Board Members

Jorge J. Lambrinos, National Hispanic Council on Aging Board Chair, is adjunct Lecturer at USC School of Social Work teaching policy and leadership. He was Chief of Staff to former Congressman Edward Roybal and Staff Director of the House Select Committee on Aging. He was a reporter for Reuters News Agency covering Latin America and the State Department. He has served on numerous commissions and boards including the Commission on Law and Aging of the American Bar Association, the California Executive Council of AARP, and the California Commission on Aging. In addition, he conducted a U.S. State Department sponsored Trade Mission to Colombia to foster the development of the tool and dye industry in that country. He has also been active in promoting the development of policies to assist older persons in the Mexican State of Guanajuato. Lambrinos was selected as member of “Top 100 Most Influential Hispanics in the U.S.” by Hispanic Business Magazine.

His formal training is in economics and international relations and is presently completing the Ph.D. degree in Policy and American Government. Selected publications include “Tomorrow’s Workforce: A Challenge for Today”, The Bureaucrat, Vol. 20, Number 4; “Key Policy Issues in Long Term-Care”, paper presented at International Conference on Healthcare, Daegu. S. Korea; “Breast & Cervical Cancer Outreach Strategies for Screening Latina Women” presented findings of Center for Disease Control and Prevention breast cancer project. Lambrinos is a decorated (Bronze Star) U.S. Army veteran.

Cindy Padilla is currently the Executive Director of the United Way of Northern New Mexico serving two rural counties in the northern part of New Mexico. Ms. Padilla has spent the last four years as the Rural Aging Lead for Grantmakers In Aging overseeing grants from the May & Stanley Smith Trust and the Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies creating the Rural Aging Initiative. In 2009, Ms. Padilla served as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Administration on Aging appointed by President Barack Obama.

Before coming to Washington, DC, Cindy also served as the Cabinet Secretary for the New Mexico Aging and Long-Term Services Department. Ms. Padilla is a native of New Mexico and currently lives in a small rural community in her home state.

Paul is Justice in Aging’s former Executive Director and served as special counsel. Paul was the organization’s founding Executive Director from 1972-1980 and returned to lead Justice in Aging in 2008-13. In between, he was the director of the University of New Mexico (UNM) Institute of Public Law, and a member of the UNM law school faculty where he is now an emeritus professor. Paul is a past president of the American Society on Aging and a founding member of the ABA Commission on Law and Aging. In 2018 ASA honored Paul with its Hall of Fame Award for decades of effective advocacy on behalf of low-income seniors. He has also served as National Secretary of the Gray Panthers and is a past Chair of the Board of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare (NCPSSM); he is currently on the NCPSSM Board. Paul is a graduate of Duke University (JD) and the University of Chicago (MCompLaw).

Retired from Siete del Norte Community Development Corporation (Siete) where he served as President and Chief Executive Officer for 35 years on December 31, 2013. Siete del Norte is a private, non-profit, community-based organization established to combat poverty and to stimulate economic and human development in northern New Mexico. Siete activities have focused on economic and community development, housing, community service, health, social services and elderly programs, substance abuse treatment, employment and training, policy analysis, and advocacy. Prior to joining Siete in 1977, Mr. Atencio was with New Mexico’s Home Education Livelihood Program for 11 years. He has been a long-time advocate for social justice and civil rights.

He has served on numerous boards of directors of national and regional advocacy groups and coalitions, including: the National Council of La Raza; the National Congress for Community Economic Development; the United Presbyterian Church’s Council on Church and Race; La Raza Presbyterian Caucus, Western Region; and the United Presbyterian Health Education and Welfare Association. He currently chairs the Advisory Board for the National Development Council, created to generate investment in underserved communities across the U.S.

Retired after 35 years at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) where he held a number of program and administrative positions, and was in the Senior Executive Service from its inception in July 1979. He received a Master of Social Work degree from the School of Social Work, University of Southern California and a Ph.D. from the Heller School of Social Policy and Management, Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. Most of his effort was in the development of social work research pertinent to mental health and mental illness; development of research and research training initiatives; facilitating clinical and research training and mental health services pertinent to minority populations with emphasis on promoting the establishment of local, state and national organizations to address mental health issues. In addition, he facilitated the organization and development of a number of international epidemiological studies on the incidence and prevalence of mental disorders, and physical and mental disabilities with emphasis on Spanish speaking countries.

Dr. Ramos was an adjunct professor for 11 years teaching mental health policy at the School of Social Work, University of Maryland. He also taught a two other schools of social work. He has been a long time advocate for the implementation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Dr. Ramos has received recognition from numerous national health and mental health organizations. Since his retirement he has been actively involved as a consultant with the Pan American Health Organization and a large community mental health center interested in establishing a community wellness center in Mexico.

Garth Graham, M.D., MPH, is the President of the Aetna Foundation and Vice President of Community Health for Aetna, Inc., Garth is also a cardiologist and public health expert.  

He oversees the community health initiatives for the Foundation and Aetna, Inc., bringing his experience as a former deputy assistant secretary at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under the Obama and Bush administrations where he also ran the Office of Minority Health. He directed the development of the federal government’s first National Health Disparities Plan released under the Obama administration.

