Salinas Valley Health Board selects a Latina with community experience to fill an unexpired seat.

The area that covers much of North Salinas of the Salinas Valley Health Care District, Zone 3, has a new representative on the SVH Board of Directors, Isaura Arreguin. Arreguin's appointment over two other applicants was approved by the board at a special meeting on Thursday, March 20.

She replaces Juan Cabrera, who served on the board since being elected by voters in 2018 and reelected in 2022. Cabrera resigned mid-term for personal reasons. Arreguin will have the position until December 2026. 

Arreguin says she applied for the vacant position out of a desire to serve as a role model for other Latinas, especially younger women.

"My goal is to lead by example, for my two daughters and the younger women who are coming behind me," she says, adding that by "serving with tenacity, being transparent [and] genuine and being committed to the community and yourself, everything is possible."

She says she hopes to bring greater awareness about Salinas Valley Health and its services to the residents of Zone 3, a heavily Latino area.

Arreguin is the development director for the Salinas Community Science Workshop, and previously was the development and stewardship manager for First Tee Monterey County. She worked for over 10 years in different positions at Hartnell College.

"Ms. Arreguin brings fresh perspective and a wealth of community experience to the role," an announcement from the board and President/CEO Allen Radner to the SVH staff states. "Her professional career has focused on community development, program development, grant writing and management, with a commitment to her Latina heritage and community engagement."

A board sub-committee made up of the chair of the board, Joel Hernandez Laguna, and Director Catherine Carson reviewed the applications and interviewed all three candidates before recommending Arreguin to the rest of the board.

The other two candidates were Eric Mora, a policy analyst for Monterey County Supervisor Wendy Root Askew, and Maria Castrejon Gomez, a program assistant for Meals on Wheels of Salinas Valley.

Arreguin will be sworn in at the next board meeting, 4pm, Thursday, March 27, in the Downing Resource Center, Rooms A, B and C, Salinas Valley Health Medical Center, 450 E. Romie Lane, Salinas. Instructions for how to watch the meeting virtually are available at salinasvalleyhealth.com/virtualboardmeeting.