This is our fourth installment of a special “10 Questions” series profiling business people involved in local nonprofit agencies.

As a child, Beatrice Bostick spent a good deal of time wandering the galleries of the Detroit Institute of Arts. Later, at Wayne State University, she studied Egyptology and Archaeology, hoping to become a real-life archaeologist or explorer. 

Instead, after graduation, Bostick spent two and a half years doing health work in Togo, West Africa. “When I was there, there was a 50 percent mortality rate for children in the first two years of life,” said Bostick. “It changed my perspective on what I wanted to do with my life.”

Today, Bostick is the executive director for Community Health Clinic Ole.

“Running a medical clinic is also an adventure, so I’m not the least bit sorry I’m doing this,” she said.

Which three people would you most like to have dinner with?

Teddy Roosevelt, adventurer, president and conservationist who passed legislation to establish and preserve countless National Parks, historic monuments and ancient ruins.

Alexandra David-Néel, a French woman who, in the early part of the 20th century, made her way alone across mountain passes into the forbidden Kingdom of Tibet, where she traveled for several years disguised as a Lama experiencing this ancient country’s culture and religious practices.

Explorer Sir Richard Francis Burton, who discovered the source of the Nile. He lived a dangerous and fascinating life.

What job would you like to try/not try?

Try: I’d like to be on the team in Washington that develops the plan for health-care reform.

Not try: Telemarketing. I couldn’t stand being that annoying.

What’s the worst job you ever had?

Working in the bargain basement of a large, urban department store in Oakland at Christmas. If you ever want me to reveal my secret plan for world domination, just make me listen to Alvin and the Chipmunks sing the same Christmas Carols, over and over again, 10 hours-a-day for three weeks. 

What is the biggest challenge your business has faced?

I think this year is going to be it. As people continue to lose their homes, their jobs and their health insurance the demand for low cost services at Clinic Ole will continue to rise. At the same time, deep state funding cuts and the significant drop in philanthropy caused by the stock market will challenge our financial ability to serve the ever-rising number of uninsured.

Whom do you most admire in the business world?

Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Group, a fearless, savvy, imaginative entrepreneur who also supports good causes. He also tried to cross the ocean in a hot air balloon.

What is one thing you hope to accomplish in your lifetime that you haven’t yet?

Have a novel published. I write genre fiction I call Urban Fantasy. I’m finishing one book called “Raptor.” I’ve written another book called “Red,” which is a spin on Little Red Riding Hood all grown up. I only started really writing about five years ago. It’s really a spare time type of thing.

If you could change one thing about your business, what would it be?

It would be that Congress would pass a Health care Reform Bill that provides reasonable, low-cost access to health care to all levels of society. People in this country should not have to choose between paying for food and rent, or going to the doctor, or have to declare bankruptcy because their insurance doesn’t cover all of their medical bills when they are seriously ill.

What is something that people would be surprised to know about Clinic Ole?

Because of our name, many Napans assume the clinic only provides medical and dental services to uninsured farmworkers and their families. In fact, Clinic Ole has always served a significant percentage of other low-income populations living in Napa County, including those on MediCal and Medicare. For anyone without medical insurance, our fees are assessed on a sliding scale, based on federal guidelines.

If you could be anywhere right now, where would you be? 

Taos, New Mexico. The town is full of artists, it has the oldest continuously occupied Pueblo in the United States, and the sky is incredible.

What other business person(s) would you like to see featured in “10 Questions for…”

Randy Snowden, director, Napa County Health and Human Services Department.

John Shafer, founder of Shafer Vineyards, President, Clinic Ole Foundation Board of Directors.

Suzanne Shiff, executive director, Napa Valley Coalition of Nonprofit Agencies.

Kathleen Dreesen, executive director, Napa Valley Community Housing.

Lynda Jordan, Le Melange Academy of Hair and Esthetics.

More from Beatrice Bostick

What’s your favorite gift to give?

Something someone really wants, but would never buy for himself or herself.

What’s one thing Napa could do to help local business?

Redesign/open up the Second Street side of the mall so people who come to Napa can see there are shops and businesses behind that wall of buildings.

What’s the most significant project you’ve been involved with in your career?

Growing Clinic Ole from a small non-profit organization providing less than 2,000 medical visits a year, to one with six sites throughout the valley that, together, provided almost 68,000 visits a year in 2008. This could never have happened without the hard work of the Clinic’s incredible management team, medical providers and support staff, who put their time, energy and heart into making Clinic Ole the best that it can be.

What are the challenges and or benefits of working for a non-profit based in Napa Valley?

Napa is extremely supportive of the non-profit agencies that provide services to the various populations that live in the Valley. The Coalition of Non-Profit Agencies has helped non-profit create solid, collaborative relationships between member agencies, funders, county services and Vintners. What Napa has achieved is unique in my experience.

The primary challenge Clinic Ole has right now is meeting the ever increasing demand for services from Napa residents who have lost their jobs and health insurance while, at the same time, dealing with the a significant loss of funding from the state and a variety of other sources.

I can’t live without:

Coffee.

What’s on your to-do list?

To visit Tibet, New Zealand, Australia and Burma.

Each Wednesday, the Napa Valley Register’s Business Focus asks “10 Questions” of a local business person. Readers are welcome to suggest business people to be profiled. To suggest a candidate for “10 Questions” e-mail: jhuffman@napanews.com