April 23, 2025
AUSTIN, TX – Central Health announces the appointment of Geronimo Rodriguez to its board of managers, following the departure of longtime member and former chair Dr. Guadalupe Zamora, whose dedicated service has significantly shaped health care access in Travis County.
New leadership brings rich experience in health care advocacy
Appointed by the Travis County Commissioners Court on March 11, Rodriguez joins the Central Health board on April 23, bringing extensive health care leadership experience. Most recently serving as Chief Advocacy Officer for the Texas market at Ascension Texas, Rodriguez also held the position of Austin Independent School District board president.
“I am deeply honored to join Central Health’s Board of Managers and continue the vital work of expanding health care access for our community’s most vulnerable members,” Rodriguez said. “As someone who grew up in a migrant farm family in the Texas Rio Grande Valley and personally benefited from free health and dental clinics, I bring both lived experience and profound commitment to this role. My North Star has always been ensuring every individual is treated with dignity and respect. We must be ‘urgently patient’ about improving health outcomes for all people, regardless of their insurance status or economic circumstances.”
Rodriguez’s journey from the agricultural fields to health care leadership exemplifies Central Health’s mission of inclusivity. The College Assistance Migrant Program enabled him to attend St. Edward’s University, where he served as student body president. His educational background includes degrees from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and The University of Texas School of Law.
His career path has included service as assistant attorney general of Texas and work in the East Wing of the White House during President Bill Clinton’s administration. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Rodriguez led Ascension Texas’s Emergency Medical Response Unit, collaborating with Central Health and CommUnityCare to establish mass vaccination sites at Circuit of the Americas. These efforts resulted in nearly 350,000 vaccinations, with approximately 70% of recipients being Latino.
Honoring Dr. Zamora’s transformative legacy
Dr. Zamora, who joined the Board of Managers in January 2013, leaves behind a remarkable legacy of community health care advocacy spanning three decades as a practicing physician in East Austin.
“Saving Sendero Health Plans in 2018 when it faced financial challenges is what I’m most proud of,” reflected Dr. Zamora. “If we had lost Sendero, we would have lost musicians and others in our creative class who need that insurance to live and stay healthy. Our Lord Jesus Christ told us, ‘Whatever you do for the least of my people, you’re doing it for me.’ That’s why we’re here—it’s about our patients.”
Dr. Zamora’s contributions to health care in Travis County include serving as president, secretary, and treasurer of the Travis County Medical Society and on the advisory board for the Medical Access Program (MAP) before Central Health’s establishment in 2005. His instrumental role in passing Proposition 1 in 2012 secured $35 million annually for Dell Medical School, significantly advancing healthcare education and services in the region.
Dr. Zamora was honored in 2024 with the inaugural Central Health Community Health Champion award recognizing three outstanding individuals and organizations whose leadership and service have significantly impacted Central Health’s mission.
Board Reappointment Strengthens Continuity
In addition to welcoming Rodríguez, Central Health announces the reappointment of Amit Motwani to the board. A joint appointee of Travis County Commissioners and the Austin City Council, Motwani brings valuable expertise as CEO of the Rupani Foundation, which improves children’s school readiness and empowers marginalized communities across the United States and internationally.
“Central Health’s mission aligns perfectly with my belief that individual, family, and community health outcomes are inextricably linked,” Motwani said. “I look forward to continuing our work to ensure healthcare equity for all Travis County residents.”
Motwani, a 2017 graduate of Central Health’s Community Health Champions program, has more than 25 years of executive leadership experience in strategy, operations, technology, and analytics. His career has included roles as chief operating officer at El Buen Samaritano and chief information officer at United Way for Greater Austin, where he led the creation of Austin’s “2-Gen” Coalition to improve economic and social mobility.
Motwani currently serves as a project executive with Bonterra Tech, where his work is focused on implementing regional community violence intervention (CVI) data infrastructure to help reduce gun violence in cities across the country.
About Central Health Board of Managers
The Central Health Board of Managers consists of nine volunteer members: four appointed by the Austin City Council, four by the Travis County Commissioners Court, and one joint appointee. Board members serve four-year terms and guide Central Health’s mission to create access to healthcare for those who need it most.
For complete biographies of all nine board members, visit https://centralhealth.net/about-central-health/board-of-managers.