Redwood Credit Union Welcomes Taylor McNeany and Michael Madsen as External Mortgage Loan Officers

Redwood Credit Union welcomes two external mortgage loan officers, Taylor McNeany and Michael Madsen, to help people aspiring to buy or refinance a home. McNeany and Madsen will work closely with the local community to increase awareness of RCU’s home loan programs and guide Members toward home loan options tailored for them.

Taylor McNeany has worked at RCU for the past seven years in the Mortgage Lending Department, serving our Members with all of their mortgage needs. Recently, she moved over to the external mortgage team to expand our services to the real estate community. McNeany comes from a family with deep roots in the real estate community, and she takes pride in guiding clients through the mortgage process to purchase their dream home. Before coming to RCU in 2017, McNeany worked as a wedding planner, because, in her words, she’s “always loved being a part of the biggest day of people’s lives.” Helping our Members realize the dream of home ownership aligns with what she loves. Born and raised in Sonoma County, the Windsor resident graduated from Sonoma State University with a bachelor’s degree in communications.

Michael Madsen is a Sonoma County native who has built his 28-year career as a mortgage loan originator by being an exceptional communicator with all parties involved in a real estate transaction. Like McNeany, he was raised in a real estate family and understands the importance of listening to clients and providing the highest level of care and service throughout the mortgage process. Madsen is a graduate of Analy High School in Sebastopol and the University of California, Davis.

RCU has created educational information in the mortgage learning center on their website. Or you may call our mortgage experts for information at 1 (800) 609-9009.

About Redwood Credit Union

Founded in 1950, Redwood Credit Union is a full-service financial institution providing personal and business banking to consumers and businesses in the North Bay and San Francisco. With a mission to passionately serve the best interests of its Members, team members, and communities, RCU delivers many ways for its Members to save and build money through checking and savings accounts, auto and home loans, credit cards, digital banking, business services, commercial and SBA lending, and more. Wealth management and investment services are available through CUSO Financial Services L.P., and insurance and auto-purchasing services are also offered through RCU Services Group (RCU’s wholly owned subsidiary). RCU has more than $8 billion in assets and serves more than 465,000 members with full-service branches from San Francisco to Ukiah. For more information, call 1 (800) 479-7928, visit redwoodcu.org, or follow RCU on Facebook, Instagram, X, and LinkedIn for news and updates.

Sutter Health Bringing New Medical Complex to Expanding Community

When Rebecca Plunk walks into the cavernous building at 6000 State Farm Drive in Rohnert Park, she sees much more than the 13,500-square-foot space with an empty concrete floor, web of silvery insulated ducts and conduits in the ceiling.

Plunk, Sutter Health’s senior construction project manager in the North Bay, sees what by next spring is planned to be a thriving new medical facility for Sonoma County’s third largest city — and long one of its fastest growing communities.

The new medical base under construction inside a former Pac Bell call center will have urgent and primary care, imaging services including CT scan and ultrasound, and rotating specialty services such as obstetrics.

The project has special meaning for Plunk, 41, who moved to Rohnert Park with her young family in 2017 and currently lives in a new development near Sonoma State University.

Plunk’s neighborhood is one of several new housing projects added in Rohnert Park in recent years, raising demand for medical services.

“Rohnert Park has experienced a lot of growth very quickly,” Plunk said. “We’d like to have some really great medical care here.”

Sutter’s move into Rohnert Park makes it the latest in a series of medical providers, including Kaiser Permanente and Petaluma Health Center, that have established hubs in the city, home to more than 44,000.

On Monday, Plunk and other Sutter Health officials and their construction and architecture partners toured the project site in hard hats and safety vests to showcase the start of construction of the health care giant’s Rohnert Park Care Center.

As workers with Layton Construction deepened plumbing trenches in the concrete floor, Erin Neal, Sutter’s CEO of outpatient services in the greater San Francisco area, examined medical building’s large floor plan.

Neal played a central role restoring a major Sutter medical complex in Santa Rosa that was shuttered for two months after the Tubbs Fire.

The 2017 fire torched oak and redwood trees around that three-story complex on Airway Drive, blew out or damaged 262 windows and caused smoke damage.

Neal said she’s been searching for property in the Rohnert Park community since before the pandemic, for about 5 years. She said Sutter currently houses four physicians in a small medical office building at Snyder Lane and Rohnert Park Expressway.

Those physicians will be brought into the new medical complex once it’s finished. They’ll be joined by four new physicians, to be recruited by the affiliated Sutter Medical Group of the Redwoods.

“This is like a dream come true for me to get Rohnert Park in place,” Neal said. “I’ve worked with amazing physicians over at Snyder Lane that are in exam rooms that are too small and people are crowded, as well.”

Big investment

Construction of the new Rohnert Park Care Center is a $16.9 million investment, including $10 million alone for construction.

The site on State Farm Drive is mere yards away from a complex that includes Kaiser’s medical offices, as well as the Petaluma Health Center’s Rohnert Park clinic.

But Rohnert Park residents who are not part of either of those systems must commute for medical care. Neal said Sutter examined its “footprint” and found that many Sutter patients struggle with traffic.

“We’re having a hard time getting patients in, whether it’s for imaging, labs. We just know this is a growing community and we need to expand with it,” she said.

“We’ve done a lot of research … we look at ZIP codes, and we have a lot those patients and they’re having to travel into San Francisco and even into Healdsburg,” Neal added. “We’re looking at increasing primary care — it’s really difficult to get a primary care doctor.”

Rohnert Park’s growth over the past decade has outpaced most other local cities. It was not designed to be so sudden.

Nearly a quarter century ago, the city established its growth management program, which seeks to cap annual population growth at 1 percent. That translates into 225 market-rate housing permits per year.

But between 2000 and 2014, only a handful of “infill” homes were built in Rohnert Park, said Rohnert Park Mayor Susan Adams, who served on the planning commission for 14 years before she was elected to the city council in 2018.

Adams said the Great Recession and housing crisis more than a decade ago put the breaks on new construction. After 2014, housing construction ramped up, she said.

Between 2015 and 2023, building permits have been advanced for 1,957 new housing units that are subject to the city’s growth management ordinance, according to city records. That number excludes most affordable and infill housing units.

During her time on the planning commission, Adams said she approved “thousands” of housing units but the historic economic downturn brought everything to a “grinding halt.”

“We were all thrown into a buzz saw,” she said.

Adams said the city’s own general plan notes that health care is a growing industry.

“We’re thrilled that Sutter is coming into Rohnert Park to make this improvement,” she said.

