By Jim McLean
KHI News Service
Marni Vliet
WICHITA, Sept. 5
Marni Vliet stepped down today as president and chief executive officer of the
Kansas Health Foundation
after 11 years at the helm of the Wichita philanthropy.
In a
news release
issued Wednesday afternoon by the foundation, Vliet, 59,
said she was leaving to start a private consulting business. She said she arrived at her decision during a four-month leave of absence.
“For 22 years I have been privileged to work with the foundation family, and as difficult as it is to leave this wonderful organization, I would like to take what I have learned and assist other foundations, non-profits and the private sector in helping to improve the health of the population, especially children in their earliest years,” Vliet said.
Vliet said her decision also was influenced by her desire to spend more time with her husband, Rich, who suffers from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, ALS, often referred to as Lou Gehrig’s Disease.
“I like any time I can get with Rich,” Vliet told the Wichita Eagle. “Given the disease and how wretched it is, he’s doing remarkably well, but it is progressing.”
Vliet will continue to serve as a consultant to the foundation while the board conducts a national search for her replacement. Don Stewart, a former hospital administrator and senior vice president at the foundation, will lead KHF in the interim.
Ron Holt, chairman of the KHF board, praised Vliet for her years of service to the foundation and the state.
“Her dedication to the health of all Kansans has helped people throughout the state address important issues,” he said.
Holt said the foundation”s board had confidence in Stewart to lead the organization during the search for a replacement for Vliet.
“The foundation is in good hands while we conduct a nationwide search for the leader to carry on our mission,” Holt said.
The health foundation has an endowment of nearly $500 million. It was established in 1985 when Wichita”s Wesley Medical Center was sold to the Hospital Corporation of America. Vliet was named president in 1996. During her 22-year tenure, Vliet also served as executive vice president and chief operating officer.
In 2005, the Foundation Center listed KHF as the 7th largest health conversion foundation in the country, with $23.1 million in total charitable disbursements. Since its creation the foundation has distributed more than $320 million in grants and contributions.
Under Vliet”s leadership, KHF focused its giving in four areas: children”s health, public health, policy and leadership. It created the Kansas Health Institute in 1995 to help policymakers make more informed decisions by providing them with objective research and analysis. In 2005 the foundation established the Kansas Leadership Center to develop leaders capable of transforming their communities and organizations.
“While we can”t imagine what issues Kansans may be facing in 20,30, or even 50 years, we can prepare individuals across this state to handle whatever challenges or opportunities may arise in the decades to come,” Vliet said in announcing the formation of the leadership center, which began operations in 2007.
Most recently, the foundation embarked on a campaign to make Kansas the best state in the nation to raise a child. In a letter to grantees and stakeholders in the foundation”s 2005 annual report, Vliet said the philanthropy”s leadership had concluded the best way to improve the overall health of Kansas was to focus on the state”s children.
“We”ve come to believe that nothing is more critical to Kansas” health than getting a good start early in life,” Vliet wrote. “The more we”ve studied the correlation between childhood and lifelong health, the more convinced we are that maximizing positive outcomes during this critical time in a person”s life is the best, most effective use of our resources.”
Vliet serves or has served on the boards of several national foundations and health organizations, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Foundation. She also is a former chair of
Grantmakers In Health
, a Washington, D.C. nonprofit organization that works to improve the effectiveness of foundations.
“Marni”s work with the Kansas Health Foundation reflects her passion for improving people”s health and her leadership in building a strong institution committed to that goal,” said Lauren LeRoy, president and CEO of Grantmakers In Health.
“The impact of her work reaches far beyond the foundation”s walls to the state of Kansas and the field of health philanthropy.”
-Jim McLean is a staff writer for KHI News Service, which specializes in coverage of health issues facing Kansans. He can be reached at
jmclean@khi.org
or at 785-233-5443, ext. 110.