Fil-Am named VP of top California health funder

Fatima Angeles. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

WOODLAND HILLS, California  – A Filipino American woman has been appointed the vice president of programs of a key health funding organization.

The California Wellness Foundation (Cal Wellness) appointed Fatima Angeles as vice president of programs, effective immediately.

The California Wellness Foundation is a private, independent foundation created in 1992 to improve the health of the people of California by making grants for health promotion, wellness education and disease prevention. Since its founding, Cal Wellness has awarded 7,338 grants totaling more than $890 million.

Angeles has been serving as interim vice president of programs since August last year. She was previously Cal Wellness’ director of evaluation and organizational learning.

Angeles is responsible for the day-to-day management of the grants program department, which includes oversight of the current grants 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, president and CEO of The California Wellness Foundation. “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.”

A veteran member of Cal Wellness’ staff, Angeles joined the Foundation in 1998 as a program director, where she managed the Foundation’s Children and Youth Community Health Initiative (CYCHI) and oversaw grant-making for environmental health and work and health.

In 2006, she was appointed director of evaluation and organizational learning, overseeing evaluation efforts aimed at analyzing and learning from the Foundation’s Responsive Grantmaking Program. She developed and facilitated learning opportunities for the grants program staff and developed and managed tools and resources for grant-making.

“After 16 years at Cal Wellness, I am excited and honored to serve the Foundation in this new capacity,” said Angeles. “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 grant-making.”

Before joining Cal Wellness, Angeles was a program associate at the Hasbro Children’s Foundation in New York City and an advisory committee member for CYCHI. Angeles’ 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.