Ellen Wu has been the Executive Director of the California Pan-Ethnic Health Network (CPEHN) since 2001. CPEHN is a statewide health policy organization whose mission is to eliminate health disparities by advocating for public policies to improve the health of communities of color. During her tenure CPEHN has played a critical role in advancing policy requiring health plans and insurers to provide language services to their enrollees.

Ellen also helped establish Having Our Say, a coalition of over 40 community organizations working to ensure communities of color have a voice in health care reform, and the Healthy Places coalition, which advances public health involvement in land use planning. Prior to joining CPEHN, Ellen consulted with the Community Health Center Network, was a Program Officer at the Tides Foundation, and served as Director of Health Education and Cultural Linguistic Services for the Alameda Alliance for Health.

Ellen received her Masters in Public Health from UCLA and has worked with culturally diverse low-income and uninsured populations for over 15 years. She is an adjunct faculty member at San Francisco State University and serves on numerous boards and advisory committees including on the Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board as the Senate President pro Tem Steinberg’s appointee, the California Budget Project’s Board of Directors, and the City of Oakland’s Park and Recreation Commission. Additionally, Ellen has co-authored a number of studies on cultural competency and health care reform and is a frequent presenter on health disparities.