Transition to a new era

The building that will house Sutter’s new medical facility was built in 1983, one of three 82,000-square-foot buildings erected by Pacific Bell as part of a $20 million investment in a Rohnert Park base.

Kaiser and Petaluma Health Center’s medical offices are located in a separate building, 5900 State Farm Drive, which was also part of the former Pacific Bell complex.

The repurposing of those buildings heralds another transition in the city, away from the telecom office complexes that helped usher in the North Bay’s tech industry decades ago and establish Rohnert Park as a jobs center.

Two other examples stand out: the city’s slow-moving bid to transform the sprawling former State Farm campus into a sort of downtown district; and the redevelopment at Sonoma Mountain Village, or SOMO Village, the former 175-acre Lucent Technologies campus on the city’s eastern edge.

The addition of new medical faculties reflects the evolution of a city that is growing up, with more young families and aging residents needing care.

Sutter’s broader move into town also comes at a critical moment for the health care field, said Samantha Malm, chief medical officer for Sutter Medical Group of the Redwoods.

“There’s definitely a shortage of health clinicians to take care of people,” Malm said. “We see that everywhere. We have plans to expand primary care and specialty services as well. But a big focus is on primary care because that’s where the biggest needs seem to be.”

Plunk, who joined Sutter’s facilities construction team in 2020, has worked on key projects such as recent expansions at Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital, Sonoma County’s newest hospital, opened in 2014.

That work included adding 40 new patient beds to the hospital and expanding the emergency department from 12 to 34 beds. Plunk is also working on ongoing infrastructure and security upgrades at Novato Community Hospital.

But she said she’s particularly excited about the project in Rohnert Park, which is only minutes from where she her husband and three school-age children live.

She said that like many others, she often finds herself delaying such things as annual exams just to avoid the hassle of traffic. Having urgent care, imaging and lab services so close to home will allow her to breathe a “sigh of relief,” she said.

“Being able to receive quality care close to home and the children’s schools is going to make a huge difference,” she wrote in an email.

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Sonoma Valley Hospital Ranks High Statewide and Nationally

An independent think tank that awards hospitals for being socially responsible has given top marks to two acute care hospitals in the North Bay, and recognized several other health care facilities in the region.

The 2024-2025 Lown Institute Hospitals Index awarded “A” grades to Adventist Health Ukiah Valley and Sonoma Valley Hospital, based on over 50 metrics across the categories of health equity, value of care and patient outcomes, according to the Needham, Massachusetts-based institute. Lown, which ranked more than 3,500 hospitals nationwide, announced the results June 25.

Of the 258 acute care hospitals measured in California, the 78-bed Adventist Health Ukiah Valley was ranked most socially responsible, and fourth nationally, according to the findings.

“Being in a rural community with limited resources, we are our community’s safety net,” Dave Leighton, administrator for Adventist Health Ukiah Valley, said in the hospital’s own announcement released June 27. “This recognition is a testament to our team’s efforts to improve on these metrics by responding to our community’s needs, even beyond the four walls of our hospitals and clinics.”

Lown ranked the 49-bed Sonoma Valley Hospital the second most socially responsible acute care hospital in the state and 10th in the nation. The facility is operated by the Sonoma Valley Health Care District.

“As an essential part of Sonoma, SVH is committed to serving the whole community and are pleased to receive recognition for our commitment to provide excellent care,” John Hennelly, Sonoma Valley Hospital president and CEO, said in the facility’s June 28 news release.

Lown also issued “A” grades for social responsibility measures to four other acute care hospitals in the North Bay. They are, by rank, Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital (6), Sutter Solano Medical Center in Vallejo (19), Adventist Health St. Helena (23) and Petaluma Valley Hospital (62).

Acute care hospitals receiving a “B” grade are Novato Community Hospital (84), MarinHealth Medical Center (87), Providence Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital (125), Kaiser Permanente Santa Rosa Medical Center (136) and Providence Queen of the Valley Medical Center, Napa (144).

Lown issued a “C” grade to Kaiser Permanente Vallejo Medical Center (189), NorthBay Medical Center in Fairfield (202), Kaiser Permanente Vacaville Medical Center (233) and Kaiser Permanente San Rafael Medical Center (248).

“Great care is only great if everyone can access it,” Dr. Vikas Saini, president of the Lown Institute, stated in the announcement. “Socially responsible hospitals are trusted to provide high-quality care to all, and their success directly improves the health and economic stability of their communities.”

The Lown Institute states its rankings are nonpartisan, and that no funding is received from outside sources. The organization reports its data sources include Medicare fee-for-service and Medicare Advantage claims, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services patient safety data and hospital cost reports, and IRS 990 forms, among others.

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Sonoma County Tourism Working on Two Visions for Long-Dormant Sears Site

Two visions surface for long-dormant Sears site
Convention center, housing among ideas for Santa Rosa Plaza
By Paulina Pineda and Sara Edwards The Press Democrat

What does the future hold for one of the largest developable properties in the city center?

Speculation about the former Sears site on the south end of the Santa Rosa Plaza has persisted since the downtown mall’s anchor department store closed in 2018 and after a proposal to move county government operations there failed two years ago.

Now, two new, possibly competing, proposals have emerged.

One could bring badly needed housing and the downtown area’s first grocery store. The other could create up to 40,000 square feet of meeting space and a hotel that could attract new visitors to the area.

Mall giant Simon Property Group, which jointly owns the property with Seritage Growth Properties, has been tight-lipped, declining to comment on either plan.

But public documents, meeting minutes and Press Democrat interviews with city, tourism and business officials show the mall is considering those twin tracks as it weighs new uses for the space.

Tourism officials have touted their vision for a marquee convention center and 250-room hotel as pivotal for downtown, where businesses have struggled to compete with other commerce hubs in the region and attract the steady foot traffic needed to sustain a thriving mix of restaurants, bars and small stores.

Economic impact from the project once it is up and running could hit $42 million a year, according to projections. That’s equivalent to about 0.2% of Sonoma County’s overall $30 billion economy.

“It would be transformative. I know that word gets thrown around a lot, but this would truly be transformative for downtown with the business that flows through the convention center to all of the restaurants, all of the shops, all of the hotels,” said Peter Rumble, president and CEO of the Santa Rosa Metro Chamber.

The proposal, crafted mostly behind the scenes, has emerged slowly through public meetings and documents in recent months as officials seek to line up political support and put together a financing plan that could tap into local taxes, bond financing and state and federal dollars.

Construction costs for the convention center alone are estimated at more than $80 million.

“There’s no question it’s one of the most exciting projects I’ve worked on in my 30 years,” Claudia Vecchio, president and CEO of Sonoma County Tourism, told The Press Democrat.

