a product leader obsessed with adoption at scale. He’s a Forbes Under 30 honoree and was a Founding PM at Levels FYI, where he helped build the platform into the leading tech compensation platform. At Commure, Anirudh led the Ambient AI Scribe team, building one of the fastest-growing AI scribes in healthcare. At Floe Health, Anirudh focuses on turning complex healthcare workflows into systems that work in the real world, at a national scale.Website: https://www.floe.health/

The Health Systems Fix podcast is now releasing its 20th episode. Please like, share, and subscribe wherever you listen to the podcast.Deepa Iyer is a South Asian American writer, strategist, and lawyer. Her work is rooted in Asian American, South Asian, Muslim, and Arab communities where she spent fifteen years in policy advocacy and coalition building in the wake of the September 11th attacks and ensuing backlash. Currently, Deepa leads projects on solidarity and social movements at the Building Movement Project, a national nonprofit organization that catalyzes social change through research, strategic partnerships, and resources for movements and nonprofits. She hosts the *Solidarity Is This* podcast. Deepa is the author of three books- her first book, *We Too Sing America: South Asian, Arab, Muslim, and Sikh Immigrants Shape Our Multiracial Future* received a 2016 American Book Award. In 2022 she published a guide based on the social change ecosystem map that she created, called Social Change Now: A Guide for Reflection and Connection.  Her debut children’s picture book, We Are The Builders!, was released in the fall of 2024.Work: www.solidarityis.orgBooks: We Too Sing America; Social Change Now; We Are The Builders! Website: www.deepaiyer.com

The Health Systems Fix podcast has survived 2025 and is now releasing its 19th episode. Please like, share, and subscribe wherever you listen to the podcast.I am humbled to share this incredible conversation with Dr. Sanjeev Arora. Dr. Arora is the founder of Project ECHO and the Director of the ECHO Institute. Dr. Arora is a Distinguished and Regents Professor of Medicine (Retd.) in the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center. In 2019, Dr. Arora was the Lifetime Recipient of the New Mexico Governor's Public Service Award, and in 2021, he received the Brock Prize in Education Innovation.Dr. Arora is a pioneer in democratizing specialized medical knowledge for the good of humanity. His idea for Project ECHO was grounded in his personal experience as a liver disease specialist practicing in New Mexico, whose patients were in geographically isolated communities and suffered transportation, financial, and caregiver burdens, in addition to their health crises.The ECHO Model has since been used to train providers in more than 70 other disease areas and is being applied around the globe, partnering with the World Health Organization and the CDC. ECHO topics have expanded beyond health care to include K-12 education, climate change, public safety and more. In 2007, Project ECHO won the Ashoka Foundation’s Changemakers Award, an international competition recognizing programs that are changing the paradigm of how medicine is practiced. Website: https://projectecho.unm.edu/

I am incredibly excited to share the 18th episode of The Health System Fix Podcast with my friend Elizabeth C. Morrison PhD, LCSW. Elizabeth is the CEO of EM Consulting, a company dedicated to enhancing the human connection within health and social care. Her focus areas include developing integrated care systems, implementing trauma-informed practices, and elevating the importance of skillful, empathic communication and relationship-based care practices. She is the co-creator of The Lay Counselor Academy (LCA), a course designed to equip individuals without behavioral health degrees or licenses to provide mental health counseling. This initiative aims to expand the behavioral health workforce and ensure that high-quality mental health counseling is accessible to everyone in need.Elizabeth holds a PhD in Social Psychology, is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, and possesses a Master's in Addiction Counseling. With more than 30 years of clinical practice, she has extensive experience providing therapy through video, phone, and text-based modalities, maintaining a practical perspective on mental health services.Website: https: https://www.emorrisonconsulting.com/services/lay-counselor-training-academy/Please like, subscribe, and share.

