Board of Governors
The Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital Foundation is fortunate to have such
a dedicated, diverse, and engaged Board of Governors who care deeply about
the health of our community. Working side by side with our Foundation
staff, the doctors, nurses, administrators, business owners, and community
leaders who make up our board help set funding priorities, organize events,
and engage our community to philanthropically support Salinas Valley Memorial
Healthcare System.
Carla Spencer, MSN, RN, NEA-BC
Chair, Board of Governors
Carla has a Master’s Degree in nursing and is a Certified Critical
Care RN, and has been working at Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital for
almost all of her over 20-year career. She is currently the hospital’s
Director of Emergency Services and joined the Foundation board in 2015,
bringing a valuable clinical perspective to the Foundation. Her guidance
has been instrumental in helping give the health system the support it
needs to take better care of patients and expand its community health
initiatives. In addition to her work with the Foundation, Carla served
on the American Heart Association board as the Regional Faculty for ACLS
from 2008 to 2012, and currently sits on three local and statewide emergency
medicine councils, including the Emergency Medical Care Committee for
Monterey County, the BETA Healthcare Group Emergency Medicine Council
and the EMS/Trauma Committee for the California Hospital Association.

Mitch Secondo
Treasurer
Mitch has lived in the Monterey Bay area for 46 years with his wife and
seven children. He works as a Vice President at NewStar Fresh Foods, is
a private pilot and once received a Commendation Medal from the U.S. Army.
As he looks forward to retirement, giving back to the community that he
and his family love has become a priority. Joining the board in 2013,
he has been able to witness firsthand the incredible difference the Foundation
makes and participate in a number of capital campaigns. With strong leadership,
he believes the Foundation and health system are well-positioned to attract
new donors and meet the challenges ahead, so they may continue to provide
the most advanced care to the Salinas Valley community.
Barbara Balentine
Secretary
Living in and around Salinas for most of her life, Barbara worked at the
California Rodeo Salinas for more than 35 years, helping build it into
the largest rodeo in California and a major stop on the professional rodeo
circuit. She was a member of the Foundation board in the 1980s and served
on the Ladies Trailride Committee for many years before rejoining the
board in 2017, where she is doing her part to ensure the health system
has the resources it needs to provide state-of-the-art care to the residents
of Salinas and surrounding communities. In addition to her work with the
Foundation, she is also active in the community as President of the Junior
League of Monterey County and Vice President of the board for the California
International Air Show.
Mark Faylor
Vice Chair of Governance
Returning to the Board of Governors for a second term, Mark is a former
local television executive with the Ackerley Group & Clear Channel
Communications who got his start as an account executive with KCBA FOX
35 in 1986. From 1994 – 2005 he served as Regional Vice President
operating the North Coast Group consisting of local television stations
KCBA FOX 35 and KION NewsChannel 5/46, KMTR NBC affiliate in Eugene, Oregon,
KVIQ CBS affiliate in Eureka, CA and KFTY NewsChannel 50 in Santa Rosa,
CA. In 2006, he left broadcasting and joined Peninsula Business Interiors
with his wife Janine as dealer principles. In addition to his role on
the board, he is actively involved in the community through the Salinas
Valley Chamber of Commerce, Blue Zones Project, California International
Airshow, National Steinbeck Center, Partners for Peace, ACS Relay for
Life Salinas, and downtown Salinas Rotary Club, where he is a former President
and 26-year member.
Monica Tovar
Vice Chair of Fund Development
As the Director of Sales for Mapleton Communications (KWAV, 101.7 The Beach,
The Hippo, KPIG and 95.5 BOB), Monica creates and oversees marketing strategies
for local and regional businesses and provides valuable guidance and support
for the SVMH Foundation’s marketing and fundraising efforts.
Her passion for community engagement has also led her to become involved
in a range of other charitable activities, including developing college
scholarships for young Latinas, advocating for affordable housing solutions,
mentoring at the Hartnell College’s Women’s Educational Leadership
Institute and serving as a board member for the Monterey County Rape Crisis
Center, where she received a Philanthropy Award in 2016 for an event she
helped create called #100MilesofCourage.
Arlene Dedini
A Monterey County resident her entire life, Arlene has been on the board
since 2012. Living in King City, she represents the southern part of the
county and has worked on several events for the Foundation, including
Dance Dash, a fundraiser for the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals
program. Helping to ensure everyone has access to the care they need,
Arlene does frequent patient outreach and wellness checks when she hears
her friends and neighbors are in the hospital. She has always had a passion
for helping build her community, working as an Executive Assistant at
the Private Industry Training Center and serving as President of the King
City Service League.