Vecchio and the tourism agency have pitched the idea to Simon, which appears “supportive” of the idea, according to Vecchio. She didn’t disclose who at the company tourism officials have been working with directly.

Meanwhile, Simon has been in talks with an unnamed national housing developer to bring apartments and retail to the site, according to downtown leaders and tourism officials, although no one has seen official plans.

The idea appears to be in line with Simon’s plans to redevelop other shuttered storefronts at its properties nationwide.

The downtown mall’s general manager said in a statement, Simon is “exploring avenues” on how to best redevelop the property, now vacant after the furniture store that occupied the ground floor left at the end of June.

“We are always looking for ways to elevate Santa Rosa Plaza,” Danielle Nelson said in the emailed statement. “We want to ensure that any changes to our property not only advance the community, but also bring amenities and brands everyone can enjoy. More details surrounding the development will be provided at a later date.”

Simon has not submitted formal plans for the former Sears site, but the ball is largely in its court as tourism officials await a decision on either proposal.

A decision on a winning proposal could come as soon as this year, according to a city official involved in some of the discussions.

The 7.2-acre property at First and A streets includes the 139,000-square-foot retail space, 779 parking spaces across a garage and surface lot and the 22,000-square-foot auto center across the street.

Either plan could be significant for the mall and wider downtown landscape as city officials seek to revitalize the urban core, injecting new money into the local economy and providing a boost to government coffers.

“I would say whatever the outcome, either one is going to be phenomenal to have downtown,” Rumble said. “Right now, that space is just dead and it doesn’t support really anything so to have it redeveloped into something beneficial is a really fantastic thing regardless of the way it goes.”

Large-scale meeting space, hotel

Sonoma County Tourism first unveiled plans in May 2023 for a “big, audacious goal” — building a convention center.

The idea had been tossed around years earlier as the agency began to update its long-term strategic plan in 2018, but the conversation was set aside amid years of emergency response to wildfires, floods and the pandemic.

It reemerged as a popular proposal when officials began the planning process anew in 2022.

Preliminary work got underway in September after Sonoma County Tourism hired hospitality consultant HVS to conduct a feasibility study and market analysis to determine whether a convention center would be successful here.

The analysis showed what tourism and business leaders already knew: There is demand for additional business meeting space in Sonoma County.

“We’ve known anecdotally for many years that we don’t have the space that demand would indicate we need,” said Rumble, the chamber executive, whose organization is supporting Sonoma County Tourism with planning efforts. “We know that we lose business to other parts of California, other parts of the country, because a large business convention or business meeting runs out of capacity real quick.”

Tourism officials and HVS analyzed 30 properties in the region and selected the Sears site as the top contender because of its central location and proximity to amenities.

The project would entail a two-story convention center with a 21,000-square-foot ballroom and smaller meeting rooms across from the parking garage on A Street, according to renderings that Sonoma County Tourism shared with The Press Democrat.

The six-story hotel would extend east toward B Street and feature all-day dining on the ground floor, a 5,000-square-foot ballroom on the second floor and a rooftop with indoor and outdoor fitness spaces, a pool and dining.

The two facilities would be connected by a central outdoor courtyard with access to Santa Rosa Plaza. The second-level connection to the mall would remain sealed off.

The former auto center would be redeveloped into an outdoor event space. The parking garage — which Vecchio said is one of the most lucrative parts of the deal — would stay as is.

Vecchio said the development would allow the tourism agency to focus further on attracting business travelers to Sonoma County, which largely draws leisure tourism.

“I think tourism in Sonoma County has really grown over the past 20 years, but this project would be that transformational project that takes the industry in an important new direction,” she said Tuesday. “There are a lot of good reasons to target business travel, so it’s really going to take our industry to the next level.”

Preliminary construction estimates put the cost at $82 million, including preconstruction work, environmental studies, planning and entitlement costs.

That doesn’t include the cost to acquire the property or for the hotel construction, which Vecchio said would be built by a private developer.

When Sonoma County sought to buy the site in 2022 it offered to pay nearly $21 million.

That means the proposed convention center and hotel project could top out over $100 million. It’s a hefty price tag for a project that will take four years to be profitable, according to financial projections Sonoma County Tourism shared with city and county officials.

Vecchio anticipates the convention center could open in five years under the best-case scenario,though cost and demand projections presented in public meetings show an opening date of 2028.

Operations, financing questions remain

Sonoma County Tourism, which operates partly on taxpayer dollars, has spearheaded the project, with assistance from the Metro Chamber, Downtown Action Organization and city and county officials.

The plans have been discussed openly in public meetings of the various boards and among members of a city and county group eyeing the creation of a new tax district downtown.

Nelson, the mall manager, told the Downtown Action Organization, which oversees the city’s downtown community benefit district, in April the project was “in line with Simon’s interests.”

But Nelson also shared she and Simon officials had questions about the cost estimates and funding availability as well as the timeline, minutes from the April 10 meeting show.

Vecchio, in an interview and in public meetings, said Sonoma County Tourism has had three conversations with Simon officials in the past several months.

She said she was told company executives would be traveling to Santa Rosa to look at the market — a possible indication that Sears is being looked at for redevelopment — though she said she wasn’t involved in planning the visit or didn’t know if officials had already come.

“It’s a project that they are considering,” Vecchio told the Public Financing Authority, which is overseeing the proposed tax district, during a June 20 meeting. “They haven’t shut us down during this entire process.”

Vecchio said Simon during their last conversation in June asked the tourism agency to return with an offer for the property.

But two key questions still need to be worked out as tourism officials move forward with the plan: Who will manage the site and how will it be paid for?

“We have a lot in front of us to accomplish,” Vecchio said. “We’re very, very early in this process.”

Vecchio said Sonoma County Tourism staffers are studying both issues.

A joint powers authority could be formed to represent Sonoma County and Santa Rosa and a nonprofit entity created to own and operate the convention center, Vecchio said. The tourism agency would market the meeting space, she said.

The hotel would be owned and operated privately.

Sonoma County Tourism is in the process of hiring a consultant to help put together what Vecchio termed the “financial stack” — the various pots of money tourism officials hope to tap into to build the project.

Business taxes are being eyed as a key funding source. Two main options include the business improvement assessment collected from hotels by cities to pay for tourism promotion and lodging taxes paid by overnight guests that help local governments pay for day-to-day operations.

The agency could rely on bonds or seek funding through the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank, which provides loans and other financing for public infrastructure projects.

Officials also have looked to city and county officials involved in the proposed downtown tax district for financial support. Under that proposal, a portion of property taxes generated downtown would be used to pay for infrastructure improvements and other projects aimed at revitalizing the city center, if ap proved.