I am very excited to share the 17th episode of The Health System Fix podcast with Dr. Richard Markell.Dr.Markell is a mission-driven driven experienced doctor in Veterinary Medicine, an opinion leader and a consultant in the animal health industry. His areas of expertise include veterinary clinical practice, pharmaceutical, educational, medical device, and legal expert witness. An exceptional communicator who helps companies with strategy, leadership, and marketing to develop and deliver value to customers, business, and the animals we care for. He led the launch of Butterfly, a human medical device (Butterfly) into the global veterinary market, culminating in their NYSE entry (stock ticker: BFLY).He served for many years as a veterinarian for the United States Olympic Showjumping Team.He is an Advisory Board Member and Course Trainer for The National Conflict Resolution Center. He is a philanthropist and 23 23-year volunteer for the largest therapeutic riding program in the US, the Shea Center. Website: https://www.illuminxconsulting.com/The Shea Center: www.sheacenter.orgPlease like on Spotify/Apple podcasts and share in your network. 

I am excited to share the 16th edition of the Health Systems Fix podcast. Aaron Byzak is Chief Strategist & Lead Consultant for Galvanized Strategies, a strategic public affairs and fractional leadership firm supporting an array of healthcare and nonprofit clients. He recently served for 9 months as Interim CEO of Grossmont Healthcare District, helping the District achieve more than a dozen goals, and currently provides public affairs and strategy consulting for notable local organizations. With over 30 years of experience in healthcare management, EMS, health policy, and nonprofit leadership, Aaron is a recognized changemaker in the region. He has also led award-winning public health and advocacy campaigns, created workforce development initiatives, shaped regional crisis responses, and advised organizations at every level. A four-time Emmy Award-winning writer and producer and a dynamic public speaker, Aaron is also a sought-after mentor to emerging healthcare leaders throughout San Diego. He holds an MBA in Healthcare Management and Policy from UC Irvine, a BA in Social Science from Chapman University, and executive leadership certificates from UCLA and Cornell University. 

Happy Holidays & Happy New Year!I am very excited to share the 15th edition of the health system fix podcast with my guest Assembly Member Dr. Darshana R. Patel. She represents District 76 in the California State Assembly and was elected to represent the 76th Assembly District in northern San Diego County in November 2024.  Dr. Patel is a research scientist, former school board president, and dedicated community leader, and brings a unique blend of expertise and compassion to public service. As the daughter of immigrants, she experienced firsthand the challenges of building a new life in California. In 2016, as the Poway Unified School District grappled with financial mismanagement, Dr. Patel ran for the school board to help restore trust and effective governance. Elected as a Trustee, she focused on stabilizing the district’s finances, and rebuilding governance structures, all with a focus on student success and future readiness. She was reelected in 2020.She has also served as President of the San Diego County School Boards Association, member of the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs, member of the San Diego Police Department Northeastern Division Captain’s Advisory Board.She earned her Ph.D. in Biophysics from the University of California, Irvine, and launched a successful career in biotechnology research before transitioning to community leadership.

I am very excited to share the 14th episode of The Health System Fix [THSF] podcast. Veronica Dela Rosa is the Executive Vice President of Operations for San Ysidro Health. She provides key oversight on strategic initiatives of Clinic Operations, Information Technology, Population Health and Performance Excellence, Compliance, Human Resources, Pharmacy Operations, and Belonging initiatives. Veronica has over 25 years of healthcare experience. She spent 20 years as a healthcare administrator for Kaiser Permanente, where she oversaw the medical group’s PrimaryCare Services Division focusing on quality, access, and innovative health care delivery services to over 600,000+ patients. 

I am very excited to share the 13th episode of the Health System Fix Podcast with Lucy Marrero. Lucy is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT), Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality (CPHQ), and community psychologist currently serving as the Director of Behavioral Health at Gold Coast Health Plan, the Medi-Cal Managed Care Plan for Ventura County, California. She is passionate about promoting seamless, high-quality, safe care through partnership and collaboration. She serves on the Medi-Cal Voices and Vision Council, which provides insight into local health plan and member experiences to inform state policy. Lucy is also a Patient Safety Champion with Patients for Patient Safety US and draws on her lived experience as a patient and caregiver to inform her work.

