The following was an email sent from Kristen Wiesz to Chief Development Officers and Primary Program Directors CDOs on June 12, 2020. Additional information will be shared in coming weeks.

Good morning,

Continuous improvement has been a cornerstone of Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, with the goal of finding ways to work more effectively and efficiently to raise more funds for member hospitals. Recently we took a close look at how we work with hospitals, partners and communities of supporters with that same goal: how can we best support our network needs while also continuing to maximize fundraising results?

After several months of careful work, I’m excited to share a portion of the organizational outcomes and how they will better support you, our fundraising efforts and our community engagement so we can Change Kids’ Health, Change the Future.

Community Operations Team

You will now benefit from the support of a Community Operations team. (Much of this team was previously referred to as our Area/Field Team.) The work of this team will continue to focus on execution of Corporate Partner fundraising, Media Partnerships and Dance Marathon programs, while also expanding to include fundraising efforts with Extra Life and Play Yellow; along with management of select regional partnerships and all New Business Development efforts.

I will be leading this team as the Senior Vice President, Community Operations, working closely with the following Area Vice Presidents overseeing their respective geographic regions:

Northeast – Robin Valentino
Central – Barbara O’Regan
West – Erin Redick
Southeast – Staci Cross

We are fortunate to have the continued leadership and expertise of Robin, Barbara and Erin in their current areas. Staci Cross comes to Community Operations from the Activation Team, where she previously worked with several new partners to significantly grow their fundraising efforts.

Day-to-Day Contacts

Your primary point of contact will be one of 17 Market Directors, who will be assigned to work with hospitals in specific market groupings. This change will ensure we’re providing an enhanced, more consistent level of service to you.

Market Directors include:

Northeast Area
Elliot Pitts
Kait Ross
Gaelen McCartney
Emily Cawley

Southeast Area
Wesley Shaw
Bobby Cox
Jenny Bach
Bret Koch

Central Area
Jeff Bronkowski
Dave Hurst
Todd Grantham
Antonia Etcheverry
Katie Dalton

West Area
Joe Dearborn
Jim Richards
Julia Vinson
Bryan Vlok

Each Market Director will be supported by additional team members who will support campaigns and fundraising programs, including Extra Life and Dance Marathon, in your markets. Those individuals will be announced over the next 60 Days.

Media Partnerships will be managed by Jim Littrell in the Northeast and Southeast and by Mitch Baker in the Central and West areas. Business Development, including the recruitment of new partners, will be managed by Peter Ries in the Northeast and Southeast and Todd Fisher in the Central and West.

Transition Timing
As we know, it is of utmost importance to ensure you have consistent support through the critical time period before and during the Walmart campaign. I want to assure you that, for now, your primary point of contact remains your current Area Director. New teams will begin to transition around July 20 at the close of the Walmart and Sam Club’s campaigns. These transitions will occur over a 90-day period, during which your Area Vice President will connect with you individually to share specifics and answer questions you may have.

We appreciate your understanding and patience as we transition to this new way of working. We are excited about the efficiency and effectiveness this will bring to our work with you, our partners and our communities. In the coming days and months, I will be in touch with further updates as they are available. In the meantime, please reach out with questions to myself or your Area Vice President.

I look forward to continuing to work with you to Change Kids’ Health, Change the Future.
All my best,

Kristen Weisz
SVP, Community Operations
kweisz@cmnhospitals.org