Ginn Group Consulting (GGC) is proud to announce Julia Garcia as the new SMART Operations and Clinical Data Coordinator. Julia will be working alongside GGC’s Vice President of Information Management, Karina Rincon, in eTHOS, the Knowledge Management System for the SMART Model, specifically tracking SMART Clinics for accuracy and consistency in data entry. Channeling extra attention into these details, coupled with Julia’s tenacity, will help equip our SMART Teams with the information needed to continue to successfully deliver a signature feature of the Model, Active Care, with an emphasis on meeting Whole Child needs. Julia will also be supporting the GGC team as the Model continues to expand nationally.

Julia’s relationship with GGC began in 2013 with the opening of the Flagship SMART Clinic at Sullivan High School in Chicago. To help ensure the success of the new model, Melanie Ginn, President and CEO of GGC, enlisted the help of a few of that year’s Hispanic Heritage Youth Award winners in Chicago, including Julia. Their guidance and vision for a health fair would be a key element in the effectiveness of back to school events in achieving a high consent rate. Julia was brought on as an award winner, fresh out of high school, and has continued to be an asset within SMART for the last seven years as a patient support specialist at both Sullivan High School and Kilmer Elementary SMART Clinics. Her work with SMART has catapulted her interest in health care to an aspiration to become a medical doctor: “I never would have thought that winning that award would completely change the trajectory of my life.”

Julia has been an emissary of the SMART Model, attending the past three SMART Symposia, and a guest speaker at the Hispanic Heritage Youth Awards. As she navigates and accomplishes her newest goal, completing a Post-Baccalaureate Program on Medical Studies at Dominican University and moving onward to medical school, she will continue to be integral within the SMART Model.

“When I look back, I am amazed at how far I have come. The amount of important people I now know and have added to my corner has been mind-blowing. I will never ever be able to thank GGC enough for all the support, kindness, and generosity that you have shown me,” states Julia.

Julia received her Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences with a minor in Sociology from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She is fluent in English and Spanish and advanced in French.