Along with his role at the Aetna Foundation, Garth is a clinical associate professor of medicine at the University of Connecticut. He contributes to several boards including being named by the President to the U.S. Federal Coordinating Council on Comparative Effectiveness Research, the Institute of Medicine Board on Population Health, the American Heart Association/American Stroke Associational National Quality Oversight Committee, the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Clinical Data Standards and many others

Dr. Graham holds a medical degree from Yale School of Medicine, a master’s in public health from Yale School of Public Health and a bachelor of science in biology from Florida International University in Miami. He completed clinical training at Massachusetts General Hospital and Johns Hopkins where he trained in cardiology and interventional cardiology. He holds three board certifications including internal medicine, cardiology and interventional cardiology.

Rafael is originally from Puerto Rico. He obtained his undergraduate degree in business with a major in finance at the University of Puerto Rico and later his master in Public Administration from the same institution. After serving in the US Army, Rafael started his career in Eli Lilly and Company and he just recently retired in 2015. During his 39 years career at Lilly, Rafael occupied several positions both in the International Division, where he had the opportunity to lead several affiliates outside the US and the Domestic Division, where as part of the Government Affairs Group he dedicated most of his time to develop relations and support the mission and work of Advocacy Organizations representing the Communities of Color and minority population in the US.

Rafael was instrumental and very involved in the creation and leading the Hispanic Health Summit along with the NCLR to bring Latino Leaders together to discuss and address health issues affecting the Latino Communities. The HHS became a strong part of the NCLR annual conference. Rafael also worked with the National Medical Association to create the first African American Health Summit to bring together the lead organizations in the US representing the African American Community to explore and address key health issues affecting the AA population and establish priorities and create a platform of collaboration among key National Groups.

Mr. Robert is passionate about the wellbeing of the Latino Community in the US and have worked with several organizations at the state level that address health issues as mental health and diabetes. Recently retired after 39 years at Lilly, Rafael reside in South Florida with his wife of 44 years and in addition of visiting his four children and eight grandchildren in St. Louis and Minnesota, he likes to spend time kayaking, biking, jogging and reading. He is also supporting some South Florida non-profit organizations developing stronger Board Of Directors and networking strategies.

Jody Garcia, is Vice President Customer Care at AT&T. She currently has responsibility for Consumer Sales & Service including support for our Hispanic, Asian, Disability and Aging market segments. She has had a broad career with leadership roles in Marketing, Advertising, Strategic Planning, HR, Business Development, Customer Care and Sales. Jody is passionate about serving customers and finding innovative ways to improve people’s lives. She lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico with her husband and three sons.

Alejandro Perilla is the director of the Arizona State University American Dream Academy, a position he has held since co-founding the organization in 2005. Previously, Mr. Perilla was vice president of National Council of La Raza, where he was responsible for corporate fundraising and events.  Perilla’s leadership of the American Dream Academy has grown the program from a mission to improve student achievement in Arizona by involving families in the college preparation process to a well-established presence in more than 290 schools in 50 school districts in Arizona that has served nearly 375,000 parents and students.

Mr. Perilla and the organization have been recognized with multiple awards, including the White House’s Bright Spots in Hispanic Education Award in 2015. Mr. Perilla has consulted in the U.S. and Mexico and for USAID in Ecuador on systems, leadership transitions and board leadership and has testified to Congress on education policy and community engagement. He received his bachelor’s degree in economic theory and international relations from American University and a master’s in public administration from the Harvard Kennedy School.

Octavio N. Martinez, Jr., M.D., M.P.H., M.B.A., F.A.P.A., is executive director of the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health at The University of Texas at Austin. The foundation’s grants and programs support mental health services, research, policy analysis, and public education projects throughout Texas. Martinez also holds an appointment of Senior Associate Vice-President within the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement where he heads up the Community Integrated Health Initiatives program for the Division.

He currently serves on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Center for Preparedness and Response Board of Scientific Counselors and on the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s, Health and Medicine Division’s Roundtable on the Promotion of Health Equity. Additionally, Martinez is a commissioner on the Texas Judicial Commission on Mental Health, an executive committee member of the Texas Child Mental Health Care Consortium, and a member of the Austin State Hospital Redesign Steering Committee.

Bob Blancato is the President of Matz, Blancato and Associates. In that capacity, he also serves as the National Coordinator of the bipartisan 3000-member Elder Justice Coalition, the Executive Director of the National Association of Nutrition and Aging Services Programs and National Coordinator of the Defeat Malnutrition Today coalition. 

Bob has long been recognized as a national advocate with policy expertise on behalf of older adults. In 2019, he was invited by both the Senate Finance Committee and House Ways and Means Committee to testify on a range of issues.

Bob’s prior work history includes 17 years as a staffer in Congress and an appointment by President Clinton to be the Executive Director of the 1995 White House Conference on Aging, one of four he has participated in.  He is a member of the Senior Executive Service.

As a volunteer, he currently serves on the National Board of AARP and the board of the National Hispanic Council on Aging. In 2019, Bob began a four-year term on the National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services, appointed by HHS Secretary Azar.

Bob holds a BA from Georgetown University and an MPA from American University. Bob has won numerous awards for advocacy, most recently the American Society for Aging’s ASA Hall of Fame Award in March 2020.