Our Team
Leadership and organizational structure of Advance Technology Solutions.
ATS Org Chart
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Executive & Operations Leadership
Andrea DonahueExecutive Director & Financial Manager
Lisa AppleDirector of Operations & Contract Management
Jesus Hernandez, MPA
Chief Executive OfficerJesus Hernandez is the CEO of Family Health Centers (FHC) and Advance, an affiliate nonprofit operating services across North Central Washington. He brings over 25 years of progressive executive leadership in healthcare, workforce development, education, and finance, specializing in systemic healthcare transformation and strategic cross-sector collaboration.
Executive Leadership
Oversees FHC’s extensive operations, including five medical clinics, four dental clinics, two pharmacies, school-based health centers, WIC programs, and teaching health center residencies.
Nonprofit & Community Impact
Directs Advance's initiatives, including Advance Technology Solutions (ATS) and the Recovery Navigator Program operating in four NCW counties in partnership with law enforcement and community stakeholders.
Governance & Public Service
Appointed by Governors Locke and Gregoire to the Higher Education Coordinating Board (serving 9 years, including two terms as Chairman); served 20 years on the Wenatchee School Board.
Education: Master in Public Administration (MPA), University of Washington; Bachelor’s in Business Management, Washington State University.
Mike Ellis
Chief Information Officer (CIO)Mike Ellis serves as the Chief Information Officer for Family Health Centers (FHC) and Advance, bridging enterprise clinical operations with community-based technology solutions. With over two decades of experience architecting healthcare data platforms, he specializes in cloud-native infrastructure, enterprise interoperability, and building resilient and secure systems.
Enterprise IT Leadership & Prime Contractor Readiness
Directs a unified, 12-person in-house engineering and IT department across FHC and Advance. Successfully transitioned the FQHC from heavy vendor reliance to an independent, self-managed technology organization.
State-Level Interoperability & Care Coordination
Architected and deployed a custom care coordination platform for the Washington State Health Homes program utilizing Google App Engine and Google Cloud SQL. This platform empowered over 200 regional coordinators to manage patient Action Plans and parse state data, featuring custom Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) pipelines for seamless billing.
High-Availability Public Infrastructure
Engineered the “i-pan” data platform and localized website for the Washington Health Plan Finder rollout in partnership with Better Health Together. Designed a robust, scalable architecture that maintained continuous uptime during the highly volatile initial launch of the Affordable Care Act.
Legacy Systems Migration & Clinical Workflow
Drove regional EMR adoption through the WIREC project, successfully transitioning multiple rural health clinics from paper-based workflows to secure, compliant electronic medical records.
Foundational Systems Architecture
Brings deep, ground-up hardware, networking, and security expertise validated by foundational certifications (CompTIA A+, Network+, Server+, Microsoft Certified Professional, Certified Internet Webmaster), directly informing the strategic deployment of FHC and Advance’s modern 4-tier high-availability connectivity mesh (fiber, copper, satellite, LTE) to guarantee zero-downtime operations.
Enterprise Cybersecurity & Zero-Breach Track Record
Maintains a 100% pristine cybersecurity history with zero data breaches or ransomware infections across a multi-decade career, including a 9-year executive tenure at FHC and two highly utilized web platforms, i-Pan and Health Homes. His rigid enforcement of proactive cloud-native security, HIPAA compliance, and dynamic network routing has completely insulated clinical operations from external threat actors.
Clinical Workflow & Programmatic Leadership
Achieved Master Trainer certification for the evidence-based Chronic Care Disease Self-Management Program (CDSMP) through a rigorous, multi-month credentialing process including intensive group training and direct facilitation of community health courses.
Community Capacity Building & Digital Equity
Directed a regional Microsoft Computer Refurbishment program during tenure at Community Action, actively supplying critical technology hardware to local nonprofits including computer labs for after school programs and ESL classes.
Education: Dual Associate Degrees in Computer Technology and Software Systems, and Computer Technology and Systems Network; Wenatchee Valley College.
Austin Benitez
Director of EngineeringAustin Benitez serves as the Director of Engineering at Advance, directing technical architecture, software delivery, and emerging technology integration across regional initiatives in North Central Washington. Combining deep hands-on systems expertise with formal training in modern project governance, he specializes in engineering operational efficiencies, building scalable community platforms, and deploying custom enterprise AI infrastructure.
