Community Link Consulting: A 25-Year Journey of Heart and Service
A story of passion, purpose, and partnership in serving America's safety net
The Heart Behind the Beginning
The story of Community Link Consulting begins not in a boardroom or business plan, but in the heart of a young man shaped by his grandmother's compassion. Joel Hughes still remembers spending time with his grandmother and mother, both women who had a special sensitivity to people living in poverty. Those early lessons in empathy would prove to be the foundation of something much larger than he could have imagined.
"I spent some years being very poor myself," Joel reflects, thinking back to his time working manual labor jobs in Seattle after high school. That experience of struggle, of knowing what it meant to work hard and still worry about making ends meet, gave him a deep understanding of the populations he would one day serve.
When Joel met Karen in Yakima, who would later become his wife and business partner, her mother had just written the grant for a community health center. Joel became the first CFO of that health center, spending four years learning about people who worked in the orchards, who labored hard in the fields but still couldn't afford healthcare.
"I really enjoyed it," Joel says of those early days. "It is probably one of the more complex businesses I've experienced. I worked in public accounting, in the audit field, and of all of those, this is much more complex." But complexity didn't deter him, it energized him. He saw how much these organizations needed help; how much potential revenue was being left on the table simply because the administrative side was so challenging to navigate.
After moving to Spokane to serve as the first CFO of Community Health Association of Spokane, Joel's vision crystallized. "I felt like I've always wanted to have a business. And I just saw there was such a need in administration of these agencies." The medical reimbursement world was complicated, federal compliance was overwhelming, and these vital community organizations were struggling not because they lacked heart, but because they lacked the technical support they desperately needed.
In 1999, with his wife Karen's unwavering support and after careful financial planning, Joel made the leap. He quit his CFO position and started Community Link Consulting from the basement of their home. It was a cold, dark space with rock foundation walls that he painted to look like a sky, with a calendar featuring bears as his only office decoration.
"You just do whatever you have to do," Joel says simply.
Growing Through Service and Serendipity
What Joel didn't expect was how quickly word would spread. "The demand for support was tremendous, beyond what I expected," he recalls. Almost immediately, he found himself working long hours, driven by a philosophy that would become central to CLC's identity: "If you know more than the next person, you're the expert."
By 2001, the demand had grown so much that Joel hired his first employee, marking the beginning of CLC’s evolution from a one-person consultancy to a growing team dedicated to service the FQHC community.
Joel's willingness to say yes, even to projects he hadn't done before, and then dedicate himself completely to understanding and mastering the work, set CLC apart from the beginning. "I put a lot of time into understanding. I'd say yes to something I didn't necessarily know. But I'd put a lot of time into trying to figure it out and get it right."
Sometimes, timing and preparation meet in extraordinary ways. Just as Joel was starting CLC, Washington State began conducting Medicaid cost report audits. The state auditor had an adversarial approach, finding hundreds of thousands of dollars in liabilities for health centers without pointing out potential benefits. Joel became the only consultant in the state helping these distressed organizations, saving three clinics between $400,000 and $900,000—often converting devastating liabilities into much-needed receivables.
"By default, I was the one that was getting the phone calls for help, because I was the only one in the state that was doing this kind of work," Joel remembers.
As CLC grew, so did its reach and impact. The addition of Peter Theobald in 2008, a colleague Joel had known for over 30 years, brought stability and shared understanding that became foundational to the company's culture. In 2009, Peter became a partner and shareholder, cementing his commitment to CLC’s mission and growth. Together, they began serving health centers across the country, with Joel traveling to 48 states to personally deliver services. Peter, like Joel, has since retired but remains connected to the CLC family and its continued mission.
CLC's commitment to serving organizations in crisis became a defining characteristic of the company. One particularly challenging engagement took the team to Missouri, where a health center was facing a perfect storm of difficulties. The CEO was on administrative leave, federal grant funding was exhausted months early, and vendors were calling constantly for overdue payments. It was the kind of situation that could mean the end of healthcare services for multiple rural communities.
Joel and his team didn't just provide financial consulting. They provided hope. Working with local leadership, they made difficult decisions about staffing cuts, negotiated with every vendor, and implemented strict financial controls. "We stuck to that thing like iron," Joel recalls. The health center survived, and two years later, a board member approached Joel at a presentation: "If it wasn't for you guys, we wouldn't be here."
The Evolution of Leadership and Vision
As CLC grew beyond what one person could manage, the challenge became maintaining the heart and quality that defined the company while building systems that could serve more organizations. "One of the things that makes you successful as a board, as an agency, is institutional knowledge," Joel explains. "And one person in this industry especially cannot do all of that. They have to delegate."
