LEADERSHIP

Julia tsien, lmsw, mph - chief executive officer

Ms. Tsien assumed the role of CEO in November 2017 and has been at Betances for over 7 years, previously serving as the health center’s Director of Program Development and Planning.  Ms. Tsien is a graduate of Columbia University and a Licensed Master Social Worker with dual masters in social work and public health.  She has more than 38 years of professional experience in strategic planning and execution, business and practice administration, grants development, administration and management, and fiscal management.  Ms. Tsien also serves on the Board of Directors for the New York State primary care association, CHCANYS.  A native New Yorker, Ms. Tsien has worked in major teaching hospitals and the ambulatory healthcare environment; maintaining a network of external partnerships while cultivating relationships with community based organizations and other health centers.  Having grown up in the Lower East Side, Ms. Tsien remains strongly tied to the Asian community.  She has been employed in Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC) for over 12 years and brings a strong understanding of the unique programmatic aspects of an FQHC coupled with first-hand knowledge of the challenges facing ethnic, minority patients in underserved and uninsured communities.

maria cellario, m.d. - medical director

Dr. Cellario is an internist and pediatrician with a medical degree from Ross University School of Medicine, in Dominica, W.I.  Born in Argentina and fluent in the Spanish language, Dr. Cellario immigrated to the US with her family to escape a repressive dictatorship. Dr. Cellario did her internal medicine and pediatrics internship and residency training at Bridgeport Hospital, an affiliate of Yale University. She is board certified in pediatrics initially working in that capacity here at BHC. Her relationship with her patient’s family members lead Dr. Cellario to expand her practice to adults. Dr. Cellario now also has a large adult patient panel. In her role as Director of Pediatrics at Betances, Dr. Cellario served as Associate Medical Director before assuming the duties of Medical Director. She is one of the most senior and respected providers, greatly admired for her patient engagement skills, having devoted more than 25 years of service to Betances Health Center. In the role of Associate Medical Director at Betances, Dr. Cellario supervised mid-level medical personnel and directed special projects, such as a model physician home-visiting program, a child obesity treatment initiative.  Dr. Cellario and her team achieved major milestones having attained recognition by NCQA (National Committee on Quality Assurance) as a 2014 Level 3 Patient Centered Medical Home and was recognized by HRSA (Health Resources and Services Administration) as a health center quality leader since its inception in 2015.

nadine juste, LMSW, MPA - Director of Operations

Nadine juste joined Betances Health Center as the Director of Operations in April 2024. Ms. Juste is a seasoned executive with experience in health center operations, program development, implementation, and management. She brings over 25+ years of experience in health care service delivery to marginalized, underserved, and immigrant communities affected by HIV/AIDS, mental health, substance use and homelessness. She holds extensive experience working with the LGBTQ+ community, specifically with the young MSM community. Ms. Juste has proven accomplishments in health care compliance and capital development projects noted in her collaborative projects with HRSA and SAMSHA.. Ms. Juste serves on the Board of Directors of Elmcor Youth & Adult Activities for the past 4 years. Ms. Juste is fluent in Haitian Creole and is committed to the advocating for the rights of the Haitian community. Her mission in life is to empower others and build others to grow to their truest potential in life.

Orlando Perez - Director of Management Informational Systems

Orlando Perez has been employed at Betances Health Center for the past 21 years. Before assuming his current position as Director of MIS, which he has held since 2003, Mr. Perez served as the Center’s Associate Director of MIS/Billing Coordinator. Mr. Perez is a product of the Lower East Side community, and before joining Betances, studied at Bronx Community College. He has various certifications in the IT field. He is fluent in the Spanish language and has dedicated his entire career at Betances.  His understanding of the FQHC model has been enhanced by his extensive experience in working with culturally and linguistically diverse populations. His demonstrated technical and management skills have allowed Betances to enhance its information technology and clinical informatics capacity to better meet the health care needs of the Lower East Side. 

Deochand Narain - Chief Financial Officer

Deochand Narain joined Betances Health Center in January 2019 and became the Chief Financial Officer in June. He has been a CFO since 2001 at various community based not for profit organizations, including Federally Qualified Health Centers. Mr. Narain holds an MBA in Finance from Baruch College. Mr. Narain brings with him extensive experience in the not for profit space having worked in community based organizations for more than 25 years. He also brings a thorough understanding of the financial operations and compliance requirements of Federally Qualified Health Centers having worked in two such health centers before joining Betances.

Pamela smith - Human Resource Administrator

Pamela Smith serves as Human Resources Administrator for Betances Health Center. She is responsible for directing all the organization’s people functions and overseeing planning, vision and direction for the agency’s human capital strategy. Ms. Smith brings 20 plus years of experience in human resources management and leadership. Prior to joining Betances, Ms. Smith served as the head of human resources for a large federally qualified health center where she revamped the HR department and led a change in corporate culture under the founding CEO. Ms. Smith also brings a diverse experience in corporate leadership from entertainment and finance industries. Ms. Smith holds a Master of Science in information management from Pratt Institute. She is a Certified Employee Benefits Specialist (CEBS) from Wharton School of Business.