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ABOUT US

Nevada Primary Care Association (NVPCA) is the federally designated Primary Care Association for the State of Nevada. NVPCA is dedicated to assisting health centers and other community health providers with the implementation of solid business practices and community-responsive programs in an effort to improve service delivery effectiveness and efficiency. Our work is based on maximizing resources, developing a strong intersection between medical care and public health at the community level, and using sound business sense in developing the capacity to serve those who do not have access to mainstream health care.
 

We are a non-profit membership organization that was founded in 1995. We serve Section 330 funded and prospective Federally Qualified Health Centers, tribal health centers, other primary care clinics, and community health providers throughout the State of Nevada. These organizations are located in the Reno, Sparks, Carson City, and Las Vegas metropolitan centers, as well as the frontier and rural Nevada counties that make up 87 percent of the state's landmass. NVPCA supports collaboration and coordination among existing health centers and other community health providers to improve and expand access to comprehensive primary care services throughout the state.

 

Our goal is to provide our members with current and accurate information necessary to service Nevada’s population, including, underserved and low-income residents. The educational and technical assistance services we offer include facilitating information exchanges, outreach programs, support services, access to government resources, and speaker symposiums.

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Meet the team

View our financial report by email at Info@nvpca.org or look up on GuideStar.

MEET THE TEAM

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NANCY BOWEN
Chief Executive Officer

Nancy specializes in:    

  • Organization and Staff Development

  • Strategic Planning

  • Change Management

  • Community Development

  • Governance

Nancy Bowen has a Masters of Applied Industrial/Organizational Psychology. Ms. Bowen has an extensive background in nonprofit health care administration, finance, and federal grants.

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KAREN FORD MANZA
Director of Strategic Partnerships

Karen specializes in:    

  • Primary care integration

  • Reproductive and mental health advocacy and access

  • Resource identification and development

  • Program optimization, management, monitoring, and compliance

Karen Ford Manza has a Master’s in Public Administration and Policy specializing in not-for-profit and public financial management. Karen has extensive experience with community-based and community-driven health care, operations, strategy, and executive leadership.

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STEVE MESSINGER
Policy Director

Steve specializes in:    

  • Legislative Affairs

  • Geographic information systems (mapping and spatial analysis)

  • Information Technology

  • Research, Data, Policy, and Process Analysis

Steve Messinger is a graduate of the Master's program in Economics at the University of Nevada, Reno where he also received undergraduate degrees in Political Science and Economics. His focus is on maintaining funding for health centers and streamlining policy at the federal and state level. He is also the Chair of the Subcommittee on Health Center Financing for the National Association of Community Health Centers.

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KIMBERLY LAMBRECHT
Director of Care Transformation & Innovation

Kimberly specializes in:    

  • Clinical and Operational Support

  • Population Health Management

  • Quality Improvement 

Kimberly Lambrecht has a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. Kimberly has over 20 years of health care experience and 15 of those years has been working in or with Community Health Centers. Her experience as Regional Director of Operations and Associate Nursing Director of Specialty Clinics, in two large FQHCs,  has given her a strong clinical and operational background in working with Community Health Centers. 

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NANCY BARKLAGE
Director of Admin and Finance

Nancy specializes in:    

  • Board Support

  • Financial Reporting

  • Membership

As a co-founder of a natural household cleaning products company, Nancy brings a strong entrepreneurial spirt to her work, as well as operational, human resources, financial, and customer service experience. 

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LISA SCURRY
Executive Assistant

Lisa specializes in:    

  • Administrative Support

  • Office Management

  • Board Support

Lisa Scurry spent 30 years of her professional life in the public sector in first public education and lastly as director of a licensure board in Nevada.  Her background includes policy development and Board support; and has experience as a paralegal and project manager.

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BRANDI JOHNS
Technical Assistance & Education Manager

Brandi specializes in:    

  • Membership

  • Technical Assistance

  • Conference planning

  • Graphic design

  • SSHIX Call Center and enrollment questions

Brandi Johns has an Associates in Graphic Design. After graduation, she joined AmeriCorps NCCC where, for two years, she traveled across the country helping various non-profit organizations such as Habitat for Humanity and the Boys and Girls Club.

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REEMA NAIK
Senior Program Manager

Reema specializes in:    

  • Health Information Technology

  • Data and Process Analysis

  • Workforce Development

Reema Naik holds a Master of Public Health from the University of Nevada, Reno. In her current role, Reema delivers education, technical assistance, and training focused on quality improvement and workforce development strategies. She also serves as a coach for the Arizona Health Center Controlled Network, a collaborative of health centers working to expand access to care, improve quality outcomes, and drive cost efficiencies through integrated support services in management, finance, technology, and clinical operations. Reema is a Certified Lean Six Sigma Green Belt and a Project Management Professional (PMP), combining process improvement expertise with project leadership to drive sustainable change across health care organizations.

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CLARA UMBE-ORJI
Senior Program Manager

Clara specializes in:    

  • Health Education Planning and Implementation

  • Program Training and Management 

  • Assessment of Needs and Capacity

  • Evaluation and Research 

  • Adolescent Health 

Clara Umbe has a Master’s in Public Health from the University of Illinois, Springfield. Clara is a certified Health Education Specialist and a certified Family Planning Health Worker. Clara has experience with planning, implementing, managing, and evaluating evidence-based programs designed to meet the needs of the underserved population. She is an advocate for improved health resources, policies, procedures, and services that promote health. In her free time, Clara enjoys kickboxing and dancing.

