Wendy Armendariz

Wendy Armendariz got her start in the field of community health centers during her undergraduate studies in Health Promotion at Northern Arizona University. Her dedication to health care equality led her to join North Country Healthcare, where she helped develop the maternal and child health division and implement the prenatal program.

She then joined the Arizona Association of Community Health Centers, where she served as the director of outreach and enrollment, community development, and the SEARCH program. In these roles, she collaborated with various state agencies, medical associations and healthcare organizations to improve health center processes and expand access to care.

For the last 11 years, Armendariz has served as chief executive officer of Neighborhood Outreach Access to Health (NOAH). Under the leadership of Armendariz, NOAH has emerged as a leading federally qualified health center providing comprehensive whole-person care to nearly 50,000 patients annually. The organization offers medical, dental, behavioral health, nutrition services and health education to diverse patients throughout Maricopa County.

Through NOAH's integrated care approach, Armendariz and her team strive to address the holistic health needs of individuals and families, focusing on prevention, early intervention and management of chronic diseases, the organization said.

In March 2020, during the early stages of the pandemic, Armendariz chose to implement psychiatric services at NOAH. Despite the challenges, she recognized the importance of supporting the mental health of the community during such a critical time, highlighting her dedication to the well-being of underserved populations.

“Adding a new service at the start of a pandemic was not easy but necessary,” Armendariz said. “Most would have delayed or not implemented the service, but I knew it was the right thing to do for the community. In March of 2020, just 30 days into the pandemic, we began offering psychiatric services. Today those services continue to excel for the greater good of our community.”

Armendariz has served as an HRSA Grant Reviewer and provided training on healthcare access and community development. She has been involvement in numerous community coalitions and filled a role as a fellow of the UCLA/Johnson & Johnson Health Care Executive Program.

“Successful leaders in healthcare need to be able to build trust with their teams,” Armendariz said. “Leading through change requires that we rely on each other to accomplish our shared goals. A successful leader will also inspire their team to help find joy and purpose in their work every day.”