About Rhize Health
Building on strengths, addressing needs
We seek to engage our greatest strengths as a community to face our greatest challenges together, cultivating a resilient community where health is a collective journey not a solitary task.
This is a project by and for the Cobb community. We seek your participation in all stages of the process. Click below to learn more about how to get involved!
“We begin from a simple question: What would it look like to set aside assumptions about all that “health care” entails, and instead explore together how this particular small rural community can best care for ourselves and each other?”
MARIETTE PEETERS, Chief Operating Officer
Our Team
Sophie MacArthur
CEO
Raised in a rural community of 25 people and 2500 sheep, Sophie was inspired by the role of the local small town doctor. Recognizing early that health is shaped by factors far beyond the clinic walls, they studied cultural geography with a public health focus and worked at a safety-net clinic before entering medicine.
They received their MD from the University of Washington through the Targeted Rural Underserved Track (TRUST), further expanding that education with dedicated studies in public health and pastoral care. They completed their Family Practice residency at Santa Rosa Community Health, followed by a surgical obstetrics fellowship in Spokane, WA.
A Cobb resident since 2018, Sophie integrates community health, pastoral care, and an ecosystem-level perspective into their medical practice and is deeply grateful to have had the opportunity to care for their Cobb neighbors. They bring this breadth of experience to Rhize Health, and look forward to serving the collective health of this community for decades to come.
Chris Nettles
CFO
Dr. Christopher Nettles is a community scientist and Chief Financial Officer of Rhize Health, bringing more than two decades of experience in community health, healthcare finance, program management, and health systems transformation. His work focuses on strengthening communities and organizations through health equity, population health strategies, community-based research, and sustainable systems change.
A resident of Cobb, California, Dr. Nettles is actively engaged in local civic and community planning efforts, including service with the Cobb Area Council and participation in Lake County 2050 local area planning. He holds a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, with an emphasis in Community Psychology, from The George Washington University.
Previously, he directed the American Psychological Association’s $2 million Integrated Health Care Alliance, supporting healthcare practices transitioning toward integrated care and value-based reimbursement. His experience also includes HIV/AIDS prevention and care, program evaluation, and nonprofit leadership.
Mariette Peeters
COO
Born in Paris and raised primarily in the San Francisco Bay Area, Mariette Peeters has lived and worked across multiple continents. She brings more than 20 years of experience in nonprofit leadership, public health, health advocacy, and community development.
At Pangaea Global AIDS Foundation, Mariette managed HIV/AIDS programs in Tanzania and administered grants and programs in Zimbabwe, Cambodia, China, and the United States. She later brought her experience to local community redevelopment, managing post-wildfire mitigation and volunteer programs for the Seigler Springs Redevelopment Association.
For more than 15 years, Mariette has also served on the boards of Vipassana meditation centers, helping oversee the financial governance of volunteer-run, donation-based organizations. Her work as a health advocate and coach has focused primarily on supporting people with cancer. She is currently pursuing a master’s degree in social work at Cal Poly Humboldt.
Guiding principles
Learn more about our vision, values, and mission.