Latino Profiles
The Molina Family in Molina Healthcare, Inc.: Dr. Martha Molina Bernadett
Dr. Martha Molina Bernadett is proud to call Long Beach her family’s home.
“My parents (C. David and Mary Molina) came to Long Beach because my uncle was an orthodontist here. And my parents were elementary school teachers in Long Beach. Dad went back to school and became a physician…practiced in Community Hospital in Long Beach. And we were all born and raised here.”
Dr. Martha Molina Bernadett is a Family Physician and member of the founding family of Molina Healthcare, a Fortune 500 company and the largest Hispanic-owned business in the United States. The Doctor is currently the company’s Executive Vice President of Research and Innovation.
The Deep Roots of Dr. Martha Molina Bernadett
The roots of Dr. Bernadett and the other Molina Siblings run deep through Long Beach.
“We were all born and raised here. I was born at St. Mary’s Hospital and we all went to our neighborhood elementary school, junior high, and high school.”
The Molina siblings all attended public schools in Long Beach. Dr. Bernadett holds math and chemistry degrees from Long Beach City College and CSULB. She received her MD from UC-Irvine and MBA from Pepperdine University.
“They believed strongly in education and they believed that it was important to participate in your community.”
Their father ran an emergency room. “He brought the paramedic program to Long Beach. He served on Police Councils.”
According to Dr. Bernadett, their mother, Mary Molina, was always involved in the PTA, the Department of Health and other community based organizations throughout the time the Molina siblings were growing up.
“So, we saw by example, that it was important to participate actively in your community in order for the community to be strong.”
Dr. Bernadett serves as a trustee for the Children’s Health Fund, First Book, Long Beach City College Board of Governors, National 4-H Council, and Saban Community Clinic.
The Molina Family and the Diversity of Long Beach
For Dr. Martha Molina Bernadett, Long Beach has a special quality that comes with its diversity.
“I remember as a kid looking up in the phone book how many Molinas there were and there were thirteen. We were one of those and Uncle Julie was the other.”
“We would go back to the telephone book and see the pages and pages and see the growth of the Latino community in Long Beach and, with that, the richness of Long Beach grew.”
That diversity was very evident in the populations served by the Molina clinics.
“When we started clinics here and when I enjoyed seeing patients in those clinics ,as well,” Dr. Bernadett explains, “We saw people from all over the world [that] have moved here. And they didn’t just move to the United States. They moved to Long Beach. Long Beach has always been very welcoming of every one.”
This is why the Molina family has stayed here in Long Beach. “We’ve kept our business here, we’ve grown our business here, and we all participate in philanthropic activity
Dr. Martha Molina Bernadett and the Molina Foundation
Dr. Bernadett and her husband, Dr. Faustino “Tino” Bernadett, founded The Molina Foundation. Their mission is to reduce disparities in access to education and health. The Foundation carries on the Molina parents’ legacy of education. C. David and Mary Molina were both elementary school teachers prior to Dr. Molina returning to school to become a physician. According to the Foundation, they have, over the past 10 years, provided nearly 3 million new books to programs and schools serving low-income and at-risk families, many of whom are working with immigrant and limited English proficient families.
Dr. Martha Molina Bernadett has a vision of her own legacy. “I want to be remembered as a good mother, a good wife, and someone who, in their professional career, helped others.”
“I think we, as a family, will have the legacy of being an example of a Latino family that worked hard, that took education seriously, and that put others before ourselves and tried to help those in need.”
For more information on the Molina Foundation, visit HERE.