“There are a number of ways that we could both raise capital and have a program in place to pay back whatever debt we incur,” Vecchio said.

Housing proposal under wraps

Plans for the convention center have crystallized quickly in recent months just as Simon is making ripplesabout its potentially competing vision to bring housing and a grocery store to the same site.

Vecchio said Simon officials have indicated they are in discussions with a national developer though an agreement hasn’t been reached.

“How competitive that actually is, I don’t know,” she told city and county officials during the July 20 meeting of the Public Financing Authority.

Little is publicly known about those plans except for a leasing brochure on Simon’s website touting redevelopment of an anchor store at Santa Rosa Plaza.

Those plans were widely circulated after being posted on a Santa Rosa subreddit in January.

That’s how tourism officials first heard about the proposal, Vecchio said, but it served as an impetus to move swiftly on the convention center and hotel.

Vecchio and Rumble said they had not seen a proposal for a housing development and didn’t know who the prospective developer was.

“In concept, it’s generally known, but in detail who that developer might be is unknown, any kind of specifics of what could be done are unknown,” Rumble said.

Officials with the Downtown Action Organization and Santa Rosa Council member Chris Rogers, whose district includes the downtown, similarly had little information about the Simon plan.

The promotional brochure has since been taken down from Simon’s website though a page regarding leasing and advertising opportunities at Santa Rosa Plaza points to a “multimillion-dollar makeover” to re-imagine the east-facing B Street entrance with dining and new retail and transform a “former department store space … with a multilevel residential tower and store.”

The redevelopment proposal is in line with Simon’s national playbook and a move by the site’s co-owner, Seritage, to potentially unload the property as it tries to reshape its portfolio to pay down debt.

Seritage, which was spun off from Sears Holdings in 2015, reported selling 68 assets in 2023 and is in the process of selling, auctioning or entertaining offers for additional properties this year, according to an April company news release, though it’s not clear if the Santa Rosa Plaza site is under consideration.

Multiple calls to Seritage’s New York offices and emails to its leasing and redevelopment team over the last few weeks went unanswered.

Simon has submitted plans, rezoned land and received approvals to replace the Sears at Briarwood Mall in Ann Arbor, Michigan, at Brea Mall in Orange County and at Stoneridge Shopping Center in Pleasanton with apartments, retail and other amenities.

John Phipps, Simon’s vice president of development, during a public meeting last year about the Ann Arbor project, told attendees the company was “looking at doing this whenever (it) can,” according to Michigan Live.

The projects are just some of the redevelopment proposals at Simon properties nationwide moving through the planning process, part of a $1.5 billion plan to add thousands of multifamily units and hotel rooms and expand its retail offerings at its malls that the company’s CEO David Simon announced in 2023.

Phipps, who represented Simon in the scuttled deal with the county and who has reviewed Sonoma County Tourism’s plans, according to board meeting minutes of the Downtown Action Organization, did not respond to a detailed inquiry about the two proposals.

A Simon spokesperson declined to make Phipps available for an interview and did not confirm whether Simon is still considering the housing project.

While local plans remain under wraps, Simon’s bid to turn the property into housing and a grocery store could address an acute need in the region and bring more people to the city center, housing advocates have said.

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Sonoma Valley Hospital Ranked No. 2 in State

Sonoma Valley Hospital has been ranked the second most socially responsible acute-care hospital in California by a nonpartisan health care think tank.

The ranking is included in the 2024-25 Lown Institute Hospitals Index, released on Tuesday by the institute, which is based in Needham, Massachusetts.

Sonoma Valley Hospital received an “A” rating, the top grade, in the social responsibility, equity, value and outcomes categories.

“Social responsibility, equity, value and outcomes are all part of our culture at Sonoma Valley Hospital; it’s who we are as an organization,” said RN Jessica Winkler, the chief nursing officer at the hospital. “By nurturing our culture and developing our programs — such as our DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) work group, Age-Friendly Health System journey and Community Trust Team — it simply follows that the outcome of that work is the ‘A’ rating in these categories.”

In social responsibility, Sonoma Valley Hospital was ranked second among 258 hospitals in California and 10th among 2,758 hospitals in the nation.

“As a small community hospital, we are very honored and pleased to be recognized for our commitment to the care of the community,” Winkler said.

Within the equity category, Sonoma Valley Hospital received “A” rankings in the pay equity, community health and inclusivity subcategories, while in the value category, it was awarded “A” rankings in avoiding overuse and cost efficiency.

The hospital was ranked fourth among California hospitals in outcomes and received “A” rankings in clinical outcomes and patient satisfaction, in which it was rated fifth in the state.

“We are proud of the quality of care we provide to our community,” said RN Kylie Cooper, director of quality for the hospital. “Our dedicated hospital staff and physicians are always focused on excellence in clinical outcomes and improving population health.

“Many of our caregivers have been part of the Sonoma Valley Hospital family for several years and they choose to work here because they are able to provide care on a highly empathetic level. We have a supportive, welcoming and compassionate culture at Sonoma Valley Hospital, and this shows with our patient satisfaction scores.”

Sonoma Valley Hospital’s rankings earned it honor roll status, a distinction given to only 5% of hospitals evaluated in the 2024-25 Lown Institute Hospitals Index.

“As an essential part of Sonoma, SVH is committed to serving the whole community and is pleased to receive recognition for our commitment to provide excellent care,” said John Hennelly, president and CEO of Sonoma Valley Hospital, in a news release. “We are extremely proud to have maintained ‘A’ grades in social responsibility, value of care and cost efficiency for three years running.”

Dr. Vikas Saini, president of Lown Institute, emphasized the importance of social responsibility.

“Great care is only great if everyone can access it,” he said in a news release. “Socially responsible hospitals are trusted to provide high-quality care to all, and their success directly improves the health and economic stability of their communities.”

The Lown Institute Hospital Index rates hospitals on more than 50 metrics pertaining to equity, value and outcomes. The index is unique in that it includes metrics such as racial inclusivity and pay equity along with more traditional measures.

“Our rankings show there is considerable room for improvement in social responsibility, even among well-known and typically high-performing hospitals,” Saini said.

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SMART Shuttle Links Train and Ferry in Larkspur

Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit has fulfilled a longtime goal and added a shuttle linking the train and ferry in Larkspur.

The agency said the one-year pilot project is aimed at making transit more accessible and easier.

The SMART Connect shuttle, which launched on Thursday, involves a partnership with the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District and the Transportation Authority of Marin.