This philosophy of delegation and shared responsibility became crucial as Joel transitioned from daily operations to retirement in 2019, while Karen stepped into COO and later CEO leadership. Having been Joel's business partner from the very beginning, providing the support that allowed him to take the initial business risk, Karen brought continuity with the original vision while driving operational innovation. Joel remains involved as a board member, continuing to share his wisdom while Karen leads the company forward.
The leadership partnership was strengthened in 2018 when Amy Brisson joined as a consultant, bringing a decade of financial leadership experience and 4 years as an FQHC CFO. Amy’s deep expertise and strategic vision quickly made her an integral part of CLC’s evolution.
That pivotal year of 2019 saw significant strategic growth as Amy opened CLC’s Minnesota office, expanding the company’s geographic reach while demonstrating the kind of growth and opportunity that CLC offers both its team members and the industry. Karen also began implementing the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS), bringing systematic structure to support CLC’s continued growth while preserving the culture and values that defined the organization. Amy’s progression from consultant to Minnesota office opener to shareholder and now Chief Strategy Officer represents the seamless leadership development that has become a hallmark of CLC’s approach.
Amy combines deep financial and operational expertise with strategic vision, reflecting the evolution of CLC from a one-person consultancy to a comprehensive strategic partner for healthcare organizations nationwide.
In 2018, Joel, Karen, and Peter Theobald, before his retirement, took time to formalize what had always guided them: seven core values that captured the essence of who they were and how they served:
Leadership – stepping up to fill gaps when you see a need
Curiosity – taking time to truly understand complex systems
Flexibility – adapting to client needs and maintaining work-life balance
Subject Matter Expertise – maintaining deep technical knowledge
Give More Than You Get – focusing on client success over billable hours
Solution Focused – finding creative ways through challenges
Respect – treating everyone with dignity and protecting that standard
"Those core values existed from the beginning," Joel notes. "But putting them on paper helped us remember who we are as we grow."
A Legacy of Heart in Action
Today, Community Link Consulting serves more than 175 health centers across 40+ states with a team of 65+ professionals. But for Joel, the numbers tell only part of the story.
"I think the relationships have definitely been one of the most rewarding aspects," he reflects. "When you get into a longer-term relationship, which is always part of what we wanted, one of the business goals was that we were an extension of staff. If you have that relationship in an open, honest conversation with people, there's always a willingness, almost always a willingness to forgive and move forward."
The philosophy that has sustained CLC for 25 years remains beautifully simple: treat people with respect, work hard, show up on time, and remember why you're doing the work. "We as humans all deserve respect," Joel emphasizes. "And if we have clients that aren't respecting us, we shouldn't be working with them."
Karen brings her own perspective to this legacy: "There's always been that element of fun. Even though work is serious and we're doing a lot of important work at CLC, there's also that element of fun." That balance of being serious about the mission yet joyful in the work continues to define the CLC culture.
"It's easy to get into the details and not recognize that what we're doing is helping that population or those people with those needs," Joel observes. "But indirectly, we are. And it's something that I think we should all take pride in."
Looking Forward with Purpose
As CLC looks toward the future under Karen and Amy's leadership, the original vision remains strong while adapting to new realities. The COVID-19 pandemic validated CLC's early adoption of remote work capabilities, allowing consultants to serve clients more efficiently while maintaining the personal relationships that define the company.
CLC was founded by Joel with a bold vision: to bridge the gap between healthcare and finance in support of America’s most vulnerable populations. His entrepreneurial leadership laid the foundation for the company’s mission and culture. Today, Joel continues to serve as a board member and owner, supporting the next generation of leadership.
Now co-owned by Karen, Joel, and Amy, CLC is led with clarity, purpose, and a commitment to innovation. As Visionary and CEO, Karen provides long-term direction and nurtures the company’s culture and client relationships. Amy, a fellow owner and Chief Strategy Officer, leads strategic growth and partnership development, helping position CLC as a leader in the FQHC space.
Operational leadership is driven by Integrator and COO Johanna Heller, who brings discipline and accountability to the execution of CLC’s vision. Together, this team combines legacy, strategy, and operational excellence to continue delivering on the company’s founding purpose.
"When you look at how we do our business," Joel reflects, "the business opportunities today are far beyond any point ever in the past. It's not so much about taking advantage of them. It is about finding the staff and training the staff and making sure the quality of our service really is maintained while we grow."
The heart that began in a painted basement 25 years ago continues to beat strong in every project, every client relationship, and every life touched by the healthcare organizations CLC serves. It's a legacy built not just on technical expertise, but on the simple belief that everyone deserves respect, quality care, and someone willing to work hard on their behalf.
"I don't know of another agency that is doing what we're doing and has the footprint that we have and the name recognition that we have and the reputation," Joel says with quiet pride. "I think it comes back to staff that just really take our core values to heart, and they're delivering on those, and people recognize that."
The story continues, one relationship at a time, one community health center at a time, one life touched by quality healthcare at a time.