January 14, 2025 at 3:30 PM PST
WATSONVILLE — The Watsonville Community Hospital and Pajaro Valley Health Care District are starting off 2025 with new faces in key roles.
At its December meeting, the board appointed Alexandra Friel — longtime educational administrator and the daughter-in-law of late board chair John Friel — to the seat vacated by Marcela Tavantzis, who herself was appointed to fill out the remainder of John’s term. Additionally, Watsonville Community Hospital has a new director of government and community relations with Allyson Violante — former longtime chief of staff for former Santa Cruz County Supervisor Zach Friend — stepping into the role.
Alexandra Friel, who moved with her family to Santa Cruz County in 2021, has worked in education for 24 years. For nine years, she had teaching positions at schools in Campbell, San Francisco and Palo Alto. Starting in 2010, she had administrator positions within the Campbell, San Mateo-Foster City and San Carlos school districts, the latter of which she served as founding principal of Mariposa Upper Elementary School for the 2019-20 academic year.
Following her move to the county, Alexandra Friel served as the director of curriculum, instruction and assessment for the Scotts Valley Unified School District for three years. She is currently self-employed as an educational consultant, according to her LinkedIn page.
Alexandra Friel
Alexandra Friel has filled the seat previously occupied by her father-in-law, who was founding chair of the Pajaro Valley Health Care District Board of Directors, in the wake of the district’s formation after Watsonville Community Hospital emerged from bankruptcy. John Friel, who also served as CEO of the hospital in the early ’90s, died in March, two days after resigning due to illness. The board voted to appoint former longtime city of Watsonville and Santa Cruz County employee Tavantzis to serve the remainder of the elder Friel’s term through December.
Typically, the district board member is an elected position, but with Alexandra Friel, Katie Gabriel-Cox and Chair Tony Nuñez-Palomino being the only three to declare their candidacies without any opposition, they were appointed by the Board of Supervisors to continue serving in lieu of an election. All three will serve through November 2028.
“Alexandra Friel has a track record of innovation and perseverance as a school administrator,” Stephen Gray, CEO of the Pajaro Valley Health Care District and Watsonville Community Hospital, said in a statement. “She knows how to navigate organizational structures to enhance programs and will bring an important perspective to our board.”
Additionally, Violante started working as the hospital’s government and community relations director Monday. In addition to being Friend’s chief of staff for 12 years, she also is chair of the Santa Cruz County Planning Commission, served as a congressional aide for former area U.S. Rep. Sam Farr and was a member of committees for the Scotts Valley Water District, the Santa Cruz Mid-County Groundwater Agency and Central Coast Community Energy.
Allyson Violante
“Allyson brings extensive experience working collaboratively with all levels of government and community organizations,” Gray said in a statement. “This new position is so important as we continue to strengthen our relationships with county, state, and federal officials, identify additional government funding sources to support our work, and engage more meaningfully with our community.”
