Board of Directors

The Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System has a 5-member, publicly elected Board of Directors.

Robert D. Morris, MD, President
Dr. Robert Morris received his M.D. from the University of Kansas Medical Center, and completed an internship and residency at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. Dr. Morris has resided on the Central Coast for the past 24 years, and has served as Director of Emergency Services at Natividad Medical Center, Santa Cruz Community Hospital and Dominican Hospital. Dr. Morris founded Doctors On Duty Urgent Care, which became affiliated with Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System in 1996. Dr. Morris has been a member of the Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System Board since 2001.

Nathan J. Olivas, Vice President
Nathan J. Olivas, a native of Gilroy, has lived in Monterey County for the past 33 years. Olivas entered Hartnell College in 1955 and in 1960 graduated from Cal Poly with a Bachelor of Science Degree in crop science. Olivas went into the seed business in 1961. Over the span of the next 40 years he was involved in the founding and implementation of three successful commercial seed ventures, and recently founded GeneFresh, which will be developing lettuce varieties, and producing and marketing lettuce seed. He has served on the Advisory Council to the School of Agriculture at Cal Poly and as a Board Member of Palma High School. Olivas has been a member of the Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System Board since 1983.

Deborah Nelson, RN, MS, Secretary
Deborah Nelson received a Master of Science Degree from Boston University. Nelson speaks Spanish and has practiced in Salinas over 20 years as a nurse practitioner in women's health care and primary care at Doctors on Duty and Salinas Valley Prime Care. Nelson has been an educator of student nurses for Hartnell College at Natividad Medical Center and on the critical care staff at Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital. The Association of Hospitals and Health Systems named her Trustee of the Year in 1999. A Captain in the United States Naval Reserve she represents all reserve navy nurse corps officers in California, Arizona and Nevada to the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, Washington, DC. Nelson has been a member of the Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System Board since 1988.

Jim Gattis, Treasurer
Known for his leadership in the Salinas business community, Jim Gattis opened and operated two retail men's wear stores for 17 years. Currently working in the field of real estate investments, he is involved in the renovation of commerical real estate in downtown Salinas and is the past chairman of the Central City Authority. With first-hand experience as a Hartnell College graduate, Jim is the Past Vice Chairman of the Hartnell Foundation. He is a Founding Director and Past President of the California International Airshow and is the Past Secretary of the International Council of Airshows. He is also a Member and Past Director of the Salinas Rotary Club and a Director of First National Bank of the Central Coast.

Harry Wardwell, Assistant Treasurer
Harry Wardwell, a life-long resident of Salinas, graduated from North Salinas High School and Hartnell College. Wardwell is Regional President for Rabobank, N.A.. Prior to banking, he spent over 25 years managing the family business. Wardwell is active in the community having served as President of the Salinas Chamber of Commerce, the Salinas Rotary Club, the Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital Foundation Board of Governors and Executive Director for the California International Airshow. Wardwell has been a member of the Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System Board since 2000.