MiSalud is building a new way to reach people who have long been called hard to reach, for one simple reason: the health system was never built for them.
Bismarck Lepe and Wendy Johansson saw the same gap from two directions: a large part of the workforce cannot reach care when they need it, because the system was not built around their jobs, their languages or their schedules.
Both had spent their careers scaling businesses across the United States and Mexico. That experience put them in a position to build the company that could close the gap, with one integrated model of care.
Each step came from what members and employers told us they needed next.
We started in agriculture. Early engagement with Taylor Farms validated the hybrid model: meet people in person, then stay with them by video, phone or chat. The platform is built to grow into hospitality, retail and construction, in the United States and Mexico.
Our chronic condition program is built on the American Heart Association's Cardiovascular-Kidney-Metabolic framework. Our mental health care is rooted in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy practice.
Healthy Kids and Healthy Bites, Mental Health (MiMente), Nutrition, GLP-1 Support when clinically appropriate, and Women's Health followed, each answering a need we heard directly.
MiSalud Lab brings screenings on site in about 20 minutes.
Dr. Richard Boxer, a board member and interim Chief Medical Officer, was Teladoc's first CMO and an early telehealth pioneer.
Every clinical teammate is sent to on-site events to meet the people we serve in person.
We considered the design of the app for people whose hands are cramped at the end of the day.
Members choose the channel that fits their comfort with technology. We believe in hybrid care and in building trust.
For supporting marginalized communities.
For the model of care.
Our own data, added to the national conversation on the health of Hispanic workers.
Read the reportAlso recognized: Co-founder Wendy Johansson was named to Inc.'s 2026 Female Founders 500 list.
Read the announcement
Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Bismarck Lepe is the CEO of MiSalud and a co-founder of the company. The Mexican-American son of migrant farm workers, he spent his early childhood following the seasonal harvests with them from Mexico, through California and up to Washington state. He graduated from Stanford University and has become one of the most successful tech entrepreneurs and investors, with over $1B in exits.
Bismarck recently served as CEO and founder of Wizeline, a digital services and transformation company that helps businesses drive the development of successful products and technology. Prior to Wizeline, Lepe was a co-founder and founding CEO of Ooyala, a video technology platform company which was sold to Telstra in 2014. Previously, he was an early employee at Google, responsible for Ads Quality products and Video Advertising, which contributed over $1 billion in revenue. His board work includes Cerby (cybersecurity), Tec de Monterrey university, and the investment committee of Proeza Ventures.
Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer
Wendy Johansson is a 2x startup founder and seasoned product leader. She leads with human-centered innovation to build cutting-edge technology with the empathy of human care. At MiSalud Health, she leads technology, operations and clinical strategy to deliver accessible, bilingual virtual care for mental and physical health. Throughout her career, Wendy has held impactful tech leadership roles, building products and teams from 0 to 1, then scaling platforms to millions of users.
Prior to MiSalud, she co-founded Wizeline with Bismarck, built the UX Apprenticeship program at Amazon, led design teams across 12 global hubs as Global VP of Experience at Publicis Sapient, and led product/design at early-stage startups such as AppNexus (ad tech), Loopt (Sam Altman's first startup) and Ooyala (video). In her free time, Wendy mentors up and coming founders, invests in LatAm startups with the CompuSoluciones Corporate Venture Fund, and is an advisor at Cerby and Wizeline.
Medical Director of Clinical Strategy and Laboratory Services
Dr. Pablo Nicholas Veliz is the Medical Director of Clinical Strategy and Laboratory Services at MiSalud Health. Board certified in family medicine, he maintains an active primary care practice on the central coast and brings deep expertise in clinical governance to the leadership team.
Growing up in Southern California as a Mexican-American, Dr. Veliz developed a lifelong passion for advancing bicultural patient care. His medical education at the Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara deeply informs his approach to medicine, allowing him to seamlessly bridge the gap between healthcare delivery and the unique cultural needs of the community. In addition to his leadership at MiSalud, he serves on the Board of Directors of The Carmel Foundation and acts as an advisor for the Cadence Provider Product Advisory Council. He is deeply dedicated to navigating and simplifying the complexities of the healthcare system through a patient-centered approach that prioritizes culture, language, and trust.