I am very excited to share the 12th episode of the Health System Fix Podcast. Please share, subscribe, and comment.Deena Berry, MLS, CPHRM, is the Assistant Director of Risk Management at UC San Diego Health, where she oversees clinical risk operations, professional liability assessments, andpolicy development. She is also a co-author of the ASHRM Medical Office Risk Management Playbook, published in 2025.Most recently, Deena launched her own consulting firm, EMMURJ, dedicated to helping healthcare organizations strengthen patient safety, reduce legal risk, and build sustainable compliance programs. With over 25 years of experience across hospitals, rehabilitation centers, and federally qualified health centers, she brings a wealth of knowledge in legal risk, patient safety, and regulatory compliance.Website:  https://www.emmurj.com/

Amanda Berry, is a public health social worker with a master's in SW and Public health.  She has a background in health policy, politics, research, and health services. She is the Director of Managed Care Advocacy at Health Center Partners of Southern California, a regional consortium of community health centers in San Diego, Riverside, and Imperial Counties. Very recently, Amanda helped health centers strengthen their civic engagement and played a key role in the successful passage of Proposition 35, which secured critical Medi-Cal funding. She has also served as the Senior Policy Advisor to San Diego County Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer and contributed to statewide behavioral health policy reform through her work at UC Davis. Amanda serves on the County of San Diego’s Behavioral Health Advisory Board and is Co-President of the San Diego Leadership Alliance.

I am very excited to share the 9th episode of The Health System Fix podcast with Vernita Todd [ a bit out of order due to editing delays]. It was a pleasure to speak with Vernita on topics of healthcare strategy and a meaningful career. Vernita Largin Todd, MBA, FACHE, is the Vice President of Senior Health Services at San Ysidro Health & San Diego PACE, where she oversees the organization’s comprehensive program for seniors. San Ysidro Health – a large Federally Qualified Health Center in San Diego, California, serving more than 160,000 SoCal residents per year. Before moving to California, Vernita had served as the CEO of Heart City Health Center in Elkhart, Indiana, for ten years. Vernita is a lifetime member of the National Association of Community Health Centers and was honored with the Elizabeth K. Cooke Advocacy MVP Award in 2014. She was inducted into NACHC’s Grassroots Hall of Fame in 2017 for her advocacy work. Vernita is a board member for The California Endowment; a State Appointed Trustee for the Health Workforce Education & Training Council (a division of HCAI); and a board member of CalPACE – the state association for the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE). Vernita is the President/Founder of the Human Capital Group, which works with nonprofit organizations in strategic planning and change management. 

Dr. Nisha Mehta is a Radiologist with subspecialty training in Musculoskeletal and Breast Imaging. She is the founder of the Physician Side Gigs and Physician Community with more than 200,000 verified physician members. The online communities aim to empower physicians with the tools they didn't get during medical school. Dr. Mehta is a writer, professional keynote speaker, and physician advocate. She is a LinkedIn Top Health Voice and has been published with Forbes, CNN, the Washington Post, Bloomberg, PBS NewsHour, KevinMD.com, the Radiology Business Journal, Medscape, MedPage Today, and Doximity, amongst others.We met at the #HLTH25 conference in Las Vegas where I was an attendee.https://www.physiciansidegigs.com/https://www.nishamehtamd.com/

Dr. Bhargav Patel is a multidisciplinary physician-leader, entrepreneur, and innovator who is currently a research track fellow in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Brown University. His research is on developmental trauma and its implications on early biomarkers of aging and is publishing a book, Trauma Transformed: Your Guide to Understanding Trauma, Resilience, and Post-Traumatic Growth in early 2026. He is also an entrepreneur and co-founder and CEO of myPEAK, an award-winning vegan health company that creates science-backed nutritional formulations. He is also a leader in the AI revolution and was most recently Chief Medical Officer and chair of the clinical advisory board at Sully.ai.  Outside of work, he is an avid reader, meditator, yogi, and hiker who is currently trying to visit all 63 US national parks.

