Medical & Administrative Staff

Board of Trustees

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  Dennis Knox

  Dennis Knox joined Mid-Columbia Medical Center in May 2017 and is a 42-year healthcare executive. He had served as the CEO and co-founder of Urgent Point, a national urgent care company, and previously was the CEO of Antelope Valley Hospital in Lancaster, California. His experience in healthcare includes over 32 years at the CEO level and has spanned for-profit and not-for-profit healthcare companies, including operating multi-hospital sites, academic medical centers and safety net hospitals. His career has also included creating a post-acute care company (Memorial Hermann Continuing Care Corporation) as well as pre-hospital care (Urgent Point).

  During his career, Mr. Knox has established a reputation for successfully creating organizational cultures of performance, accountability and positive attitude throughout the hospital community as well as improved, sustainable bottom-line results in highly competitive environments. He also has a proven track record of establishing cultures of delivering high-quality and safety while leading financial and regulatory turnarounds.

  Mr. Knox is a fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives and holds both a Master of Healthcare Administration and a Bachelor of Arts in management science from Duke University, which he attended on a football scholarship and was a three-sport letterman.

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  Dr. Paul Cardosi, MD

  Dr. Cardosi was born and raised on the East coast, attending medical school at Dartmouth. He moved to Oregon to do his residency as the Chief Resident at OHSU’s Internal Medicine program. Paul has a desire to contribute to the effort to deliver quality and comprehensive health care to the Mid-Columbia region; making sure that this care is not only optimally available but is also of the highest quality. Paul and his wife Dr. Miriam McDonell keep very busy with their three children and enjoy the great outdoors. Paul has been a member of the MCMC Board since 2007.

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  Janet Hamada

  Janet Hamada was born and raised in Chicago, but spent her childhood summers visiting her grandparents in the Gorge. She has a Bachelor’s degree in American Studies from Wesleyan University and her Master of Social Work from the University of Washington. Since 2007, Janet has been the Executive Director of The Next Door, Inc., the largest human services’ organization in the Gorge, which serves thousands of people annually in a seven county region.

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  Bill Ketchum

  Raised in The Dalles, graduated from Wahtonka High School and Oregon State University. Moved back to The Dalles permanently in 2005. Bill is currently the Operations Manager for Crestline Construction, a local heavy civil construction company. With over 25 years of construction experience in both heavy civil and vertical construction, specializing in the management of fast track, complex construction with limited resources. Bill’s involvement in both construction and managing large complex projects/business with resource constraints will bring significant knowledge to his board position. Bill and his wife Jodi, an elementary educator for North Wasco County School District 21, have 4 children. One is at Oregon State University, one is on exchange in France, the remaining two at home, are attending The Dalles High School and The Dalles Middle School. Bill has been a member of the MCMC Board since 2020.

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  Suzanne Knapp

  A resident of Maupin, Knapp recently served as Maupin City Councilor for two terms and is currently the chair of the board of directors for the White River Health District and Deschutes Rim Clinic Foundation where she is overseeing the capital campaign for and construction of a new clinic. She previously served on the board for the Mid-Columbia Economic Development District representing Wasco County Cities.

  A natural-resources professional, Knapp has worked most of her career for the State of Oregon having served as a research project leader, Watershed District Manager, and a Natural Resource Policy Advisory in the Kulongoski Administration. She was the lead representative for Oregon in the Klamath River Restoration Agreement and co-lead in the state’s salmon recovery efforts. Knapp earned a master’s degree from Eastern Washington University and bachelor’s degrees from Boise State University and The College of Idaho.

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  Michele Spatz

  Michele is Community Engagement Coordinator for the National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NNLM) “All of Us” initiative. NNLM is the community outreach arm of the National Institutes of Health’s National Library of Medicine. Michele serves in the NNLM Pacific Northwest office located on the University of Washington campus, Seattle, and works remotely from her home in White Salmon. Prior to joining NNLM, Michele led an interdisciplinary approach to health literacy at Pacific University; consulted for Planetree, the international healthcare organization advocating patient-centered care of which MCMC is a member; and was founding director of MCMC’s Planetree Health Resource Center, a consumer health library, which she led for almost 20 years. Michele is the author of national publications on consumer health information, including Answering Consumer Health Questions: The Medical Library Association Guide for Reference Librarians and The Medical Library Association Guide to Providing Consumer and Patient Health Information. Michele and husband Dan have two daughters, Melissa (husband Eric) and Katie (fiancé Craig), both graduates of The Dalles High School.

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  Dr. Frank Toda

  Dr. Frank Toda was born and raised in The Dalles, Oregon. He earned his Bachelor and Master of Business Administration from the University of Portland. Dr. Toda earned both his Master of Science in Systems Management and PhD in Education from the University of Southern California. He has excelled at a wide range of executive administrative positions including Air Force Colonel and Chief Operating Officer in Defense Contract Management. Dr. Toda recently retired from his position as President of Columbia Gorge Community College. Dr. Toda has also been a member of the Mid-Columbia Health Foundation Board since 2003.

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  Robb Van Cleave

  Robb Van Cleave has served in various roles in the local community such as Mayor, City Councilor, Port Commissioner and President of The Dalles Area Chamber of Commerce.

  In addition, Robb has extensive experience as a not-for-profit board leader at the state, national and international levels. His experience includes serving two terms as a gubernatorial appointment to the SAIF Corporation Board of Directors; Wounded Warrior Project national Board of Directors and the Society for Human Resource Management international Board of Directors.

  He has held a wide variety of executive positions with Wasco County, Columbia Gorge Community College, Oregon’s Local Government Personnel Institute and the Association of Oregon Counties. Robb is currently employed by Klickitat County Washington.

  Robb graduated from Oregon State University, where he earned his Bachelor of Science degree.

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  Victor Mondragon

  Victor Mondragon was born and raised in The Dalles and grew up working with his parents in the local seasonal cherry harvests. After receiving his bachelor's degree from Oregon State University in 2014, Mondragon returned to the Gorge with the goal of giving back to the same community that helped raise him. He brings to the MCMC Board a background in social services with expertise in serving sexual and domestic violence survivors in rural communities. Mondragon currently works at the Hood River County Public Health Department as an outreach and enrollment specialist for the Oregon Health Plan. He is also a volunteer for the Hood River County Migrant and Seasonal Workers Task Force COVID-19 response team.

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  Nolan Young

  Selected to the MCMC board is Nolan K. Young, a resident of Oregon for 38 years and of The Dalles for the past 24 years. He brings to the board four decades of experience in public administration having worked for five cities during his career: Milton-Freewater, Oregon; Clinton, Utah; Reedsport, Oregon; The Dalles, and he recently retired as the City Manager of Fairview, Oregon.

  Young is currently volunteering as a Senior Advisor in Eastern Oregon for the International City Managers Association. He has a Master of Public Administration degree from Brigham Young University. Young and his wife, Geo, have three children who all graduate from The Dalles High School.

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