Oregon Health Policy Board Members

The nine-member Oregon Health Policy Board (OHPB) serves as the policy-making and oversight body for the Oregon Health Authority. The Board is committed to providing access to quality, affordable health care for all Oregonians and to improving population health.

OHPB was established through House Bill 2009, signed by the Governor in June 2009. Board members are nominated by the Governor and must be confirmed by the Senate. Board members serve a four-year term of office. The Board is responsible for implementing the health care reform provisions of HB 2009.

To learn more about serving as an OHPB member and to apply please click here.

OHPB Members
Oscar Arana, MBA, Chair, Portland Oscar Arana is a private and nonprofit consultant specializing in communications, grant writing, program and business development, and event planning. Oscar has 10+ years of experience working in Portland's premier, culturally-specific nonprofit organizations overseeing educational programs, as well as raising restricted and unrestricted funds. Oscar was the director of strategic development and communications for Portland's Native American Youth and Family Center, and the President of the Hispanic Metropolitan Chamber. Prior to joining the nonprofit sector, Oscar was a television news producer in Central Washington and a print reporter in Mexico City. Oscar is a graduate of the University of Oregon's Journalism School and the Executive MBA program and is a member of the UO Alumni Association Board. Term ends: 12/31/2025
Kirsten Isaacson, Vice-Chair, Portland Kirsten Isaacson is the Research Coordinator for the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 49 where she applies her over fifteen years of experience in government and nonprofits focused on industry-specific research and policy analysis. SEIU is one of the nation’s largest unions. In Oregon, SEIU Local 49 represents more than 13,000 healthcare and property service workers. Kirsten has worked for the last five years as a healthcare policy researcher and advocate, promoting a health care system that responsibly and equitably serves all communities. Kirsten and her family live in Portland and she is a parent of two children who attend Portland Public Schools. Term ends: 12/31/2026
Vacant, Member
Jessica Gomez, Member, Medford As founder and CEO of Rogue Valley Microdevices, Jessica Gomez has created a world-class precision MEMS foundry in the heart of Southern Oregon. Integral to her role as CEO, Ms. Gomez practices a business philosophy of offering best-in-class process technology and R&D expertise to customers, to help them achieve the highest quality and reliability in their products. Prior to founding Rogue Valley Microdevices in 2003, Ms. Gomez honed her experience in semiconductor processing and production management through positions at Standard Microsystems Corporation, Integrated Micromachines, and Xponent Photonics. Ms. Gomez plays an active leadership role within and beyond the technology industry. She is a board member of the prestigious SEMI Board of Industry Leaders, and she is the first executive selected for Spotlight on SEMI Women, which honors accomplished women in the global microelectronics industry. Ms. Gomez is also engaged in STEM and workforce development within the state of Oregon. She is chairman of the Oregon Institute of Technology Board of Trustees, is a board member of Oregon Business Development Commission, is a board member of Center for Women’s Leadership, is a board member of the STEM Investment Council, and is vice chair of the State Workforce Investment Board. Term ends: 12/31/2024
Brenda Johnson, MBA, Member, Medford Brenda Johnson serves as the Chief Executive Officer of La Clinica, a community and migrant healthcare organization in Southern Oregon. Brenda holds a MBA from Purdue University, a bachelor’s degree in Nursing from Oregon Health Sciences University, and a bachelor’s degree in Spanish from Southern Oregon University, where her time included study abroad at the Universidad de Guanajuato, GTO, Mexico. Brenda has dedicated more than 25 years of her career to non-profit leadership in health care and community development and has a drive toward creating equitable systems of care. She believes shared power and love creates belonging, honors dignity, and positively transforms the lives of all people. Term ends: 12/31/2025
