Leadership Team

Beth Wrobel has been the CEO of HealthLinc since 2002, moving the organization from a free medical clinic serving adults to a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) providing a healthcare home to all life cycles, prenatal to seniors regardless of a patient’s ability to pay. For the past twenty-two years, she has guided the organization as it has grown from one location to twelve clinics, two telehealth clinics and one mobile medical/dental clinic with over 450 employees.

Under her direction, HealthLinc has expanded services to address the ever-increasing healthcare needs in the communities we serve. HealthLinc currently offers primary medical, pediatric, OB, dental, behavioral health, pharmacy, medical-legal and community outreach services throughout our clinics, as well as optometry, chiropractic and podiatry services at some locations with the intent of expanding those services to all locations in the future. HealthLinc also has Medically Assisted Treatment (MAT) programs for those suffering from Substance Use Disorder (SUD) and Mobile Integrated Response Teams (MIRT) to deal with the expanding opioid epidemic.

From 1979 to 2000, Beth worked for Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO) in various roles, including project and branch management, corporate research and development and strategic planning and business development.

As a regular presence in both Washington D.C. and Indianapolis, Beth advocates tirelessly for legislation that will benefit HealthLinc patients and those in need. She is often asked to present at national and state conferences to highlight current issues in health care and takes key leadership roles in many organizations.

Beth is a member of the Board of Directors for the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC), a trustee for the board of Ivy Tech Community College, Valparaiso Campus, has a seat on the board of the Indiana Primary Health Care Association and is a member of Rotary International. She was named 2012 Outstanding Nonprofit Staff Member by the Porter County Community Foundation and the 2013 Not-for-Profit CEO of the Year by the Northwest Indiana Business Quarterly Magazine. In 2014, Beth received the Outstanding Agency Professional award from the Porter County United Way and, in 2015, she was inducted into the Northwest Indiana Times Business Hall of Fame. Beth was named 2017 Distinguished Community Leader by the Valparaiso Chamber of Commerce and received the Valparaiso University Alumni Achievement Award for outstanding achievement in her chosen career in 2018. Beth was also the 2019 Dedication Award winner from Coaches vs. Cancer and the American Cancer Society (ACS).

She holds a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from Valparaiso University and is a graduate of the Johnson and Johnson UCLA Health Care Executive Program.

Since joining HealthLinc as the director of development in February 2014, Brandi Anstine has provided leadership, coordination and development for all fundraising, marketing, public relations and outreach efforts. As a result of HealthLinc’s growth and expansion, she was promoted to chief branding officer to focus on standardization and protection of HealthLinc’s brand.

Prior to joining HealthLinc, Brandi served in various leadership roles in both the corporate and nonprofit sectors and has worked extensively in marketing, event planning and management. She holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Missouri-Kansas City and a master’s degree in sports administration from Valparaiso University.

Brandi was named the “Up and Coming Influential Woman of Northwest Indiana in Marketing” in 2013, inducted into the 2015 Northwest Indiana IN Business 20 Under 40 class and is very active in the Northwest Indiana Region. She currently serves on the Boys and Girls Clubs of Northwest Indiana PALS group, the St. Joseph’s Guild (Carmelite), the board of directors for Housing Opportunities and the Valparaiso Parks Department Foundation Board. Brandi also dedicates time to various volunteer roles in her community and serves on the Guest Connections team at Calvary Church. She enjoys experiencing new adventures, hiking and traveling. Brandi and her dogs Sadie and Lizard, and her foster puppy Chewbarka, reside in Valparaiso.

Chris joined HealthLinc in July of 2017 as the chief human resources officer. Prior to joining HealthLinc, he served as the director of human resources for a large hospital in West Virginia, a children’s psychiatric hospital in Montana and a Continuum of Care Retirement Community (CCRC) in Texas. Chris is retired from active duty military service with the U.S. Army. His 20-year career culminated with his assignment to the U.S. Army Medical Center and School, where he served as the senior human resources manager.

Chris holds the Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and the Society for Human Resource Management Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP) designations. Chris holds a Bachelor of Science in psychology and administrative management from Excelsior College. He later earned his Master of Business Administration in human resources management from Trident University. He then furthered his education by earning a Ph.D. in organization and management concentrating in human resources management. Chris moved to Valparaiso with his wife Kimberly and their three children.

Joan Bondi is HealthLinc’s chief financial officer. She is responsible for all facets of HealthLinc’s financial operations, including monthly financial statements, annual budgets, forecasts, cost accounting, project accounting, balance sheet reconciliations, payroll functions and cash management. Joan received her bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Illinois at Chicago and her Master of Business Administration from Purdue University. She is also a certified public accountant.

Prior to joining HealthLinc, Joan was the CFO at the Greater Chicago Food Depository, where she was responsible for the direct oversight of the accounting and financial operations of the organization, including accounting, inventory, budget and tax.

Melissa Mitchell has grown alongside HealthLinc since 2008. In that time, she has assumed roles from managed care specialist to chief of information technology to her current position of chief operations officer. As a graduate of Ball State University with a Bachelor of Science in communication, she began incorporating technology into health care as a manager in her father’s medical practice.

Melissa’s current responsibilities include the execution of operational strategies, including oversight of phones, systems, networks, data, facilities and operational staff at all sites. She was a leader in converting HealthLinc from paper to Electronic Medical Records and integrating data across partners. In 2014, she graduated from the Johnson & Johnson Health Care Executive Program at UCLA. She currently serves as Chair for the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC) and Intergy user group.

Ruth Stevens, MD, MPH, has been with HealthLinc since 2013. She initially was a consultant, but now serves as our chief quality officer. Dr. Stevens has over 22 years of experience and expertise in clinical systems development, clinical management and clinical and operational quality performance improvement. In addition, she has served as CEO at one of the nation’s oldest community health centers in Indianapolis and as interim CEO at two community health centers in Georgia and Mississippi.

Dr. Steven’s prior experience in health care includes serving as vice president of health services at Newark Community Health Centers, where she led the clinical operations management and coordination of services for five health center facilities. Also, while serving in the roles of associate medical director and HIV program administrator in New Jersey, Dr. Stevens managed a multi-practice group of 20 physicians and 15 staff funded by Title I and III and the New Jersey Department of Health – Division of AIDS and Division of Addiction Services.

Isaac Zeckel, MS, DDS, graduated from Indiana University with a Master of Science in cellular and integrative physiology in 2005 and a Doctor of Dental Surgery in 2011. While attending Indiana University, he researched new methods of identifying and classifying caries and developed an electronic training program that is used to teach early caries detection for dental students.

Since graduating from Indiana University School of Dentistry, Dr. Zeckel has been caring for the oral health needs of HealthLinc patients as a full-time staff dentist. In May 2014, Dr. Zeckel accepted the dental director position at HealthLinc and has since been promoted to chief dental officer due to the growth in his department. He strives to continue expanding and improving the dental care patients at HealthLinc receive.