Leadership Team

A visionary, mission-driven leader, Sparkle Barnes, MHR, is President and Chief Executive Officer of Health Center Partners of Southern California and its Family of Companies.

Sparkle was named Interim CEO in April 2025 and was officially appointed in November 2025, becoming the seventh CEO in HCP’s history.

Under her direction, the Family of Companies launched “Next50: A Legacy of Impact, a Future of Innovation,” a bold strategic plan charting the course for HCP’s 50th anniversary and beyond.

Since joining the Family of Companies, Sparkle has held progressive leadership roles, including Chief Strategy Officer for HCP beginning in 2016 and President of CNECT beginning in 2021. She previously managed public-private venture projects for Naval and Marine Corps Shore Installations with the Department of Defense.

A respected thought leader, Sparkle is frequently invited to speak on topics such as supply chain strategies and innovative business practices. She holds a Master of Human Relations from the University of Oklahoma and a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies from San Francisco State University.

Tracy brings 30 years of transformative leadership experience to her role as Executive Vice President and Chief Operations Officer of Health Center Partners of Southern California. Health Center Partners (HCP) is a regional primary care association in California with 17 member organizations covering Riverside, Imperial and San Diego Counties who collectively serve 763,482 patients for 3.2 million patient visits per year, through 210 practice sites.

Health Center Partners, a regional PCA, also is a Health Center Controlled Network with three associated subsidiaries, founded in 1977. HCP services include policy and advocacy, training and education, technical assistance, and resources. Health Quality Partners is an innovation hub investigating opportunities for collaborative grant and contract funding across multiple research categories, founded in 1998. Integrated Health Partners is a top-tier clinically integrated network with over 400,000 lives under management. It is a high-quality, evidenced-based, data-proven population health management solution, founded in 2015. CNECT GPO has 11,000+ members, 3,500 contracts, and delivered $166.5M member savings in FY23, founded in 1979.

Since joining HCP in 2003, Tracy has been responsible for administration and operations management in the areas of human resources, information technology, data analytics/data security, corporate communication, and corporate compliance, including HIPAA and data security.

Tracy has served on the boards of the San Diego Employers Association and Community Resource Center. She is a member of the California Primary Care Association's Workforce Development Committee.  She has also served as Adjunct Faculty at the University of Redlands and the University of Phoenix.

She earned a master’s in business administration from the University of Redlands and a bachelor’s in business from California State Polytechnic University. She is also certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resources from the Human Resources Certification Institute. 

Nicole A. Howard, MPH, is Chief Advancement Officer for Health Center Partners of Southern California and serves as Executive Vice President for its subsidiary, Health Quality Partners of Southern California. Part of the Health Center Partners of Southern California family since 2007, she previously served as Director of Programs and Fund Development and has been managing public health programs since 1991.

Prior to joining Health Center Partners of Southern California, Nicole held posts in academia, medical research and primary care administration. She has been on faculty at University of Phoenix, San Diego, and San Diego State University, and Program Manager at Rady Children's Hospital, San Diego.

She holds a master's in public health from San Diego State University, with an emphasis in health promotion. Fluent in Spanish, she earned a bachelor's in history & Chicano studies from the University of California, San Diego, and studied at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México.

Amanda Simmons is Executive Vice President for HCP's Clinically Integrated Network, Integrated Health Partners of Southern California (IHP).

As Executive Vice President for IHP, Amanda drives overall strategy for the network, ensuring that member organizations are equipped to provide the highest-quality care for patients in the region, which spans San Diego and Riverside Counties. Simmons has dedicated her career to caring for underserved populations and improving the public health system.

Before assuming her position as EVP for IHP, Amanda led strategy, business development, and Medicaid reform for various health care organizations.

Amanda holds a master's in healthcare transformation from the University of Texas and a bachelor of business administration from LeTourneau University.

Frank Whelan serves as the Chief Financial Officer of Health Center Partners, where he leads and manages all financial activities for the organization and its subsidiaries, including Health Quality Partners, Integrated Health Partners, and CNECT. In this role, he is responsible for developing the strategic financial plan, overseeing organizational financial reporting, directing audit and budget processes, and establishing and maintaining effective external fiduciary relationships.

Before joining Health Center Partners, Whelan spent over five years as the Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer of Three Rivers Provider Network. In this capacity, he was a key member of the executive team, overseeing all finance and accounting functions for a nationwide network comprising over 600,000 providers and 10 million members. Whelan is also actively involved in nonprofit board service, contributing his financial expertise to support organizational governance and strategic initiatives.

A certified public accountant, Whelan has held positions in the biomedical research and real estate industries, as well as working as an auditor in public accounting. He earned his MBA from the University of California, Irvine, and holds an undergraduate Economics degree from UC San Diego.

Eli is the managing partner of Eli H. Glovinsky Law Corporation in San Diego and acts as the outside General Counsel for Health Center Partners of Southern California and its affiliates (HCP).  He has represented HCP since 2013.  He is an attorney, mediator and business consultant with more than 38 years of experience in the healthcare industry.  For most of his career, he has served as an attorney and executive for both large and small organizations, including non-profit and publicly traded healthcare companies.

Eli specializes in healthcare and corporate legal matters focusing on supply chain contracting, community health centers, hospitals and multi-facility health systems, ancillary providers, legal compliance and group purchasing organizations (GPOs).

Eli currently serves on the Board of Directors of Aquai Technologies, Inc., a US-based water resource management company. In addition, Eli is an investor and mentor for OurCrowd, a crowdfunding company, and Curvo, a healthcare supply chain decision support provider.

Prior to launching Eli H. Glovinsky Law Corporation, Eli was a partner at Venture Counsel Group, LLP.  Prior to Venture Counsel Group, Eli was Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Alliance HealthCare Services, a publicly traded, national diagnostic imaging and radiation therapy provider operating in 46 states. Before Alliance HealthCare Services, Eli served as Corporate Vice President and Chief Legal Counsel at Premier, Inc., which operates one of the country’s largest GPOs. Early in his career, Eli was Assistant Vice President and Corporate Counsel at St. Joseph Health System in Orange, California and an associate attorney at Konowiecki & Rank in Los Angeles.

Eli earned his BA degree in Communication Studies at UCLA and his law degree at the University of California Hastings College of the Law.