Leadership
Meet the Emanate Health administration.
Rob Curry
President & CEO
Rob has been the President & CEO of Emanate Health since November 2008. He joined Emanate Health after serving in the same capacity for five years at O'Connor Hospital in San Jose, Calif. Before coming to O'Connor Hospital, Rob was CEO of Thunderbird Medical Center, a 640-bed Banner Health System hospital in Phoenix, Ariz., for 13 years. During four of those years, he also served as CEO of Maryvale Samaritan Medical Center, a 340-bed community hospital that was an affiliate within the Banner Health System. Rob also has held executive positions with hospital systems in Youngstown, Ohio, and Pittsburgh, Pa.
Rob was recognized by the Los Angeles Business Journal as one of the 500 most influential community and business leaders reshaping Los Angeles County in 2019. He serves as the Board Chair for Private Essential Access Community Hospitals (PEACH) - a network of private, core safety net hospitals in California that care for a disproportionate share of low-income, medically vulnerable patients. Rob is currently a Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives. He serves on the board of directors for the California Hospital Association and also serves as a member of its executive committee. Rob previously served as a member on the board of the American Hospital Association, Region 9.
He previously served as a member of the Southern California Hospital Council, and while in San Jose, he served as a board member and chair of the Northern California Hospital Association. Additionally, while in Phoenix, Rob served on the board of the Arizona Hospital Association. Throughout his career, Rob has been involved in numerous service organizations and community boards including: the American Heart Association, United Way, YMCA and Rotary International. Rob holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and a Master's in Public Health Administration, both from the University of Pittsburgh.
Ryan Burke, Esq.
Chief Human Resources Officer
Ryan Burke is the Chief Human Resources Officer. He joined Emanate Health in 2011, and has previously served as Emanate Health's Corporate Director for Employee Relations. Prior to joining Emanate Health, he earned a Juris Doctor from Loyola Law School and represented a diverse group of employers, including members of the healthcare, hospitality and construction industries, in labor and employment matters. He also worked as in-house counsel for Travelers Insurance. Ryan is also an active member of the Military and Hospitaller Order of St. Lazarus of Jerusalem, which advocates for organ donation in the United States and the treatment of Hansen's disease worldwide.
Melissa Howard, RN, MSN
Chief Nurse and Clinical Executive, ICH/FPH
Melissa is the Chief Nurse and Clinical Executive for Emanate Health Inter-Community Hospital and Emanate Health Foothill Presbyterian Hospital. She started her career at Emanate Health in 2000 as a new graduate nurse, serving as the Director of Performance Improvement and Director of Medical Surgical Services before progressing to the Chief Nurse Executive Role in 2012.
Melissa has been on the board for the Sigma Theta Tau-Iota Sigma chapter and is currently a member of the Association of California Nurse Leader's Philanthropy Committee. In her years of leadership roles with Emanate Health she has worked to standardize processes throughout the system, improve the patient experience as well as quality of care patients receive. She has worked with the FPH nursing leadership team to implement Nursing Shared Governance as well as improve nursing services through the reincarnation of the Clinical Ladder program, increased professional certifications among the nursing staff and promote advanced degree completion. Melissa received her MSN from Azusa Pacific University.
Gurjeet Kalkat, MD
Chief Medical Officer
Dr. Gurjeet Kalkat is the Chief Medical Officer for Emanate Health. Before he took on this role he was the Medical Director of Foothill Presbyterian Hospital. He also served as the Chief of Staff at Foothill Presbyterian Hospital in 1997. Dr. Kalkat has been with this organization since 1992.
He received his Medical degree from the University of Delhi and trained in pulmonary and critical care at University of Southern California. He is board certified in internal medicine, pulmonary medicine, critical care medicine, palliative care and hospice medicine.
His focus is to provide integrated, quality and efficient medical care to our community.
Diane L. Martin, MBA
Chief Marketing and Communications Officer
Diane is the Chief Marketing and Communications Officer. Prior to joining Emanate Health, Diane served as the Corporate Director of Marketing Communications and Digital Strategy for Prime Healthcare where she was charged with unifying the health system's brand across the nation and improving its reputation through storytelling, press releases and the utilization of influencers. She is also a former strategic marketing and communications consultant with Stanford Health Care and UCLA Health Affiliates, leading successful marketing and advertising initiatives for a wide range of service lines. Diane received her MBA from the University of Redlands and her bachelor's in Public Relations from Barry University in Florida. She also studied LEAN methodologies at Reitaku University in Japan and The Chinese University of Hong Kong in China as part of a global business study abroad program.
