Chair (2011-2013) - John W. Molina, M.D., J.D., L.H.D.
Chief Executive Officer, Phoenix Indian Medical Center

Dr. John Molina is the Chief Executive Officer for Phoenix Indian Medical Center, in Phoenix, Arizona. Prior to this appointment Dr. Molina was the Medical Director and Assistant Director for the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS), Arizona’s Medicaid program. He is also Founder of Las Fuentes Health Clinic, a non-profit health center his hometown of Guadalupe, AZ.

He is a graduate of the University of Arizona, College of Medicine and Arizona State University, Sandra Day O’Conner College of Law. His specialty training is in Obstetrics and Gynecology with his clinical practice having been with the Indian Health Service at Phoenix Indian Medical Center and at Las Fuentes Clinic a community-based clinic for underserved populations.

His academic interest is in Indian Healthcare Law and Policy, Healthcare Disparities, and Patient Centered Medicine. He has previously served as a member of the Advisory Committee on Women’s Health and Research with the National Institutes of Health, in Washington, D.C., the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Effective Healthcare Program, Rockville, Maryland, and the National Medicaid Medical Directors Committee, Bethesda, Maryland.

Dr. Molina has published numerous medical articles related to the integration of culture and medicine, and has been the recipient of numerous Leadership awards, and has received an Honorary Degree as Doctor of Humane Letters (L.H.D.), for his humanitarian work, from A.T. Still University of Health Sciences, Kirksville, Missouri.

Vice Chair (2010-2012) - Michael Christensen
Executive Director, Eastern Aleutian Tribes

Michael Christensen is currently serving as the Executive Director of Eastern Aleutian Tribes (EAT), a non-profit tribal health organization that operates and manages federally qualified health centers in the Aleutian Islands and Alaska Peninsula, covering an area of more than 100,000 square miles in some of the most remote and challenging locations in the nation. Each clinic location provides medical, behavioral and dental care to Aleut people and others living in their community.

Previous to his position with EAT, Mr. Christensen served as Chief Operating Officer for the largest durable medical equipment, respiratory care and private pharmacy company in Alaska. He also spent more than a decade as the Senior Vice President for Eaton Holdings Inc., a highly respected and fully diversified international healthcare and health consulting services company. During his tenure with Eaton Holdings, he was responsible for management and consultation to rural health clinics, federally qualified health centers, critical access hospitals, and other health care organizations throughout the world, including an advanced bone marrow and stem cell bank and an innovative surgical center. He has also worked with other recognized health care companies including Summit Health, Epic Healthcare, Hospital Corporation of America and Voluntary Hospitals of America.

He has authored and co-authored numerous articles, book chapters, and reports on health care quality, access, and financing issues as well as management and leadership training for health executives. He has also lectured in numerous venues on cultural sensitivity, the role of traditional healing in provision of care, and partnering of traditional healing and western medicine to promote wellness.

Mr. Christensen earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in finance and accounting from the Rawls School of Business at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas and earned his Masters in Health Administration from Bryson University, Columbus, Mississippi.

A leader in healthcare quality, family and wellness issues, Michael has received special recognition from the World Health Organization, and received Vigil Honor and Silver Beaver awards from the Boy Scouts of America. Mr. Christensen was raised in the Shoshone Nation in Eastern Idaho as an adopted member of the Kucundika (Buffalo Eaters) Band and his totem is great eagle. He and his wife Maria reside in Palmer, Alaska and are the parents of nine children and six grandchildren.

Secretary (2011-2012) - CAPT Sandra M. Lahi, M.B.A., RHIA
Chief Executive Officer, Jicarilla Service Unit

CAPT Sandra Lahi is a member of the Jicarilla Apache Nation and the Choctaw Nation from Oklahoma. She has worked with Indian Health Service for over 20 years and began her career in the Medical Record Department at the Chickasaw Indian Hospital. She continued her education and earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Medical Record Administration from East Central University in Ada, Oklahoma and ultimately her MBA at the University of New Mexico.

During her career, she has worked in the Health Information Management, Business Office and Information Technology systems. She has been stationed at the Mescalero Indian Hospital, Santa Fe Indian Hospital, Headquarters Office of Information Technology and the Headquarters Office of Resource Access and Partnerships. Within the past year, she transferred from the Oklahoma City Area Office as an IT Specialist to the position of Chief Executive Officer at the Jicarilla Service Unit located in the Albuquerque Area.

Throughout her tenure with IHS, she has served on multiple workgroups and committees within Indian Health Service and has participated in many initiatives to strengthen the Agency’s capacity for increasing third party revenue. Her passion while working in all of these locations has been to improve health care systems with the ultimate goal of improving patient care to our Native American population.

Past Chair (2009-2011) - Bryce Redgrave, B.S, M.B.A.
Executive Officer, Bemidji Area Office

Bryce Redgrave, a member of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe of Montana, is the current Executive Officer for the Bemidji Area Office located in Bemidji Minnesota. Mr. Redgrave has worked for the Indian Health Service (IHS) for over 15 years starting his initial clinical career in Montana as a Medical Technologist before transitioning into health care administration in 2006.

He received his Bachelor’s degree from Montana State University - Bozeman in 1994 and later completed a Masters degree in Business Administration in 2008. He has held numerous positions in clinical, hospital and Area Office settings. These geographical locations include working in the Billings, Tucson, Navajo and Bemidji Areas of the IHS.

As the past Chair Mr. Redgrave led several important workgroups and initiatives by consulting and soliciting input from Federal, Tribal and Urban (ITU) health care leaders geographically dispersed throughout the United States. This collaborative work by the NCCEO, positions the council to bring forth recommendations on important issues, field perspectives and integrated solutions regarding the ITU health system to the IHS Director as an advisory body