Health Foundation names 2014 class of Health Leadership Fellows

The Health Foundation for Western and Central New York today named its 2014 class of Health Leadership Fellows.

The organization is recognizing 42 “diverse, highly skilled,” leaders from health-related and safety net organizations across Western and Central New York, the Health Foundation said in a news release.

“Working collaboratively through the Health Leadership Fellows Program, these promising leaders can share best practices and develop new and innovative ways to improve the health of the people in our communities, particularly the frail elderly and children living in communities of poverty,” Ann Monroe, president of the Health Foundation, said in the news release.

The group of fellows includes 10 leaders from Central New York.

Rebecca Bostwick, program director, Lerner Center for Public Health Promotion at Syracuse University; Cornelia Brown, executive director and founder, Multicultural Association of Medical Interpreters; Julie Dale, executive director, Community Action Partnership of Madison County; Kathleen Dermady, a nurse practitioner in the Regional Perinatal Center at Upstate University Hospital; Susan Furtney, executive director of the department of community engagement at St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center, according to the Health Foundation.

The group also includes Liddy Hintz, director of emergency & child welfare services at the Salvation Army of the Syracuse Area; Jeffrey Jackson, director of health services, Syracuse Model Neighborhood Facility; Heather Kemmis, vice president of home care at The Centers at St. Camillus; Nancy Seller, vice president of early childhood services at Upstate Cerebral Palsy; Kelly Walters, executive director of the Parkway Senior Center in Utica.

Designed to improve critical skills of leaders in health and human service organizations, the 18-month program offers individual-leadership development, academic and team support, executive coaching, opportunities to increase a network of leaders, and an opportunity for collective leadership and change, the news release stated.

The fellows will participate in as many as five retreats, each spanning two to three days, according to the Health Foundation. They will also meet monthly and develop a “collaborative inter-organizational project” in small teams.

Members of the 2014 class join 136 other Health Leadership Fellows who have participated in the program since its inception in 2005. 

A selection committee comprised of Health Foundation board members and other local professionals in leadership and health care selected the Fellows through an application process.

Selection criteria include leadership ability, the support of the nominee’s organization, and the potential benefit of the program to the applicant’s organization and community. As graduates of the Health Leadership Fellows program, they continue their collaborative work as members of the Fellows Action Network.

 The Health Foundation of Western and Central New York collaborates with organizations in 16 counties to strengthen the health-care system, promote education and advocacy, and encourage positive individual-behavior changes, according to its website.

Headquartered in Buffalo, the nonprofit operates an office at 431 E. Fayette St. in Syracuse.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com