For Immediate Release
November 29, 2000

Eve Harris, i.e. communications
(415) 616-3930

Diego de la Garza, TCWF
(818) 715-1978

New Employees Bring Rich Experience to The California Wellness Foundation

Woodland Hills, CA - In recent months, three professionals in communications and philanthropy have joined the staff at The California Wellness Foundation (TCWF).

"We are delighted to have added such high-achieving, well rounded individuals to our team," said Gary L.Yates, President and CEO of the Foundation. "All our employees continue to apply remarkable talents and skills to improving the health of Californians."

Senior Program Officer for Special Projects Cristina M. Regalado has extensive experience in California philanthropy. She was most recently the acting president of the Los Angeles Women’s Foundation, a position she achieved after working her way up through the organization where she started in 1993 as a program director. "I welcome the challenge of maximizing the Foundation’s efforts in special projects, to ensure that all Californians benefit from appropriate health promotion and disease prevention efforts," she said.

Regalado sits on the board of directors of the Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy, and is vice president of the board of the Women’s Funding Network. She will oversee the distribution of funds to projects that do not fall within TCWF’s central priority areas.

Examples of activities funded as Special Projects include strengthening traditional safety-net providers, educating consumers about changes in health-care systems, and advocating for underserved communities in health policy debates. More than $57 million in Special Projects grants have been made since TCWF’s inception in 1992.

Communications Officer Diego de la Garza is former Congressional press secretary. De la Garza manages the substantial TCWF website and is responsible for media relations. "Communicating our health improvement messages effectively with all of California’s diverse audiences is crucial," he said. The Texas native, a graduate of Texas A&M University, spent five years working in various public affairs positions in Washington, D.C. He is a member of both the Communications Network of the Council on Foundations and the Communications Group of the Southern California Association of Philanthropy.

Communications Associate Cecilia Laiché has worked for cultural and health care organizations, most recently as a grant writer for the Los Angeles Free Clinic. "It’s a privilege to be able to work with such a respected foundation as The California Wellness Foundation," she said. She writes for the Foundation newsletter and assists with other Foundation publications.

The California Wellness Foundation is an independent, private foundation created in 1992 with a mission to improve the health of the people of California by making grants for health promotion, wellness education and disease prevention. The Foundation provides long-term funding in five priority areas: community health, population health improvement, teenage pregnancy prevention, violence prevention and work and health. It also provides health-related funding through a Special Projects Fund and General Grants program. TCWF has awarded 2,024 grants totaling nearly $295.3 million since 1992.

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