Fatima Angeles named VP of Programs at California Wellness Foundation

The California Wellness Foundation (Cal Wellness) announced August 1 the appointment of Fatima Angeles as vice president of programs, effective immediately.

Fatima has served as interim vice president of programs since August 2013, and previously was director of evaluation and organizational learning. The foundation’s press office confirmed she is Filipino American.

Fatima is responsible for the day-to-day management of the grants program department, which includes oversight of the current grants program, and working with the Board and staff on the strategic planning and implementation of the foundation’s next grants program, set to launch October 1, 2014.

“Fatima brings tremendous talents and skills to this position,” said Judy Belk, Cal Wellness president and CEO. “She is a longtime member of the Cal Wellness family and has immense experience in the public health field, as well as experience working with nonprofit organizations addressing health, wellness and disease prevention.”

Fatima joined the foundation in 1998 as a program director, where she managed the foundation’s Children and Youth Community Health Initiative (CYCHI) and oversaw grantmaking for two issues: environmental health, and work and health. In 2006, she was appointed director of evaluation and organizational learning, where she oversaw evaluation efforts aimed at analyzing and learning from the foundation’s Responsive Grantmaking Program; developed and facilitated learning opportunities for the grants program staff; and developed and managed tools and resources for grantmaking.

“After 16 years at Cal Wellness, I am excited and honored to serve the foundation in this new capacity,” said Fatima. “I look forward to continuing my role of managing the foundation’s grants program and leading our talented team into the next era of our grantmaking.”

Before joining Cal Wellness, she was a program associate at the Hasbro Children’s Foundation in New York City and an advisory committee member for CYCHI. Her other philanthropic experience includes work with The Commonwealth Fund and the corporate philanthropy program of Pfizer Inc.

Angeles is vice chair of the board of Grantmakers In Health and also serves as secretary of the board of Northern California Grantmakers. She earned her master’s degree in public health from Columbia University and her bachelor’s degree in biology with a minor in Asian American Studies from the University of California, Berkeley.

Cal Wellness is headquartered in Woodland Hills, and has a branch on Market Street in San Francisco.

Meanwhile, the foundation has released on August 20 the findings of a study that says 56 percent of voters are satisfied with the way the health care system is working in California.

“The poll’s findings related to increased satisfaction among voters with the performance of the health care system in our state indicate that the hard work of policymakers, advocates and others is paying off,” said Judy Belk. “More Californians are now insured and able to access health care.”

The foundation made a grant to the Field Research Corporation, which randomly sampled 1,535 registered California voters representative of the population of the state. The survey was conducted by telephone in seven languages and dialects, English, Spanish, Cantonese, Mandarin, Korean, Vietnamese and Tagalog.

Stay tuned to CalWellness.org for a complete report on the poll’s findings.