Cleveland, OH,
27
May
2021
|
13:42 PM
America/New_York

MetroHealth Foundation Elects Executive Officers, Welcomes New Board Chair

The MetroHealth Foundation is pleased to announce its officers for 2021-2022.

  • Gareth D. Vaughan, President and CEO, The Albert M. Higley Co. – Chair
  • Miguel de Gracia, CEO, Root Candles – Vice Chair, Audit
  • Jon Groza, Partner, Kohrman Jackson & Krantz – Vice Chair, Governance
  • Alan Zang, President, NE Ohio, U.S. Bank – Vice-Chair – Governance
  • Jennifer Hurd, Senior Vice President, State of Ohio Market Manager, Enterprise Business & Community Engagement, Bank of America – Vice Chair, Outreach
  • Lee Ann Howard, CEO, Howard and O'Brien Associates – Vice Chair, Nominating and Board Development
  • Rob Soroka, Senior Vice President, Fifth Third Bank – Treasurer and Vice Chair, Finance and Investment

Founded in 1954, the Foundation provides philanthropic support to The MetroHealth System. The officers were elected during the Foundation’s annual meeting on May 27.

Vaughan, a member of the Foundation Board since 2015, succeeds Brian M. O’Neill as Chair.

Born in Cape Town, South Africa, Vaughan grew up in London. After graduating from college, he moved to the United States and earned a master’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Cincinnati. Vaughan joined The Albert M. Higley Co. in 2001 as a regional manager based in Columbus. In 2010 he was elected president. He was named CEO in 2017.

“I am looking forward to helping MetroHealth become recognized as the best public health institution in the country,” Vaughan said. “I want more people – in our region and well beyond Northeast Ohio – to know the impact MetroHealth makes every day on improving the quality of life for everyone.”

O’Neill, a partner in the law firm Tucker Ellis LLP, had served as Board Chair since 2018. He first became involved with MetroHealth as a member of an advocacy council charged with raising philanthropic support for MetroHealth pediatrics. In 2009 he was elected to the Board; in the years that followed he chaired the Nominating and Board Development Committee and was a founding member of the Foundation’s Governance Committee.

O’Neill represented the Board on the Campaign Cabinet of The MetroHealth Transformation Campaign, which in late 2020 surpassed its original $100 million fundraising goal of philanthropic support for the MetroHealth Transformation.

“For a dozen years, I have had the honor of working with such dedicated community leaders on the Foundation Board,” O’Neill said. “MetroHealth is a community treasure, and I am proud to have had the opportunity to play a role in seeing its transformation become a reality.”

About The MetroHealth System

Founded in 1837, MetroHealth is leading the way to a healthier you and a healthier community through service, teaching, discovery, and teamwork. Cuyahoga County’s public, safety-net hospital system, MetroHealth meets people where they are, providing care through five hospitals, four emergency departments and more than 20 health centers. Each day, our nearly 9,000 employees focus on providing our community with equitable healthcare — through patient-focused research, access to care, and support services — that seeks to eradicate health disparities rooted in systematic barriers. For more information, visit metrohealth.org.