Ronnie Shure has been an active member of HCFA-WA since 2012; and he has been involved in the grassroots movement for universal health care since 1972. He worked as a pharmacist providing care to underserved populations in public health, behavioral health, and substance abuse programs for 42 years. Instead of retirement, he has transitioned to become an advocate for social justice in health care. He also serves as a member of the Board of Puget Sound Advocates for Retirement Action, a Co-Chair of the Steering Committee of the Health Care is a Human Right coalition, and an active participant in the work of many of our healthcare allies across the state and nation. Most importantly, his retirement transition allows him the joy of spending time with his wife and daughters and grandchildren. He can be reached at [email protected].
John is a veteran physician-executive and healthcare strategist based in the Puget Sound region. With more than three decades of clinical and leadership experience, Dr. Sobeck began his career in obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Washington. He subsequently transitioned into senior roles in integrated delivery systems and payer organizations, leveraging his dual MD and MBA training to drive care quality, system efficiency, and value-based models.
As founder and principal of Sobeck Healthcare Consulting, LLC based in Seattle, he partners with health systems, payers, and start-ups on risk adjustment, premium sharing, healthcare IT, and alignment strategy. His board governance work includes significant service to the Washington Vaccine Association, where he has held the positions of Chairman and Treasurer, helping to safeguard access to childhood and adult immunizations in the state.
Across his work, Dr. Sobeck has remained steadfast in his mission to improve access, affordability, and quality of care throughout Washington State’s healthcare ecosystem.
Peter has practiced psychiatry for 36 years. He attended Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and completed his residency at UC San Diego. Subsequently he worked at the National Institute of Mental Health and was on the faculty at UC Los Angeles. He has worked in a number of settings including research, teaching, and administration but most of the time has been spent in clinical practice. For 19 years he worked at Group Health Cooperative. Peter, in addition to being on the board of HCFA where he serves as chair of the fundraising committee, is involved in other progressive causes including the environmental crisis and performs mental health evaluations for asylum seekers. He lives on Bainbridge Island and in Mexico. He can be reached at [email protected].
Moving to Washington in Oct. 2021, Ron has been retired since 2017. Before retirement, he was employed in a variety of positions since 1965. Most recently, he was a Member Engagement Specialist and Lobbyist for a 3000+ member REALTOR association in Chesapeake, VA. Other positions included: Operations Manager for a small home healthcare startup, Computer Resource Manager for a major real estate firm, and an associate administrator for an inpatient psychiatric hospital. He served in the US Navy as an Electrics Technician and Instructor. He brings many technical and organizational skills to HCFAWA. He lives in Bellevue, WA, and can be reached at [email protected]
Dennis has a long and successful career in law and community service, and has received extensive training in mediation and other alternative dispute resolution methods. He served as Spokane’s 3rd Legislative District State Representative from 1983 until 1996, where he chaired both the Health Care and Banking/Insurance Committees, served on the powerful Ways and Means Committee, and was a ranking member of the Law and Justice Committee. In the Health Care Committee, he developed the legislation for the Basic Health Plan, the Children’s Health Program, the Children’s Vaccination Program, and the Health Services Act. More recently, Denny served on the Pathway to Universal Health Care Work Group. He can be reached at [email protected].
Poonam Mor Sigroha is the Corporate Vice President of Windows Silicon and Systems Integration at Microsoft. Leading a team of talented engineers and product managers, she is responsible for delivering the Windows silicon systems architecture, working across the company and with our industry partners to build the hardware and firmware/software platform for the next generation of Windows devices. She has led multi-disciplinary organizations across Microsoft, including Mesh, Mixed Reality, Xbox Live, XCloud, Microsoft Supply Chain, Windows Embedded, and OEM. Poonam holds a Master of Science from Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, and a Master of Computer Applications from Maharshi Dayanand University.
Marcia is a retired customer relations professional with a life-long interest in equity issues. She was a keen observer of the Affordable Care Act debates in Congress, and when single-payer advocates were forcibly removed from the room, she knew there had to be a better way to high-quality, affordable, and accessible health care: through the states. She looked around and in 2012 joined HCFA-WA, where she has served on the Policy and Outreach Committees. She joined the Board of Directors in 2014 and served as President of the Board from 2017-2021. She now co-chairs the Communications Committee.
Hal serves on the Policy Team and the Fundraising Committee. He is a long-time advocate of universal health care and is active in the South Sound area.
Sherry is co-chair of the Policy Team, editor of our quarterly HCFA- Ed Fund Newsletter, and President of the HCFA Education Fund. A retired private-practice pediatrician, she is a long-time advocate for universal health care.
Sydnie is HCFA-WA’s communications specialist and webmaster. She has a background in sports and advocacy writing. After studying English at the University of New Orleans, she ultimately graduated with a BFA from the Art Institute of Seattle. Advocacy writing has been a constant for her since graduation and working for HCFA-WA marks her first foray into non-profit work. She can be reached at [email protected]
Lonnie Johns-Brown has lobbied in Olympia since 1985, representing over 20 nonprofits in the areas of health care, human services and women’s rights. She also served as the Legislative Director for the Office of the Insurance Commissioner (OIC) for six years. Since retiring from the OIC, she has returned to lobbying and consulting, with a scaled back client load. Besides HCFA-WA, Ms. Johns-Brown currently represents Planned Parenthood, Upstream, Quaker Voice for Washington and Washington Against Sexual Exploitation. A native Washingtonian, she currently resides in Tumwater.