
LEADERSHIP
EXECUTIVE OFFICERS
KAREN WOOD, RD
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Karen was born and raised in the metro Detroit area where she continues to live. She received her Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree from Michigan State University. Karen is a Registered Dietitian, with a passion for serving the underserved of our community. Most of her 30 year career has been working in public health, 20 of which has been working at Community Health Center’s in multiple roles. She is a 2018 Graduate of The National Association of Community Health Center’s CEO Institute. She participated in the Harvard Medical School Center for Primary Care and Clinical Directors Network’s Clinical Leadership Academy. In 2021, Karen completed the Health Care Executive Program at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management. Karen serves on multiple non-profit Boards, committees, coalitions, and is the Vice-President of Families Against Narcotics. She is on a journey to promote community collaborations to promote quality access to care for all.
JAMIE WETHERELL MBA, CPA, CGMA
CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
Jamie Wetherell has served as the CFO for MyCare since April 2016. Prior to her position at MyCare, Jamie was the Director of Fiscal Services and the Interim Executive Director at another Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) in the Detroit area. Jamie is a graduate of Central Michigan University with an MBA in Finance and Consulting. As a state of Michigan licensed CPA, Jamie’s career has extended across many industries both private and public, non-profit and for-profit before finally settling into Community Health Center administration. Jamie is a member of the Finance Committee for Michigan Community Health Network (MCHN) and currently serves on the National FQHC Advisory Board for Amerihealth Carritas. This is a 2 year commitment, and the board works to assist Amerihealth in initiatives to better collaborate with FQHC providers across the country. Additionally, she volunteers for Boy Scouts of America and the Breckenridge Educational Foundation.
JAMES BENKO MHA
CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER
James A. Benko is dedicated to providing quality care to our communities in his role as Chief Operating Officer. During his 25 years of executive level health care experience, he was the interim Vice President of a physician network responsible for operations, human resources, finance, and billing divisions. He earned his Bachelor's Degree from the University of Michigan and his Master's Degree from the University of Phoenix, both in Health Care Administration. He has been a member of the American College of Health Care Executives for over 15 years.
Susan Gough RN, BSN
DIRECTOR OF QUALITY & COMPLIANCE
Susan Gough, RN has been a nurse for 35 years and has broad and diverse professional experience throughout the healthcare world. Susan’s dedication to women and children led her to several years of service to the community as a Head Start nurse for multiple school districts. She served as Founder and President of Priority Health Services Inc. and the Priority Health Services Foundation Inc., where she oversaw the provision of services under the Maternal Infant Health Program (MIHP) and the Childrens Special Healthcare Services Program for tens of thousands of Michigan mothers and children throughout the metropolitan Detroit area. She was a co-founder of the Wayne Childrens Healthcare Access Program (WCHAP). She has also worked with Macomb County Community Mental Health where she was the founder of the Macomb Childrens Healthcare Access Program (MCHAP) and drove the creation of the Thompson Community Center in Warren Michigan to serve families in the community. She also spent 3 years as the Integrated Healthcare Administrator at Macomb County Community Mental Health PIHP. More recently, she has worked as a Clinical Quality Nurse for UnitedHealthcare Community Plan (UHCCP) supporting UHCCP maternal child initiatives, other maternal child programs including the MIHP, and other quality improvement initiatives for the Michigan Medicaid population.
Susan holds a BSN from Madonna University and a Web-Based Certificate in Integrated Behavioral Health and Primary Care from the University of Michigan. She is a past recipient of a Public Advocacy Award from MDHHS and a Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies Eastern Region Award for Outstanding Leadership and Exemplary Life Work on Behalf of Women and Children.
HEATHER SCIFORD
DIRECTOR OF GRANTS MANAGEMENT & SPECIAL PROJECTS
Heather embraces a passion for population health that has spanned more than 20 years and reached across the country. She was first introduced to the mission of eliminating health disparities in underserved and diverse communities while working within the Health Sciences Multicultural and Community Affairs (HS-MACA) department at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska. Since this time, Heather has been serving community health centers in various capacities throughout Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, New York and Michigan. Her areas of expertise include: clinical operations, organizational development, FQHC compliance, program management, quality improvement, value-based contract negotiation, proposal writing and project funding. Heather is accomplished in managing the complexities of both operations and finances related to non-profit and government guidelines. In addition, Heather is a creative artist who enjoys art fairs and music festivals. While small town living has brought harmony and balance to her life, Heather enjoys traveling near and far on solo adventures or with family and friends.
EXECUTIVE BOARD
PRESIDENT | Honorable Alyia Hakim
VICE PRESIDENT | David Clayton
SECRETARY | Susan Doherty
TREASURER | Sharron Gallop
BOARD MEMBERS
Loretta Brownlee Honorable Ryan Zemke
Philesha Gough Tim Johnson
Lisa Montalto Teresa Thienel
