We are incredibly proud to highlight Montserrat Archila as a founding board member of La Familia Sana.
Tell us about yourself:
I have worked at Providence for the past 19 years and I am passionate about collaborating with and serving the diverse communities that comprise Sonoma County. As the Mission Leader for Healdsburg and Petaluma Valley Hospitals and the Providence Clinic Network, I am entrusted with ensuring the mission of being steadfast in serving all in the community, is integrated into all aspects of care delivery, policy, and organizational culture. Most importantly, I am in service to all of our caregivers to nurture body, mind and spirit. I immigrated to the US from El Salvador during a time of war and feel strongly about amplifying voice and stories of community. I received my BA in Psychology from San Jose State University and graduated from the UC Berkeley Interior Architecture and Design school with an emphasis on Trauma Informed Spaces. As a student of the Stanford school, I strongly champion Human Centered Design, a creative approach to problem solving that develops solutions by involving the human perspective in all steps of the problem-solving process. I served as the Regional Co-Chair for the Providence Northern California Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council and co-founded ¡DALE! a youth-led program that champions students pursuing social and educational justice. I live in Windsor, with my husband Issa, and son Julian. We can often be found on a baseball field somewhere in the country or hiking in the hills (whenever I can convince my family to join me).
Why did you join the LFS board?:
I was honored to be asked to join the LFS board as the organization was forming. I saw firsthand the incredible work of the community advocates, especially during COVID and knew that this was an organization I wanted to be a part of. The staff of LFS are deeply committed to serving the community and seek to create pathways of success for all they encounter. I am struck by the caring and compassionate way LFS shows up for the community, listening to the needs of those we serve, with an open heart. In the many years that I have worked in the community, there is one thing that I know to be true; everyone wants to feel safe, seen and loved. This is the work of La Familia Sana and I couldn’t be a prouder member of this board.
What are you most proud of?:
This is a tough question because there are many things that are points of pride for me, my family being one. What comes to mind in this moment, is that through collaboration with other agencies, organizations, and like-minded people, I have been privileged to witness meaningful change happen in our community. One example that I’d love to share:
During our final meeting of the DALE program last year, I watched group after group of students share all the ways they affected change in their schools. These talented and justice-centered youth created campaigns to raise awareness about menstrual equity and mental health, hosted cultural fairs, and lobbied to bring ethnic studies to their school within 1 year instead of 4. These are just a few examples of what we heard that day. I was in awe, inspired and full of joy. The collective power in that room brought me to tears. These students are the future voices of Sonoma County that have and will continue to change our world for the better and I am here for it.
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