Colorado Governor Bill Ritter, Jr. has appointed three new members to the Caring for Colorado Foundation Board of Directors, Randy Lee Evetts of Pueblo, Dr. Gilad Gordon of Boulder and Adele Phelan of Denver. Caring for Colorado is a statewide, health grantmaking foundation created in 1999 from the proceeds of the sale of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Colorado to Anthem Insurance.
Anthem, a for-profit company, purchased BCBS, which had non-profit status. This sale yielded proceeds of $155 million. As mandated by Colorado state law, the profit from the sale was dedicated to benefit the health of the people of Colorado. Caring for Colorado Foundation, a non-profit 501(c)(4), tax-exempt foundation, was endowed to fulfill this responsibility.
The new appointees replace four outgoing board members completing their terms on the board including Meyer M. Saltzman, and Patti Shwayder, both of Denver; Bessie M. Konishi of Alamosa and James B. Wanebo of Durango.
Among those new to the board, Randy Evetts is the executive director of the Southeastern Colorado Area Health Education Center in Pueblo. He is president of The Colorado Rural Health Center (CRHC) which is an independent, non-profit, membership-based organization that serves as the State Office of Rural Health for Colorado. He also serves as chair of Pueblo School District 60's Health Advisory Community. Evetts holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Colorado State University and a Masters in Public Administration from the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque.
Dr. Gilad S. Gordon is president of ORRA Group, a consulting company for the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry which focuses on providing guidance for the clinical development of new chemical entities. He is also a Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. Dr. Gordon has 19 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology fields with a primary focus on oncology, hepatology, and inflammation. He received his AB from Harvard College, his MD from Harvard Medical School, and his MBA from the University of Washington.
Adele Phelan is currently chair of the Board of Trustees of Metropolitan State College of Denver, and is retired president of Loretto Heights College. Additionally, she is President Emeritus and Consultant to the Clayton Foundation. She was a project consultant on the founding of the Caring forColorado foundation nearly a decade ago. She has been a teacher and administrator at the secondary and college levels. She serves on numerous boards including the Qualistar Early Learning Colorado, FACES, the Colorado Nonprofit Development Center, Bright Beginnings, Hospice of Metro Denver and Invest in Kids. She holds a B.A. from Webster College, an M.A. from St. Louis University and an M.A. from the University of Minnesota.
