Leadership Team
Jill Mendlen, Founder/CEO
Ms. Mendlen is the Founder and serves as President/CEO of LightBridge Hospice and Palliative Care and the Vice President of LightBridge Medical Associates. She also chairs the Board of Directors for LightBridge Hospice Community Foundation. She is a nationally recognized expert in clinical program development, health care management, reimbursement and strategic direction. She has developed and managed a variety of programs designed specifically to provide care to seniors and those with clinically complex medical conditions in a variety of settings including hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, and the community.
Jill explains, “I am so proud, humbled and awestruck when I consider our incredible, talented and dedicated staff who come to work every day with passion and a desire to provide the best care and support they can to the patients and families that we are privileged to serve. The other thing that motivates me every day is how our patients and their families invite us into their lives for this journey. I am always amazed and so appreciative that we are able to make a difference every day.
Ms. Mendlen is a recipient of the Thomas E. Spindle Award by the California Association of Health Facilities, in recognition of tireless devotion to the long-term care profession. She has been recognized as one of San Diego’s “Most Admired CEOs” and a “SD METRO Mover.”
Pamela Hough, Chief Operations Officer
Ms. Hough is Senior Vice President of Operations/Administrator at LightBridge Hospice & Palliative Care. She served on the three-member start-up team for LightBridge and was instrumental in earning the accreditation by the Joint Commission. She also helped create and develop Ohr Ami, The Jewish Hospice Program, at LightBridge. Ms. Hough’s background is rich in managed care experience. She was previously Executive Director of Geriatrix, a senior care management program for nursing home residents based in Tulsa, OK, and Southern CA. Prior to that, she led the implementation team and managed the Social HMO II Medicare Demonstration Project of Sierra Health services in Las Vegas, NV.
Pam currently serves on the Board of Directors for the LightBridge Hospice Community Foundation and the Coordinated Care Initiative (CCI)/Cal MediConnect Advisory Committee for the county of San Diego. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree with an emphasis in Organizational Leadership from Southern Nazarene University, Bethany, OK.
“The part of my role at LightBridge that brings me the greatest joy,” Pam shares, “is the time I get to spend with our team — empowering and enhancing their growth and development as leaders. Every day I am in awe of their incredible work with our patients and families. To play a small role in encouraging them to become the compassionate and gifted leaders that the hospice profession needs is an honor.”
Emmet W. Lee, MD, FAAHPM, Medical Director
Dr. Lee holds Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Texas at Austin, and an MD from the University of Texas Medical School at Houston. He is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in both Internal Medicine and Hospice and Palliative Medicine. Dr. Lee’s hospital affiliations include Palomar Medical Center and Pomerado Hospital.
Dr. Lee was first drawn to the field of hospice and palliative medicine by a desire to provide his patients with the best possible continuity of care. He is committed to treating each of his patients as a whole person, a process that includes involving their families as active participants in the patient’s care. Dr. Lee draws from both his experience and his continuing education in hospice and palliative medicine as he works to help other physicians and patients’ families who are supporting patients faced with life-threatening diseases or who are dealing with severe symptoms from their diseases.
Christine Lee, MBA, BSN, RN, PHN, 
Director of Patient Care Services
Christine Lee has been a registered nurse for over 28 years with the majority of her experience in hospice and pain management. She landed her first job as a hospice nurse in 1997 as essentially a new grad. She has since held every nursing position possible in hospice, including management, quality assessment performance improvement, and independent consulting. For the last 10 years, Christine has held executive leadership positions in hospice.
In 1996, Christine graduated from Ohlone College in northern California with an Associates Degree in Registered Nursing. In 2002, she obtained her Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing and Public Health Nurse certification at the University of Phoenix. In addition to her nursing education, Christine received her MBA from the University of Phoenix in 2024.
Christine’s professional and personal experiences have shaped her to be a unique leader in hospice care. “I love hospice because we can help people make sense of something that makes no sense at all. I’ve been on the front lines of providing hospice care, and most days are so hard. As a hospice leader, I understand how important it is to be there for your team. It all trickles down to what is most important- providing quality, compassionate care for those in their last stages of life.”
