Leadership

Claudia Hartz, Lead Community Health Worker at West Hawaii Community Health Center, has been part of outreach for over seven years. Claudia received her B.A in Transborder Chicano/Latino studies from Arizona State University. Her focus in college was Community Health and Development. During college, she worked as a research assistant for the Department of Transformative studies under the supervision of Dr. Rudy Guevarra. The project gave Claudia the knowledge and data related to Hispanic/Latino communities on the islands of Hawai’i. Claudia’s responsibilities were to interview Hispanics living on Hawai‘i Island.

Claudia is currently pursuing her Master’s in Social Work through the University of Hawai’i Manoa campus. She is bilingual and fluent in both Spanish and English. Before coming to Hawai’i, she worked for Phoenix Children’s Hospital in Arizona for over 17 years as a Spanish medical interpreter. She has completed certifications in interpretation and translation through the Agnese Haury Institute of Interpretation at the University of Arizona. She also took part in a national program known as the “Medical Interpreter Project” where over 50 interpreters across the nation were trained to provide “train the trainer” to other medical interpreters. In the fall of 2015, she completed “Bridging the Gap” through the Office of Language Access Hawaii State Department of Health and is part of their roster offering Language services on the West Side of Hawai’i.

Claudia’s responsibilities as a Community Health Worker is reaching to the underserved community and helping to identify barriers in their health care. She is involved with providing health education to the migrant farmworker community and teaching perinatal health education classes through a “Healthy Mamas” program at West Hawaii Community Health Center.

Location: Hawai‘i Island

Graice Flores was born and raised in Hilo on the Island of Hawai`i. She has worked as a Community Health Worker with UnitedHealthcare since 2015, and has 15 years of experience in the human services field. Gracie is currently a member of the East Hawai`i Coalition to Prevent Child Abuse and Neglect, East Hawai`i Community Action Network and the National Community Health Workers Association. She has a passion for improving the health of our communities and advocating for CHWs in the state of Hawai`i. When not working, Graice enjoys spending time with her `ohana, camping, going holoholo, and exploring the beauty of Hawai`i, her home.

Location: Hawai‘i Island

James started with United Healthcare (UHC) in July of 2017 as a Provider Services Dept. After a little more than one year, James was promoted to the role of Community Health Worker – DSNP (Dual Special Needs Program). In this role James serves UHC members on all the Hawaiian islands. James is a Culture Ambassador for UHC, has completed M & R Certifications (Levels 1, 2, & 3), as well as graduated from the KCC CHW Certification Program in May of 2021. James is very humbled and excited to be able to be a part of the Hawai‘i CHW Association Leadership Council. It is his goal to foster growth and shed light on the value that CHWs bring to the many individuals, multiple communities, and health care systems across the islands.

Location: Island of Hawai‘i

Nicole Moore was born on O’ahu, but has spent most of her life on the island of Hawai’i. She completed the CHW course through Maui Community College in 2005. Currently she is the Hawai‘i Ambassador for the National Association of Community Health Workers and an active participant in the Hawai’i Community Health Workers Association and on a regional level. Nicole is very family oriented and can be found spending time with her family at the beach, watching planes land and take off, or hanging around the kitchen sharing stories, laughs, and meals.

Location: O’ahu

Genie Naone is a local of O‘ahu. She was born and raised in Honolulu, HI. She has about 24 years of Human Service work, touching all populations and types of services. This 2022 year makes ten years with Ke Ola Mamo. She has experience with Med Quest, the marketplace, and Medicare. She is trained in Chronic Disease Self-Management and has a wealth of resources to assist with all social service matters, like domestic violence, higher education, job readiness, and financial planning. She is committed to helping her community which encompasses Hawai‘i Kai through Honokai Hale including, Wahiawa and Ewa Beach. She has her certificate in Community Health Work and degrees in human service, administration of justice and security as well as instructional design and technology. She is compassionate and willing to assist. Her willingness to assist all, especially her native Hawaiian communities is what gave her the passion to pursue community health work.

Location O‘ahu

Location: Kaua‘i

Crystal has been a case manager/housing specialist with Women In Need, an outpatient treatment and transitional housing for women and their children, for 3 years. Women In Need assist with outpatient treatment and transitional housing for women and their children. We also have transitional housing for homeless families. Crystal has worked at various non-profit agencies for the past 10 years from; homeless shelter, outreach worker, mediation to assisting in preschool. She also helps out with my church community in their Transformation House who assist with homelessness and substance abuse. Crystal completed her Community Health Worker Certificate with Kaua‘i Community College in May 2018 and completed contact tracing in 2020. She is involved in various community clubs from East Kaua‘i Lions as a 2nd VP, Kaua‘i Filipino Chamber as a BOD, Kaua‘i Filipino Chamber Foundation as a Treasurer and BOD, member of Kaua‘i Community Alliance and member of Kaua‘i Board of Realtors and CHW. In addition, Crystal has an active Real Estate agent and also a Life Insurance agent.