Leadership Team

Henry brings more than 35 years of transformative leadership experience to his role as President and Chief Executive Officer of Health Center Partners of Southern California. Prior to joining HCP in 2014, Henry served as CEO of Manet Community Health in Quincy, MA, and previously Outer Cape Health Services on Cape Cod. While in Massachusetts, Henry served on the board of the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers and other local institutions.

Before moving into primary care, Henry led internal and external communication for Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a Fortune 100 company, and previously led marketing and communication for Childrens Hospital Los Angeles.

He earned a bachelor's in English from Boston College and is a certificate from the UCLA Anderson School Health Care Executive Program.

Henry serves on various boards and committees including San Diego County’s Health Services Advisory Board, the Healthy San Diego Joint Consumer and Professional Advisory Committee, and the board of San Diegans for Healthcare Coverage. He is a member of the board of the California Primary Care Association, where he chairs the Government Programs Committee. He also chairs the Regional Associations of California, and he serves on the Capital Link Board of Directors. He continues to serve on NACHC’s health policy and legislative committee and the HCCN Task Force.

Tracy L. Garmer, MBA, SPHR, serves a dual role as Executive Vice President and Chief Operations Officer (COO) for Health Center Partners of Southern California. She oversees operations including member services, finance, human resources, corporate compliance, facilities and IT.  Presently, Tracy is a member of the National Association of Community Health Centers and serves on the workforce taskforce and compliance committee for the California Primary Care Association.

Prior to joining Health Center Partners of Southern California in 2003, Tracy held human resource leadership positions in the fields of Avionics, Building Services and Telecommunications. Tracy also provides human resources consulting services to businesses throughout Southern California and is adjunct faculty at University of Redlands, San Diego. She is certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resources, is a member of the San Diego Society for Human Resources Management, and sits on the board of the San Diego Employers Association.

Tracy earned a bachelor's in business from California State Polytechnic University Pomona and a master's in business administration from the University of Redlands.

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.

Sparkle Barnes, MHR, is Chief Strategy Officer of Health Center Partners of Southern California and Executive Vice President for its for-profit subsidiary, CNECT. Before assuming her position as EVP, Sparkle served as National Sales and Service Manager for CNECT, which she re-joined in 2010.  Presently, Sparkle sits on the Nursing Committee for Premier, Inc., a leading Healthcare improvement company that operates one of the nation’s largest GPOs for which Council Connections is an Affiliate.

Previously, Sparkle gained valuable skills as a Public/Private Venture Program Specialist with the Department of Defense, Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Southwest and Pacific, where she assisted in the development, execution and management of projects for Naval and Marine Corps installations. Earlier, she served as Relief Services Assistant for the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society in Yokosuka, Japan.

Sparkle holds a master's in human relations from the University of Oklahoma and a bachelor's in speech and communications from San Francisco State University.

Vernita Todd, Chief eXperience Officer (CXO), joined Health Center Partners in March 2016, after serving 10 years as the Chief Executive Officer for Heart City Health Center, a federally qualified health center in northern Indiana.

Known for her passion for community benefit organizations, Vernita has had a long career in the nonprofit field which started immediately after finishing graduate school in Murray, Kentucky. She has worked with board and staff members on strategic planning, organizational communication, teambuilding, leadership and change management strategies.

Vernita has an MBA from Davenport University in strategic management, a masters degree in organizational communication and a bachelor's degree in psychology - both from Murray State University in Kentucky. In 2015, Vernita earned Fellow status with the American College of Healthcare Executives (FACHE.)

 As senior vice president for finance, Frank Whelan leads, manages, and directs all financial activities for Health Center Partners and its subsidiaries, which include Health Quality Partners, Integrated Health Partners and CNECT (formerly Council Connections). Additionally, he oversees the development of the strategic financial plan, guides organizational financial reporting, directs the audit and budget processes, and is responsible for establishing and maintaining effective external fiduciary relationships. Prior to joining Health Center Partners, Whelan served for five years as the treasurer and chief financial officer of Three Rivers Provider Network, where he was a member of the executive team and responsible for oversight of all finance and accounting functions for the nationwide network of more than 600,000 providers and 10 million members. A certified public accountant, Whelan has also held positions with Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies, Sonnenberg and Co. CPAs and MG Properties. He holds an MBA from the University of California, Irvine and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from UC San Diego.