President & Chief Executive Officer

Rosa Vivian Fernández is the President and Chief Executive Officer of San Benito Health Foundation (SBHF), a non-profit community health care organization serving the San Benito County for over 40 years. She has been the President and CEO for seventeen years. Under her direction, SBHF serves more than 10,000 individuals annually at the main clinic in Hollister and the new satellite mobile unit, providing preventative and comprehensive medical, dental, vision, mental health, and health education services. In addition, Ms. Fernandez oversees a WIC program serving 2,100 women and children.

Ms. Fernández has extensive experience in executive management, strategic program planning, policy development, finance, and operational management in the public sector. Under her direction, SBHF was one of the first community health centers to implement electronic health records in San Benito County as well as connect the dental and medical patient chart.

Ms. Fernández is well respected nationally for her commitment to excellence, as well as for her business acumen. She proactively addresses social health and education inequities through various organized efforts locally and statewide.

In addition to a Master’s degree in Public Health from University of California, Berkeley, Ms. Fernandez holds three certificates in health administration from John’s Hopkins University, University of Southern California Sierra Health Foundation, and UCLA Johnson & Johnson. She is fluent in Spanish.

Ms. Fernández has served as a consultant to the Health Resource and Resources Administration (HRSA) as an Office of Performance Review (OPR) consultant team member for federally funded clinics, and as an Ambassador for the National Health Scholarship Corps (NHSC), a role in which she advocates and provides mentorship to potential healthcare professionals who are a match as a future health service provider for undeserved areas.  She is a Fellow of The American College of Healthcare Executives and a member of The American Public Health Association. She is a Rotarian and also serves as an External Leadership Council Member for the CSUMB College of Health Sciences and Human Services.