Linda Grier
Linda and her family have a long history of supporting SVMHS. A lifelong
Central Coast resident, she was born at SVMH and lives in Prunedale, where
she manages her family’s holdings for their property management
business. Both of Linda’s parents were one-time Board Members, and
she joined the board in 2014 as her mother’s term expired. She is
thankful for the health system’s ability to provide state-of-the-art
healthcare services with a personalized, small-town feel right in the
community, and is committed to continuing her family’s legacy of
supporting SVMHS. In addition to her work with the Foundation, she has
been a volunteer diver at the Monterey Bay Aquarium for close to 25 years
and was honored with the Wendell Ayers Memorial Leadership Award for ocean
advocacy and conservation in 2014. She is also on the board of her local
chapter of the Boy Scouts of America and has been involved with many community
events, including the recent Alliance on Aging Fashion Show.
and St. John Business Group, and as a Den Mother for the Boy Scouts of
America. In addition to her role on the Foundation board, she currently
serves on the board of the Alliance on Aging and is helping raise funds
for a local addiction rehabilitation center as part of the Sun Street
Committee.
Clint Hoffman
Clint Hoffman is the Chief Administrative Officer, Physician Integration
and Business Development at Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System.
His previous roles with SVMHS include Sr. Administrative Director, Director,
Ambulatory Medical Informatics, EHR/EPM Coordinator, and Strategy &
Research Consultant.
Mr. Hoffman received his MBA from San Diego State University and a Bachelor
of Science degree magna cum laude in Telecommunication, Multimedia and
Applied Computing from California State University-Monterey Bay.
Michael McMillan
A resident of Monterey County since 1991, Mike received his undergraduate
degree from University of California, Los Angeles and his law degree from
Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. Serving as General Counsel to a publicly-traded
healthcare company in Monterey, he has been professionally involved with
SVMHS since the early 1990s. In 1996, he co-founded Cypress Healthcare
Partners, a physician practice management firm that provides services
to over 300 physicians in the Central Coast region.
Susan Merrill
A past Chair of the Foundation and Board Member for more than 20 cumulative
years, Susan was born and raised in Salinas, where her family has farmed
for four generations. Her late husband Tom also served as Foundation Chair,
and Tom’s father T.R. Merrill was one of the key community leaders
who helped gather support to build the hospital. Susan has served on several
special events committees and board positions over the years, including
chair of the boutique committee for the Berries and Branches event. She
has also served on the boards of several other local community organizations,
including the Entre Nous Society, Valley Guild, and Public Recreation
Unlimited. She has one child and two grandchildren and looks forward to
continuing her family’s legacy of playing a leading role in supporting
the hospital.
Misty Navarro, MD
After graduating from the University of California, Davis School of Medicine,
completing her residency at Stanford Medical Center, and becoming board-certified
in emergency medicine, Dr. Navarro joined SVMHS in 2009 as a Critical
Care Specialist. Joining the board in 2016, her medical perspective helps
other Board Members understand the nuances of healthcare and determine
where the Foundation’s efforts will be most effective. In addition
to her work with the SVMH Foundation, she has served as CFO of Salinas
Valley Emergency Medical group since 2015, serves with hospital Board
Members on the Community Advocacy Committee and participates in the Summer
Health Institute, mentoring high school students, as well as the ladies’
trail ride event.
Bill Norman
Bill has been part of the Salinas community for more than 50 years and
was the CEO of the produce distribution company Benchmark Distributing
before retiring in 2010. He first joined the Foundation in 2002 and has
previously served as Foundation President. He currently serves on the
Foundation's Finance and Investment committees and was previously
involved with several events, including Cherry’s Jubilee, the Founders’
Cup Invitational and the Berries and Branches event. He is also a past
president of the Salinas High School Booster Club, a former Cub Scout
and Boy Scout leader and Little League coach. He and his wife, Mary, have
three sons and seven grandchildren and are committed to improving the
quality of life for the Salinas community through their efforts with the
Foundation.
Carrie Taylor
Carrie served on the Foundation board from 2004 to 2009, and joined again
in 2014. She has lived in Monterey County almost her entire life, holds
a BA and MA and Certificate of Clinical Competence in Communicative Disorders
from the University of the Pacific and has worked as a speech pathologist
in Los Angeles and on the Central Coast. She is committed to seeing that
Salinas Valley Memorial remains a top-quality hospital, and has helped
plan many Foundation events, serving on committees for the Ladies Trailride
and the Berries and Branches Holiday Home Tour. She is active in the local
community, where she has served on boards for the Washington Union Education
Foundation and the School Site Council for San Benancio, volunteered as
a youth leader for AWANA and WyldLife, and currently serves as a youth
leader for Good News Club and a volunteer for the Monterey County Reads
program through the Panetta Institute for Public Policy.
Rachel McCarthy Beck, M.D
SVMH Chief of Staff
Rachel has been part of the Salinas community for more than 15 years. After
receiving her undergraduate degree in Molecular Biology at MIT, attending
medical school at the University of Florida, and completing an OB/GYN
residency at the UF Jacksonville, Rachel joined Healthcare for Women at
SVMH in 2002. Previously holding positions as chair of the OB/GYN department,
MEC member at large, and as Vice Chief of Staff of the Quality and Efficient
Practices Committee from 2017-2019, Rachel now joins the Board of Governors
as Chief of Staff. As a longtime member of SVMH, Rachel brings her expertise
and passion to the job as she continues her work to engage SVMHS staff
on behalf of the patients and community.