perspectives
Fall 2023
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The collective knowledge and experience across our organization is a tremendous asset.
In the Perspectives column, we share insights and learn from each other. In this issue, we interviewed six of our chairs. Right away, we noticed that devotion to upholding the Providence Promise and carrying out the mission and vision are threads that run deeply through our ministries.
Intentional board development emerged as a theme, with boards actively working to increase diversity and close the gaps in representation.
Several of the ministries we highlighted in this issue are rooted in small, tight-knit communities. Priorities include educating their communities about their ministries and the benefits of being backed by the resources of the larger Providence organization. Most want to broaden their donor bases and further develop the culture of philanthropy in their communities.
Read on for their thoughtful answers to our questions.
Right: Michael Caruana, board chair
Chair, Providence Petaluma Valley Hospital Foundation
What are the characteristics of a strong board member?
A strong board member is someone who knows the area and has a strong affinity for making the community a better place. Being part of the fabric of the community reinforces their commitment to staying on the board through thick and thin. They recognize Petaluma Valley Hospital as the vehicle for providing outstanding health care to our community. If they are financially capable of contributing, that’s the icing on the cake. These, for me, are the essentials.
What’s your board’s greatest success?
I’m fairly new to the board, and so far, what I’ve seen is that our board is becoming more and more cohesive. Our CPO, Brett Shinn, has done a great job pulling us together. Part of our success is our members’ willingness to take on whatever tasks need to be done. One of our goals is to raise money for a new CAT scan machine and we are gaining momentum. Things are going in the right direction.
What do you hope to accomplish in your term as board chair?
I hope to instill a spirit of collegiality and participation by making the board meetings meaningful. Each meeting must have a clear purpose, so members come prepared and leave feeling like they accomplished something that mattered. I like to use humor while also getting the job done. A little lightheartedness opens people up to being able to solve problems and fosters a safe environment. A happy meeting is more likely to produce a positive outcome.
What’s your board’s biggest opportunity?
Our biggest challenge is to turn negative press about closing our birthing center into an opportunity. The reality is there aren’t enough new births in our community to support a birthing center. We must continue to educate the community and develop advocates by increasing their understanding. We have to save the hospital first by transferring services and rallying the community around the hospital itself as a community resource.
Right: Nicole Orr, chief philanthropy officer
Margaret Curran
Chair, Providence St. Mary Medical Center Foundation
What are the characteristics of a strong board member?
What are the characteristics of a strong board member?
Above all, our board members should believe in and carry out the mission and vision of our ministry. The Providence Promise of “Know me, care for me, ease my way” should lead all of us in our efforts. The High Desert community is severely underserved, and we must always have our doors open to the poor and vulnerable. Board members should be generous with their talent and treasure and be willing to put in the work by attending board and committee meetings.
What’s your board’s greatest success?
Our greatest success is the annual gala our team produces. It’s a collaborative effort that generates funds for crucial ministry needs. In the past, we’ve raised money for equipment for the mother and baby unit, a new electrophysiology lab and, more recently, scholarships for our caregivers to advance their careers. The gala is a wonderful community event that showcases Providence St. Mary, our amazing caregivers and our outreach to the community.
What do you hope to accomplish in your term as board chair?
I want to leave a larger, more educated and more diverse board. Our former CPO, John Kozyra, worked diligently to grow our board and find members who represent our diverse community. We were thrilled to welcome our new CPO, Nicole Orr. Nicole and I are collaborating to build our board and enhance the onboarding process. I want members to know all about Providence St. Mary, what we stand for, and the amazing work the foundation is doing.
What’s your board’s biggest opportunity?
We need to do a better job of communicating to our High Desert community about our award-winning medical center including our new medical residency program funded by the foundation. We want the community to know our desire to provide premier care to the High Desert. We are the hospital’s ambassadors, and it’s our job to sing its praises and inspire support.
Right: Heather DeMarinis, board chair
Heather DeMarinis
Chair, Providence Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital Foundation
What are the characteristics of a strong board member?
As a board, we can’t be afraid to address tough questions. Strong board members are willing to go there. They believe in the mission and are engaged in the board experience. We’re really focused on the Providence Promise of “Know me, care for me, ease my way.” That’s how I feel about the board, and I know that’s how they feel about each other. We’ve been working through a lot of the board formalities. And, of course, the obvious—opening doors, building networks and partnering with the foundation to make a difference at the hospital.
What’s your board’s greatest success?
When I joined the board, we were finishing a massive fundraising campaign. Shortly thereafter, the project was canceled for business reasons. This created a huge challenge for us with our donors and our board. Our big accomplishment is that we kept our board intact, and we came through that. We have made progress in repairing those relationships and rebuilding trust. For the most part, we’ve been able to move the money into other projects. It wasn’t always easy, but we pulled it together and made it happen. Today, we’re headed in a wonderful direction. And we’ve brought in a great new CPO, Rebecca Kendall.
What do you hope to accomplish in your term as board chair?
I want our members to feel proud of their time on the board and what we accomplished in our time together. As we’ve transitioned with Rebecca, we’ve done a lot of board development by revisiting and creating clear charters and processes. We’ve moved past our big hurdle, and now we are evolving the way we raise money. I want board members to enjoy their relationships with each other and the fulfillment of working on a committed team. I really care that members have a meaningful experience and a strong sense of the impact of what we did together.
What’s your board’s biggest opportunity?
Our biggest opportunity is to build a culture of philanthropy in our community. We’re a small city with three hospitals. Our opportunity is to broaden our donor base and let our community know who we are and why it matters. We are building a passion for the hospital within the community.