Charles "Chip" G. Riddle III
Chief Support Services Officer Emanate Health
Charles "Chip" Graham Riddle III started his career with Emanate Health as Vice President of Support Services in 2017 and was promoted to Chief Support Services Officer in 2018. Chip has 35 years of experience in healthcare, having held a number of director and administrative positions in Michigan and California hospitals with the most recent being Director of Facilities and Construction at Keck School of Medicine of USC from 2010-2016. Chip has served on both the Michigan and California Society for Healthcare Engineering Boards to further the mission of healthcare engineering. He holds a Bachelor's of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Western Michigan University and has been awarded Knight Grand Cross of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre.
Roger Sharma, CPA, MBA
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Roger Sharma is the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for Emanate Health. He has more than 20 years experience in health care finance and leadership. Roger most recently served as Senior Vice President of Financial Operations for City of Hope. Other previous appointments include positions at St. Mary Medical Center in Long Beach, Calif.; California Hospital Medical Center in Los Angeles; and Glendale Memorial Hospital and Health Center. Roger earned his Presidential and Key Executive Master of Business Administration degree from Pepperdine University and is a Certified Public Accountant. He also completed an executive education program in health care delivery at Harvard Business School and is an inaugural fellow of Coro's Health Leadership program and a fellow of Leadership Southern California.
Michelle Stoddard, MS
CEO, Emanate Health Foundation
Michelle Stoddard is Chief Executive Officer of Emanate Health Foundation. At Emanate Health, Michelle has been instrumental in President and CEO Rob Curry’s strategic efforts to elevate new fundraising levels, create community partnerships, and enhance the patient experience through philanthropic endeavors.
Prior to joining Emanate Health, Michelle held senior leadership positions in both the public and private sectors. At California Polytechnic University, Pomona, Michelle took the lead role in securing the largest cash gift in the 23-campus California Student University system at the time of her tenure. While there, her leadership of the fundraising team resulted in the university surpassing their $150 million comprehensive campaign goal. Prior to Cal Poly Pomona, Michelle worked in health care at Casa Colina Hospital Foundation and Glendale Memorial Hospital and Health Center where she provided transitional leadership supporting many projects including a capital campaign to build a new heart and emergency center.
With broad experience in healthcare philanthropy and civic participation in community groups such as, Community Senior Services, Volunteer Center of the Greater Pomona Valley, Casa Colina Auxiliary, Clean-Up L.A. project, Pomona Valley Red Cross, Glendora Kiwaniannes, Queen of the Valley Hospital Auxiliary, Inter-Community Hospital Auxiliary, Foothill Presbyterian Auxiliary and Covina Rotary, Michelle is well-placed to lead philanthropic strategies in the Emanate Health health care system with its three community hospitals, and a Hospice and Home Health Care Services.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in human resource management from Cal Poly Pomona and a master’s degree in leadership and management from the University of La Verne. She achieved designation as a Certified Specialist in Planned Giving in 2007 and is a member of the Southern California Association of Hospital Development, and the Los Angeles Charitable Gift Planners.
Kevin Streeter, MBA, RN, CNOR
Chief Nurse and Clinical Executive, QVH
Kevin is the Chief Nurse and Clinical Executive for Emanate Health Queen of the Valley Hospital. He has more than 25 years of experience in health care. Before assuming the role of CNE at Queen of the Valley, he served as the Corporate Director of Perioperative Services with Emanate Health for three years.
Kevin is a decorated veteran of the U.S. Navy where he served his country as a Fleet Marine Force combat hospital corpsman. It was in the Navy where Kevin received specialized training in surgery. He became a registered nurse after his discharge from the service and worked in the operating room for many years.
His leadership experience also includes serving as Director of Perioperative Services at Good Samaritan Hospital Los Angeles, Saint John's Health Center Santa Monica, and Verdugo Hills Hospital. In addition to his nursing education, Kevin is a dual degree holder from Pepperdine University where he earned his Bachelor of Science in Management and his MBA with an emphasis in leadership and managing organizational change.