[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 64 (Thursday, April 30, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E630]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           HONORING MARK DIEL

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MIKE THOMPSON

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 30, 2015

  Mr. THOMPSON of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize 
Mark Diel as he departs the Children's Health Initiative in Napa 
County. As the founding Executive Director of this vital organization, 
Mr. Diel shepherded its growth and greatly increased access to 
healthcare among the less fortunate in our community.
  During his time as the head of the initiative, Mr. Diel enrolled 
16,000 children and their families in Napa in comprehensive affordable 
health insurance and put into place systems which ensured that over 
ninety-nine percent of its clients received all the healthcare services 
they needed. Eighty-seven percent of the Initiative's clients also 
retain their coverage each year, a rate that is far higher than the 
state average.
  Mr. Diel's dedication to ensuring children and low-income communities 
have the quality healthcare has been a lifelong passion. In addition to 
heading the Children's Health Initiative, he has served as a WIC 
manager in Yolo County and as Director at QueensCare. While at 
QueensCare, he built relationships with inner-city schools and families 
that led to valuable mobile medical, dental, and optometric clinics 
throughout their geographic region, serving more than 60,000 Los 
Angeles children and factory workers annually. He also founded 
Promotores Comunitarios, a leadership training program that fosters 
leadership through training and deploying of community health 
promoters.
  Mark was born and lives in Davis, CA, with his wife, Tara, and their 
two children. Throughout his career, Mark has always been a bold 
advocate for vulnerable groups, a professional risk taker, and an 
outstanding community leader.
  Mr. Speaker, it is fitting and proper that we honor Mark Diel at this 
time. He has worked tirelessly to connect underserved communities, 
children, and others to quality healthcare services, and as a leader in 
Napa County his work has made our community stronger and healthier.

                          ____________________