Maria Penate

Director of Risk and Compliance

Maria Penate joined Gracelight Community Health as the Director of Risk and Compliance in March 2024. With over fifteen years of experience working in the healthcare industry, Mrs. Penate is a skilled senior administrative professional with project, budget, HR, compliance & risk management experience. In addition, she is certified in healthcare compliance (CHC) from the Compliance Certification Board (CCB) and is a member of the distinguished Health Care Compliance Association (HCCA). She is a graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) where she earned a bachelor’s degree and helped found the Parenting Students at UCLA (PSUCLA) program.

Prior to joining Gracelight Community Health, Maria worked for healthcare organizations with a specific focus on the FQHC industry for the past ten years in the areas of safety, regulatory auditing, business expansion, compliance, quality and operations. Serving in FQHC settings allows her to be an ally and advocate for underserved and marginalized communities.