Our Staff
Our Team
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.
Ashrith Amarnath, MD, MS-SHCD
Dr. Amarnath joined the California Health Care Safety Net Institute (SNI) in May 2023 as Chief Health Officer. He is a physician leader with a focus on healthcare delivery reform, quality, and health equity. He is trained in general surgery with a background in acute care surgery and population health. He is well regarded for his skills in quality improvement, health equity, and high reliability in healthcare with a demonstrated history of working in health policy, innovation, as well as within hospital and healthcare systems. He formerly served as Senior Medical Director for Covered California, the health benefits exchange for the State of California. In this role he led the health informatics and clinical team that advised the organization on medical policy and standards issues for health plan contracting as well as utilized health plan data to provide actionable information supporting operations to improve care, lower costs, and enhance consumer health. In addition, he oversaw the medical, behavioral health, and clinical programs on quality and effective care delivery for insurance services. He sits on various technical expert panels for the National Quality Forum, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and the California Health and Human Services Agency. He held prior roles as the Patient Safety Officer for Sutter Valley Medical Foundation and Medical Consultant for the California Department of Health Care Services. He is a graduate of University of Michigan (BS, Biopsychology & Cognitive Science), University of Louisville (MD), and Arizona State University (MS, Science of Health Care Delivery).
Amanda Clarke, MPH
Amanda Clarke is the Director of Programs for the California Health Care Safety Net Institute (SNI), where she develops programs, policies, and leadership trainings that promote integration across care delivery systems and strengthen the safety net. Prior to joining SNI, Amanda worked for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation on a national program to incorporate equity into quality improvement and reduce racial health disparities. Previously, she managed integrated health care and economic development initiatives in Ghana and Ecuador.
Amanda holds a Master of Public Health from the University of California, Berkeley and a B.A. from George Washington University. She lives in Oakland with her family and takes every opportunity to hike up a mountain or sit on a beach.
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.
Abby Gonzalez
Abby Gonzalez started working at SNI as an Operations Specialist in March 2015. She has now been promoted to Associate Director of Events and is responsible for supporting the SNI team with meetings, training webinars, and project management. She leads the conference team and handles all CAPH/SNI Annual Conference logistics. Before joining SNI, Abby worked as the Special Project Manager for the California Association of Cable & Telecommunications Association for more than 28 years.
Leossie Hernandez
Leossie Hernandez joined CAPH/SNI in May 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.
Thuy-Ann Le
Thuy-Ann Le joined the California Health Care Safety Net Institute (SNI) as the Associate Director of Programs in 2021. In her role at SNI, Ms. Le oversees programs, trainings and shapes policy efforts to support California’s public health care systems in telehealth, ambulatory care redesign, COVID-19 recovery, and racial equity initiatives.
Prior to her position at CAPH/SNI, Ms. Le was the Director of Safety Net Access at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, where she led policy, research, and program strategies working with public hospital systems and community health centers to improve health care access, coverage, and utilization of primary care to advance health equity for low-income and immigrant communities. She also managed cross-agency collaboration between health care delivery systems and population health to minimize health disparities and promote equity throughout the COVID-19 emergency response. Ms. Le has experience in public and non-profit management specializing in policy analysis, health systems strengthening and reform; strategic operations in health care delivery; community-based interventions; and advancing global health leadership through racial justice and social change initiatives. Her experience spans from working at a Federally Qualified Health Center in Santa Clara County to global health in the United Kingdom, Brazil, Vietnam, Ghana, and South Africa. Ms. Le received a dual Master of Public Health and a Master of Public Policy and Administration from New York University; and a Bachelor of Arts in Ethnic Studies from the University of California, San Diego.
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 instructional designer.
Arlene Marmolejo
Arlene Marmolejo joined SNI in March 2022 as a Data Analyst, where she provides high level support on a variety of organizational analytics and key SNI projects and initiatives. Prior to her position at SNI, she was the Program and Quality Assurance Analyst at California State Department of Social Services, where she led the complex quality assurance monitoring activities at county social services office for the In-Home Support Services program to ensure that federal and state statutory and regulatory requirements are being met.
Ms. Marmolejo received a Master of Economics from California State University, Sacramento, and a double Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Political Science. She currently lives in Marin County and enjoys exploring hiking trails and going to the beach.
Natalie Sainz
Natalie joined SNI in 2023 as Program Associate. She supports planning and implantation initiatives to advance learning, programs, and policies across public health care systems. Previously, Natalie worked as a Senior Associate at The diatribe Foundation, a patient-focused platform dedicated to improving the lives of people with diabetes through education and advocacy.
Natalie graduated from Carleton College with a BA in Political Science and International Relations. In her free time, Natalie enjoys cooking new recipes, doing yoga, and tracking down the best local bakeries.