Dr. Pouya Afshar is a physician and an entrepreneur. He is board-certified in internal medicine, hospice/palliative medicine, and venous and lymphatic medicine. Early in his career, Dr. Afshar began following some of his medically complex, elderly patients into skilled nursing facilities, where he managed their care post-hospitalization while they received short-term rehabilitation. Inspired by this experience, he co-founded Presidium Health in 2015 to provide a comprehensive model of home-based care—“concierge care without the fare.” Outside of medicine, Pouya is a devoted husband and father of 4 children, an avid soccer player, and has completed 14 marathons.Website: https://presidiumhealth.com/

I am very excited to share the sixth episode of The Health System Fix Podcast.Thank you to Dr. Ramesh Jain for being my guest.Ramesh Jain is the Emeritus Donald Bren Professor and founding Director of the Institute for Future Health at UC Irvine. A distinguished researcher in computer vision, AI, and multimedia computing, his current work focuses on transforming healthcare through cybernetic principles and multimodal AI—creating systems for continuous, personalized health optimization.https://rameshjain584729.substack.com/https://ngs.ics.uci.edu/https://futurehealth.uci.edu/https://rameshjain584729.substack.com/p/following-where-growth-leadshttps://substack.com/home/post/p-170945604

With over 20 years leading healthcare tech teams, Rumpa Giri has helped build pioneering EHRs and machine learning risk engines — and today she’s focused on improving first-pass claim rates with AI-powered automation. She has served as the CTO at Foresee Medical and MDLand.

Rosalba Serrano Rivera is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker andthe Behavioral Health Director at Camarena Health in Madera, CA. She is an alumna of the California Health Care Foundation’s Health Care Leadership Program. She has over 15 years of clinical experience working with children, adolescents, and adults. She has a deep commitment to advancing behavioralhealth equity and expanding access to care for historically underserved populations. Rosalba provides strategic leadership in designing and implementing trauma-informed, culturally responsive, and patient-centered care models. We talked about her leadership and life journey, heressential work developing a sustainable pipeline of bilingual and bicultural clinicians, and expanding access to maternal mental health.

Dr. Tyler B Evans is the CEO, Chief Medical Officer & Co-Founder of Wellness and Equity Alliance. He is an infectious diseases and public health expert. He was the first Chief Medical Officer for New York City, leading the Office of Emergency Management’s (OEM) COVID-19 medical response. He is an Adjunct Associate Professor at the University of Southern California (USC) Keck School of Medicine, Department of Population and Public Health Sciences.  Most recently, he has authored the book Pandemics, Poverty, and Politics: Decoding the Social and Political Drivers of Pandemics from Plague to COVID-19 (Johns Hopkins Press, August, 2025). Links:- https://www.amazon.com/Pandemics-Poverty-Politics-Decoding-Political-ebook/dp/B0D9C6GTN6- https://www.wellnessequityalliance.com/Conflict of interest: I previously worked at Wellness Equity Alliance and hold a small number of shares in the company.

Dileep Mishra is a cybersecurity leader with over 25 years in the tech industry, including senior roles at Akamai and Radware. He holds CISSP and CEH certifications. ​His consulting firm works in the following areas : ​​​Compliance (SOC 2, HIPAA, GDPR, etc.)Risk assessments, incident response, and policy reviewsDeveloping AI Agents securelyEvaluating Security solutionsYou can reach him at: https://www.cyberse.ai/

Dr. Anton Babushkin is an entrepreneur, psychoanalyst, and founder of Start My Wellness, a thriving private outpatient mental health company serving close to 1500 patients. Starting his career with no clear roadmap, Anton discovered his calling through curiosity and persistence—earning his MSW, later his Ph.D, and MSF, and eventually training as a psychoanalyst. Over the past 15+ years, he has built a career that bridges clinical expertise, business strategy, and real estate investment.Anton’s leadership style reflects his craft-like approach to entrepreneurship—finding incremental, creative ways to grow while staying deeply engaged in the work itself. He has expanded his clinic to $3M in revenue, led diverse teams of clinicians and administrators, taught graduate-level courses, and mentored emerging professionals. His path shows how adaptability, cross-disciplinary learning, and long-term vision can turn uncertainty into a multidimensional, impactful career.His practice currently serves patients in the Detroit Metropolitan Region. Please check out his website if you or someone you know needs help. startmywellness.com