Engineering Leadership & Emerging Technology
Directs the engineering team in modernizing software stacks and deploying scalable emerging technologies. Ideated, architected, and built an in-house agentic AI inference server and custom software harness from the hardware layer up to power secure, localized machine intelligence.
Product Delivery & Systems Architecture
Spearheaded the development of a custom Community Information System supporting reporting for in-custody and recovery navigation programs. Architected automated invoice capture pipelines and designed a full-featured transportation tracking platform integrated with enterprise calendar systems in a two-week delivery window.
Operational Optimization & Process Automation
Reduced manual report generation workflows from 3–4 weeks down to a 1–2 day automated pipeline within six months. Deduplicated documentation processes across multiple enterprise systems, eliminating 5 to 20 minutes of administrative overhead per documentation event.
Cross-Sector Alignment & Rapid Resolution
Collaborates with regional partners and the North Central Community Care Hub (NCCCH), overseen by Thriving Together NCW (TTNCW), to unify technical initiatives. Rapidly engineered mission-critical data extraction scripts within a two-week turnaround to overcome third-party vendor blockers, ensuring continuous operational continuity throughout complex vendor migrations.
Project Governance & Systems Pedagogy
Experienced in leading, mentoring, and teaching technical teams across diverse project methodologies—including Agile, Waterfall, Critical Chain, and Lean Six Sigma principles. Previously served in technical administration supporting collegiate information technology education.
Education: Bachelor of Science in Software Engineering; Associate of Arts.
Jason K. Hall
Staff Software EngineerJason K. Hall serves as a Staff Software Engineer at Advance, leading core systems development, data pipeline architecture, and enterprise infrastructure modernization. Bringing a disciplined, analytical approach to complex technical environments, he specializes in modernizing critical legacy systems, automating operational workflows, and ensuring enterprise-grade data integrity across mission-critical platforms.
Legacy Systems Modernization & Architecture
Directs the modernization and stabilization of complex legacy software environments. Architects unified, interconnected platforms that streamline data exchange between disparate business applications while eliminating technical bottlenecks and performance delays.
High-Volume Data Infrastructure & Reliability
Engineers automated data processing pipelines capable of securely handling millions of records. Manages robust server hosting environments and designs automated software release workflows to ensure maximum system reliability, data accuracy, and zero-downtime operations.
Industry-Standard Technical Governance
Recognized contributor to global open-source infrastructure projects that power foundational internet, cloud, and enterprise computing systems worldwide. Applies enterprise-level engineering standards and best practices directly to regional and community software initiatives.
Full-Stack Application Development
Leverages diverse technical proficiencies across modern user-facing applications, backend services, and high-performance databases to deliver intuitive, accessible digital tools for staff and community partners.
Education: Bachelor of Arts; Iowa State University.
Chris Blaser
Staff Software EngineerChris Blaser serves as a Staff Software Engineer at Advance, driving full-stack application development, clinical systems automation, and federal data compliance. Combining a strong foundation in healthcare IT operations with modern software engineering, he specializes in architecting secure community-facing platforms, enforcing stringent federal privacy mandates, and building operational tools that streamline multi-facility service delivery.
Healthcare Compliance & Data Governance
Directs technical data privacy safeguards across client-facing applications, enforcing full alignment with HIPAA and 42 CFR Part 2 regulations. Ensures sensitive behavioral health, recovery, and medical records maintain end-to-end data integrity and strict confidentiality standards.
Mission-Critical Clinical Continuity
Engineered enterprise management automation scripts facilitating seamless, large-scale OS migrations across multi-facility medical and dental clinics. Maintained greater than enterprise operational uptime for clinical and administrative staff during widespread system upgrades.
Enterprise Application Delivery
Key contributor to Advance’s core Client Success and Recovery Platform. Translates complex human service and clinical workflows into intuitive, resilient web applications that enhance care coordination, eliminate administrative friction, and support frontline staff.
Root-Cause Systems Automation
Applies a disciplined, root-cause methodology to software and infrastructure challenges—developing durable automation tools that resolve underlying operational bottlenecks rather than temporary surface symptoms.
Education: Bachelor of Science in Computer Science; Idaho State University.
Advance Technology Solutions
A division of Advance in partnership with Family Health Centers, facilitating technology and software solutions for partners across North Central Washington.
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