Anne Garcia
Rose Community Foundation’s staff and board of trustees is saddened to share news of the unexpected death of President and CEO Sheila Bugdanowitz.
Ms. Budgdanowitz has stewarded the organization since 1998. She embodied the foundation’s values of philanthropy, justice, nondiscrimination and its mission to make the greater Denver community a better place. Her leadership shaped what Rose Community Foundation is today.
Ms. Budgdanowitz was legendary for her deep connections and relationships. She brought people together to make the community a better place for all and she dedicated her life to improving the world around her. The foundation will miss her leadership and her warm and generous spirit, which echoes through the philanthropic community and the community as a whole.
Chief Financial and Operating Officer Anne Garcia will serve as Interim President and CEO in order that the foundation can continue its important work in the greater Denver community without interruption.
Contact: Jerry Glick
Email: boardchair@rcfdenver.org
Raymond J. Baxter, Ph.D. and Michael Mathias
Blue Shield of California Foundation appointed two new members to its Board of Trustees to support its mission to improve health equity and end domestic violence in California. The new members include Raymond J. Baxter, Ph.D., a former executive at Kaiser Permanente and Michael Mathias, Senior Vice President of Blue Shield of California. As part of the nine-person board, they will help to review, oversee, and ensure that the foundation’s charitable investments go to their highest and best use on behalf of vulnerable populations across the state.
With more than 40 years in the fields of public health and healthcare, Dr. Baxter recently retired from his position as Kaiser Permanente’s Senior Vice President for Community Benefit, Research, and Health Policy. Dr. Baxter led the organization’s work to fulfill its social mission, including coverage and care for low-income patients, support for community-based organizations and initiatives, and health equity and environmental stewardship. He is the former head of the San Francisco Department of Public Health.
Mr. Mathias is the Chief Information Officer for Blue Shield of California, where he oversees the company’s technology strategy and operations. Mr. Mathias brings more than 25 years of industry experience, including 16 years at Aetna, where he was Chief Information Officer. In addition to helping drive innovation for the 4-million-member health plan, he is also responsible for aligning and integrating Blue Shield’s technological vision with the company’s broader business strategy and processes. Previously, Mr. Mathias worked for U.S. HealthCare.
Clifford T. Maesaka, Jr., D.D.S. & Janice Burdette Blythe, Ph.D., R.D.N., L.D.
The Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky today announced that Clifford T. Maesaka, Jr., D.D.S., President and CEO of Delta Dental of Kentucky; and Janice Burdette Blythe, Ph.D., R.D.N., L.D., a Berea College professor have joined its board of directors. It also elected Charles Ross, retired Director of the Purchase District Health Department in Paducah, as its new Chair; Passport Health Plan CEO Mark Carter will serve as Vice Chair; Allen Montgomery, a Norton Healthcare System executive, as Secretary; and Dr. Brent Wright, a Glasgow family physician, as Treasurer.
Dr. Maesaka has served as President and CEO of Delta Dental of Kentucky since February 1995. He also serves as CEO and Chairman of Dental Choice of Kentucky and Dental Choice agency, two subsidiaries of Delta Dental of Kentucky. He is a member of the Delta Dental Plans Association (DDPA) Board of Directors, where he also has served as Treasurer. Dr. Maesaka also serves on the Renaissance Leadership Team, the Renaissance Holding Company board of directors, and is an ex-officio member of the board of directors of the Renaissance Health Services Corporation, also Delta Dental companies. He served for many years on the Dean’s Advisory Council at the University of Kentucky School of Dentistry, and endowed and funded a charitable foundation at Delta Dental.
Dr. Blythe, a nutrition and dietetics health professional for more than four decades, currently serves as the Julia Parmly Billings Chair in Child and Family Studies and an academic division chair at Berea College. She also has served as Academic Division Chair and Associate Provost at Berea College. Prior to that, she was a professor at Eastern Kentucky University, and a diabetes nutritionist at the Lexington Clinic. Dr. Blythe is returning to the foundation’s board following an interim appointment that expired in November 2015.
Contact: Bonnie J. Hackbarth
Phone: 877.326.2583
Email: bhackbarth@healthy-ky.org