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CHRISTINA GARZA
Program Manager

Christina specializes in:    

  • Program Monitoring

  • Health Education Research

  • Reproductive and Adolescent Health

  • Creating and Implementing Policies and Procedures

Christina Garza has a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies and a Bachelor of Science in Public Health from the University of Nevada, Reno. Christina has experience with producing and implementing training plans, workflow analysis, and composing policies and procedures. Some of her professional interests include reproductive health in minority populations, access to healthcare in rural communities, and medical ethics. Christina provides education, training, and technical assistance for Reproductive Health Programs and is a certified Family Planning Health Worker. In her free time, she enjoys spending time outdoors, listening to music, and painting rocks.  

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TAYLOR WILLIS
Program Coordinator

Taylor specializes in:    

  • Workforce Development

  • Health Professions Training Programs

  • Program Coordination

  • Health Workforce Retention

  • MA Certified

Taylor Willis, was born and raised in Henderson, Nevada and has an Associates in Business from CSN She has a deep connection to the community and a strong passion for health care advocacy. Her experience as a Medical Assistant and her dedication to community health brings an exciting level of commitment to her role.

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NATHAN TU
Accounting & Admin Assistant

Nathan specializes in:    

  • Financial and Accounting Support

  • Office/Administrative Development

  • Data Analysis

Nathan Tu was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. Before moving to Nevada, he earned his Bachelor of Arts in Statistics & Data Science at the University of California, Santa Barbara. During his free time, he likes to play video games and cook. 

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JAMES GODWIN
Communications Manager

James specializes in:    

  • Communications

  • Marketing/Social Media

  • Media Relations

Jim Godwin has a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Arts from San Francisco State University. He is passionate about the Community Health movement and is thankful to devote his time to this mission/purpose driven organization. Jim spends his free time with comic books and his son.

Membership

MEMBERSHIP

Overview

Primary Care Associations (PCAs) are state or regional nonprofit organizations that provide training and technical assistance (T/TA) to Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and other safety-net providers. This T/TA is based on statewide and regional needs to help health centers improve programmatic, clinical, and financial performance and operations. PCAs can help FQHCs and look-alikes plan for the growth of health centers in their state, as well as develop strategies to improve patient health outcomes, and recruit and retain staff. 

The Nevada Primary Care Association (NVPCA) is a non-profit membership trade association comprised of health centers and other safety net providers in Nevada.  Established in 1995, NVPCA’s mission is “to advocate for, broaden and strengthen the health center network.”  NVPCA fulfills its mission by providing technical assistance and training, advocacy and policy, and program management to our members. Our members provide comprehensive, one-stop primary, behavioral and oral health care.  Members focus on prevention and chronic disease management designed to ensure the effectiveness of medical care.

Support for NVPCA comes from its membership, federal and state funding awards and other grants and contracts.
 

  

Membership Benefits 

NVPCA offers its members opportunities to network and works cooperatively with other agencies and associations to develop strategies, policies, and programs that lead to the efficient and effective delivery of primary health care to the underserved.


The association provides technical assistance and training to its members in several areas, including advocacy/policy, workforce, quality and performance improvement, health center development and expansion, and marketing.
Nevada PCA also undertakes special projects with an emphasis on creating opportunities for growth and developing solutions to address its members’ challenges.

  • Advocacy/Policy: Grassroots advocacy network, State and federal policy and legislative efforts

  • Data Analysis and Mapping

  • Patient-Centered Medical Home Consultation

  • Quality/Performance Improvement: UDS and clinical content standardization and training, Meaningful use, FTCA and HRSA quality requirements, Oral and behavioral health, Pharmacy and 340B

  • Workforce: Workforce development

  • Emergency Preparedness

  • Marketing & Fundraising: Communications, PCA marketing, Health Center Marketing

  • Health Center Development & Expansion: Planning, Site and Services, New start support, Data Analysis and Mapping​

  • Educational and Technical Assistance: Advocacy, Quality and performance improvement, Marketing and fundraising, Health Center development and expansion, Recruitment/Workforce development

 

 

Become a Member

Organizations interested in becoming members of NVPCA should contact Nancy Barklage, Director of Administration, at barklagen@nvpca.org. An application and other requested documentation will be reviewed by the Chief Executive Officer of NVPCA. Memberships are organized into two levels: Organizational and Associate.

 

  • Organizational Members of NVPCA are Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC), which can be Community Health Centers, Tribal Health Centers, Migrant Health Centers, and Health Care for the Homeless Programs and Health Services for Residents of Public Housing Programs which serve Nevadans, among others and FQHC Look-Alikes. Organizational members are eligible for election to the Board of Directors and selection for membership on board committees. This is a voting membership.

 

  • Associate Members of NVPCA are providers of primary health care who do not meet the above criteria to become organizational members; or other organizations that demonstrate a commitment to the mission of NVPCA through programs or activities that support the provision of comprehensive primary health care services to underserved populations regardless of the patient’s ability to pay (e.g., on a sliding fee scale). Associate members are eligible for election to the Board of Directors and selection for membership on board committees. This is a voting membership.

 

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© 2026 Nevada Primary Care Association.

All Rights Reserved.

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