Brenda Solórzano
The California Endowment
Brenda Solórzano has been named the new President & CEO of The California Endowment.
Ms. Solórzano comes to the Endowment from the Headwaters Foundation in Montana, where she was the founding CEO. During her tenure at Headwaters, she worked from the ground up to build an institution for the community, by the community. Leading with a lens of health equity and trust-based philanthropy, she reimagined and reinvented philanthropic practices, changed systems and policies to advance better health outcomes, and built a network of trusted partnerships across the state.
Previously, she began her career in philanthropy years ago at The Endowment as a program manager. Ms. Solórzano has also held positions at the Blue Shield of California Foundation and the California Healthcare Foundation, and she also serves as Member-at-Large on the Grantmakers In Health (GIH) Board of Directors.
Contact: communications@calendow.org
Phillip González
The MetroWest Health Foundation
Phillip González has joined The MetroWest Health Foundation as its new President and CEO. Mr. González comes to the foundation with significant experience in health philanthropy. He is currently the Director of Community Investments at the Point32Health Foundation and previously held roles with the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation and Community Catalyst. Mr. González will succeed the foundation’s long-time President and CEO, Martin Cohen, who announced his intent to retire last spring.
Contact: Martin Cohen at 508.879.7625 or mcohen@mwhealth.org.
Shelby Kaemmerer
Mt. Sinai Health Foundation
The Mt. Sinai Health Foundation has appointed Shelby Kaemmerer to the position of Program Officer. She began her duties in early January 2024. Ms. Kaemmerer comes to the foundation from United Way of Greater Cleveland where she served first as Associate Director then as Director of Health Pathways. In her roles, she supported community health projects, managed the Cuyahoga County Emergency Food and Shelter Program board and grant program, and built relationships with both institutional and community partners.
Working with Mt. Sinai’s Executive Vice President/Chief Strategy Officer Daniel Cohn, Ms. Kaemmerer will support the foundation’s strategic agenda related to primary prevention, population health, and health policy.
Contact: 216.421.5500.
Andrew Barrett and Vivian Tam
New York State Health Foundation
New York State Health Foundation (NYHealth) has hired Andrew Barret and Vivian Tam.
Mr. Barrett is a Program Officer working in its Healthy Food, Healthy Lives program area. He brings deep expertise in New York’s food system, with a focus on food access and education. He most recently worked at the Tisch Center for Food, Education, & Policy at Columbia University, where he oversaw the Food Ed Hub. Earlier, he was a Program Director at Edible Schoolyard NYC and FoodCorps.
Ms. Tam joined NYHealth as an intern supporting our Special Projects Fund. Earlier, she worked for the Primary Care Development Corporation, GCI Health, and the Charles B. Wang Community Health Center. She is currently pursuing a Master of Public Health degree at CUNY Graduate School of Public Health & Health Policy.
Contact: info@nyhealthfoundation.org.
Courtney Rice
Northern Virginia Health Foundation
Courtney Rice is the Northern Virginia Health Foundation’s new President and CEO, succeeding founding President and CEO Patricia N. Mathews who has served in the role since 2005. Ms. Rice, an experienced philanthropic leader with a commitment to elevating civic engagement, policy, and advocacy through a health and racial equity lens, joins the foundation from the Richmond Memorial Health Foundation where she currently serves as Chief of Strategy and Impact.
As President and CEO, Ms. Rice will serve as the foundation’s chief strategist and spokesperson, responsible for setting a framework for achieving improved health outcomes through grantmaking, directed initiatives, and key partnerships that advance the overall health of Northern Virginia residents.
To read the full announcement, click here.
Christy Prahl
Otho S.A. Sprague Memorial Institute
Otho S. A. Sprague Memorial Institute selected Christy Prahl as its next Executive Director, succeeding James Alexander after more than three decades of service. Ms. Prahl is coming from Crown Family Philanthropies, where she led Health and Human Services grantmaking for over 10 years.
She is an impassioned advocate for Chicago, Illinois’ health safety net who brings core values of trust-based philanthropy and social and racial justice to the role. She has done extensive board service in addition to her philanthropy work and is well positioned to work collaboratively with us to advance impact.
Before Crown Family Philanthropies, Ms. Prahl led the work of the Humboldt Park New Communities (NCP) Program, supporting the implementation of a community-driven quality of life plan. Under her tenure, Humboldt Park was the only neighborhood in the NCP network to select health as its primary focus.