2012 National Conference

Chief Program Director

Brenda Solórzano is chief program director of Blue Shield of California Foundation, where she leads the programming and grantmaking activities. Her responsibilities include working with program areas to develop strategies and work plans, overseeing grantee relations and leading program learning and evaluation activities. Solórzano is also serving as director of the Foundation’s Health Care and Coverage program. Her responsibilities include developing grantmaking strategy, leading the proposal review process, building support for policies seeking to address the issue of the uninsured, maintaining relationships with grantees and key stakeholders, and providing fiscal oversight for the program.

Prior to this role, Solórzano served as a program officer at The California Endowment and the California HealthCare Foundation.

She received her bachelor's degree in history and political science from the University of San Francisco and her juris doctorate from Whittier Law School.

Executive Director

Nilda Valmores is the executive director of My Sister’s House, the Central Valley’s only shelter for battered Asian/Pacific Islander women and children since September 2004. Prior to arriving at My Sister’s House, Valmores was the community development director for Mercy Housing California for five years. Valmores considers herself a child advocate. For more than 20 years, she has worked with
non-profit organizations on a state-wide level addressing issues affecting children and the poor, in the education, social services and housing arenas.

Valmores was recently elected to serve on the board for the California Partnership to End Domestic Violence. Her personal mission is to create a better future for all children, but especially her two children, Taylor and Niel.

She is a graduate of Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and received her bachelor's from Loyola Marymount University.

Director, Blue Shield Against Violence

Bess Bendet serves as director of Blue Shield Against Violence at Blue Shield of California Foundation. She leads the Foundation's work to end domestic violence through strategic initiatives, grantmaking, and collaboration with leaders in the field. This includes the Foundation’s Strong Field Project, a four-year effort launched in 2010 aimed at building a strong, coordinated network of domestic violence service providers in California.

With 20 years of nonprofit and foundation experience, Ms. Bendet brings to Blue Shield of California Foundation expertise in designing and leading innovative programs and organizations. Ms. Bendet previously served as the founding executive director of Three Guineas Fund, a public foundation investing in education and economic opportunity for women and girls. Prior to this, she managed teacher education programs at the Exploratorium, led gender equality programs at Girls Incorporated of Alameda County, and led organizational development and strategic planning for Tides, a national social justice organization based in San Francisco.

Ms. Bendet earned a master’s in education from Stanford University School of Education, a master’s of science in management from Stanford University Graduate School of Business, and a bachelor of arts degree in Anthropology from Brown University. She brings to the Foundation a passion for social justice and a commitment to nonprofit excellence.

Executive Director

Marty Lynch is the CEO of LifeLong Medical Care, a nine site community health center in the Bay Area. Lynch was the director of LifeLong and the Over 60 Health Center since 1982. Lynch co-founded the Elderly Sub-committee of the National Association of Community Health Centers and is a past chair of the California Primary Care Association. He has served on state task forces to examine policy changes necessary for the integration of primary care and mental health services and to develop a California plan for Alzheimer's disease. Lynch recieved a doctorate in social behaviorial sciences from the University of California, San Francisco and a master's of public policy from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard. In addition to health administration, Lynch is involved in public policy research activities related to health access for the uninsured, long term care models, chronic care and financing care for disabled people.