Susan Mandel, PhD

President and CEO

Dr. Susan Mandel has held the position of President/CEO of Pacific Clinics since 1980. Through her vision and leadership, Dr. Mandel has expanded agency revenue from $800,000 to a current operating budget of nearly $93 million. She is responsible for overall fiscal and program management and the direction of all corporate and divisional executives at Pacific Clinics.

Prior to joining the Clinics, Dr. Mandel held numerous management positions including Director of Mental Health Services of Alameda County. She was a founding member and served for several years on the board of the California Council of Community Mental Health Agencies, and was a founding member of ACMHA/ACHSA in Los Angeles County.

Snce 1994, Dr. Mandel has been as a member of the California Mental Health Planning Council, serving a term as its Chair in 2000 and leading the Human Resources Committee of the CMHPC since 1999. Currently, she also serves on the Los Angeles Basin Clinical and Translational Science Institute Internal Oversight Board (LABCTSI IOB).

James J. Balla, MBA

Executive Vice President and COO

Jim Balla, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, brings more than 25 years of combined human services and healthcare management experience to the executive team at Pacific Clinics. He joined Portals in 1998 as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. In 2001, Mr. Balla succeeded longtime Portals leader Marv Weinstein as President/CEO, a position he held until assuming his current role with Pacific Clinics when the agency merged with Portals in 2007.

Mr. Balla's expertise includes finance, operations and strategic planning, along with organizational and business development. He has held key executive, senior management level and professional consulting positions with a number of Los Angeles-based behavioral healthcare organizations, human services nonprofit agencies, and private medical groups.

He earned a BS degree in Management as well as an MBA from Pepperdine University, and is affiliated with Pepperdine's Graduate School of Business and Management. He served honorably in the U.S. Marine Corps, where he received a special commendation award for meritorious service from the Secretary of the Navy.

Mr. Balla currently serves on the board of trustees for the Unemployment Services Trust (UST) and is Chair of the Investment Committee and on the board of directors for the Association of Community Human Service Agencies (ACHSA). He is a former board member of the California Council of Community Mental Health Agencies (CCCMHA). Recently, he provided testimony on the importance of health information technology before the U.S. House of Representatives at its Mental Health Caucus hearing.

Other Clinics Leadership

Susan Shearer

Senior Vice President

Joseph Wong

Chief Financial Officer

Ara Artinian

Vice President of Operations

Tiffany Tsuchiyama

Vice President of Human Resources

Ann-Marie Stephenson

Vice President / Chief Clinical Officer

Luis Garcia

Vice President of Latino Program Development