Board of Directors
Officers
Lynn Ketch
Board President
Edith Arriaga-Flores
Board Vice President
John Engle, DDS
Secretary
Bio
John currently serves as our Board Secretary. John is originally from California but moved to Oregon for his residence training in 1972 and has been here ever since. Before retiring in 2016, John served as the Chairman of Pediatric Dentistry at OHSU.
“Somebody who knows me would say that I don’t go looking for things to do – any boards that I serve on, or work that I’ve done, I’ve just kind of fallen into. I first heard about Wallace while I was working at OHSU.The dean at that time was responsible for helping Wallace to set up their dental program. I had lunch with some members of the Portland City Club and one of the board members was also on the board for Wallace. We realized that we’d been doing very similar things with our organizations and she suggested that I come out and see what Wallace is all about.
Everyone here has a big heart and brings to the table a variety of perspectives. In my case, I have a lot of clinical experience, face-to-face patient experience, and financial experience. Being retired, and at a stage of my career where I’m not trying to advance my career, I can ask the tough questions. Being situated where I am in my career, if it doesn’t appear to me that things are going well or certain questions need to be asked, I will ask the hard questions to make sure that we are adhering to Wallace’s mission statement.”
John also holds positions on the board of directors for the Portland City Club and The Detroit Lake Foundation. In his spare time, John enjoys woodworking, playing golf, and traveling.
Members
Andrew Brown
Emanuel Barrera
Mark Hess
Bio
Mark is a retired internal medicine doctor. Originally from Ohio, Mark attended medical school at Case Western Reserve University and then went on to work as a hospice medical director. He was instrumental in starting and running a free clinic in Ohio, up until 2019, when he relocated to Oregon. In his free time Mark is a chair for his community’s wellness committee and also enjoys woodworking and bicycling.
“I worked as an internal medicine doctor, but my passion for the last 37 years has been hospice. I’ve worked as a hospice medical director and was involved in getting the hospice program started. I was first introduced to Wallace by Ginny Cornyn, who’s on the Governance Committee. Since joining the board, I’ve been awed by folks I’ve met both, staff members and others on the board. My passion for hospice care began when, in training and early practice, I saw that hospice is the one piece of our, albeit broken, healthcare system, that works the way that it’s supposed to. I’ve seen more joy and satisfaction from patients, and a sense of accomplishment from the patient care staff, than anywhere else. These are also things I’ve seen when working in a free clinic. Staff have a real sense of joy because people understand that they are meeting real human needs.”
