For Sunshine Monastrial, work is more than a job. She has dedicated her career to work that aligns with her personal commitment to social justice and health equity. In her role as Arcora Foundation’s new vice president, she’ll focus that same commitment on the Foundation’s mission to bend the arc of oral health toward equity.
“Oral health is a critical part of our overall health. Untreated oral disease has critical consequences on chronic conditions, including diabetes, stroke, and pregnancy complications,” said Arcora Foundation Vice President Sunshine Monastrial. “Prevention and early identification and treatment of oral diseases are foundational elements to improve health equity across Washington state,” she said.
Collaboration to advance oral health equity.
In her new role, Monastrial will oversee the Foundation’s operations as well as provide strategic thought leadership to Arcora President and CEO Vanetta Abdellatif. In collaboration with senior leaders and program managers, Monastrial will help transform ideas into initiatives.
“I am excited to partner with Vanetta and the senior leadership team to drive progress across the various access and prevention initiatives outlined in the strategic plan to achieve our mission” Monastrial said.
Monastrial joins Arcora in June 2022. The recruitment process that led to her selection as our new vice president began in February of 2022 and included many exceptional candidates.
“Sunshine stood out for her proven strategic leadership and intimate understanding of large-scale, long-term improvements in health outcomes,” said Arcora President and CEO Vanetta Abdellatif. “Her addition to our leadership team will position us to better advance good oral and overall health for more people, especially Black, Indigenous, and People of Color,” she said.
Leadership through life lessons.
Monastrial’s lived experience gives her unique insights into Arcora’s equity-centered strategic direction described in our 2022-2024 strategic plan. Arcora advances oral health across Washington state with an emphasis on BIPOC people—who historically face significant disparities. As an immigrant to the U.S. from the Philippines, Monastrial knows how important culturally appropriate care is to achieve good oral and overall health for all.
“I know first-hand how critical it is to provide care in a way that reaches people where they are, in the language they speak, and with an understanding of their culture and history,” Monastrial said. “This is particularly true for immigrants who come from countries where primary and preventive care—especially for oral health—is not the norm,” she said.
A commitment to improve access to care.
For the last 13 years, Monastrial has worked as a public health professional with progressively more senior leadership roles at community health centers. Most recently, she was the chief of staff and vice president of strategic initiatives at International Community Health Services—a Federally Qualified Health Center in Washington state’s Puget Sound Region. There she oversaw the work of 2 divisions:
Planning, development, and evaluation
- Organizational and strategic planning.
- Proposal development and grants management.
- Policy and advocacy.
- Performance management.
- Data and analytics.
Community health services
- Mobile dental clinic that serves schools and community partners primarily in King County, Washington.
- 2 school-based health centers.
- Community-based pop-up vaccination clinics.
- Insurance education and enrollment assistance.
- Community outreach.
- The Hepatitis B Coalition of Washington.
- Patient navigators who addressed patients’ social determinants of health barriers.
Monastrial holds a Master of Public Health degree in health policy and management from the University of California, Berkeley. She earned a Bachelor of Science in public health and a Bachelor of Arts in international studies from the University of Washington.
Welcome to Arcora, Sunshine!