Board of Trustees Welcomes Four New Members

PALO ALTO, Calif. — The Palo Alto University Board of Trustees has elected four new members to the Board, adding leaders with expertise in behavioral health, law, technology, healthcare innovation, nonprofit leadership, and higher education. The elections come as the University marks its 50th Anniversary, a milestone year that reflects both PAU’s legacy and its continued focus on the future of mental and behavioral health.

“As Palo Alto University celebrates 50 years, this is a meaningful moment to welcome new trustees who bring both deep expertise and a shared commitment to our mission,” said Daniele Levy, Chair of the Board of Trustees. “Their leadership will help guide PAU as we build on our strong foundation and look ahead to the opportunities and responsibilities of our next 50 years.”

The newly elected trustees bring a wide range of professional experience that will support the University’s strategic priorities, governance, and long-term vitality.


Sanjeev Agrawal

Sanjeev most recently served as the President and Chief Operating Officer for LeanTaaS for 9 years (2015 - 2024). LeanTaaS is the leading AI / ML based analytics company in healthcare operations, powering over 200+ Health systems and 1000 hospitals and cancer centers across 49 states to improve access and lower costs. Over the 9 years Sanjeev spent there, the company grew from 0 to $150 Mill+ in ACV, 350 people, and $1 Billion+ in value Sanjeev is the co-author of the book “Better Healthcare Through Math”. Before LeanTaaS, Sanjeev was Google’s first Head of Product Marketing, and led three successful startups - CEO at Aloqa (acquired by Motorola), VP Products & Marketing at TellMe Networks (acquired by Microsoft) and Founder & CEO at Collegefeed (acquired by AfterCollege).

Sanjeev graduated with BS and MS degrees in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from MIT. He started his career at McKinsey & Company and Cisco Systems before joining Google. Sanjeev has been named by Becker’s Hospital Review as one of the top entrepreneurs innovating in Healthcare.

Shelli Ching, JD

Shelli Ching is an attorney with extensive experience in corporate law, including initial public offerings, mergers and acquisitions, licensing agreements, and transactional matters involving U.S. securities law. She practiced law at Howard, Rice, Nemerovski, Canady, Falk & Rabkin (now Arnold & Porter) in San Francisco and at Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy LLP in Singapore, where she served as a corporate associate on cross-border transactions.

Ms. Ching earned her Juris Doctor, cum laude, from Harvard Law School and holds graduate and undergraduate degrees from Stanford University. She is licensed to practice law in California and Hawaii and is actively engaged in volunteer service and alumni leadership. 

Madeleine Fackler

Madeleine Fackler is a senior technology and operations leader with a career spanning global nonprofit and corporate organizations, including the International Rescue Committee and Johnson & Johnson. Most recently, she served as Chief Information and Operations Officer at the International Rescue Committee, overseeing technology, security, supply chain, and operational support for a 22,000-person humanitarian organization operating worldwide.

Ms. Fackler holds a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from Stanford University and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Mathematics from Smith College. Having formally retired, she is now focused on supporting nonprofit organizations through board service and strategic advising. 

Kaja Z. LeWinn, ScD

Kaja LeWinn, Sc.D., is a social epidemiologist and Professor in the Department of Psychiatry, Child and Adolescent Division at the University of California, San Francisco. She is an interdisciplinary scientist, integrating rigorous, methodological approaches from her home discipline, social epidemiology, with expertise in the biological mechanisms linking social experience and brain development to understand how multiple aspects of a child’s environment shape neurodevelopment and mental health in population-based samples. Her goal is to improve the rigor, reproducibility, and public health relevance of neurodevelopmental research, with a focus on improving generalizability to all US children. Across over 150 peer-reviewed publications, she has contributed to a number of critical issues in neurodevelopment and pediatric mental health. Her work has demonstrated the importance of including representative samples in neuroimaging research and advanced understanding of the social and environmental drivers of cognitive development and child mental health. She is a leader in multiple collaborative, team science studies focused on neurodevelopmental outcomes, including the NIH ECHO Cohort, a national collaborative study of over 60,000 children across the United States.
 
Dr. LeWinn attained her doctorate in Social Epidemiology from the Harvard School of Public Health and completed fellowships at UCSF through the Robert Wood Johnson Health and Society Scholars Program and the NIH T32 Clinical Services Research Training Program, a program she now co-directs.

About the Board of Trustees

The Palo Alto University Board of Trustees provides fiduciary oversight and strategic leadership to ensure the University’s long-term vitality, academic excellence, and mission alignment. The addition of these trustees reflects PAU’s continued commitment to thoughtful governance and impact-driven leadership. For a full list of the Board of Trustees, please click here.