Board Members

Denise Laws is the Continuum Administrator for Kaiser Permanente of Marin and Sonoma. Denise’s career spans over 33 years in hospital roles, mainly focused on nursing leadership. Denise is excited about joining the board for Ceres where she can share her values related to the impact of nutritional health on healthy communities. Denise graduated from USF with a doctoral degree in executive nursing leadership. Her studies focused on the operationalization of Caring Science Theory at the bedside; encouraging human to human interactions in the healthcare delivery setting that focus on authenticity, intentional connections, all while preserving human dignity. Denise’s interest in Ceres began a few years ago with the idea of studying whether nutritious meals provided by Ceres could reduce hospital readmission rates of CHF patients. This study began this year and we are excited to see what results we will obtain. Denise has lived in Sonoma County for the past 35 years. She has two grown sons. She enjoys playing competitive tennis, golf, and traveling to see the Giants each spring during training in Scottsdale, AZ.

Hello. My name is Sandy A. Valadez. I have been in dentistry since 1992.

In 1987 I came to California on winter break from my first year in the University of Dentistry in Mexico City. I guess I fell in love with the Bay Area ‘s natural beauty because thirty-three years later I’m still here. What happened? Where did the time go...? I’m not sure. I just know that I made this my home, and I enjoy every aspect of this unique beautiful corner of the world.

I’ve being in dentistry for more than half of my life and I have the advantage of understanding dentistry from different angles. I have taken courses at UCSF and UOP as well as the mandatory 25 CE units required by the dental board of California every year. I graduated from COM. One of my favorite specialties is OS, I find it challenging and love the satisfaction of seeing a patient out of pain. But nothing compares with my most favorite of all...helping our most vulnerable patients, serving the underserved, the elderly, the kiddos, the Latino community or simply the people in need.

I started working in a community clinic in Marin county thinking that my mission would be done after a year or so, I felt such great satisfaction by helping all these people in so much need; after almost ten years I’m still serving the underserved. I guess my mission is not done yet since I’m still working there.

Doing volunteer work became a need for me. Nothing gives me more satisfaction than volunteering and serving people in need. For me, volunteering is a must, otherwise I feel that my life is incomplete.

Whistle stop, Health Hub, Sparkle Foundation, Forrest Hills Christian preschool, Saint Isabella Catholic Church, Marin Community Clinics, Marin Summer Solstice, Marin County schools...etc. are some of the places I’ve proudly volunteered in the past.

I love to serve the community; I love my daughter. I love spending time with her and setting an example by showing her what helping others is all about. I believe that I can help the community in various ways. In addition to improving people’s health, I like to serve as a role model for those less fortunate.

I am a business strategist and natural-born problem solver who not only thinks out of the box, but may remove the box altogether to uncover creative solutions to complex challenges. My superpower is the ability to quickly synthesis disparate information to identify patterns and opportunities that others don't see. I passionately partner with customers to help achieve their highest aspirations and goals, quickly becoming a trusted advisor to overcome barriers and align stakeholders on a common - and powerful - path forward.

I currently lead a team within Salesforce Professional Services' Business Strategy practice. We advise our largest CXO-level customers to identify the strategies and key value levers to achieve their growth, optimization, experience and profitability objectives.

I initially joined the Experience Design Group at Salesforce in 2015 where I led a six-month Innovation project with one of our largest customers. I subsequently identified the need and founded a practice to measure the impact of Salesforce Professional Services across our design, implementation and transformation offerings to accelerate customers' digital transformation and success using Salesforce. I developed the vision, methodology, content and tools which led to a variety of CSG roles in business value, product/offer management and GTM sales support.

Prior to Salesforce, I was a Marketing, Sales & Service Strategy Consultant for 20 years, working with Fortune 1000 companies to innovate their branding, GTM strategies and customer experience initiatives. I've consulted across numerous verticals including technology, financial services, insurance, telecom, travel and entertainment, media, health and beauty and CPG. Companies I've worked with include Microsoft, Adobe, SAP, PayPal, Chase, American Express, United Airlines, Prodigy Internet and HBO. Early in my career, I worked for digital and direct agencies including Grey Direct (now G2), Ogilvy, and Bronner, Slosberg, Humphrey (now Digitas).

My key areas of expertise include strategic planning, business innovation and transformation, design thinking, market research, customer insights, user experience, lifecycle management, stakeholder alignment, direct and digital marketing and new product launches, as well as growth and measurement strategies to increase business and customer value.