Physician Martha Molina Bernadett (MBA '01, PKE 105) Named Graziadio Business School Distinguished Alumnus Honoree
Pepperdine Graziadio Business School is proud to announce family physician, innovator, and philanthropist Martha Molina Bernadett as this year’s Distinguished Alumnus honoree. Recognized for her outstanding personal and professional achievements as a healthcare professional, Bernadett currently serves as a University Board member and has been previously recognized with the Waves of Service George Award and as an Outstanding Alumni in Healthcare.
“We are proud to recognize Martha as Graziadio’s Distinguished Alumna. An accomplished physician and respected business leader who played an integral role in her family’s company, Molina Healthcare, Martha’s true passion lies in family business and the development of values-centered leaders," said Deborah Crown, dean of Graziadio Business School. "This commitment is reflected in her support of initiatives such as the Drs. Martha & Faustino Bernadett Faculty Fellows Program at Graziadio, which advances Graziadio’s mission to champion principled business leaders and supports distinguished faculty who exemplify excellence in teaching, research, and thought leadership. Through her work, Martha continues to expand access to education and opportunity, exemplifying Pepperdine’s calling to inspire lives of service, purpose, and leadership.”
In addition to serving as a leader in healthcare, Pepperdine’s deeply aligned values inspired Bernadett and husband Faustino to establish the Drs. Martha and Faustino Bernadett Endowed Faculty Fellows Program at Graziadio, supporting top faculty in teaching, research, and principled leadership.
Bernadett treated patients in rural California before serving as executive vice president and chief innovation officer at Molina Healthcare—leading digital transformation teams and driving data tools such as Palantir Foundry. She led both the company’s internal business consulting group and its external consulting activities with hospitals, health systems, and municipalities nationwide. In 2003, seven years after the passing of C. David Molina, her father and the company’s founder, her family took Molina Healthcare public. It stands as a Fortune 500 company today.
Bernadett has been principal investigator in research and programs developed for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, First5 California, and others. In 2004 she and her husband launched the Molina Foundation to improve access to education and health, honoring her parents who both started their careers as elementary school teachers. The foundation has distributed new books to more than 11 million children and families nationwide.
Bernadett serves as a trustee on the 4-H National Council Board, First Book, and the Gasol Foundation. She earned her MD at the University of California, Irvine, and her MBA from Pepperdine’s Graziadio Business School.
“I am proud to be a Pepperdine Graziadio Business School Distinguished Alumnus because of the values it represents: a life lived with faith, never-ending curiosity, and higher purpose,” shared Bernadett. “What drew me to Pepperdine was an alignment with those values—the values taught to me by my parents—and what I am most proud of today is that they steadfastly remain. I am part of the fabric of the Graziadio School’s legacy, woven by those who taught us important business skills, life lessons, and the understanding that it is in service to others that we find deepest fulfillment and the grace of God.”
For more news and information on upcoming events, visit the Pepperdine Graziadio Business School website.