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Gary L. Yates To Retire as President and CEO

December 15, 2010

Gary L. Yates, President and Chief Executive Officer of The California Wellness Foundation has announced his intention to retire as of December 31, 2011. The announcement was made at the September 2010 meeting of the Foundation’s Board of Directors. Mr. Yates has served as President and CEO since July 1995. The Board acknowledged Mr. Yates’ service with great appreciation and thanked him for his strong commitment to the Foundation’s mission and the high quality of its programs and operations. The Board is working on a succession process and expects to announce a search plan early next year.

In addition to serving as a member of the Foundation’s Board of Directors, Mr. Yates is also assistant clinical professor of pediatrics at the University of Southern California School of Medicine and a licensed marriage and family therapist. Mr. Yates joined the Foundation staff in 1992 after more than 20 years of experience in education, public health and health care. His primary area of interest and expertise is adolescent health, about which he has written and spoken extensively. Immediately prior to his association with The California Wellness Foundation, he was associate director of the division of adolescent medicine at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles.

Mr. Yates received his undergraduate degree in government from American University in Washington, D.C., and his master’s degree in counseling psychology from the University of Northern Colorado. He served in the United States Army from 1968 to 1970.

Yates is actively involved in the leadership of numerous philanthropic, civic and community organizations and currently serves as a member of the board of Independent Sector. He previously served as treasurer of Hispanics in Philanthropy, vice chair of the boards of the Council on Foundations and Independent Sector, and chair of the boards of Grantmakers In Health, the Foundation Consortium and Southern California Grantmakers.

In recognition of his civic leadership and work in the field of health and human services, Mr. Yates has received numerous awards and official commendations. He and his wife, Ann, have been married for 36 years, are the proud parents of five sons and have three grandchildren.

The California Wellness Foundation (www.calwellness.org) is one of the largest health grantmaking organizations in California. The Foundation was established in 1992 as part of the conversion of Health Net from not for profit to for profit status. It is completely independent of Health Net and operates as a private independent foundation. The Foundation headquarters are located in Woodland Hills with a small branch office in San Francisco.

If you have any questions, please contact Magdalena Beltrán-del Olmo, Vice President of Communications (818.702.1981; bcardwell@tcwf.org).