Some big changes are coming to the staff and board of Archstone Foundation, and we want to invite everyone to celebrate these transitions with us.
After almost 30 years of service, Mary Ellen Kullman, our Vice President (of Everything, I like to say) will be retiring from the Foundation at the end of June. And long-time Directors Rocky Suares, Peter Szutu, and Amye Leong will be rotating off the board after a combined service of almost 40 years. Although these are big changes, we have been working diligently to prepare and build a strong team that will continue to move the organization forward in improving the health and well-being of older Californians and their caregivers.
Mary Ellen started working for the Foundation in 1995 when it was called the FHP Foundation (Family Health Plan). When the Foundation began to formalize and became professionally staffed, she was the first Program Officer. She was intimately involved in all the programs and work that have defined us over the years—Fall Prevention, Elder Abuse, End of Life, Caregiving and many more. For many years she also staffed our finance and investment committee, carrying out work such as rebalancing our investment portfolio across asset classes. She supported good governance as Secretary to the Board of Directors and supervised the rest of the staff. We owe her a tremendous debt of gratitude for all she has done to make Archstone what it is today.
While we are thrilled Mary Ellen will continue to serve older adults and their caregivers in new ways—as a new board member of our long-time grantee the Family Caregiver Alliance—we know we must ensure her many responsibilities continue to be fulfilled and that we preserve the effectiveness of the organization she helped build. To that end, I’ve asked three colleagues to step forward and take on more responsibility. Tanisha Davis, who joined the Foundation in 2004, was promoted to become Vice President of Grant Operations and Planning at the end of 2021, with responsibility for grantmaking systems, payout planning, and analysis. Now I am pleased to announce that Laura Rath, who joined the Foundation in 2005, will be named Vice President of Program on July 1, with direct oversight responsibilities for implementing our strategic plan and supporting our program staff. At the same time, Connie Peña, who came to the Foundation in 2006 after joining founding President Joseph Prevratil at Archstone Foundation from their prior work at the Queen Mary, will be promoted to Director of Finance and Administration in recognition of her skillful oversight of these areas.
I know I speak for all of us—on the staff and the board—in thanking Mary Ellen for all she has taught us and for the example of her compassion and professionalism these many years. Her support and mentorship has been vital to me both before and after I joined Archstone Foundation and I will be forever grateful. In the coming weeks we will be asking Mary Ellen’s many colleagues and friends from all around California and the country to share with her (and us) reflections on what she has meant to them and what she has achieved.
Similarly, our long-time Directors Rocky, Peter, and Amye have made important contributions to the Foundation. Rocky has served as Board Chair and chair of the Finance and Investment Committee. As an investment professional, he also led an investment strategy that has given us the assets to pursue our mission. As a leader of a grassroots non-profit, Peter has chaired our Audit Committee and kept us close to the realities facing our grantees. And, as a patient advocate and a person living with a serious chronic illness, Amye has kept our focus on the perspective of the people we are trying to serve. We are grateful to each of them for their years of excellent service. We will announce their successors after their election at our June board meeting.
