Healthy Communities Foundation Announces New Board Officer Appointments

2021 new board officer appointments

Healthy Communities Foundation Announces New Board Officer Appointments

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JANUARY 28 2021

Media Contact: Jackie Rodriguez, 708-443-4518, jrodriguez@hcfdn.org 

Healthy Communities Foundation announces new Board Officer appointments, effective as of January 1, 2021.

Riverside, IL—The Healthy Communities Foundation is pleased to announce new Board Officer appointments, effective as of January 1, 2021.

Grace Hou’s term as Board Chair concluded at the close of 2020, and Amalia S. Rioja was named the new Healthy Communities Foundation Board Chair. Amalia was the Foundation’s Vice-Chair/Secretary since 2017 and has more than 20 years of public sector and private practice legal experience at all levels of local, state, and federal government. As a life-long resident of River Forest, a community within the Healthy Communities Foundation service region, Amalia is committed to the health and well-being of individuals, families, and communities of the area. We congratulate Amalia on her new appointment.

“I am honored to have been named Board Chair of the Healthy Communities Foundation at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic has greatly impacted our region, particularly communities that have experienced health inequities for decades,” said Amalia, “Alongside the Board of Directors and Staff, I look forward to stewarding the Foundation’s resources to boldly respond to the current and emergent needs of our region.”

Grace will continue to serve as a member of the Healthy Communities Foundation Board of Directors. We are grateful for Grace’s leadership as Board Chair during the Foundation’s pivotal first years.

Carl Bergetz was named Vice-Chair and Secretary of the Foundation. Carl has served as Board Member and Governance Committee Chair since 2017.  Carl is the Chief Legal Officer of Rush University System for Health and the General Counsel for Rush University Medical Center. He is responsible for areas including litigation management, risk management, and governmental and regulatory affairs. We congratulate Carl on his new role on the Board of Directors.

Joseph W. McInerney has transitioned the role of Treasurer, a position he has held since 2017, to Craig Huffman. Joe will continue to be a part of the Board of Directors and a member of the Finance Committee. We thank Joe for his dedication as Treasurer and look forward to our continued partnership.

Craig is a Co-Founder and CEO of Metro Edge Development Partners (MEDP), a commercial real estate company primarily focused on data center investments in underserved communities across the United States. Prior to launching MEDP, Craig was a co-founder and Principal of Ascendance Partners, a Chicago-based real estate private equity firm, established in 2006, focused on commercial real estate investment in metropolitan Chicago. Throughout his career, Craig has worked in diverse senior management roles in the sectors of entrepreneurship, education, non-profit, and politics. He has been on the Healthy Communities Foundation Board of Directors since 2018 and we congratulate Craig on his new appointment.

“We have a Board of Directors that is deeply committed to the health of residents in our service region and to addressing the deeply rooted structural inequities that have been unveiled by the pandemic,” said Maria Pesqueira, President of Healthy Communities Foundation, “We are grateful to the Board for their continued support as we continue to navigate the challenges faced by communities in our region.”

 

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About Healthy Communities Foundation

Healthy Communities Foundation (HCF) is a health conversion foundation that seeks to measurably improve the health and well-being of individuals, families, and communities in its 27-zip-code service area located in the City of Chicago and the western suburbs of Cook County, Illinois. Using health equity as an overarching principle and lens, HCF funds organizations that serve its legacy service area and zip codes with the greatest health disparities.

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