Board of Directors


 

Anita Ortiz - Chair

Associate Director, Tulare County Health & Human Services Agency

Anita is the Human Services Director for the Tulare County Health and Human Services Agency. She is a lifelong resident of Tulare County. Anita obtained her Bachelor’s from the University of California, Riverside, Master’s in Psychology from the University of Phoenix and an Executive Management and Leadership Certificate from the University of California, Davis. Anita has served with Tulare County HHSA for the past 14 years in a variety of capacities. She’s also an Adjunct Faculty at Fresno Pacific University, focusing her teaching on Social Welfare and Policy. Outside of work, she loves to read, shop and share her love of makeup. Anita and her husband, Jimmie, have two kids, Santiago and Camrielle. She loves the central coast and catching her zen at Montana de Oro. Anita is committed to making a difference in her community through service and has an unwavering appreciation for her parents, who are the reason she has a servant’s heart.

Danika Curlee - Treasurer

Director of Fiscal Services, Burton Schools

Danika serves as the Chief Financial Officer for the Earlimart School District. She is a lifelong resident of Tulare County and has lived in Tulare since she was 12 years old. She attended College of the Sequoias, Fresno State University and recently Wilkes University in School Business Leadership. She and her husband, Tim, have three adult children: Tim, Kristina and Jeff. One of the greatest joys in their life are their grandchildren and spending time with their family. Danika is no stranger to nonprofit boards and cares deeply about showing people that they are valuable and have deep meaning no matter where they are in life. She is passionate about sharing that philosophy with others.

 
 

Jody Gilman - Secretary

Retired Nurse and Professor

Jody is a native resident of Visalia. She attended College of the Sequoias, California State University, Bakersfield and received her Masters in Nursing from California State University, Dominguez Hills. Jody is a retired Registered Nurse, having dedicated much of her career to Kaweah Health followed by serving as a Professor of Nursing at College of the Sequoias for 10 years. Jody is married to Sam, a CPA, and together they share a blended family of 10 children and 20 grandchildren who all bring her pure delight! Jody has served in leadership with many local community organizations. She is active in her church, First Presbyterian of Visalia, serving in their women's and music ministries, as well as the ministry of the 210. Her favorite thing is to volunteer and to just keep on stretching herself to learn and grow.

Jessica Rodriguez

Chief Operating Officer, Central California Faculty Medical Group

Jessica has worked in healthcare administration from the last 11 years and currently is the Chief Operating Officer for Central California Faculty Medical Group. She first moved to Tulare County 25 years ago with a calling to serve our local community. Jessica has dedicated her career to loving on and advocating for those who may not have a voice and that is why she felt called to serve with Salt + Light. Beyond her expertise in expanding healthcare in rural areas like ours, she is married to her husband, Mike, and together they have two boys: Carson and Cooper. They enjoy all things sports with their boys and spending time at the beach. We are so lucky to have Jessica on our team!

 
 
 
 

Scot Hillman

Chairman, J.D. Heiskell

Scot is a Tulare resident from birth, who has spent his entire working life as a leader of his family’s 135 year old business, J. D. Heiskell and Company. He has served JDHCo in many roles, most recently as its Chairman and Managing Partner. Just before he began his career at JDHCo, Scot earned dual BA degrees from Stanford University—so long ago that his senior theses were produced on a typewriter. He and Adrianne are raising three boys, Carson, Bennett and Easton. Scot also has two adult children, Jefferson and Mallory, and two uncommonly smart and handsome grandsons, Benjamin and Charlie. His many hobbies include playing a variety of stringed instruments, golf, skiing, perfecting several baseball pitches he will never use, and obsessively managing his Labradoodle’s Instagram page.

Dr. Natalie Bolin

Mental Health Branch Director, Tulare County Health & Human Services Agency

Natalie is the Deputy Director of Clinical Services for Tulare County Health and Human Services Agency’s Mental Health Branch. Natalie has over 22 years of experience in the field of social work, 18 of those years within the HHSA’s Child Welfare Services Division. She also is an adjunct faculty member at Fresno Pacific University in the Social Work department, serves on the Child Abuse Prevention Council (CAPC) and is a committee member for Leadership Visalia through the Chamber of Commerce. Natalie earned a Bachelor’s in Kinesiology from California Polytechnic State University and a Master’s in social work from California State University, Fresno. She is a licensed clinical social worker and is trained in Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavior Therapy (TF-CBT) and Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing (EMDR). She is committed to helping others grow into their full potential and hopes to do just that at Salt + Light.

 
 

Jason Salazar

Chief of Police, City of Visalia

Jason serves as the Chief of Police for the Visalia Police Department. He is a lifelong resident of Tulare County and was raised in Porterville, CA. Jason received his Associates from College of the Sequoias, Bachelor’s from Mountain State University and a masters in Leadership Studies from Fresno Pacific University. He has served with the Visalia Police Department for the past 27 years in a variety of capacities and is extremely active in the Tulare County community. Jason and his wife, Christy, live in Visalia and have two daughters, Katie and Ali. They are long-time members of Neighborhood Church in Visalia where they have also served in a variety of roles within the church. Jason believes strongly in the value of police-community relations, working to establish effective partnerships and responses to address both the mental health crisis and homelessness in our communities.

Joe Hebert

Parks & Community Services Director, City of Madera

Mr. Hebert is a strategic business management executive with experience in operational leadership and global business. He is currently employed as the interim Parks Director for the City of Madera.. He previously served as the Executive Director of Fresno’s Comprehensive Addiction Program Inc. His experience also includes category management manager at Olam SVI in Fresno and director of purchasing, buildings business unit at Schneider Electric in Clovis. Hebert also served as manager OEM procurement /supply chain/ global commodity management with Pelco. Previously he was senior OEM business operations manager at Hewlett Packard and Apple Computer. Joseph S. Hebert earned his master of public administration and bachelor of arts degree in political science/sociology at San Jose State University.