Right: Kurt Hinrichsen, chief philanthropy officer
Kathleen M. Eckert
Chair, Providence Little Company of Mary Foundation
What are the characteristics of a strong board member?
Commitment to the mission is important. That’s pervasive in this organization— people really do get it and are motivated by it. Jumping in with both feet is a key to success in volunteer work. If you’re going to invest your time, you should come in fully committed to participating and collaborating. Everybody commits when they join to make a financial donation, attend meetings, and serve on at least one committee. It’s important to lead by example and inspire others to give generously of their time, their talent and their treasure. At any given time, an individual board member is suited to give one or all of those to stay engaged.
What’s your board’s greatest success?
We’ve been successful at inspiring philanthropic investments to maintain our margin of excellence and our leading-edge reputation. If we didn’t have a story to tell, we wouldn’t be as successful as we’ve been financially. Many times, someone is known to the foundation through a board member. We are good at communicating to our board members what we’re there for and getting them to articulate that message out in the community. We know many times that it’s our credibility within our networks that sparks interest in supporting the hospital, and that’s part of our job.
What do you hope to accomplish in your term as board chair?
When I started, one of the big things for me was to reset the relationships after COVID. I wanted to reestablish connections and help the newer people because they hadn’t had much chance to integrate into the board. Our CPO, Kurt Hinrichsen, and I started doing “Listening Lunches” with small groups of new and established board members. We gave them the “state of the union,” had an open discussion and asked for their input. We learned a lot, including how to make the meetings more productive. We’re also working on board diversity. By the end of my term, we will have increased diversity in age, gender, ethnicity and geography.
What’s your board’s biggest opportunity?
We have two campuses in one ministry—San Pedro and Torrance. As the system has concentrated centers of excellence on each campus, one of our biggest opportunities is expanding the geographical distribution of our patients and donors. People from the beach communities tend to have different circles of friends than those from Palos Verdes, as do folks with connections in San Pedro. We want to increase “top of mind” awareness of our medical centers as providers of great care right here in our South Bay communities. By educating our board members and choosing our messengers strategically, we have a tremendous opportunity to expand the geographic diversity of donors and patients.
Right: Matt Rinnert, chief philanthropy officer
Jerald Einziger, M.D.
Chair, Providence Tarzana Foundation
What are the characteristics of a strong board member?
I joined the Tarzana medical staff in 1976, serving on the executive committee multiple times while leading the Radiology department. My reason for joining the foundation board when it started was that I felt I had a debt to pay. A strong board member wants to give back and is passionate about supporting the hospital. You must also have great people skills and a personality that wants to give back. Talking about the hospital in the community is important, as is having a strong network you can refer.
What’s your board’s greatest success?
The Friese gift and the naming of the new tower is the easy answer! It certainly is amazing that there are people out there who are that generous. It really established us as a bonified nonprofit and opened doors for our CPO, Matt Rinnert. The Friese gift and launching the foundation as a fundraising powerhouse are a part of our success story. I’m proud of Matt and the wonderful organization he’s built that does the day-to-day fundraising. Knowing a lot of physicians, I enjoy helping Matt meet his goals by working with other physicians to refer grateful patients.
What do you hope to accomplish in your term as board chair?
What a lot of medical foundations have difficulty with is attracting physicians to be active in the foundation. All during COVID, we arranged a series of lectures by various physicians in the hospital that was open to board members and others. It helped us build great relationships between the board members and the physicians at the hospital. It worked phenomenally well. That’s one of the key accomplishments I’ll look back on.
What’s your board’s biggest opportunity?
We’ve already got a list of challenges. The new Friese Family Patient Tower opened on October 1. And almost immediately, we’re going to start building five new operating rooms. The challenge going forward is keeping up with the changes in technology and recruiting specially trained clinicians and caregivers to use it.
Right: Laurie Garrison, board chair
Laurie Garrison
Chair, Providence Redwood Memorial Foundation
What are the characteristics of a strong board member?
It’s important that board members have an appreciation for the mission of the hospital and the foundation. They need to advocate for and share the importance of the hospital and the need for philanthropy. Our board members should be that voice, so the community understands and appreciates what the needs are and why it’s important to support the hospital. It’s vital that our members have relationships with people in our small community. It is those relationships that give a special type of influence that helps garner funds. This is grassroots fundraising.
What’s your board’s greatest success?
Collectively, our foundation, because of its connectivity to the community, has been very successful with its fundraising. We’ve been blessed with a continuous amount of support and generosity. Our annual fundraising event raises several hundred thousand dollars each year, which is significant given this is primarily a blue-collar area. We used to have the timber industry, but it’s waning. It’s really our neighbors, small businesses, and a few foundations from old timber money who are giving — it’s that connectivity that drives support.
What do you hope to accomplish in your term as board chair?
I’m helping people embrace change as positive and continue to advocate for Redwood. I want our internal stakeholders and our community to understand that without the support of a larger organization, we would be challenged to navigate hard times. Our very rural community is struggling. Most are born here and never leave the area. I’m thankful I have been able to share my experience of coming from a larger area and working in other places. I hope I can help to get the community to embrace and understand that we now have the best of both worlds. We’re now backed up by more resources.
What’s your board’s biggest opportunity?
Our biggest opportunity is to continue to grow our philanthropic support. Our community is fiercely independent, and many of our bigger donors are wary. We are working to demonstrate that we are headed in a direction that is good for the community.
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