Frank Karel Honored with Leadership Award

San Francisco, February 25, 2005-- Grantmakers In Health (GIH) awarded its prestigious Terrance Keenan Leadership Award in Health Philanthropy to Frank Karel at its Annual Meeting in San Francisco. Mr. Karel was recognized for his innovative and pioneering work in the field of health communications.

Making Communications Matter in Philanthropy
A former vice president of communications at The Robert Wood Johnson (RWJ) and Rockefeller Foundations, Frank Karel helped establish the strategic value of communications in health grantmaking. He is credited not only with designing many of RWJ's  most successful communications initiatives, but with being a member of the small group of senior officials who helped build the foundation into one of the largest and most respected health grantmakers in the country.   Frank Karel also helped change the way philanthropies think about and do communications. Formerly a philanthropic afterthought communications strategies as an intervention would come to be considered up-front with project and program decisions thanks in large part to his efforts. “How many people” asks Andrew Burness, founder and President of Burness Communications and a former communications officer under Mr. Karel at RWJ, “can claim that they created an entire professional field? Frank not only invented the field, but stuck around to show the rest of us how the game should be played.”   Mr. Karel's visionary work in communications has had a discernable effect on the field of health care.  “His work on The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's End of Life program directly led to a better understanding among health care professionals of the importance of addressing end of life issues as part of their overall approach to health care,” says Drew Altman, president and CEO of the Henry J. Kaiser Foundation.   Numerous health initiatives have benefited from Mr. Karel's commitment to communicating the compelling stories grantees have to tell about their work. To this end, Mr. Karel created the Connect Project. A first of its kind in philanthropy, Connect helps grantees build stronger relationships with local media and legislators, a truly groundbreaking idea, the value of which is obviated by the fact that the importance of such relationship building is all but taken for granted today.  “Over the years,” Mr. Karel wrote in his reflections as a member of the Review Committee for RWJ's Anthology series, “we have come to see communications as an intervention that can be used to bring about change, particularly in encouraging attitudes, behaviors, and policies promoting good health—a concept that lies at the heart of our work.”   Lauren LeRoy, president and CEO of GIH noted that “Frank Karel's strongly held belief in the power of communication and his commitment to using that power to further the field of health philanthropy and promote a better health care system have earned him the respect of his colleagues and the gratitude of grantees. GIH is excited to be able to honor his work with this award.”  

A Career of Achievement
Frank Karel often says he was blessed doubly to serve twice as vice president of communications at The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, first from 1974 – 1987 and again from 1993 until his retirement in 2001. In the interim he held the same position at the Rockefeller Foundation. Twice a director of the Council on Foundations, Mr. Karel founded and chaired the Council's Media and Public Affairs Committee as well as the Communications Committee and its affiliate organization, The Communications Network. In this capacity he formally helped create the network of communications professionals in health philanthropy, while informally offering his experience, counsel, contacts, and friendship to those communications professionals who sought him out.   In 2002 Mr. Karel became the first recipient of the Council of New Jersey Grantmakers' Distinguished Service Award. He has served in various positions throughout his career, including senior fellow at the UCLA School of Public Policy and Social Research, director of the National Association of Science Writers, and chairman of the Public Relations Society of America's Health Section.   A U.S. Air Force veteran, Mr. Karel holds a master's degree in public administration from New York University and is a distinguished alumnus of the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications.  He began his career as The Miami Herald's first science writer after having served as a staff writer for The Tampa Tribune and Gainesville Daily Sun during his undergraduate years.  

The Terrance Keenan Leadership Award in Health Philanthropy
The Terrance Keenan Leadership Award annually recognizes a grantmaker whose leadership and thoughtful application of philanthropic resources has had an impact on human health at the local, regional, national, or international level. The award was established in 1993 by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, in honor of Terrance Keenan and his 40-plus years of work and achievement in health philanthropy. It is intended to inspire others in the field to strive toward his same standard of excellence.

Related Information

Frank Karel Remarks (22K) [download]