Michigan Health Endowment Fund

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Tell us a bit about the Michigan Health Endowment Fund and your role there.

The Health Fund was created in 2013 and is the largest health foundation in Michigan. Our mission is to improve the health of Michigan residents, with special emphasis on the health and wellness of children and older people, while reducing the cost of health care. I’m the CEO so my main job is to create the conditions under which our institution can continually increase our positive impact on Michiganders.

What are your current funding priorities?

Our major focus areas include healthy aging, behavioral health, nutrition and healthy lifestyles, and community health. We are piloting new work in the areas of maternal/infant and foster care health.

How long have you been with the Fund?

Just over a year. Prior to that, l collaborated for years with the Health Fund’s Healthy Aging team because it was also a priority area at my previous institution, the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation.

We understand that you made an interesting pivot in your career path. Tell us what you did before your philanthropy work and what led you to this career.

I suppose one could call it interesting, but maybe “random” is a better adjective. I have an undergraduate degree in physics (and never intended to become a physicist), and a law degree (for lack of a better idea) and started my professional life as a corporate attorney at Ford Motor Company. During a sabbatical from Ford, I worked at a nonprofit capacity-building organization and discovered a passion for applying my enterprise skills to the social sector. I ended up staying in the nonprofit sector, picked up a side hustle as a graduate course lecturer on nonprofit policy and management, and then found my way to philanthropy, where I’ve been for over a decade (alongside teaching one graduate course per year). There’s never been a dull moment, which is just how I like it.

What about GIA’s mission really motivates you?

I’ve been a GIA member through my current organization as well as my previous one. Philanthropy’s role in serving older adults has been a passion of mine for years, and I believe GIA is at the epicenter of a growing movement that views older adults not as a necessary expense, but rather as a worthy investment. I am so excited to leverage GIA both to further our mission and to be part of a bigger movement whose time has come.

For some fun insight, can you share with us what are you currently reading, binge-watching, or listening to on repeat?

I’m reading Piranesi, a science fiction book by Susanna Clarke. I love science fiction because it provides a much-needed break from reality and is usually an interesting form of social commentary. Binge-watching: Every night is “streaming date night” with my wife. We’re currently working through the latest seasons of White Lotus, The Crown, Andor, and need to catch up with Walking Dead now that it’s over (so don’t tell me what happened!). Listening on Repeat: Beyoncé’s latest (Renaissance) in the car, and Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto #2 every time I get on a plane.

With what character from a cartoon, book or movie do you most identify?

Every time there’s a stereotypical nerd in a movie, I think to myself “Yup, that was me… and still is.”