FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 22nd 2023
Contact:
Robert Nuñez, Sr. Communications Manager
rnunez@lchc.org, (805)815-7730
The Latino Coalition for a Healthy California (LCHC) welcomes Dr. Seciah Aquino as new Executive Director
The LCHC Board unanimously name Dr. Seciah Aquino as the new Executive Director to lead the Latino Coalition for a Healthy California into a new chapter of growth for Latinx Health Equity.
(Sacramento, CA) – This week, the Latino Coalition for a Healthy California officially announced Dr. Seciah Aquino as the new Executive Director of the organization. Dr. Aquino holds a Doctorate in Public Health (DrPH) from Harvard University and a Master of Science (MS) in Global Medicine from the University of Southern California. For more than three years Dr. Seciah Aquino has served as LCHC’s Deputy Director where she strengthened organizational and financial development while advancing LCHC’s internal and external strategies. She has been consequential in expanding the team to include new, women-led directorship roles and solidified LCHC partnerships with California departments and agencies.
The decision comes after a months-long recruitment and vetting of several qualified candidates by the LCHC transition committee including LCHC’s Board and key advisory staff.
Dr. Efrain Talamantes, LCHC Board Chair announced: “We are delighted and confident in extending this position to Dr. Aquino. She came to LCHC at a critical point at the start of the pandemic and helped guide LCHC through a moment of uncertainty and crisis. With Dr. Aquino’s combined professional expertise, lived experience, institutional knowledge of LCHC, and clear vision for the organization’s future, LCHC will soar to new heights. We look forward to supporting Dr. Aquino in her role and the staff as we conclude this transition.”
“It is my utmost privilege to serve our Latinx community and the LCHC team as Executive Director for the Latino Coalition for a Healthy California. As the fourth largest economy in the world, achieving health justice in this great state is our moral duty. Through policy solutions, we must continue to advance sustainable systemic change that will address the acute and long term repercussions of health inequities. It is time to move forward in unity, with an abundance mindset – Latinxs hand in hand with our fellow siblings from Black, Native, Asian, Pacific Islander, Middle Eastern, Indian and other communities of color. We must as a collective own our power and harness our resiliency to achieve true justice. I look forward to all we will accomplish together” commented Dr. Seciah Aquino.
Dr. Aquino was born in Guatemala and immigrated to the United States at the age of ten. Through life experience she has been blessed to learn first-hand how to stand up for the oppressed, how to provide for the needy, and how to speak up for the rights of the destitute. Dr. Aquino, began her journey in public health as a promotora and throughout her career thereafter, has remained committed to creating a culture of health across the nation. For over 10 years, she has worked to advance health equity and social justice issues across non-profit, government, and academic sectors and at multiple levels including local, state, and national.
We invite you to join us April 19th, 2023 for an in person welcome reception in Sacramento!
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About LCHC:
Latino Coalition for a Healthy California (LCHC)— is the leading statewide policy organization with a specific emphasis on Latinx health. For over 30 years, LCHC has worked on transforming systems to achieve Latinx health justice. We pride ourselves in translating community solutions into equitable policy and lasting change.
*Our use of the term Latinx is meant to be inclusive of indigenous communities from Latin America
