February 10, 2026<\/p>\n
How did Yolanda Richardson parlay a Sacramento State bachelor\u2019s degree in Social Science into a job running a billion-dollar health care agency?<\/p>\n
Confidence. A can-do attitude. And a \u201cservant leadership\u201d style that emphasizes collaboration and sharing power.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s never about you or your personal agenda,\u201d said Richardson, chief executive officer of San Francisco Health Plan, which provides affordable medical coverage to more than 180,000 low-income families in the Bay Area. \u201cWe are all better together.\u201d<\/p>\n
It is a philosophy that has guided Richardson throughout her career.<\/p>\n
Prior to taking her current position in 2022, Richardson served in health care roles for various agencies, including Covered California, before becoming secretary of the California Government Operations Center. Just two days into the role in March 2020, Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in response to the Covid pandemic.<\/p>\n
The governor named Richardson the state\u2019s \u201cvaccine czar,\u201d responsible for helping to transition employees to telework, procuring personal protective equipment, and ensuring that Californians could access Covid tests and receive inoculations against the deadly virus.<\/p>\n
Richardson never could have anticipated the task ahead of her.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow you are in the middle of a crisis that no one has ever seen before, and you\u2019re responsible for doing everything you can to fix that,\u201d she recalled.<\/p>\n
It was overwhelming, but she embraced the challenge. Working days that often stretched to 15 hours, she led a widely praised effort to deliver necessary vaccines and equipment in the state.<\/p>\n
The governor\u2019s leadership, and the hard work of medical and community groups across the state, were critical to the effort\u2019s success, Richardson said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were all aligned, we were all focused. We knew our charge, and we came together and got things done,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
In April 2022, Richardson left that position to become CEO of San Francisco Health Plan. It was her second stint at the agency, where she earlier had served as Chief Operations Officer. The plan covers residents who otherwise would be unable to afford health care for themselves and their families.<\/p>\n
Throughout her career, Richardson has found herself at conferences and around conference tables with professional peers who had climbed the academic ladder, earning one or more doctoral degrees. Richardson got all she needed from her undergraduate degree and teaching credential from Sac State.<\/p>\n
She has risen in her career because she masters her subject, listens carefully to the people she serves, and acts as a \u201cservant leader,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou cannot be a good leader if you don\u2019t have a servant heart,\u201d she said. \u201cYou have to approach the task with the idea that you\u2019re there to provide something.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have things that I am personally passionate about and concerned about, and I try to find ways to make those things work. But at the end of the day, I\u2019m here to serve others, and I think that is what has made me successful.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richardson cultivated those values during her upbringing in the tiny town of Weed, in Siskiyou County, and later in Sacramento.<\/p>\n
Along with her grandparents, one of her early mentors was a church pastor who preached and demonstrated the importance of caring for others.<\/p>\n
\u201cBoth of my grandparents would volunteer to do things in the community,\u201d she recalled. \u201cEveryone helped one another. If somebody needed something, everyone showed up to help. I have been able to translate that into the work that I do in urban settings.\u201d<\/p>\n
Richardson has gained a reputation as someone who never flinches from a daunting task.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Yolanda says she\u2019s going to do something, she\u2019s doggone going to do it,\u201d she said. \u201cIf you\u2019re working with her, she\u2019s going to be a good partner. There will be transparency and support.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope that when people talk about me, these are the types of things they say; that they feel my authenticity in wanting to be a servant leader. I strive for that every day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her approach to work also translates into her presence on the state\u2019s Racial Equity Commission, on which she serves with Sac State President Luke Wood. The commission\u2019s goal is to correct past injustices rooted in institutional racism.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe commission is doing a fantastic job of actually asking people what equity means to them, and then supporting them with the academic resources and other tools that can support their desired outcomes,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will never be able to erase all of the injustices,\u201d she said. \u201cBut we can give people the tools and the power to move forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
Outside of her career and volunteer work, Richardson indulges her love of wrestling and basketball.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love WWE,\u201d she said. \u201cI have a picture of my favorite WWE people over in the corner of my office.\u201d<\/p>\n
Both of her children are basketball coaches in Roseville, where they family lives. Both, Richardson said, are considering attending Sac State. She offers a powerful endorsement.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have always been so proud of my degree from Sac State,\u201d Richardson said. \u201cI have my Sac State flag, and I drink my coffee every morning out of my Sac State mug. So, yes, I am pitching Sac State. I definitely am a great advertisement.\u201d<\/p>\n
About Cynthia Hubert<\/p>\n
Cynthia Hubert came to Sacramento State in November 2018 after an award-winning career writing for the Sacramento Bee. Cynthia believes everyone has a good story. She lives in East Sacramento with her two cats, who enjoy bird-watching from their perch next to the living-room window.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Cynthia Hubert February 10, 2026 How did Yolanda Richardson parlay a Sacramento State bachelor\u2019s degree in Social…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":172230,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[121,123,122],"class_list":{"0":"post-172229","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sacramento","8":"tag-sacramento","9":"tag-sacramento-headlines","10":"tag-sacramento-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172229","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=172229"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/172229\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/172230"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=172229"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=172229"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=172229"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}