Dear Colleagues,
It is with a mix of joy and sadness that we announce that after 18 years Osula Evadne Rushing, Vice President for Program and Strategy at Grantmakers In Health, is leaving to rejoin the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) as Senior Vice President for Strategic Engagement. Her last day at GIH will be Friday, September 30, 2022.
As you all know, Osula is a much loved and respected member of the GIH team. Although it is difficult to imagine GIH without her, we are excited about her new position at KFF and the opportunities it brings to further her impact on health philanthropy.
Osula began her long tenure at GIH in 2004 as a Senior Program Associate and quickly rose through the ranks with promotions to Program Director in 2007 and Vice President in 2013. She also served as Interim President from January – March 2020.
As Vice President, Osula determined GIH’s programmatic priorities; served as a mentor and coach to staff across the organization; and oversaw the development of all conferences, publications, webinars, and networking tools. She also developed and maintained close relationships with senior philanthropic leaders, built connections between philanthropy and other sectors, and initiated significant collaborative projects.
Some important highlights of her accomplishments include leading GIH’s programming related to the Affordable Care Act; helping to launch the CEO Working Group on Access and Coverage, as well as the Kids’ Access Funder Network and Health Reform Funder Network; collaborating with the Federal Office of Rural Health and the National Rural Health Association to design the first annual Public-Private Collaborations in Rural Health meeting; and ramping up GIH’s work on the social determinants of health, with a special focus on housing and justice reform.
I am pleased to announce that while we conduct a search for Osula’s replacement, Kate Treanor will serve as the interim Vice President. Like Osula, Kate is well known to the field and has been an integral part of GIH. She currently serves as a Senior Program Director and helps lead our work on philanthropic growth and impact. Kate also leads the Terrance Keenan Institute for Emerging Leaders, manages our regular surveys of conversion foundations, and helped launch GIH’s Effective Philanthropy Fund.
Please join us in thanking Osula for her many contributions to GIH and health philanthropy. Although we will miss having her on our team, we look forward to continuing to work with her in her new capacity as a GIH Funding Partner.
Cara V. James
President and CEO
Grantmakers In Health