Board Member and Interim Chief Medical Officer
A nationally recognized figure in healthcare, Dr. Boxer's distinguished career includes service as a former U.S. Presidential Advisor to Democratic and Republican administrations and collaborations with the Department of Health and Human Services on national health policy initiatives. He has advised HHS secretaries, senators, representatives, and governors on critical healthcare matters.
His commitment to public health is further underscored by his service on the Board of two Institutes of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and as a private citizen representative to the World Health Organization (WHO). Dr. Boxer was the finalist for Surgeon General of the US in 1995 in the Clinton Administration, and a short-list finalist in 2001 in the George W. Bush Administration, being the only American so honored from both sides of the aisle, demonstrating his deep and singular commitment to the patient.
Dr. Boxer has a proven track record in building and managing large-scale clinical programs, developing innovative healthcare delivery models, and ensuring quality of care. As Teladoc's first Chief Medical Officer, he created the clinical program that enabled the company's significant expansion and developed the early evidence-based telemedicine guidelines that have become industry standards for quality assurance.
Sr. Program Manager, Mental Health
Sarah De La Cerda, LCSW, is a pioneering Mental Health Therapist/Consultant and proud third generation Latina. With a passion for collaborative care and behavioral health, she's transformed programs at Stanford Children's Health, Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center, and Kaiser Permanente Medical Group, and now brings her expertise to MiSalud Health.
She has experience providing direct care, program development, supervision, clinical support and staff trainings. She received a Masters of Social Work from University of California, Berkeley and BA in Psychology from University of San Francisco.
Family Physician
Dr. Keegan Duchicela completed his undergraduate degree at Stanford University in Human Biology and obtained his medical degree at UC San Francisco School of Medicine. He trained in family medicine and worked at Google's onsite Wellness Centers in addition to serving as faculty at the Stanford-O’Connor Family Medicine Residency Program. In addition to working in telemedicine for over a decade, he has developed and led various population health initiatives for employers, unions and the public sector including cardiometabolic screening, virtual PrEP/PEP care, covid-19 antiviral test-to-treat programs, and most recently, cancer screening, prevention and survivorship programs. He is board certified in obesity medicine and family medicine.
Advisor
Alex Bitoun brings invaluable expertise to MiSalud Health as an advisor. Renowned as a seasoned entrepreneur for leveraging technology to improve healthcare outcomes, his past roles include co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of Livongo, president of Sagely, and co-founder of Trilliant Technology Group. His experience in pioneering consumer-centric digital health solutions that empower individuals to manage chronic conditions informs MiSalud's mission of delivering accessible and culturally relevant virtual care.
At Livongo, Alex revolutionized diabetes management through intelligent technology and personalized support, which was acquired by Teladoc for $18.5B in 2020. His deep understanding of user engagement, data-driven insights, and the complexities of scaling healthcare innovations are instrumental in guiding MiSalud Health's growth and impact.
Co-Founder and Advisor
Cindy Blanco Ochoa is a proud Jalisciense and a co-founder of MiSalud Health who also served as CEO during the company's early growth stages. She remains an active advisor. Her professional career crosses both Mexico and the U.S. and spans IT, government, nonprofits and large enterprises. That knowledge led to building MiSalud to solve a challenge she faced along with many other U.S. Latinos: a U.S. health care system so complex, she would wait to get medical treatment in Mexico from doctors who knew her culture and language.
Cindy is currently Secretary of Economic Development for the state of Jalisco. She previously served as a Council Woman at the Government of Zapopan, where she led the Socioeconomic Development Commission. She has served on at the Board of Advisors and Investment Committees of several venture capital entities and was co-founder and CEO at StartupGDL, a Wizeline sister nonprofit that helped fast-growing global tech startups access the Mexico tech ecosystem.
