Healthcare Council
The vision of the Healthcare Council is to inspire early and mid-career professionals to apply the tools and frameworks learned in business administration to healthcare and allied industries. Our goal is to provide exposure to different career opportunities and promote collaborative leadership.
About our Club
Mission
The mission of Healthcare Council is to cultivate professionals that positively influence the culture, care, practice, and business models in the healthcare industry.
Membership
Healthcare Council membership is open to all UC Davis GSM students and alumni.
Board Meetings
Healthcare Council will hold board meetings once a month. Officers of Healthcare Council are required to attend and actively participate in at least 75% of the meetings held during one annual period.
Board Email
healthcarecouncilboard@groups.ucdavis.edu
Meet Our Board
Marissa Hernandez, President
Marissa graduated from UC Davis in 2014 with a B.S. in Biological Sciences and degree emphasis in Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior. Following undergrad, she completed a two-year, formal post-baccalaureate health professions program at San Francisco State University.
Marissa's MBA concentration is in general management with anticipated graduation in June 2025. Her business interests include project management, operational excellence, organizational strategy, lean methodologies, and data analytics.
Marissa works in healthcare management as a unit supervisor at UC Davis Medical Center (UCDH). Some of her professional involvement includes:
- American College of Healthcare Executives, Student Associate
- California Association of Healthcare Leaders, Clinical Leadership Committee Member
- UC Davis Health Latinx Staff and Faculty Association (LFSA)
- Children's Miracle Network, Grant Contributor
- Lean Six Sigma Certified Greenbelt
In her spare time, Marissa enjoys bike riding, paddle boarding, watching baseball, solving Rubik's Cubes, and being an aunt to her niece and nephew.
Esther Muriithi, Director of Programming
Esther Muriithi is a 2024 Sacramento MBA candidate. Esther graduated with her Bachelor of Nursing degree in 2012. She is currently an administrative nurse at UC Davis Medical Center in the Radiology department. In her role, Esther aims to improve operational workflow and quality improvement. Esther also serves as a clinical trial liaison and resource nurse for the department.
Esther also has a Bachelor of Arts degree with a concentration in Health and Psychology from the University of Missouri-Columbia. Esther is passionate about promoting healthcare equity and increasing diversity with providers. Esther hopes to leverage her MBA to accomplish these goals.
Besides school and work, you will find Esther spending time raising her 2 kids, having movie marathons, or trying out new restaurants with friends. Esther is also an adventure seeker.
Derek Schmidt, Director of Membership
Derek Schmidt has spent nearly 20 years in the mobile truck equipment industry. Beginning his career as a sales representative for West Coast Truck Equipment in the early 2000s. Within a few years of successful sales and building relationships with key stakeholders, he was promoted to operations manager. Where he was responsible for projects ranging from days to years, a multi-million-dollar sales team, and supply chain to fuel operations.
From here, he became a fleet and municipal manufacturer’s representative at Knapheide Truck Manufacturing, the industry's largest manufacturer in North America. He was responsible for large government project and custom orders.
Wanting to try his hand in the healthcare arena, Derek Moved industries and Joined VSP in 2019. Here he became a Global Business Development Manager to help in-network doctors navigate the complex healthcare environment.
He is married to Anna and a father to his 3-year-old son Axel. Hobbies include outdoor activities, diving, running, and working out in his garage gym. He also enjoys watching movies with his wife to relax and wind down.
Sridhar Balasubramanian, Director of Marketing
Sridhar is a 2024 MBA candidate concentrating in entrepreneurship and product management. He was born and raised in India. Sridhar holds a Bachelor of Science in Metallurgical Engineering from National Institute of Technology, Jamshedpur, India. He has more than 25 years of experience in Information Technology with 15+ years in various leadership/management roles.
Sridhar worked at Cisco for 20+ years driving multiple transformations. He most recently worked at Broadcom for their Cyber Security division driving customer experience.
Post-graduation, Sridhar hopes to launch his own start up and help solving some real-world problems using technology.
Sridhar is married to Bhavani and they have two daughters – Gayathri & Hiranmayi. Outside of work, Sridhar is a passionate tennis player. He plays in the USTA league and enjoys captaining teams for his club. He also likes to play guitar and drums in his spare time.