Here’s who’s on Community Health System’s board — and their backgrounds and connections
Here’s a list of Community Health System’s board members and their professional backgrounds, including connections to past chair Farid Assemi or how they do business with the hospital. The CHS board traditionally had 15 board members, with five of them being physicians. After Assemi stepped down from the board in April, 13 board members remain.
Farid Assemi, past chair
Joined the CHS board in 2009
Assemi founded Granville Homes in 1977 and currently is the chief executive officer and president of the Assemi Group, which owns and operates Maricopa Orchards, Touchstone Pistachio Company, Valley Orchard Management, ARC Properties and Trident Construction, among other business entities.
Assemi stepped down from the board of Community Health System in April. He had served as the board chairman since January 2020. Assemi founded and owns the for-profit California Health Sciences University along with Flo Dunn, who previously served as a banker for Assemi and also as a CHS board member. CHS board member Susan Abundis also is Assemi’s former banker. Abundis worked at CHSU before and continues to serve on the school’s board as its vice chair. Three new developers joined the board while Assemi was serving as the chairman.
Roger Sturdevant, chair
Joined the CHS board in 2015
Studevant is a retired bank executive. He worked as an executive vice president for Bank of the West, where he oversaw the bank’s Fresno farm lending division. Fellow CHS board member Abundis worked in the same Bank of the West division with Sturdevant. He owns a home in Clovis but lives in Michigan, where he voted in the most recent November 2022 elections.
Susan Abundis
Joined the CHS board in 2002-2003
Abundis is a retired banker. She worked as as a managing director for Bank of the West and worked in the farm lending division that Sturdevant oversaw. She’s also Assemi’s former banker.
Abundis also worked at California Health Sciences University — owned by Assemi and Dunn — as chief operating officer of CHS Clinic Services from May 2017 to December 2019. Her work at CHS Clinic Services was as a result of a contract with the hospital. She currently serves on the board for CHSU as its vice chair.
Karen McCaffrey, secretary
Joined the CHS board in 2019
McCaffrey is a developer. She is the owner and vice president at The McCaffrey Group. She sold land in Madera to CHS for nearly $10 million 2 years before she was elected to sit on the board. McCaffrey owns and is building more luxury homes near the land sold to the hospital.
Mark Coelho
Joined the CHS board in 2023
Coelho is a developer and manager for the Coelho Land Company, LLC. Coelho worked as a project manager for Granville Homes, founded and owned by Assemi and his brothers, from July 2012 to April 2015.
Coelho currently serves as a board member of the Alliance for Medical Outreach and Relief (AMOR). The nonprofit was started by the Assemi family, and under its umbrella, it runs a hospital in Afghanistan. Other Assemi family members sit on the board for the nonprofit. CHS past chairman Assemi and Dunn, the longtime CHS board member, serve on AMOR’s advisory council.
Joshua Peterson
Joined the CHS board in late 2022
Peterson is a developer and serves as the chief executive officer and chief financial officer for Wathen Castanos Peterson Homes, Inc., — a company owned by the Assemis.
Peterson also serves as the manager for WCP Developers, LLC., a company tied to the Assemi Group.
Leland Parnagian
Joined the CHS board in 2023
Parnagian is a developer and serves as the chief executive officer and chief financial officer for G3 Development Company, and is also with G4 Enterprise.
He also serves as the the president of Fowler Packing Company.
Parnagian and some of the Assemi family members tend to donate to some of the same political causes or candidates, such as to Fresno City Mayor Jerry Dyer’s One Fresno Foundation.
Lori Bennett
Joined the CHS board in late 2022
Bennett is a retired educator. She served as president of Clovis Community College from 2016 until her retirement in January.
Bennett replaced Deborah Ikeda as Clovis Community College president. Ikeda is currently the chair of the board of California Health Sciences University, owned by Assemi and Dunn.
Dr. Ron Bierma
Joined the CHS board in 2020
Bierma is an anesthesiologist. He was listed as the chief executive officer, chief financial officer, secretary and director of Community Medical Anesthesia Consultants, Inc. when he registered that company in May 2021 — not long after he joined the CHS board. Bierma’s company does business with CHS.
On April 20, a week before this Fresno Bee story was published, a new record was filed with the California Secretary of State’s office listing David L. Weeks as the chief executive officer, chief financial officer, secretary and director of Community Medical Anesthesia Consultants. Bierma’s name is no longer mentioned in that record, and the address was also changed. Weeks is an anesthesiologist practicing in Clovis and Fresno.
Dr. Chandrasekar Venugopal
Joined the CHS board in 2014
Venugopal is a radiologist. He is listed as a provider in CHS’ Community Care Health, the hospital’s health insurance plan for employees and their families. He’s also affiliated with Community Regional Medical Center, Clovis Community Medical Center and the Fresno Heart and Surgical Hospital. CHS’ tax filings for 2018-19 disclosed Chris-Ann Venugopal, a family member of Chandrasekar Venugopal, worked at the hospital and pulled a salary of $176,701.
Dr. Wagih Ibrahim
Joined the CHS board in 2020 or 2021
Ibrahim is an internal medicine physician. He’s listed as working for CHS’ new medical foundation, Community Health Partners. He’s also listed as working as a hospitalist with Community Hospitalist Physician Group, which practices under Community Health Partners.
Dr. Keith Boone
Joined the CHS board in 2019.
Boone is a general surgeon. He is listed under CHS’s new medical foundation, Community Health Partners.
Greg Estep
Joined the CHS board in 2020
Estep is managing director and chief executive officer of the spice division of Olam, a multinational agribusiness company.
Ruth Quinto
Joined the board in 2014
Quinto serves as assistant city manager for the city of Fresno. Prior to that, Quinto served as treasurer for the city of Malibu, and also served as deputy superintendent and chief financial officer for the Fresno Unified School District.
She’s also a managing partner with Quinto Consulting, LP.