Bill Kramer, MBA, Member, Portland Bill Kramer is Executive Director for Health Policy at the Pacific Business Group on Health. In this role, he leads PBGH’s initiatives to advance public policy in ways that improve health care quality and affordability. He is a nationally recognized expert in health policy, finance, and economics, with strong connections to the business community, health care industry leaders, policy experts and political leaders. Bill serves on the Board of Directors for the Primary Care Collaborative and is a member of the Founders Council for the United States of Care. In the past, he has served as Project Director for the Consumer-Purchaser Alliance and as a Board member for the National Quality Forum and the Health Care Transformation Task Force. He has testified before Congress on physician payment reform. Bill is a guest lecturer on health policy at Stanford Law School and the UC Berkeley School of Public Health, and he has made presentations in many health policy forums and has been quoted frequently in the media on health policy issues. Immediately prior to taking his position at PBGH, Bill led his own consulting practice focusing on health policy, finance, and business strategy for public and private sector clients. Prior to developing his consulting practice, Bill was a senior executive with Kaiser Permanente for over 20 years–most recently as Chief Financial Officer for Kaiser Permanente’s Northwest Region. Bill also served as general manager for Kaiser Permanente’s operations in Connecticut; earlier in his career, he managed marketing, human resources, and medical economics functions. Bill has an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and an AB from Harvard. Term ends: 12/31/2024
Melina Moran, MSN, FNP-C, Member, Bend Melina Moran is a Nurse Practitioner and a Doctoral candidate at Frontier Nursing University, she will complete her Doctor of Nursing Practice early 2023. She completed her Master of Science degree from Frontier Nursing University and her Bachelor of Science from Portland State University. Melina has been in the medical field for over 20 years working as an emergency room and critical care flight nurse, family medicine/primary care provider and has been a member of federal and local disaster teams working over-seas in Haiti and the United Kingdom. She currently is a provider in addiction medicine providing harm reduction strategies to reduce overdoses, provide medication assisted therapy and improve the health of people with substance use disorder. In addition to her extensive work experience, Melina is a member of The National Nurse Led Care Consortium partnering with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention working on the vaccine confidence advisory committee to increase Covid-19 vaccine confidence. Melina was governor appointed to serve on the Oregon Commission of Hispanic Affairs and currently serves as Chair. As a member of the Latino/a/x community, she is passionate about being a change agent in her local, state and national communities. Health equity is Melina’s passion and vows to work toward decreasing disparities and improving health outcomes. Term ends: 12/31/2025
Sandy Sampson, Member, Pendleton Sandra Sampson was elected in December 2019 as the representative Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR). She serves as Treasurer on the CTUIR’s governing body, the Board of Trustees. She is responsible for assuring the effective management over the financial resources of the tribe. Sandra is experienced in working with Tribes, State, and Federal government in the health services field, including managed care contracting. She has the ability to facilitate, negotiate, and build consensus among diverse constituents and stakeholders with competing needs. Through the course of her career, she has worked in a several capacities relating to grants and program management. She has served as a Tribal representative on the Oregon Health Authority, delegate to the Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board, as Chair of the CTUIR Health Commission, and on numerous boards including CTUIR Economic and Community Development Committee, CTUIR Tribal Employment Rights Office Commission, and Umatilla Reservation Housing Authority Commission. Sandra continues working in Medicaid, tribal health and tribal government in focusing on policy research and development of technical assistance, training, and communications. Term ends: 12/31/2025
John Santa, MD, Member, Portland John Santa retired October 2020 after almost 45 years of clinical and administrative health practice. He has worked in leadership positions for hospitals, physician groups, insurers, research and state government. He most recently worked for OpenNotes, a research initiative at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston Massachusetts. Prior to this work he was Medical Director for the Drug Effectiveness Review Project, one of the country's most robust comparative effectiveness programs, as well as the Director of the Health Ratings Center at Consumer Reports from 2008 to 2014. John practiced primary care internal medicine from 1976 to 1992 and 2003 to 2008. He has taught in multiple venues—introductory courses to clinical medicine, resident courses in public health and preventive medicine and health policy courses. His work has been possible because of the education and training he received at Stanford, Tufts Medical School, Portland Good Samaritan Hospital and Portland State University. Term ends: 12/31/2023