Board of Directors

HCA-MN LEADERSHIP

Meet the dedicated advocates and healthcare professionals leading the movement for universal health care in Minnesota.

Executive Committee

Dave Garibaldi

Co-Chair

Dave Garibaldi served the majority of his 37-year career as a public employee and union member. He was always confident in having had great employer sponsored health insurance. In 1999, he was diagnosed with a vascular disease and prescribed a simple out-patient procedure, for treatment.

The procedure was denied by his insurance company, resulting in a four-year fight, (and delay of care), before they relented. During the final 20 years of his employment, Dave observed the escalating cost of health insurance and its direct impact on wage increases. In 2016, Dave became politically involved and a social justice advocate for several causes. Healthcare became a focus in 2017 when he joined HCA-MN and began to lobby state and federal office holders, (and candidates), in support of single payer healthcare finance reform.

Rose Roach

Co-Chair

Rose is the retired Executive Director of the Minnesota Nurses Association and has over 30 years of experience in the labor movement in MN and CA. She has been a member of the Health Care for All MN Board of Directors since its reconstitution and is the incoming National Coordinator of the Labor Campaign for Single payer.

A Minnesota native, Rose spent eleven years, from 2003-2014, working for the California School Employees Association and was an active leader within the CA health care policy reform movement.

A passionate advocate for health care justice, Rose is a national speaker on healthcare reform specifically via a single payer, Improved and Expanded Medicare for All system. Rose has been recognized as one of Minnesota’s 100 influential leaders in health care in 2016 and again in 2020. She served on former Governor Dayton’s Health Care Financing Task Force and as a co-chair of the St. Paul City Task Force on Earned Safe and Sick Time. Rose was also a member of MN Attorney General Keith Ellison’s Lowering Pharmaceutical Drug Prices Task Force whose final report won national Notable Document award from the National Conference of State Legislators.

Anne Jones, RN, BSN, MA

Vice-Chair

Anne received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Minnesota and her Master of Arts in Health and Human Services from St. Mary’s University of Minnesota.

As a practicing nurse for over 45 years, her experience includes direct patient care for general surgery patients, medical and surgical intensive care, and the multi-specialty operating rooms at University of Minnesota Hospitals.

Anne has had a long-standing interest in health policy and financing of health care in the U.S. She retired from active nursing care in 2015 to focus on advocacy for health care payment reform to assure universal coverage in Minnesota, and ultimately, in the U.S.

Further, Anne served 23 years in the United States Air Force Reserve, Nurse Corps, on flying status for over 20 years, and retired at the rank of LtCol.

Professional Associations: Association of PeriOperative Registered Nurses, American Nurses Association, Minnesota Nurses Association, Reserve Officers Association.

Don Pylkkanen

Secretary/Treasurer

In addition to his leadership role with HCA-MN, Don also serves as Executive Director of Minnesota COACT, which is active with farm, labor, business, education, and physician groups in the statewide movement for affordable, high quality care for every Minnesotan since the early 1990s.

Although the movement’s name has changed from Health Care Campaign of Minnesota, Minnesota Universal Health Care Coalition, and now Health Care for All Minnesota, Don, as a board and committee member of these coalitions, has witnessed an unremitting commitment of hundreds of volunteers to reach the movement’s goal. As a Vietnam War veteran he receives low-cost, high quality care directly from the Veterans Health Administration, so he believes everyone should receive that same kind of direct care from doctors and hospitals without having to pay high premiums and deductibles to for-profit insurers that don’t provide care.

Directors

Mark Brakke, M.D.

director

Mark is a retired family practice doctor with experience in health systems management. After undergraduate and doctoral preparation at Northwestern University he practiced in Coon Rapids until 2014.

Along the way he had stints as clinic board chairman and clinic medical director. He also served on the Health Partners Board of Directors and Allina committees focused on quality healthcare. Mark also served as Board Chair of HCA-MN for three years.

