Riverside, CA – Riverside Community Health Foundation (RCHF) whose mission is to improve the health and well-being of its community is pleased to announce the appointment of seven new board members to the RCHF Board of Directors.

“We are so pleased to welcome Rafaela King, Kelly Marshall, Dr. Michelle Thomas, and Dr. Takashi Wada to our 2023 board of directors, and are honored to welcome Karl Leonard Hicks and Dr. Richard Rajaratnam back to the board,” stated Dr. Dan Anderson, President/Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of RCHF. “We are confident that our new and returning together board members will instill the passion, expertise, and leadership that they bring to their respective fields to guide our organization in our continued commitment to the health and well-being of our community.”

Karl Leonard Hicks is a founding member of The Leonard Financial Group, LLC, with over 30 years of experience in the financial services industry. In 2004, Mr. Hicks was awarded his Certified Financial Planner™ (CFP®) practitioner designation. Mr. Hicks serves and has served on many community boards, counsels, and city committees; and he has been recognized numerous times for his work in the community. Mr. Hicks received his bachelor’s degree from California Baptist College and a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) from California Baptist University.

Rafaela King is the Finance Director for the City of Monterey. She is a Certified Public Accountant with more than 20 years of experience, specializing in local government municipalities. She is an alumna of San Diego State University, where she received her undergraduate degree in Business Administration - Accounting.  Rafaela is also an alumna of University of California Riverside where she received her Executive Masters in Business Administration and she is a member of the San Bernardino-Riverside Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., where she commits her time for community service both on the local and national level.

Kelly Marshall is an Account Executive at HUB International. Kelly has grown with HUB and has had several roles, such as an Account Analyst, Account Manager and Wellness Coordinator in the Employee Benefits Department for the last 13 years. She earned a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration from the University of California, Riverside and is a Riverside native who enjoys supporting the local community. In Kelly's free time she enjoys exercising, traveling and spending time with friends and family.

Dr. Rajaratnam is the Emeritus Chief Integration Officer at the Office of Clinical Transformations for Loma Linda University Health. Previously, the Area Medical Director at Kaiser Permanente for Riverside County, Dr. Rajaratnam is experienced in member growth and member marketing in various lines of health insurance products and deployment of health information technology. Dr. Rajaratnam is a member of the California Medical Association and the American College of Surgeons and has been awarded Voh's Award Winner for Breast Cancer Screening (Highest in the Nation) and the Most Valuable Physician SCPMG I at Kaiser Permanente Riverside.

Dr. Michelle Thomas is currently a Family Medicine resident at Riverside Community Hospital. She is an Inland Empire native, raised in Riverside, California. She received her Bachelor of Science in Biology at the University of California, Riverside, and her medical degree and Master of Public Health at UCLA. Dr. Thomas participated in a joint program with UCLA and Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science during her medical education, whereby she had the opportunity to train in medically underserved communities in Los Angeles. She is interested in chronic disease prevention and Public Health.

Dr. Takashi Wada has served as the Chief Medical Officer for Inland Empire Health Plan since August 2021 and is responsible for overseeing the clinical functions of IEHP and working to ensure IEHP Members experience optimal health. Previously, he was the Vice President of Population Health for IEHP and held positions as Chief Medical Officer for CenCal Health as well as the Director and Health Officer of Santa Barbara County Health Services. Dr. Wada is a Board-Certified Family Medicine physician and received his MD and MPH at UCLA and his bachelor’s degree from UC Riverside.