.floatimg-left-hort { float:left; } .floatimg-left-caption-hort { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:300px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatimg-left-vert { float:left; margin-top:10px; margin-right:15px; width:200px;} .floatimg-left-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; font-size: 12px; width:200px;} .floatimg-right-hort { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px;} .floatimg-right-caption-hort { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 300px; font-size: 12px; } .floatimg-right-vert { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px;} .floatimg-right-caption-vert { float:left; margin-right:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; font-size: 12px; } .floatimgright-sidebar { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 200px; border-top-style: double; border-top-color: black; border-bottom-style: double; border-bottom-color: black;} .floatimgright-sidebar p { line-height: 115%; text-indent: 10px; } .floatimgright-sidebar h4 { font-variant:small-caps; } .pullquote { float:right; margin-top:10px; margin-left:10px; margin-bottom:10px; width: 150px; background: url(http://www.dmbusinessdaily.com/DAILY/editorial/extras/closequote.gif) no-repeat bottom right !important ; line-height: 150%; font-size: 125%; border-top: 1px solid; border-bottom: 1px solid;} .floatvidleft { float:left; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} .floatvidright { float:right; margin-bottom:10px; width:325px; margin-right:10px; clear:left;} Where did you previously work?

Most recently I was the president of the St. Luke’s Health Foundation in Cedar Rapids. And I was there for nearly six years. Prior to that, I had worked with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital out of Memphis, and before that I worked at the University of Iowa Foundation representing the college of medicine and hospitals and clinics for about seven years.

How did you learn about the position at Mercy, and why did you decide to apply for it?

I was contacted by a number of folks about the opportunity, and I decided to apply for it based on, number one, the reputation of Mercy Medical Center and its impact in the state as well as the community of Des Moines. My husband and I had obviously been here many times and felt like it would be a vibrant community and a wonderful place to raise our two young children.

What will be the biggest challenge for you at Mercy?

I think the biggest challenge probably is also the biggest opportunity, and for me that’s learning a brand-new community that’s new to me, acquainting myself with the folks that have been supportive of Mercy as well as getting to know the individuals and companies that could be supportive and share our belief in wanting to invest in the future of health care. While I think it is challenging to be a newcomer in a relationship-based role, I also think it’s a great opportunity.

What will be your main role at Mercy?

As the president of the foundation, I will be leading the effort as it relates to fund raising on behalf of Mercy Medical Center. We also focus on raising funds for our related entities, the Mercy College of Health Sciences, Bishop Drumm Care Center and the House of Mercy as well as the many needs of Mercy Medical Center. Another thing that really excited me about the position was the opportunity to integrate education and social services in addition to the core function of fund raising for the medical center. Being the chief development officer for Mercy as well as overseeing the team that does this good work each and every day.

How does your degree in higher education administration relate to what you do now?

I went into higher education thinking that I wanted to be a dean of students or something related to higher education administration, but lots of the things I was learning in terms of administrative leadership and nonprofit management hold true to what I do today as well, as I had the opportunity to specialize at Indiana University through the Center on Philanthropy. So I took about half of my coursework once I realized I was interested in nonprofit leadership and fund raising at the Center for Philanthropy in Indianapolis. So I ended up with a concentration in philanthropic studies.

Your family just moved to Des Moines. How has the experience been?

It has been terrific. We have never felt more welcomed in any community. Even though it is a larger city, we’ve felt that hospitality and that individualized welcome that you would expect in a smaller community. So we’ve been very impressed and grateful for the welcome and hospitality we’ve been shown.

Is there anything you’re really looking forward to about the Des Moines area?

We definitely are looking forward to taking advantage of, number one, getting ourselves acclimated into the community and figuring out the ways that we can give back, but secondly, I think we’re looking forward to taking advantage of the many things Des Moines has to offer. Particularly, we have two young children, ages 4 and 2, and so it seems like there is just a plethora of opportunities for us as a family to really get engaged quickly in the community.