How can we meaningfully change systems to make primary care more sustainable and resilient?
That is the question I have heard repeatedly during my first 100 days as CEO of PCDC.
After more than two decades working with community health centers and safety-net providers across the country, I know this isn’t a new question. But in these times, it’s more urgent than ever to find solutions that really work.
In fact, this imperative is why my decision to join PCDC felt less like taking on a new role and more like joining an organization uniquely positioned to help meet this moment for primary care.
Over the years, I have watched us ask more and more of primary care providers while investing far too little in the infrastructure needed to sustain them. A prime example of this is the growing challenge of attracting and retaining a committed primary care workforce. Communities need strong, accessible primary care more than ever, but providers are struggling simply to maintain the staffing and resources necessary to meet the demand in front of them.
Despite the challenges they face, I continue to meet leaders with vision. Leaders with ideas. Leaders who understand exactly what their communities need and how to deliver it. What they often lack is access to flexible capital and partners willing to think creatively alongside them.
That is why organizations like PCDC matter.
I have long admired PCDC’s reputation as both a mission-driven nonprofit and Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI). CDFIs play a unique role in helping communities and organizations access capital that traditional markets too often overlook. Getting the funds they need means primary care providers can expand services, modernize facilities, invest in technology, or continue serving a community that might otherwise lose access to care altogether.
As I’ve stepped into the CEO role, I’ve been reminded repeatedly that strategic investment can create real momentum for communities and providers trying to solve deeply complex challenges. Our relationship with Dogwood Health Trust, for example, reflects an innovative partnership supporting health centers in Western North Carolina. Similarly, we’ve co-created the California Health Impact Fund with the California Primary Care Association to strengthen primary care infrastructure across the state. And we’re leading the NYS Primary Care Coalition’s effort to rebalance New York State’s health care spending so primary care receives the support it needs via the passage of the Primary Care Investment Act.
I’ve also spent these first few months listening — to our staff, Board, borrowers, partners, policymakers, and healthcare leaders across the country. I wanted to understand not only the breadth of PCDC’s work, but the spirit behind it. What I found was an organization deeply rooted in partnership, practical problem-solving, and a willingness to step into difficult situations because communities are counting on it.
I feel tremendous gratitude for the leadership that built this organization, the dedicated team carrying the work forward today, and the opportunity to help shape what comes next.
The challenges facing primary care are real and urgent. The future of primary care requires more courage and creativity. But these realities create an opportunity to rethink how we invest in communities, support providers, and improve the systems people rely on every day.
To the leaders in the trenches, the investors ready to take risks, and the communities demanding better: The time is now. A new movement is emerging, a movement with bolder visions, fresh ideas, elevated resolve, and creative partnerships to help meet the growing need for accessible primary care.
And PCDC is here to help make it possible. I truly believe we are at the beginning of an important new chapter, and I could not be more excited to work alongside all of you.