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Congressional Daily Record
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May 12, 2026
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Download official Extensions PDFReturn to issue contextHONORING THE RETIREMENT OF MS. JANE GARCIA, CEO OF LA CLINICA DE LA
RAZA, INC.
HON. LATEEFAH SIMON
of california
in the house of representatives
Tuesday, May 12, 2026
Ms. SIMON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the retirement of a towering figure in the Bay Area, the Chief Executive Officer of La Clinica de La Raza, Inc., Ms. Jane Garcia.
Ms. Garcia was born in El Paso, Texas in 1953. Like far too many Americans, Ms. Garcia grew up uninsured, only visiting doctors in times of great desperation and sickness. Ms. Garcia's challenging experience inspired her to pursue an education in public health.
In 1975, Ms. Garcia moved to the East Bay. In 1977, she began her Master of Public Health at the University of California, Berkeley. During her studies, Ms. Garcia interned for a local healthcare clinic based in East Oakland. Called La Clinica de La Raza, the clinic offered comprehensive free medical services to a largely Latino population that was underserved by the healthcare system.
In 1982, Ms. Garcia would rise to the role of CEO of La Clinica, which was then a small, community-based project with a $2 million budget. During her nearly 45-year tenure, La Clinica grew into an expansive community healthcare system with an annual budget exceeding $175 million, a designation as a Federally Qualified Health Center, and a staff of more than 1,200 committed caregivers. La Clinica expanded its care options to include a range of culturally appropriate and accessible primary and preventative care services. La Clinica now serves over 82,000 patients a year across 35 sites in Alameda, Contra Costa, and Solano Counties. More than 386,000 annual patient visits are made to La Clinica sites around the Bay Area. Ms. Garcia's leadership has ensured that care is not only accessible, but culturally relevant and meets patients where they are, with dignity and respect.
In addition to her work with La Clinica, Ms. Garcia has been widely recognized as an authority on issues of health and health equity. Ms. Garcia's fierce advocacy was instrumental in ensuring continued state funding for prenatal care for immigrant women. Ms. Garcia is a founding member and served as Chair of the California Primary Care Association, representing community health centers across the state of California. She has also served as Chair of the California Endowment, Alameda Alliance for Health, Community Health Center Network, Community Clinic Consortium, and continues to serve on the Board of Directors of the California Primary Care Association and Aliados Health. Ms. Garcia has received an array of honors for her decades-long commitment to community health and service. She has been awarded the Common Cause Award for Public Service Achievement, the National Association of Community Health Centers' Betsey K. Cooke Advocacy MVP Award, induction into both the Alameda and Contra Costa County Women's Hall of Fame, recognition as a Most Admired CEO and one of the Most Influential Women in Business by the San Francisco Business Times, designation as UC Berkeley School of Public Health Alumna of the Year in 2019 and one of the school's 75 Most Influential Alumni, and received the 2025 Samuel Merritt University Health Impact Award. In 2025, Ms. Garcia was selected by Assemblymember Buffy Wicks as Woman of the Year for California Assembly District 15. In 2026, she was selected by Assemblymember Mia Bonta as Woman of the Year for California Assembly District 18.
Throughout her many decades of work in the Bay Area, Ms. Garcia has proven time and time again to be a committed and indefatigable leader and advocate in the field of community healthcare. Her visionary leadership has resulted in transformational change for thousands of California's most vulnerable and underserved residents. I sincerely thank Ms. Garcia for her tireless work and wish her the very best in her retirement.