Billie Hall, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Sunflower Foundation in Kansas, will receive Grantmakers In Health’s 2024 Terrance Keenan Leadership Award in Health Philanthropy. The award recognizes outstanding health grantmakers whose work is distinguished by leadership, innovation, and outstanding achievement. Ms. Hall was nominated by Elizabeth Burger and the entire team at Sunflower Foundation, with support from Tom David, independent consultant and winner of the 2002 Terrance Keenan Award, as well as Robert Hughes, retired CEO of the Missouri Foundation for Health. The award will be presented to Ms. Hall at the 2024 GIH Annual Conference on Health Philanthropy in Portland, Oregon.
Ms. Hall has been the leader of the Sunflower Foundation since its inception in 2000, guiding the statewide health philanthropy in its mission to serve as a catalyst for improving the health of all Kansans. Ms. Hall oversees the operations and philanthropic investments of the organization and works in partnership with the board of trustees to provide leadership, vision, and direction for the foundation. The foundation believes that a thriving, sustainable nonprofit sector contributes to healthy communities and is committed to investing in mission-aligned nonprofits through grants, education, advocacy, collaborative learning, and capacity building. The foundation’s grant strategies and initiatives are designed to educate, engage, and empower Kansans who are working to promote healthy and equitable communities.
Ms. Hall has spent her entire career in health care and public health, spanning the areas of community health, hospital leadership, health care research, public policy, and advocacy. Prior to her appointment to the Sunflower Foundation, she served as vice president for public affairs at the Kansas Health Institute where she was responsible for developing the organization’s health policy agenda. Formerly a public health educator for the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, she led the development of and served as director for the first specialty women’s health center in Topeka. Ms. Hall holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Washburn University and a Master of Science in Public Health degree from the University of Missouri.
In selecting Ms. Hall, this year’s committee members cited her as an inspiration for their own work in philanthropy. They were particularly impressed with how Ms. Hall met the challenges of catalyzing systems change, developing partnerships, and supporting communities at their own pace.