“The SMART Connect service at Larkspur is a game changer and will lead to increased ridership on both the train and ferry,” said Eddy Cumins, SMART general manager. “We’ve received many requests from the public for a connection between the train and ferry and are thrilled to partner with TAM and Golden Gate Transit to deliver this new service.”

The SMART Connect shuttle follows the model of the service introduced at the Sonoma County Airport stop in Santa Rosa last year. That shuttle serves a 1.2-mile area between the train stop and the airport.

In Larkspur, the pilot program will run four days a week. On Thursdays and Fridays, the hours of service are from 7 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 to 6 p.m. A shuttle runs Saturdays and Sundays from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 to 7:30 p.m.

On weekdays, the shuttle loops around the SMART station, the ferry terminal and the surrounding Larkspur Landing area.

The service includes on-demand door-to-door pickups and dropoffs and three stops at the Marin Country Mart.

Service is expanded Saturdays and Sundays with on-demand pickups and dropoffs at the Town Center and the Village shopping malls in Corte Madera.

One-way fare is $1.50 for adults and $0.75 for people with disabilities. The service is free for riders younger than 19 and older than 64.

The shuttle seats 11 riders and has room for two wheelchair users.

“This is a great new option to travel between the Larkspur SMART station and the Larkspur ferry and will also help connect to local businesses,” said Anne Richman, executive director of Transportation Authority of Marin.

Richman said there is still a nice walking and biking option over the bridge that spans the Sir Francis Drake Boulevard.“Adding travel options for all ages and abilities is always a plus,” she said.

While the distance between the SMART platform and the Golden Gate Ferry Terminal is just over a quarter-mile, it’s about a 12- to 15-minute walk, said Michael Hoffman, deputy general manager of the ferry.

The shuttle is among many strategies SMART has initiated to get more people on trains.

Earlier this year, the agency launched a free fare program for youths and older riders. Ridership numbers have been climbing.

As of Tuesday, SMART trains carried more than 816,000 riders for the fiscal year ending on June 30. That is 14% above total ridership for fiscal year ending in 2019, the last recorded year of pre-pandemic conditions. Numbers are tracking to reach 850,000 riders by the end of this fiscal year, officials said.

“We’ve heard lots about the first and last mile connections to transit, and this is SMART being responsive to our riders,” said Marin County Supervisor Eric Lucan. Lucan is president of the SMART board and a member of the Transportation Authority of Marin board.

Lucan said some transit riders might prefer walking, but others might not be able to make their connection quickly enough.

“We want to make sure we’re designing a system for everyone of all ability levels,” Lucan said. “If we can accommodate the ones that can benefit the most from this, that is a win.”

Barbara Liss of San Rafael stopped by to check out the new shuttle while riding with her group of cycling friends on Friday. Liss said they ride the train to Sonoma County frequently for bike rides. She said she is excited about the service.

“I think this shuttle can be a benefit for every commuter,” she said. “The accessibility is great, and if it’s raining this is a good option. I’m hoping people will decide not to take their cars when they go through Marin and Sonoma and take advantage.”

The service began with a soft launch starting June 6. The shuttle has been averaging 50 riders a day, according to SMART. The project cost is $221,461.

Rides can be pre-booked using the Ride Pingo app or by calling customer service at 800-727-0279. Walk-on space is limited and pre-booking is encouraged, officials said.

More information is at sonomamarintrain.org/LarkspurShuttle.

https://edition.pagesuite.com/popovers/dynamic_article_popover.aspx?guid=c9000859-cf8d-4c3b-b87b-de3b0df73929&appcode=MAR722&eguid=9674b9cd-9fb4-4ebe-80e1-f1eb495a594f&pnum=1

The Buck Institute for Research on Aging Explores How the Ketogenic Diet Improves Healthspan and Memory in Aging Mice

The ketogenic diet has its fanatics and detractors among dieters, but either way, the diet has a scientifically documented impact on memory in mice. To uncover how the high fat, low carbohydrate diet boosts memory in older mice, Buck scientists and a team from the University of Chile identified a new molecular signaling pathway that improves synapse function and helps explain the diet’s benefit on brain health and aging. Published in the June 5, 2024 issue of Cell Reports Medicine, the findings provide new directions for targeting the memory effects on a molecular level, without requiring a ketogenic diet or even the byproducts of it.

“Our work indicates that the effects of the ketogenic diet benefit brain function broadly, and we provide a mechanism of action that offers a strategy for the maintenance and improvement of this function during aging,” said the study’s senior author, Christian González-Billault, PhD, who is a professor at the Universidad de Chile and director of their Geroscience Center for Brain Health and Metabolism, and adjunct professor at the Buck Institute.

“Building off our previous work showing that a ketogenic diet improves healthspan and memory in aging mice, this new work indicates that we can start with older animals and still improve the health of the aging brain, and that the changes begin to happen relatively quickly,” said John Newman, MD, PhD, whose laboratory at Buck collaborated with Dr. González-Billault on the study. Newman is both an assistant professor at the Buck Institute, and a geriatrician at University of California, San Francisco. “It is the most detailed study to date of the ketogenic diet and aging brain in mice.”

More than a century ago, researchers observed that rats that consumed less food lived longer. “We now know that being able to manipulate lifespan is not about specifically eating less,” said Newman, but actually is related to signals inside cells that turn on and off specific pathways in response to available nutrients. Many of those pathways are related to aging, such as controlling protein turnover and metabolism.

Some of those signals are the ketone bodies, which consist of acetoacetate (AcAc), β-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) and to a much lesser extent, acetone. These molecules are routinely produced in the liver. They ramp up when glucose is in short supply, whether due to caloric restriction, intense exercise or low carbohydrate intake, such as with a ketogenic diet.

Seven years ago, Newman led a team that published the first proof of the concept that if a ketogenic diet exposes mice to increased levels of ketone bodies over much of their adult life, it helps them to live longer and age in a more healthy way. “The most striking effect on their health as they aged was that their memory was preserved; it was possibly even better than when they were younger,” he said.

The current study, designed to answer what part of the ketogenic diet was having the effect and how it was affecting the brain on a molecular level to improve memory, was led by González-Billault in a collaboration with scientists at the Buck. Mice on a ketogenic diet are fed a ratio of 90 percent calories from fat and 10 percent from protein, while mice on a control diet received the same amount of protein but only 13 percent fat. The test mice, of “advanced age” of more than two years old, received one week of the ketogenic diet, cycled with one week of the control diet, to keep the mice from overeating and becoming obese.

