Luan Wilfong, Indian Health Center of Santa Clara Valley
Honoree Luan Wilfong is a member of the Choctaw/Chickasaw tribe. She is an active volunteer board member for the Indian Health Center of Santa Clara Valley, Inc. (IHC). The organization's mission is to help ensure the survival of American Indian families and individuals by providing quality health care, by supporting the healing process, by encouraging, educating, and empowering its clients in seeking and maintaining wellness and enhancing their quality of life, and by facilitating the equity and accessibility of comprehensive health care for the American Indian community. Based in San Jose, IHC provides primary medical care, immunizations, community outreach, health education, mental health counseling, substance abuse treatment, violence prevention, dental services, HIV testing, prenatal care, cancer prevention screening, family education, and other social services.
As a member of their board, Wilfong has assisted IHC in achieving several critical successes such as purchasing the main building of the organization at 1333 Meridian Avenue in San Jose, earning a section 330 public health service act federal grant, and winning a highly competitive diabetes grant from the Indian Health Service. All of which has brought greater stability, staff, and programs to the clients and community served and enabling the IHC to nearly double the amount of people who receive IHC services.
In addition, Wilfong uses her 20 years of management, human resources, and training expertise and Economics and MBA training to provide Native American organizations with services in organizational health and wellness by facilitating and strengthening organizational capacity, leadership development & coaching, and program development through her professional services consulting firm, The Ibigeewatsi Center. She, along with her business partner Teresa Brockie, strongly believe that effective programs come from strong organizations and strong organizations come from well communities and dedicated people. Wilfong calls this the Circle of Strength and now dedicates her professional work towards strengthening and honoring this Circle.
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