The Team Leading Global Change
World Telehealth Initiative’s board of directors and management team believe that telehealth has the potential to reform and transform global healthcare. We are dedicated to addressing the underserved by expanding access to care, increasing the quality of care and improving patient outcomes.
Board of Directors
Dedicated experts with a proven record of success.
Yulun Wang
Chairman, Board of Directors
Chairman, Founder & Chief Innovation Officer, InTouch Health, Inc.
Dr. Wang founded InTouch Health in 2002, and served as Chairman & CEO until 2016, when he assumed the position of Chairman and Chief Innovation Officer. InTouch Health is a pioneering and market leading telehealth company that enables patients to receive clinical care from specialists at a distance. InTouch has received numerous awards including Deloitte’s Technology Fast 500 Award and Inc Magazine’s Inc 500 award as one of the fastest growing companies in America. Previous to InTouch, Dr. Wang founded Computer Motion in 1990, the company which pioneered surgical robotics. He was the principal architect and inventor of the voice-controlled robotic arm called AESOP, the first FDA-cleared surgical robot, as well as the ZEUS robotic surgical system, which performed the world’s first transatlantic surgery.
Yulun Wang, Chairman
Susan Hackwood
Susan Hackwood is Executive Director of the California Council on Science and Technology (CCST), and Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of California, Riverside. CCST is a not-for-profit corporation comprised of 200 plus science and technology leaders of the highest distinction.
Andrew MacCalla
Andrew MacCalla is the Director of International Programs & Emergency Preparedness and Response at Direct Relief, the largest privately funded non-profit aid organization in California and the 7th largest in the country. Direct Relief works to provide essential medical resources to people around the world affected by poverty and humanitarian crises in over 80 countries and all 50 US States.
Jan Campbell
Jan Campbell is the Executive Director for Domestic Violence Solutions for Santa Barbara County. She has more than 30 years of experience in leadership and community engagement, with a background in fundraising, grant writing, marketing, and communications. She most recently served as the Chief Philanthropic Officer at the Santa Barbara Foundation.
Robert L. Skinner
Robert L. Skinner served as the Chief Innovation Officer and General Counsel for Montecito Bank & Trust, the oldest locally owned and operated community bank in Santa Barbara County, with assets in excess of $1 Billion. Mr. Skinner is currently a member of the Bank’s Board of Directors and serves as the Chair of its Trust Committee.
Ron Werft
Ron Werft is President and Chief Executive Officer of Cottage Health, a not-for-profit multi-hospital system providing acute inpatient, outpatient, and emergency care. With hospitals in Santa Barbara, Goleta and Santa Ynez Valley, Cottage Health offers a broad scope of clinical services including those of the Cottage Rehabilitation Hospital and Cottage Children’s Medical Center.
Management Team
Sharon Allen
Executive Director
Sharon Allen is the Executive Director for World Telehealth Initiative. She commits her passion and enthusiasm to advance the vision of bringing medical expertise to underserved communities throughout the world. Her development of an innovative philanthropic global telehealth model currently benefits several clinics and hospitals in resource-poor settings. She is requested as a frequent speaker on global health at conferences and events. Sharon managed a successful distribution corporation for 25 years, first as Human Resources and Accounting Manager then as CEO, but feels the transition to the nonprofit sector has revealed her true calling. She states, “I can’t imagine a more fulfilling career than one that improves global healthcare!”
Prior experiences include various philanthropic board engagements and extensive international work and travel. She earned her Teaching Credential as well as a BS in Nutrition with an English minor from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.
Although leisure time is limited with a husband and four children, Sharon enjoys adding to her list of 41 countries explored, and on the weekends biking or hiking in the local mountains or along the coast.
Sharon Allen, Executive Director