Judge Calvin Johnson, Esq is a retired Judge, a board member since 2014, and now is Chair as of August 2020. His career has included innovative work with “drug court” for teens to avoid incarceration. He also served as Board Chair for Metropolitan Human Services and directed behavioral health resources after Hurricane Katrina.

Lloyd Smith has been on the Board for 9 years and has been an important observer of local health issues and community politics.

Dr. Charles Sanders is the retired Chair of Medicine at LSU and specialist in Infectious Disease. He has been active in supporting a variety of community based medical initiatives for underserved patients.

Pastor Torin Sanders is Pastor of the neighborhood church near our largest clinic. He has been a community leader in the religious community and has served as the president of the Orleans Parish School Board and President of the Irish Channel Consortium.

Lynette Brice works as finance manager for a local school. She has been a leader in the community with work through her sorority especially in breast cancer early detection. She serves as Secretary/ Treasurer of the Board.

Carol Salassi is a banker who has been involved in several community outreach groups including career promotion skills. Also she has worked to promote physical fitness through golfing among young people in First Tee.

Alvin Edinburgh is the founder of Trinity Education and Enrichment Program. TEEP has won a number of awards over 50 years for educational enrichment for students of color. Children in his program are encouraged to develop social as well as academic skills. Cultural and spiritual values are central to the program.

Ron Chisom is the founder of the People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond. His work has been local, national and international in community organizing and undoing racism training. He was responsible for a landmark US Supreme Court decision in 1991 arguing that the state’s justice election procedure weakened the minority’s voting power, allegedly violating section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. He won the decision 6-3.

Tess Lassai has been with St. Thomas since its founding in 1987. She utilizes all services provided by the clinic including the pharmacy. She has a real devotion to the clinic. She has 2 children and has worked with first responders. She has a real sense of what this community was in the beginning and how it has evolved.

Dr. William Davis is a Rheumatologist at one of our local large hospital systems, who brings an important specialty to our clinic services. In our region, it is very difficult to find a rheumatologist who will see Medicaid patients and extremely difficult to find someone available to the uninsured. Dr. Davis has been involved in supporting the clinic since its inception. He understands the mission of the clinic and our efforts to reduce disparities in healthcare.