The benefits of the ketogenic diet, said, González-Billault, were demonstrated through neurophysiological and behavioral experiments with the mice that test how well the mechanisms involved in memory generation, storage, and retrieval function in aged animals. When these showed that the ketogenic diet appeared to benefit how well the synapses responsible for memory worked, they took a deep dive into the protein composition at these synapses in the hippocampus, in a collaboration with Buck professor Birgit Schilling, PhD, who directs the Proteomics and Mass Spectrometry Center.

“Surprisingly, we saw that the ketogenic diet caused dramatic changes in the proteins of the synapse,” said Schilling. Even more surprising, she said, was that the changes started after a relatively brief exposure to the diet (tested after only one week on the diet) and only became more pronounced over time (tested again after six weeks and a year).

Further testing indicated that in synapses, a particular signaling pathway (protein kinase A, which is critical to synapse activity) was activated by the ketogenic diet. In isolated cells, the team then showed that it appears that BHB, the main ketone body produced in a ketogenic diet, is activating this pathway. This leads to the idea, said González-Billault, that ketone bodies (specifically BHB) play a crucial role not only as an energy source, but also as a signaling molecule.

“BHB is almost certainly not the only molecule in play, but we think this is an important part of understanding how the ketogenic diet and ketone bodies work,” said Newman “This is the first study to really connect deep molecular mechanisms of ketone bodies all the way through to improving the aging brain.”

Looking forward, he said, the next step would be to see if the same memory protection could be achieved by using BHB alone, or possibly going even more targeted than that by manipulating the protein kinase A signaling pathway directly. “If we could recreate some of the big-picture effects on synapse function and memory just by manipulating that signaling pathway in the right cells,” he said, “we wouldn’t even need to eat a ketogenic diet in the end.”

https://www.buckinstitute.org/news/how-the-ketogenic-diet-improves-healthspan-and-memory-in-aging-mice/

BioMarin to Present Data Highlighting Significant Impact of VOXZOGO® (vosoritide) in Bone Health and Health-Related Quality of Life in Achondroplasia at 2024 International Conference on Children’s Bone Healt

BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (Nasdaq: BMRN) today announced the presentation of new data from an investigator-led analysis of the Phase 2 111-205 study, which demonstrate that children with achondroplasia treated with VOXZOGO® experienced increases in bone length while maintaining bone strength. The data will be presented at the 11th International Conference on Children’s Bone Health (ICCBH) in Salzburg, Austria, June 22-25, 2024. BioMarin will also share the first results from a study underscoring the unmet medical needs of people living with hypochondroplasia.

“With thousands of children treated since approval, the breadth and depth of data collected from our trials demonstrate VOXZOGO’s safety and benefit in children of all ages, including those under 5 who have received VOXZOGO for up to four years,” said Hank Fuchs, M.D., president of Worldwide Research and Development at BioMarin. “CNP is emerging as a natural and holistic regulator of statural development, and safety and efficacy data presented to date illustrate VOXZOGO’s positive impact on bone growth, proportionality and quality of life. Based on this extensive evidence, we are accelerating the development of VOXZOGO across a multitude of growth-related conditions with significant unmet need.”

Significant Impact on Bone Length, Strength, Proportionality and Health-Related Quality of Life in Achondroplasia

Results from an investigator-led analysis of BioMarin’s Phase 2 111-205 study found that children who received VOXZOGO (n=30) had significant increases in bone length and metacarpal cortical area after approximately five years of therapy, suggesting that treatment allowed the bone to remain strong as it lengthened.

“In order for children with achondroplasia to experience meaningful changes in daily functioning following treatment to enable growth, it is critical that bone robustness is maintained to preserve strength,” said Cathleen Raggio, M.D., a pediatric orthopedic surgeon at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York. “With this study, for the first time we have shown that treatment with VOXZOGO enabled bones to remain strong as they lengthened, which is promising as we continue to better understand the impact of this therapeutic advancement.”

Additional data to be presented at ICCBH, previously shared at the 2024 Pediatric Endocrine Society Annual Meeting, showcase VOXZOGO’s efficacy, safety and impact on health-related quality of life in children with achondroplasia. Data observed in the Phase 3 111-301 and 111-302 studies suggest that VOXZOGO can have the potential to improve health-related quality of life among children with achondroplasia, particularly in aspects associated with physical functioning, an outcome of significant importance for children and families impacted by achondroplasia. Phase 2 and Phase 3 data also demonstrated consistent positive effects on linear growth and improvement in proportionality in children of all ages with growth potential, with follow-up conducted up to four years after the initiation of VOXZOGO treatment. Safety results were consistent with the well-characterized safety profile of VOXZOGO.

Data Underscore Unmet Needs in Hypochondroplasia

Data from a retrospective, real-world matched cohort study using electronic medical records from England showed that comorbidity event rates (e.g., respiratory, cardiovascular, orthopedic and mental health-related events) were higher in people living with hypochondroplasia (n=610) compared to people living without the condition (n=2440). General practitioner visits (median annual visits = 11.2 vs. 5.4, risk ratio [RR] = 1.8), hospital in-patient admissions (RR=5.5) and average length of hospital stay (5.6 vs. 3.8 days) were all greater as well. Most people evaluated in the study were aged 16-65 at the start of follow up. These data suggest there is a significant burden of disease amongst people of all ages with hypochondroplasia, highlighting the need for proactive management and linkage to care.

VOXZOGO Clinical Development Program Milestones

Building on its leadership in achondroplasia, BioMarin has several clinical trials underway for hypochondroplasia, idiopathic short stature (ISS) and other growth-related conditions.

A multinational observational study in children with hypochondroplasia (111-902) is currently recruiting participants, and the first patient is on track to be dosed in the treatment phase (Phase 3 trial) in June with enrollment completion expected in early 2025.

The company’s observational study in children with ISS (111-903) has begun enrolling patients, and the Phase 2 treatment arm will also begin enrollment later this year (111-210). Additionally, a study in multiple other genetic short stature conditions, including Turner syndrome, SHOX deficiency, and Noonan syndrome, is anticipated to begin enrollment later this year.

Key presentations at ICCBH are listed below, with all times in Central European Summer Time (CEST):

Oral Presentations

Persistent Growth-Promoting Effects of Vosoritide in Children with Achondroplasia is Accompanied by Improvement in Physical Aspects of Quality of Life
Oral #OC4.3
Monday, June 24, 2024, 3:45 – 4:45 p.m.

A Promising Adjuvant Treatment for Growing Mice with Moderate-to-Severe Osteogenesis Imperfecta: A Pilot Study of a CNP Analog
Oral #OC5.3
Tuesday, June 25, 2024, 1:30 – 2 p.m.

