Our 2024 Honorees
In 1973, West Valley Community Services, then know as the Cupertino Roundup, was founded by three public health nurses. In honor of our 50th anniversary, we will be honoring nurses in our community at our 13th annual Chefs of Compassion: Cooking for a Cause benefit gala.
Cheryl Reinking
DNP, RN, NEA-BC, DipACLM
Chief Nursing Officer
El Camino Health
Dale Beatty
DNP, RN, NEA-BC, Caritas Coach
Chief Nurse Executive and Vice President
Stanford Health Care
Valeska Henderson
Area Regional Director
Sutter Health
Stacy Alves
DNP, MS, RN, NEA-BC
Chief Nurse Executive
Kaiser Permanente Santa Clara Medical Center
Elaine Ware
DNP, RN, CENP, CPHQ
Chief Nurse Executive
Kaiser Permanente San Jose Medical Center
Cheryl Reinking has been with El Camino Health for 36 years. Cheryl has served in numerous positions in her career including clinical nurse, case manager, clinical manager, nursing director and vice chief of clinical operations before becoming the enterprise Chief Nursing Officer in 2013.
In her role of CNO, Cheryl oversees the nursing division and patient experience with over 2000 nurses and support staff. Cheryl is the Chair of the Pathways Home Health and Hospice Board of Directors. She also serves on the board for the Los Altos Mountain View Community Foundation and on the advisory board for the Illinois Wesleyan University School of Nursing and Health Sciences. Cheryl is a member of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine, American Organization of Nurse Executives, and the Association of California Nurse Leaders, and the Illinois Wesleyan Council for Women. Cheryl is an active member of The Young Men’s Service League providing volunteer support at non-profit organizations across the South Bay, including West Valley Community Services, Silicon Valley Bike Exchange, Peninsula Food Runners, and Animal Assisted Happiness.
Under her leadership, El Camino Health earned its fourth consecutive Magnet designation, and is only one of two hospitals in the region to achieve this honor. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Cheryl led El Camino Health's incident command center.
Cheryl received the Silicon Valley Women of Influence Award in 2013, TWIN award in 2011 and The Distinguished Alumni Award from Illinois Wesleyan University in 2017. Cheryl completed a Doctorate in Nursing Practice (DNP) in December 2020 at University of San Francisco.
Dale Beatty is the Chief Nurse Executive and Vice President at Stanford Health Care which is a premier academic health system and is the flagship hospital for Stanford University. Dale has 20 years of Chief Nursing Officer experience in high performing organizations and has served on multiple boards. He has extensive experience with ANCC Magnet and the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. Dale has a BSN from Ohio Wesleyan University, a Master of Science with Distinction from DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois, and a Doctor of Nursing Practice from the University of Illinois, Chicago, Illinois. He is also a board certified as a Nurse Executive Advanced by the ANCC and is certified Caritas Coach. Dale is a board member for the Association of California Nurse Leaders (ACNL).
Valeska Henderson, the Area Regional Director for the Greater Silicon Valley Market at Sutter Health, brings 17 years of dedicated service to the organization. Holding an RN degree and MBA from the University of San Francisco, she has excelled in leadership roles, demonstrating expertise in both ambulatory and acute care. Notably, Valeska spearheaded the mass COVAX vaccination clinic in 2020. Beyond her professional pursuits, she finds joy in reading, travel, and quality time with her family.
Stacy Alves DNP, MS, RN, NEA-BC is the Chief Nurse Executive at Kaiser Permanente Santa Clara Medical Center. She has ten years of progressive leadership experience in professional development, nursing informatics, and clinical operations. Her passion for leading teams and developing others has
yielded several accomplishments including 11 straight Leapfrog A ratings, recognition as a Healthgrades Top 50 hospital and Top 50 hospital for cardiac surgery, leading surge workforce development, and launching a nursing professional governance structure during the pandemic. Stacy is a certified Improvement Advisor and Heart Math instructor. In 2019 she was the first recipient of the Kaiser Permanente Northern California Regional Extraordinary Nurses Award for Transformational Leadership.
Stacy earned her BSN from California State University Sacramento and her Masters in Nursing Science and Healthcare Leadership from The Betty Irene More School of Nursing at UC Davis where she studied women’s childbirth experiences in Angola Africa. As a result of this experience, she developed a deep appreciation for the importance of establishing trusting and caring relationships with patients and families. Stacy completed her DNP in Executive Leadership at the University of San Francisco, for her DNP project she launched Kaiser’s first evidence-based practice mentor fellowship.
In 2021, Elaine Ware assumed the role of Chief Nurse Executive for the San Jose Medical Center, bringing with her a wealth of experience as an accomplished nurse leader dedicated to supporting affordable, high-quality, and compassionate patient care through evidence-based practices, performance improvement, and ongoing nursing education.
Elaine's journey with Kaiser Permanente began in 2007 at the Santa Clara Medical Center, where she served in roles such as Quality Nurse Manager and Clinical Adult Services Director. Her commitment to leadership excellence led her to complete the Chief Nurse Executive Fellow program, a dedicated initiative preparing high-performing leaders for chief nurse executive roles through active engagement with leaders across Kaiser Permanente medical centers.
