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.

Tyrone Powell Jr., Chief Operations Officer

Tyrone Powell Jr. began his healthcare journey as a clinician serving the community as a respiratory care practitioner and vascular access specialist before expanding his service to administrative roles. Tyrone has supported acute care facilities, academic medicine, the ambulatory setting, and the corporate healthcare delivery sector in multiple directorship roles with over 20 years of healthcare experience. Most recently, Tyrone served as Chief Executive Officer of an inpatient rehabilitation hospital in the Phoenix metropolitan. Tyrone prides himself on continuous self-development to become the best asset for those he is blessed to serve. As a Grand Canyon University alumnus, Tyrone obtained his undergraduate degree in healthcare administration and master’s degree in healthcare information. He is researching burnout, organizational commitment, employee engagement, and turnover intentions in his Doctorate in Business, emphasizing global management. Tyrone enjoys spending time with his wife and children, reading, and doing outdoor activities in the community.

April Alvarez-Corona, MD, Chief Medical Officer

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.

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.