Anne Newland, MD, MPH, Chief Executive Officer

Anne Newland, MD, MPH is the Chief Executive Officer for North Country HealthCare, a federally-qualified community health center with clinics in 12 communities in northern Arizona.  Prior to joining North Country in 2013, Dr. Newland worked for the Indian Health Service in Kayenta, AZ for eight years.  She trained in Internal Medicine-Pediatrics at the University of Tennessee-Memphis, served as Chief Resident for Internal Medicine at UT, and later completed a Master in Public Health degree at Harvard School of Public Health as a Commonwealth Fund Fellow in Minority Health Policy. Her professional interests lie in reducing health disparities for rural and underserved communities as well as strengthening training pathways for underrepresented populations.

James “Jim” Gross, Chief Financial Officer

James Gross is the Chief Financial Officer for North Country HealthCare, a federally qualified community health center.  He joined North Country in July 2022.  This is not his first stint with an FQHC.  He was previously the CFO of Chiricahua Community Health Center located in Elfrida Arizona.  His healthcare background also includes five years as CFO of a multi-specialty medical group in Sierra Vista Arizona and most recently he served and the Director of Finance and Reimbursement for a Behavioral Health Hospital in Flagstaff.  He has also held finance leadership roles with companies in the utility and defense contracting sectors.  Mr. Gross is a 1991 graduate of Northern Arizona University holding a Bachelor of Science degree in Accountancy.    

Jon Smith, Chief Information Officer

Jon Smith is the Chief Information Officer at North Country HealthCare.  He is a Flagstaff native who served 9 years in the United States Marine Corps, before settling down in Southern California in 2014.  After 18 months with Hewlett Packard, he transitioned into the healthcare industry with North County Health Services (NCHS) in Southern California, where he served as the Vice President of IT and acting CIO.  During his time at NCHS, Jon’s experience, innovation, and strategic thinking completely transformed the HIT department. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Information Technology from the University of Phoenix, with an emphasis in Information Systems Security.

Marti Neff, MA, Chief Operations Officer

April Alvarez-Corona, MD, Chief Medical Officer

Amanda Guay, MPH, Community Health Director

Amanda Guay is the Community Health Director at North Country HealthCare. In her role, Amanda oversees and develops community health and behavioral health programming for specific target populations. She has worked with multiple stakeholders from governmental agencies, local officials, community organizations, health departments and Tribes to educational institutions with the goal of conducting health outreach to targeted populations, as well as developing policy to achieve improved health outcomes. Ms. Guay has over twenty years of experience working with minority and under-served populations and is a native of Flagstaff, Arizona. Prior to working at North Country, Amanda worked with affected communities on efforts to mitigate health impacts of environmental contamination at the state health department in Oregon. She also worked in a county health department and a school district to pass tobacco policy. Her current interests focus on identifying strategies to improve health outcomes by engaging the community and leveraging existing health resources. She previously served on the boards of the Flagstaff Leadership Program and the Coconino Regional Partnership Council for First Things First and is the board president for Housing Solutions of Northern Arizona. She holds a Master’s in Public Health Promotion and Education with an emphasis in Women’s and Minority Health from Oregon State University.

Bruce Wilcox, DMD, Director of Dental Services

Marica Martinic, MPH, Director of Education, Colorado Plateau Center for Health Professions

Marica Martinic is the Director of Education at North Country HealthCare, overseeing the Colorado Plateau Center for Health Professions, Family Medicine Residency Program development and the AT Still University community campus. Marica has a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from the University of New Mexico and a Master of Public Health in Public Health Practice from the University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health. She has over twelve years of experience in development, implementation and evaluation of non-profit community health programs.