Poster Presentations

Does Vosoritide Treatment Affect Bone Strength in Children with Achondroplasia?
Poster #P151
Sunday, June 23, 2024, 12 – 1 p.m.

Persistence of Growth Promoting Effects in Infants and Toddlers with Achondroplasia: Results from a Phase 2 Extension Study with Vosoritide
Poster #P79
Sunday, June 23, 2024, 12 – 1 p.m.

Design and Objectives of the Acorn Study: A Non-Interventional Study Evaluating Long-Term Safety in Achondroplasia Children Treated with Vosoritide
Poster #P91
Sunday, June 23, 2024, 12 – 1 p.m.

Persistent Growth-Promoting Effects of Vosoritide in Children with Achondroplasia for up to 4 Years: Update from Phase 3 Extension Study
Poster #P78
Monday, June 24, 2024, 12 – 1 p.m.

Comorbidity and Mortality Burden Among Patients with Hypochondroplasia in England between 1998-2019
Poster #P176
Monday, June 24, 2024, 12 – 1 p.m.

About VOXZOGO

In children with achondroplasia, endochondral bone growth, an essential process by which bone tissue is created, is negatively regulated due to a gain of function mutation in FGFR3. VOXZOGO, a C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP) analog, acts as a positive regulator of the signaling pathway downstream of FGFR3 to promote endochondral bone growth.

VOXZOGO is approved in the U.S. and Japan to increase linear growth in children of all ages with achondroplasia with open epiphyses, and VOXZOGO is indicated in the EU for the treatment of achondroplasia in children 4 months of age and older whose epiphyses are not closed, as confirmed by appropriate genetic testing. In the U.S., this indication is approved under accelerated approval based on an improvement in annualized growth velocity. Continued approval may be contingent upon verification and description of clinical benefit in confirmatory trial(s). To fulfill this post-marketing requirement, BioMarin intends to use the ongoing open-label extension studies compared to available natural history.

To date, more than 3,000 people with achondroplasia around the world have received VOXZOGO. In total, VOXZOGO is available in 43 markets worldwide.

Patient Support Accessing VOXZOGO

To reach a BioMarin RareConnections® Case Manager, please call, toll-free, 1-833-VOXZOGO (1-833-869-9646) or e-mail VOXZOGOSupport@biomarin-rareconnections.com. For more information about VOXZOGO, please visit www.voxzogo.com. For additional information regarding this product, please contact BioMarin Medical Information at medinfo@bmrn.com.

About Achondroplasia

Achondroplasia is a rare genetic growth-related condition caused by a variation in the FGFR3 gene. It is characterized by disproportionate short stature and a potentially high burden of complications related to impaired endochondral bone growth.

Approximately 80% of children with achondroplasia are born to parents of average stature as a result of a spontaneous variation in the FGFR3 gene. The worldwide incidence of achondroplasia is around one in 25,000 live births.

VOXZOGO U.S. Important Safety Information

What is VOXZOGO used for?

  • VOXZOGO is a prescription medicine used to increase linear growth in children with achondroplasia and open growth plates (epiphyses).
  • VOXZOGO is approved under accelerated approval based on an improvement in annualized growth velocity. Continued approval may be contingent upon verification and description of clinical benefit in confirmatory trials.

What is the most important safety information about VOXZOGO?

  • VOXZOGO may cause serious side effects including a temporary decrease in blood pressure in some patients. To reduce the risk of a decrease in blood pressure and associated symptoms (dizziness, feeling tired, or nausea), patients should eat a meal and drink 8 to 10 ounces of fluid within 1 hour before receiving VOXZOGO.

What are the most common side effects of VOXZOGO?

  • The most common side effects of VOXZOGO include injection site reactions (including redness, itching, swelling, bruising, rash, hives, and injection site pain), high levels of blood alkaline phosphatase shown in blood tests, vomiting, joint pain, decreased blood pressure, and stomachache. These are not all the possible side effects of VOXZOGO. Ask your healthcare provider for medical advice about side effects, and about any side effects that bother the patient or that do not go away.

How is VOXZOGO taken?

  • VOXZOGO is taken daily as an injection given under the skin, administered by a caregiver after a healthcare provider determines the caregiver is able to administer VOXZOGO. Do not try to inject VOXZOGO until you have been shown the right way by your healthcare provider. VOXZOGO is supplied with Instructions for Use that describe the steps for preparing, injecting, and disposing VOXZOGO. Caregivers should review the Instructions for Use for guidance and any time they receive a refill of VOXZOGO in case any changes have been made.
  • Inject VOXZOGO 1 time every day, at about the same time each day. If a dose of VOXZOGO is missed, it can be given within 12 hours from the missed dose. After 12 hours, skip the missed dose and administer the next daily dose as usual.
  • The dose of VOXZOGO is based on body weight. Your healthcare provider will adjust the dose based on changes in weight following regular check-ups.
  • Your healthcare provider will monitor the patient’s growth and tell you when to stop taking VOXZOGO if they determine the patient is no longer able to grow. Stop administering VOXZOGO if instructed by your healthcare provider.

What should you tell the doctor before or during taking VOXZOGO?

  • Tell your doctor about all of the patient’s medical conditions including
    • If the patient has heart disease (cardiac or vascular disease), or if the patient is on blood pressure medicine (anti-hypertensive medicine).
    • If the patient has kidney problems or renal impairment.
    • If the patient is pregnant or plans to become pregnant. It is not known if VOXZOGO will harm the unborn baby.
    • If the patient is breastfeeding or plans to breastfeed. It is not known if VOXZOGO passes into breast milk.
  • Tell your doctor about all of the medicines the patient takes, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements.

You may report side effects to BioMarin at 1-866-906-6100. You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch, or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

Please see additional safety information in the full Prescribing Information and Patient Information.

