Our Leadership
Welcome to Evara Health! On behalf of our Board of Directors, our incredible health care team, and myself, I thank you for visiting us.
Evara, pronounced eh-ver-ah, has roots in the words “every” and “everlasting,” signifying the trust we build in every relationship that runs strong for generations. Our name symbolizes what we strive to be, a lifelong medical partner through every moment of the health journey.
We believe your health is more than our passion — serving you is more than a moment. It’s a movement — rooted in a rich history of equality, leadership, and teamwork — to forever change the stories within our community. Our team cares about every person as much as family. You can feel the warmth when you walk through our doors. It’s in the way that we celebrate with patients over successes, and how our support gives strength during hardships.
Our services are comprehensive, and our integrated approach helps us to eliminate care gaps. As we continue to grow and expand, Evara Health will stand behind our promise to nurture stronger communities with exceptional, compassionate care — one patient, one family and one community at a time.
I hope that you will choose us as your medical home and allow us an opportunity to serve you and your family.
Sincerely,
Elodie Dorso
CEO & President
Elodie Dorso
Chief Executive Officer & President – Evara Health
Elodie Dorso is CEO and President of Evara Health (formerly Community Health Centers of Pinellas, Inc.), one of the largest FQHCs in the state of Florida and the nation, serving nearly 70,000 patients. She has served as Evara Health’s Chief Executive Officer since February of 2018, prior to that she served as it’s Chief Operating Officer. In the over 20 years that Elodie has been with Evara Health, she has been responsible for leading the organization through an immense growth and recently a rebranding that has allowed the organization to deliver on its promise to both Evara Health’s patients and the community it serves. Her approach to optimal health outcomes is achieved by ensuring the patient is at the center of every decision the organization makes. Elodie fosters innovation and actively seeks new solutions in care delivery through leveraging operational efficiencies and strategic collaborations. Under her leadership Evara Health has grown to become the 4th largest FQHC in the State of Florida. Evara Health has been named in the top 20 FQHC’s in the nation for quality of care and the top 5% for cost efficiency.
Ms. Dorso is active in numerous industry and community organizations. She currently sits on the Board of Directors for The Wellness Connection, ACRES, Health Choice Care, Florida Community Health Centers, Health Choice Network, and has recently been appointed chair of Health Choice Network Florida. She is a graduate of the University of South Florida and holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Saint Leo University.
Kim Schuknecht
Chief Operating Officer & Compliance Officer
Kim Schuknecht has more than 30 years of experience in Senior Leadership roles, including 18 years in the financial industry and 14 years with community health centers including previous experience as a CEO. During her tenure with Evara Health, she has optimized operations, increased partnerships, and engagement with partners to allow for innovative integrative care, led strategic planning initiatives and fostered a robust workforce development program. Kim has been instrumental in the opening of new and expanded Evara Health locations and implementation of new programs, such as our Food Rx program, that work to address social determinants of health and improve quality of care for our patients.
Kim is currently serving as Evara Health’s Chief Operating Officer & Compliance Officer, with oversite of the Directors of Business Operations, Human Resources, Workforce Development, Facilities & Emergency Management team, as well as the Compliance Program. She is actively engaged in the communities she serves and is committed to public and civic service in her personal time as well
Nichelle Threadgill, M.D.
Chief Medical Officer
Dr. Nichelle Threadgill has practiced pediatrics in St. Petersburg, FL for more than 20 years. Initially she was in private practice, and in 2008 she began practicing at Community Health Centers of Pinellas. Dr. Threadgill was promoted to Chief Medical Officer at Community Health Centers of Pinellas (now Evara Health) in 2016 where she currently oversees approximately 100 physicians, dentists, mid-level practitioners and medical ancillary services.
Dr. Threadgill earned her bachelor’s degree in biology at Fisk University where she graduated Magna Cum Laude. She then attended Howard University College of Medicine in Washington, DC earning her Doctor of Medicine Degree. Upon completion of medical school, she completed an internship and residency in Pediatrics at the University of Florida Health Science Center in Jacksonville, FL.
During her tenure as CMO, Dr. Threadgill has worked to ensure a high level of quality standards and care delivery at Evara Health. Throughout her tenure, Evara Health has been recognized as a national quality leader by HRSA, the organization has obtained NCQA level 3 designation, and Evara Health has been accredited by AAAHC as a Patient Centered Medical and Dental Home. Dr. Threadgill is passionate about preventative care for all those we serve, leading the way to make our patients and community healthier.
J. Ben Gilbert
Chief Financial Officer
Ben Gilbert has served as Evara Health’s Chief Financial Officer since 2016. During this time, he has provided leadership and supervision of all Evara Health financial activities. This includes the opening of numerous new facilities, as well as the introduction and expansion of services such as Chiropractic, Behavioral Health and Telehealth. Ben also leads many of the financial operations areas of the organization to include Contact Center Operations, Revenue Cycle Management, Materials Management, Marketing, Workforce Management, and Process Improvement. He was most recently named to lead the Evara Health Foundation.
Ben earned a bachelor’s degree in Finance from the University of South Florida. He has over 30 years of health care leadership experience including leadership roles as Hospital CFO, a venture capital backed pharmacy services organization, and the home health industry focused on the largest home health capitated contract in America, all in his home state of Florida.
Contact at: jbgilbert@hcnetwork.org | 727-824-8100.
Howard Rubin
Chief Information Officer
Howard Rubin has over 30 years of experience in information technology operations and management, including approximately 20 years specifically in healthcare IT. He has managed information technology operations for companies in the healthcare, retail, technology, telecommunications, government, and education industries. Howard has experience managing the technical infrastructure for large hospital systems and ambulatory care centers. During his tenure with Evara Health, Howard has implemented a robust telehealth and remote patient monitoring system, implemented our business intelligence department allowing Evara Health the power of harnessing our data within our organization and provided leadership and direction for our electronic health record conversion.
Howard is dedicated to providing our patients with the best experience possible to create healthier outcomes by creating digital solutions that will allow for better communication with our patients, physicians and providers and external partners. He has been a long-standing member of the Health Information Management and Systems Society (HIMSS) and has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Industrial Management from the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Edward Kucher
Chief Regulatory Officer
Edward Kucher joined Evara Health in February 2017 as VP of Business Development and now holds the position of CRO. He was born in Kiev, Ukraine and has lived in Florida for over 25 years. He has a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Economic Analysis from Kiev Trade and Economic University, a bachelor’s degree in Accounting and a Master of Accounting from the University of South Florida. Edward has a background in C-Suite level medical financial and operations management with over 20 years’ experience in multi-site and multi-specialty medical practice. He has experience as an industry specialist with knowledge in successfully creating and expanding healthcare operations, and a strong history in aggressively seeking out and capitalizing on opportunities to increase the reach of medical services and reduce the cost of service.
Edward is dedicated to improving the quality of medical care and does so through his solidifying of partnerships to provide innovative programs, oversight of value-based services and grant funding.