Sarah Coles, MD, FAAFP, Director of the Family Medicine Residency Program

Sarah Coles, MD, FAAFP, is a board certified family physician and the program director for the Family and Community Medicine Residency at North Country Healthcare, a teaching health center in Flagstaff, AZ. She is also an associate professor in the Department of Family, Community and Preventive Medicine at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix. She obtained her medical degree from the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix and completed her residency at Banner Good Samaritan Family Medicine Residency.  In addition to comprehensive primary care, her professional interests include evidence-based medicine, integrated interprofessional team-based care, medical education, and health literacy. Sarah Coles, MD, FAAFP, is a board certified family physician and the program director for the Family and Community Medicine Residency at North Country Healthcare, a teaching health center in Flagstaff, AZ. She is also an associate professor in the Department of Family, Community and Preventive Medicine at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix. She obtained her medical degree from the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix and completed her residency at Banner Good Samaritan Family Medicine Residency.  In addition to comprehensive primary care, her professional interests include evidence-based medicine, integrated interprofessional team-based care, medical education, and health literacy.  

Melinda Morales, Director of Human Resources

Melinda joined North Country HealthCare in November 2020 with 26 years of human resources experience. Prior to joining the North Country HealthCare team, she worked for ADP, Inc as Director, Comprehensive Outsourcing Services.  She has also held human resources director roles in construction, healthcare and technology. In her various human resources roles, she served as a member of leadership teams and created or enhanced the human resources foundation for these organizations.  Her contributions included HR technology, talent acquisition, benefit administration and culture and employee engagement activities. As a human resources director, Melinda has worked with and managed many human resources professionals and general employee populations, supported EEOC mediation, compensation and benefit management, talent acquisition, as well as training and employee relations. The organizations she supported ranged from a start-up of 70 employees to a large mature organization of over 60,000. Throughout her career, she has been successful in building strong, trustworthy relationships throughout all levels of the organization. Melinda holds a Bachelor of Science and Master of Business Administration degrees. In addition, she has Professional Human Resources (PHR) and Certified Compensation Professional (CCP) certifications. She is an outdoor enthusiast and enjoys hiking, camping and a beautiful beach.

Tammy Howell, MBA, Director of Marketing & Development

Tammy Howell is the Director of Marketing & Development at North Country HealthCare. In her role, Tammy is responsible for all marketing & development efforts using a variety of media and platforms including: digital, broadcast, print, events and fundraising activities. Since rejoining North Country HealthCare in 2010, Tammy has assisted the organization in establishing both school-based and employer healthcare services. Tammy has over twenty-five years of marketing and management experience, including fifteen years at North Country in various marketing and management positions; three years in physical therapy business management; and ten years in retail management and merchandising. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration-Marketing with a minor in Customer Service and Integrated Marketing Communications-Graphic Design from Northern Arizona University and a Master’s in Business Administration from Grand Canyon University.

Kim Chen, BSPharm, Director of Pharmacy

Kim Chen, BSPharm is the Director of Pharmacy at North Country HealthCare. The pharmacy operates out of the Flagstaff location and maintains two satellite telepharmacies with service to all other sites. Her current professional interests include managing patients’ current medications and disease states as part of an integrated healthcare team. Beginning in high school, Kim worked in a community pharmacy which sparked her interest in the profession. Since then, she has accumulated over 20 years of experience in an out-patient setting. Before moving to Arizona, Kim worked in a clinic-based pharmacy and community pharmacy in Ohio. She also worked as a Certified Specialist in Poison Information at the Cincinnati Drug and Poison Information Center. Additionally, she has experience in the industry with adverse event reporting for phase 4 clinical trials She holds a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy from the University of Cincinnati and is a registered pharmacist in Ohio and Arizona.

Amy Langord, MHA/Ed.,CHC, Director of Compliance

Amy Langord, MHA/Ed., CHC is the Compliance Director at North Country HealthCare. The compliance director is responsible for planning, implementation and maintenance of the corporate compliance program. Amy also oversees activities related to the implementation and adherence to NCHC’s policies and procedures covering privacy and access to health information in compliance with federal and state law and oversees NCHC’s Risk Management program to reduce errors in healthcare processes, improve health outcomes, and increase patient safety. Amy has over twenty years of healthcare compliance experience and holds a Bachelor in Healthcare Administration and a Master of Healthcare Administration and Education through the University of Phoenix and is Certified in Healthcare Compliance through Health Care Compliance Association (HCCA).