About BioMarin   

Founded in 1997, BioMarin is a global biotechnology company dedicated to transforming lives through genetic discovery. The company develops and commercializes targeted therapies that address the root cause of the genetic conditions. BioMarin’s unparalleled research and development capabilities have resulted in eight transformational commercial therapies for patients with rare genetic disorders. The company’s distinctive approach to drug discovery has produced a diverse pipeline of commercial, clinical, and pre-clinical candidates that address a significant unmet medical need, have well-understood biology, and provide an opportunity to be first-to-market or offer a substantial benefit over existing treatment options. For additional information, please visit www.biomarin.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements about the business prospects of BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (BioMarin), including without limitation, statements about: data to be presented at the 11th International Conference on Children’s Bone Health (ICCBH), including the oral and poster presentations; the development of BioMarin’s VOXZOGO program generally; VOXZOGO’s efficacy, safety and impact on health-related quality of life in children with achondroplasia, including impact on bone length, strength and health-related quality of life; the potential benefits of VOXZOGO for children with growth-related conditions beyond achondroplasia, including hypochondroplasia and idiopathic short stature; potential unmet needs in hypochondroplasia; and the continued clinical development of VOXZOGO, including BioMarin’s plans for clinical trials for hypochondroplasia, idiopathic short stature and other growth-related conditions. These forward-looking statements are predictions and involve risks and uncertainties such that actual results may differ materially from these statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among others: results and timing of current and planned pre-clinical studies and clinical trials of VOXZOGO; any potential adverse events observed in the continuing monitoring of the patients in the clinical trials; the content and timing of decisions by the Food and Drug Administration, the European Commission and other regulatory authorities; and those factors detailed in BioMarin’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including, without limitation, the factors contained under the caption “Risk Factors” in BioMarin’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2024, as such factors may be updated by any subsequent reports. Stockholders are urged not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. BioMarin is under no obligation, and expressly disclaims any obligation to update or alter any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

BioMarin®, BioMarin RareConnections® and VOXZOGO® are registered trademarks of BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc.

https://investors.biomarin.com/news/news-details/2024/BioMarin-to-Present-Data-Highlighting-Significant-Impact-of-VOXZOGO-vosoritide-in-Bone-Health-and-Health-Related-Quality-of-Life-in-Achondroplasia-at-2024-International-Conference-on-Childrens-Bone-Health/default.aspx

Arrow Benefits Group’s Diversity Leader Rosario Avila is BenefitsPRO Advisor of the Year Finalist & NABIP Equity in the Workplace Panelist

Arrow Benefits Group, one of the largest benefits consulting firms in the North Bay, proudly announces, Rosario Avila, Senior Benefits Advisor/ Spanish Language Division Lead is a BenefitsPRO 2024 Advisor of the Year finalist and honored special guest panelist for this year’s National Association of Benefits and Insurance Professionals (NABIP) conference. The Advisor of the Year awards celebrate top benefits advisors who are leading by example and innovating as they work to move the industry forward, enrich their local communities, and help their clients control costs.

Avila has been an innovator in her industry for over 20 years. She says, “Making insurance and healthcare culturally relevant is vital to a successful employer-employee partnership.” She leads Alianza, Arrow Benefits Group dedicated Spanish Language Division team of 8 – an unheard-of resource in the industry – serving a highly valuable yet historically underserved demographic. “It is a profound honor and highlight of my career to be awarded these accolades and to be part of these distinguished panels contributing my ideas and discuss diversity with industry leaders. I’m thrilled about the opportunity to create more awareness and create positive change in my industry.” To learn about Avila and Arrow’s diversity work, please visit https://www.arrowbenefitsgroup.com/spanish-language-division or call 707-799-9274.

“We are dedicated to fostering a diverse and inclusive culture for our team and clients,” says Joe Genovese, Arrow’s CEO and Managing Principal. “These awards and Rosario’s unbelievable accolades are a proud moment for us in achieving our directives, we could not be more honored that one of our most valued team members is being recognized and is so highly respected.”

Avila has been asked to participate in the prestigious NABIP 94th Annual Convention as a panelist for an important discussion on “Equity in the Workplace – Benefit Translation”, a highly relevant and important topic. The panel is conducted as a bi-lingual session where Avila will share expertise. Her perspective will greatly enhance exploration of this critical subject. She will join esteemed panelists to delve into the complexities of ensuring that workplace benefits truly support the wellbeing of all employees, how to translate benefits packages to be inclusive, with a focus on mental health resources, identifying hidden inequities that exist within seemingly standard benefits.

BenefitsPRO’s Advisors of the Year

This award celebrates top benefits advisors. The recognition honors professionals who move the benefits industry forward and help employers find high-quality health care and benefits while controlling costs.

Arrow Benefits

Arrow is a true partner to employers delivering employee benefits expertise, service and strategic consulting designed to meet the unique needs of clients. Arrow co-founded Patriot Growth Insurance Services, one of the largest benefits consulting and brokerage networks in the country. Patriot and Arrow are aligned with TRUE Network of Advisors, a national collaboration of independent agencies and brokerages.

https://www.newswire.com/news/diversity-leader-rosario-avila-is-benefitspro-advisor-of-the-year-22356334

Redwood Credit Union Promotes Kristen Mahlmann to Chief Financial Officer

Kristen Mahlmann has been promoted to chief financial officer for Redwood Credit Union. In her new role, Mahlmann will lead the company’s accounting and finance operations, employee relations, educational development, and employee engagement teams, and oversee strategy for the organization. In addition, the North Bay Business Journal recently included Mahlmann in their Influential Women Awards for 2024, recognizing her as an outstanding local professional who demonstrates exemplary leadership and community involvement.

 

Mahlmann joined RCU in 2019 as senior vice president of accounting and finance. In 2023 she was promoted to senior vice president of people and strategy, for leading the planning and execution of RCU’s corporate strategies, as well as overseeing employee relations and engagement functions, including human resources, talent acquisition, training and development, and culture.

 

“Kristen has proven to be an innovative leader who adapts quickly to change, demonstrates tremendous resilience, and genuinely believes in the credit union philosophy of people helping people,” said Brett Martinez, President and CEO of RCU. “She’s had a significant positive impact on our team and our strategies, and I’m confident she will excel in her new role.”

 

Mahlmann earned an MBA from the University of California, Los Angeles Anderson School of Management, and graduated with high honors from Western CUNA Management School, an intensive credit union industry management curriculum.

 

Ron Felder, who previously held the role, will now become RCU’s Chief Lending Officer, leading the credit union’s lending areas, including mortgage and consumer lending, lending operations and systems, financial assistance, and loan servicing.

 

About Redwood Credit Union

Founded in 1950, Redwood Credit Union is a full-service financial institution providing personal and business banking to consumers and businesses in the North Bay and San Francisco. With a mission to passionately serve the best interests of its Members, team members, and communities, RCU delivers many ways for its Members to save and build money through checking and savings accounts, auto and home loans, credit cards, digital banking, business services, commercial and SBA lending, and more. Wealth management and investment services are available through CUSO Financial Services L.P., and insurance and auto-purchasing services are also offered through RCU Services Group (RCU’s wholly owned subsidiary). RCU has more than $8 billion in assets and serves more than 465,000 members with full-service branches from San Francisco to Ukiah. For more information, call 1 (800) 479-7928, visit auto-purchasing, or follow RCU on Facebook, Instagram, X, and LinkedIn for news and updates.