Dr. Jodi L. Abbott has been selected as the University Hospital Foundation’s new president and CEO, reports the Foundation’s Board of Trustees.
As the president and CEO of NorQuest College, a position she held for nine years, Dr. Abbott was integral in transforming the college into a more successful post-secondary institution that could serve an increasingly diverse population. Dramatic growth was a defining feature of NorQuest College over the last decade, thanks to Dr. Abbott and initiatives such as 1000 Women: A Million Possibilities, which has raised over $3.3 million to enable NorQuest College students to pursue education and reach goals. Her time with NorQuest College was also marked by several recognitions for the school, including Canada’s Most Admired Corporate Cultures in 2018, and the Alberta Chambers of Commerce award for inclusion and diversity.
Prior to joining NorQuest College, Dr. Abbott served as a senior vice president with Alberta Health Services and has since remained connected to the healthcare community in Edmonton. Some highlights of her career include two Canada’s Most Powerful Women awards for her work in post-secondary education and healthcare, as well as helping to raise $170 million in capital funds to build NorQuest’s Singhmar Centre for Learning, a state-of-the-art facility that opens doors to thousands of students every year.
“We’re very pleased to welcome Dr. Abbott to the University Hospital Foundation. The leadership of the president and CEO is vitally important to the success of the Foundation, and we’re thrilled to have someone with her experience, passion and close connections to the community help us continue raising funds to advance patient care,” says board member David Finlay.
Dr. Abbott joins the University Hospital Foundation effective January 6, 2020. She will be taking over the roll from Joyce Mallman Law who is retiring from the Foundation in fall 2019, after an impressive 32 year career with the Foundation.
“I am excited to join the University Hospital Foundation and am grateful for the opportunity to take on this new challenge. The Foundation has done outstanding work and the quality of healthcare in our community is a direct result of so many of the initiatives they have supported. It’s a perfect time in my career to join an organization that is committed to innovation and to bringing the best new ideas, treatments, and technologies to our community,” says Dr. Abbott.
In between Law’s retirement this fall and Abbott’s appointment in the new year, Christy Holtby, vice president of strategic partnerships, will be acting president for the Foundation.
The University Hospital Foundation raises and manages funds to push the boundaries of patient care, research and healthcare education at the University of Alberta Hospital, the Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute and the Kaye Edmonton Clinic.
For more information visit GivetoUHF.ca.
