Elena Marks

Elena Marks leads the Episcopal Health Foundation (EHF), a $1 billion+ Houston-based foundation dedicated to improving community health by partnering with local organizations to implement innovative approaches to address the non-medical, root causes of poor health, rather than just treating symptoms.

She is also a non-resident fellow in health policy at Rice University's Baker Institute where her work focuses on health reform and access to care for low-income and uninsured populations. She serves on the boards of Grantmakers in Health, the largest national health philanthropy organization; Harris Health System, a public hospital system serving over 300,000 patients annually; and Community Health Choice, a nonprofit, community-based health plan with more than 400,000 members. Elena previously served as the Chairman of the Board of Planned Parenthood Federation of America and worked as the City of Houston's Director of Health and Environmental Policy.

Elena works with communities to inspire change in the health system by addressing SDOH. Medical care is only 20% of what contributes to a person's health. The remaining 80% is determined by social and economic status, health behaviors, and the physical environment, among other factors. There can be more than a 20-year difference in how long Texans live in one neighborhood compared to another, even though they may only be a few miles apart.