Sisters Health Foundation changing leadership
PARKERSBURG — Sisters Health Foundation is undergoing a change in leadership.
Cynthia Drennan, executive director of the Sisters Health Foundation since 2012, has announced her retirement effective June 30 and will be succeeded by Renee Steffen, the organization’s director of operations and special projects.
The foundation, formerly the Sisters of St. Joseph Foundation, was created upon the sale of St. Joseph’s Hospital in 1996 to Columbia HCA. It promotes healthy and sustainable communities by providing resources, strengthening collaborative relationships and supporting initiatives that impact people in the Mid-Ohio Valley.
Since 1996, the Sisters Health Foundation has awarded over $14 million in grants. It helps groups in eight West Virginia counties and three Ohio counties, the area once served by St. Joseph’s Hospital for over a century. The foundation serves Calhoun, Jackson, Pleasants, Ritchie, Tyler, Wood, Wirt and Roane counties in West Virginia and Athens, Meigs and Washington counties in Ohio.
During Drennan’s five-year tenure, over 400 grants totaling nearly $5 million have been awarded to organizations across the foundation’s 11-county service area in West Virginia and Ohio.
“On behalf of the Board of the Sisters Health Foundation, I would like to thank Cynthia for her strategic leadership over the last five years and the passion she has put into serving communities in Ohio and West Virginia. Her efforts have made a difference in the lives of so many and we want to thank her and wish her a wonderful retirement, although knowing Cynthia, she will keep very busy,” said Board President Arlene Borkowski.
Drennan’s work has included strengthening the internal operations of the foundation, enhancing collaborative relationships with state and national partners, and communicating the Congregation of St. Joseph’s mission and values.
Within the foundation, Drennan oversaw the development of the Basic Needs/Direct Service Grants Program, the online application system, and rebranding of the organization. Externally, she was a collaborative leader in many initiatives, including the perishable food/medicine project in West Virginia, Bounty in the Pantries in Ohio, diabetes care coordination and community health worker initiatives, and food access mapping on both sides of the river.
Over $4 million has been leveraged from involvement in collaborative partnerships.
“When someone gets to really know a new place and people, it changes them forever — so that going back to the old, one doesn’t quite fit the same,” Drennan said. “My time with you, and in the place of my own family origins, has changed me — it is a gift and I take it with me. Know you have another ardent advocate as my husband and I return to the ‘north coast of the U.S.’ (Cleveland area). I will be returning to field work, if you will, in an area of great concern for many of us — senior caregiving — in this case with my mother.”
Steffen has held a variety of roles with the foundation over the last six years, including overseeing the administrative aspects of the grantmaking process, working with grantees and leading the organization’s communication strategy. She has over 10 years of nonprofit experience in West Virginia and Ohio.
“We are extremely fortunate to have Renee accept the executive director position at SHF,” Borkowski said. “Renee has worked tirelessly in several key positions at the foundation and is uniquely qualified to lead the foundation in the upcoming years. On behalf of the board we welcome her to this new role and we ask the community to join us in congratulating and welcoming her.”
Before joining the foundation in 2011, Steffen managed a resource center for a nonprofit capacity building organization and served a two-year term as an AmeriCorps-VISTA member at Marietta College.
Her community involvement includes advisory roles with Philanthropy West Virginia, Nonprofits LEAD and as a member of Athens Professionals for Philanthropy. She earned her master’s in public administration from Ohio University and her bachelor’s in marketing and management from Defiance College.
“I am grateful to our board of directors and staff for their leadership and assistance throughout the positive succession planning process. I am both honored and humbled to lead the Sisters Health Foundation,” said Steffen.
She has a passion for the health mission of the Sisters Health Foundation and the Congregation of St. Joseph’s mission of unity.
“We have a wonderful, caring nonprofit community in the Mid-Ohio Valley. I am energized by the opportunity to work collaboratively with existing and new nonprofit partners as we create a healthier Mid-Ohio Valley together,” said Steffen.