H-CAP Names Filaine Deronnette Executive Director

Seasoned labor and healthcare workforce leader to guide sector transformation through high-road labor-management partnerships

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

New York, NY — September 1, 2026 — The Healthcare Career Advancement Program (H-CAP), a national labor-management organization advancing worker-centered, industry-responsive workforce development, today announced Filaine Deronnette as its new Executive Director.

Filaine brings more than two decades of leadership experience standing with workers, strengthening healthcare workforce systems, and building partnerships that create economic opportunity and improve care. She previously held senior leadership roles with 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East and the Massachusetts AFL-CIO, where she helped build labor-management training partnerships (LMTPs), workforce development strategies, and leadership pipelines for healthcare workers. She has also provided executive coaching, strategic facilitation, and leadership development support to mission-driven organizations, public-sector leaders, and community partners.

Filaine currently serves as Co-Chair of the Health Equity Compact. She also holds statewide leadership roles, including membership on the Governor's Black Empowerment Advisory Council and the Massachusetts Public Education Nominating Council. She previously served as Vice Chair of the Massachusetts Health Connector Board.

"Filaine’s record speaks for itself: two decades building labor-management training partnerships, developing leaders, and strengthening healthcare systems. She brings the judgment, the relationships, and the track record H-CAP needs to grow our reach at a moment when the healthcare workforce cannot wait. On behalf of the Board, I am honored to welcome her to H-CAP." — Leslie Frane, Labor Chair of the H-CAP Board, Executive Vice President of Service Employees International Union

Filaine joins H-CAP at a pivotal moment for the direct care workforce. Healthcare employers nationwide are confronting persistent direct care workforce shortages, and occupational segregation continues to shape opportunity for Black women and other women of color in care work. Under Filaine's leadership, H-CAP is positioned to expand access to good union jobs, grow healthcare registered apprenticeships as an earn-and-learn training approach, and drive systems change that strengthens the healthcare workforce, supports employers, and improves outcomes for our communities.

“I was drawn to H-CAP because its mission sits at the intersection of so much of my life’s work: healthcare, workforce development, labor-management partnership, and equity. I have seen firsthand how critical it is to build strong pipelines, invest in workers, and create meaningful opportunities for people to grow into careers that serve their communities and families well. I am excited by the opportunity to build on that foundation, deepen the organization’s impact, and help position H-CAP to meet the changing needs of the healthcare workforce.” — Filaine Deronnette, Executive Director, H-CAP

Outside of her professional work, Filaine serves in the ministry. She and her husband have three sons whose music, sports, and creativity fill their home.

About H-CAP

H-CAP is a national labor-management organization that transforms the healthcare sector through high-road training partnerships. H-CAP’s partnerships span 22 states plus Washington, D.C. and Ontario, Canada, including more than 1,050 employers and reaching more than 800,000 workers across every setting of healthcare: home care, skilled nursing facilities, hospitals and health systems, and behavioral health. 

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Contact: Tamara Martial-Dolcy | tamara.martial-dolcy@hcapinc.org | (917) 573-4787