CEO search to build and further advance Michael Reese Health Trust’s mission to advance equitable access to health solutions for all Chicagoans.
President and CEO Gayla Brockman will be stepping down and leaving her role at Michael Reese Health Trust by the end of 2024. She informed the board and staff of her decision in December 2023 and now other key stakeholders as the search for her replacement is getting under way.
Gayla, a Kansas City native, will be moving back to her hometown to be closer to her parents and daughter. Until a successor is successfully onboarded, Gayla will continue working closely with the board of directors and staff to ensure the continuation of Michael Reese’s mission.
“Gayla has left an indelible mark on Michael Reese Health Trust, our grantee partners, and the broader Chicago community we serve,” said Mally Rutkoff, Michael Reese board chair. “We are so grateful for the profound impact she has made on our work to build the resources Chicago needs to be a healthy and safe place for people to live, learn, work, and play. Under Gayla’s transformational leadership, Michael Reese has become a leading voice for health equity in Chicago, driving both grassroots and systems change that our organization will build on for decades to come.”
Since assuming the CEO role in 2016, Gayla has been a catalyst for change. One of Gayla’s greatest achievements at Michael Reese has been her visionary direction to establish the organization as a public charity after nearly thirty years as a private foundation, formed from the sale of Michael Reese Hospital. As a public foundation, Michael Reese can better leverage its expertise and assets, as well as partner with the community to incubate innovative initiatives and scale best practice solutions. Leveraging the transition to a public platform, for example, Michael Reese became a key player in coordinating Chicago’s collective response to COVID-19, establishing a collaborative effort of nearly 85 community-based organizations that worked to ensure an equitable rollout of the COVID-19 vaccinations across Chicago, vaccinating hard-to-reach residents.
“It has been a privilege to lead Michael Reese Health Trust through the journey toward becoming a public foundation with all the doors this path opens for us and for our community,” said CEO Gayla Brockman. “While we have the months ahead to thoughtfully complete this leadership transition, I am proud of what we have already achieved together. I am certain the board will find a new CEO who will continue to champion health justice.”
Michael Reese’s Board of Directors has engaged Koya Partners, the executive search firm that specializes in leading mission-driven searches at the senior level, to conduct a national search for Gayla’s successor. The Search Committee plans to identify a candidate by Summer 2024.
