Our Leadership
Mario Jardon, LCSW
President & Chief Executive Officer
Mario Jardon, LCSW is the founding President and CEO of Citrus Health Network, Inc., a non-profit Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) based in Hialeah, Florida. Citrus Health Network was founded in 1979 as a community mental health center dedicated to serving mentally ill individuals and their families. In 2004, Citrus Health Network received a Section 330(e) grant from the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) began offering primary care in addition to mental and behavioral health services; taking an integrated approach to care. Today, Citrus Health Network serves more than 30,000 patients annually across behavioral health, primary care, and community-based supportive services. Beginning in July 2019, Citrus assumed the role of Community-Based Care Lead Agency for Child Welfare for Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties as a contractor for the Department of Children and Families. Citrus’ CBC division is known as Citrus Family Care Network.
Mr. Jardon began his career in New York and New Jersey. After earning his Masters in Social Work from Fordham University, Mr. Jardon moved through direct service positions and in 1977, became Center Director at the Mount Carmel Guild Community Mental Health Center in Newark, New Jersey.
In 1979, Mr. Jardon relocated to South Florida to lead a newly-formed Community Mental Health Center in Hialeah, Florida, now known as Citrus Health Network. In the past 35 years, Mr. Jardon, with the support of the Citrus Health Network Board of Directors and staff, has been able to achieve continued growth for the Center.
Mr. Jardon has a history of involvement with organizations that help communities and individuals in need. He has served as Chairman of the Health Council of South Florida and as Co-Chairman of the Eleventh Judicial Circuit of Miami-Dade County’s Jail Diversion Task Force. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Florida Council for Community Mental Health and more recently, on the Board of South Florida Behavioral Health Network (SFBHN).
Mr. Jardon is a member of the Florida State University College of Social Work Center for the Study and Promotion of Communities, Families and Children. He also serves on the Nursing Advisory Council for the Florida International University College of Nursing and Health Sciences (CNHS). The Advisory Council serves as a link between the CNHS and the community.
He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Health Choice Network (HCN), an administrative services organization located in Miami, Florida that serves FQHCs in 11 states, including more than 24 FQHCs in Florida. Mr. Jardon is the Chairman of the HCN Managed Care Committee.
In 2009 the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) approved the creation of Prestige Health Choice, a Provider Services Network (PSN) owned by FQHCs and affiliated with HCN. Mr. Jardon was elected by his peers to serve on the Prestige Health Choice Audit Committee, and subsequently on the plan’s Board of Governors. Mr. Jardon also served on the Board of Managers of Prestige’s Community Care of Florida.
Maria Alonso, MBA
Chief Operating Officer
Maria Alonso, MBA is the Chief Operating Officer of Citrus Health Network. She is also the Designated Institutional Official (DIO) who oversees all graduate educational programs accredited by the American Psychological Association (APA) and the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). Citrus Health Network is the first Federally Qualified Health Center to achieve institutional accreditation from ACGME, hosting a Psychiatry Residency Program beginning in July 2015, and a Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Fellowship since July 2018. Citrus has been training psychologists through APA-accredited programs since 1988 through the Doctoral Psychology Internship Program and has been training Post-Doctoral Psychology Residents since 2004. The Psychology Residency program is the only one in the nation to be based in a Community Mental Health Center.
As a result of her duties as DIO, she has been appointed as an Affiliate Dean at the Florida International University Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine. Ms. Alonso also serves as an Advisory Council member for the Florida State University College of Social Work Center for the Study and Promotion of Communities, Families, and Children founded to generate and sustain transformational knowledge development for effective policies, services, and usable research for the promotion of communities, families, and the children of Florida, the nation, and across the globe.
Ms. Alonso joined Citrus Health Network in 1981 and has more than 40 years of experience working in the healthcare field. She holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Chemistry and a Master’s in Business Administration with a specialization in Health Administration from the University of Miami. She is also a Diplomate of the American Board of Quality Assurance and Utilization Review Physicians with a Subspecialty Certification in Patient Safety and Risk Management.
In 2003, Ms. Alonso was appointed by the Governor to serve on the Board of Directors of The Children’s Trust of Miami-Dade County, an independent special taxing district that funds programs and services for children and youth. During her tenure, she chaired the Procurement Committee, served on the Executive Committee, and, from 2013-2015, served as Chairman of The Children’s Trust Board of Directors. The Children’s Trust works to ensure a stable, recurring source of dollars for children’s services in Miami-Dade County. The Trust partners with the community to plan, advocate for, and fund strategic investments that improve the lives of all children and families in Miami-Dade County.
Ms. Alonso was appointed by the Miami-Dade County Commission to serve on the Miami-Dade County Children’s Services Council in 1989. She served as Chairperson from 1996-1998. She has also served on a number of other state and local boards, including the Alliance on Aging, the Florida Multi-Agency Network Advisory Board for Severely Emotionally Disturbed Children, the South Florida Perinatal Network, and the City of Miami Health Facilities Authority.