John Crosson, MD

director

Dr. John spent his entire medical career working in hospitals devoted to delivering excellent medical care to the underserved. He first served at Minneapolis General Hospital (the MGH of the midwest) and then HCMC.

He trained initially as an internist then decided to become a Pathologist. From the early 1970s to 2005 he worked at HCMC as a general Pathologist. During this time he saw many patients who suffered greatly because they had inadequate insurance and could not afford to be seen in the health care system in a timely way. For over 25 years he has worked on getting universal health care available for all in the U.S.

Currently, he spends time at the University of Minnesota teaching medical students and residents and serves on the board of PNHP. He mentions the need to have single payer health care to them every chance he gets.

Maggiy Emery

director

In addition to her work with HCA-MN, Maggiy serves as Executive Director of Protect Minnesota. She’s an experienced political and nonprofit fundraiser, and communicator with state-wide campaign experience.

Maggiy is an experienced political and nonprofit fundraiser and communicator. She has worked with campaigns and nonprofits all over the state of Minnesota, including Al Franken for Senate, Angie Craig for Congress, Dan Feehan for Congress, the Open Door, and the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota. She currently serves as the Executive Director of Protect Minnesota. She holds a B.A. in Theater and Political Science from the University of Minnesota. She lives in Saint Paul with her partner, dog, and two cats.

Mark Friedman, Ph.D.

director

Mark teaches economics at South Central College in Mankato, MN. He obtained his doctorate in economics from Colorado State University in 2015.

His primary research interests are economic inequality and economic democracy. Mark is co-chair of the Mankato area chapter of HCA-MN. He also teaches yoga meditation.

Rosa Gómez

director

Rosa is a proud Minnesota native committed to intersectional social justice and sustainable change.

While earning her Bachelor of Arts in political science, journalism, and Latin American studies, Rosa was actively involved in student and community advocacy efforts. The daughter of a Honduran immigrant, Rosa brings a personal connection to immigrant rights—an issue that continues to guide her work with Comunidades Organizando el Poder y la Acción Latina (COPAL). She is driven by a strong belief in the power of community, collective transformation, and the inherent dignity of all people

Elaina Hane

director

Elaina Hane serves as the Executive Director of the Minnesota Nurses Association (MNA). She brings more than two decades of experience as a Registered Nurse, including 17 years providing bedside care at Children’s Hospital in St. Paul, primarily in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.

Elaina has been deeply involved with MNA since early in her career, becoming active in the union within two years of graduating. During her time at the bedside, she served as a local leader and played a key role in negotiating contracts for her bargaining unit. She later expanded her leadership through service on MNA’s Governmental Affairs Commission and Board of Directors before transitioning to staff as a Labor Relations Specialist.

Her engagement in health care advocacy was significantly shaped by a 2012 MNA convention plenary on single-payer health care, which inspired her to become more involved at the organizational level. She remains passionate about advancing policies that support both nurses and patients and continues to deepen her knowledge of health care policy.

Elaina considers her work with nurses a privilege, as it allows her to advocate not only for the profession but also for the patients they serve.

Outside of her professional role, Elaina lives in Woodbury with her family. She is married and has two children, a high school senior and an eighth grader. She enjoys spending time outdoors, including hiking, kayaking, camping, and skiing with her family.

Buddy Robinson

director

Buddy is a retired (but relentless) consumer advocate and organizer. He was the Staff Director of the MN Citizens Federation NE, in Duluth (formerly Senior Federation) for 40 years; led health policy staff for the statewide MN Senior Federation; and served as Co-Coordinator of the Greater MN Health Care Coalition, from 2003 to 2019.

He has performed extensive research, analysis and testimony critical of Minnesota’s privatized Medicaid system, as well as public education presentations promoting single-payer health care and explaining the problems with Medicare Advantage. He co-wrote, with Mark Hanna, Strategies for Community Empowerment: Direct Action and Transformative Approaches to Social Change. He is also on the board of the MN Citizens Utilities Board.

Interested in joining our mission?

We are always looking for passionate individuals to join our committees and help shape the future of healthcare in Minnesota.