Debra Pledger-Fonte

Program Coordinator, International Palliative Care Leadership Development Initiative

Debra is the Program Coordinator for the Leadership Development Initiative (LDI). She manages the day-to-day operations of the LDI program. She provides support and guidance to the LDI Leaders, Mentors, Coaches, and Team. She coordinates activities and functions to ensure that goals and objectives of the LDI program are accomplished in accordance with established priorities, timelines, and funding limitations. Debra also assists in curriculum and Residential Course development; coordination of curriculum development with faculty, consultants and mentors. Debra has been a part of the LDI program from the beginning as a volunteer helper.

Other Appointments:

Master Sergeant/E-7, Retired 1995, United States Air Force
Patient Care Coordinator & Medical Transcriptionist, Sleep Disorders Center, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 1995 – 1998
Research Associate/Study Coordinator, Gastroenterology Department, Loma Linda University Medical Center and Jerry L. Pettis VA Medical Center, Loma Linda, California,1998 – 2004
Administrative Assistant, AntiViral Research Center, University of California at San Diego, San Diego, California, 2005 – 2008
Research Associate, Center for Research, San Diego Hospice and The Institute for Palliative Medicine, San Diego, California, 2008 – 2011
Grant Development Coordinator, San Diego Hospice and The Institute for Palliative Medicine, San Diego, California, 2008 – 2010
Coordinator, Institutional Review Board, San Diego Hospice and The Institute for Palliative Medicine, San Diego, California, 2009 – 2011

Key Publications

Pledger-Fonte, DA. (2012). “United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child” (pp. 290-291, Vol 2) entry for the Encyclopedia on Immigrant Health. Sana Loue and Martha Sajatovic, Ed. New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers.