The Good Shepherd Health Care System (GSHCS) has named Liz Marvin as the new executive director of the Good Shepherd Community Health Foundation.
Marvin, who’s first day on the job is today, has served on the GSCHF board for the past 17 years in the capacities of board member, secretary/treasurer, vice president and president.
“GSCHS is thrilled to have Liz as the new foundation executive director,” said Janeen Reding, Good Shepherd’s vice president of human resources. “The hospital Foundation has a key role in supporting our mission to improve the health of our community, and Liz will be instrumental to our goal of creating clear and accessible pathways to healthcare careers for our local students.”
Marvin has a history of helping local students, an outstanding reputation for building relationships wherever she goes, and a dedicated passion for serving her community. She brings to the position 15 years of service with the Hermiston School District as a School to Career Coordinator, where her focus was to help prepare students for success in the future – for which, many of the students she has guided were the first of their family to attend college.
(SEE ALSO: FOUNDATION ACCEPTING GRANT, SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATIONS)
“Finding and showing students opportunities, while providing the tools for success and self-sufficiency is immensely rewarding,” said Marvin. “I anticipate the work through the foundation will have many similarities, but will have a broader spectrum of partnerships. I view this promotion as a natural next step in personal and professional growth, and ultimately in making a difference. I am looking forward to working with our board and community to continue to do the good work of the foundation.”
Marvin said her goal is to continue to educate, inform and collaborate with the community as to the role of the foundation in the region.
“The Foundation has increased the livability in Western Umatilla County and Morrow County in a multitude of ways,” she said. “We have given to the Boardman Recreation Center, the Hermiston High School Football field, provided funding for walking paths, supported our local food pantries, given to Funland Park, supported CareVan Transportation Services, funded life-saving defibrillators for Umatilla County Fire District, provided numerous scholarships for local students and grants for local organizations – we would be hard-pressed to find an area where the Foundation has not had an impact over the past 27 years.”
At the heart of Marvin’s passion for serving the community is her volunteer work, including co-chairing the Festival of Trees for the past 10 years, and more recently as a board member of the Hermiston Chamber of Commerce Foundation Board.
“Growing up in rural Montana, volunteering was a value that was instilled in me early on,” she said. “Community involvement is crucial to a strong, vibrant and livable community. Upon moving to Hermiston 25-plus years ago, my goal from the beginning was to get involved in the community. Having two sons in elementary school, it was easy to find avenues of involvement. Hermiston is the type of community that if you are a contributor and a worker, you may have a seat at the table.”
Marvin has accomplished much in her roles over the years. Her activities have not gone unnoticed given that she has been awarded the Hermiston Mayor’s Award (2009) and Hermiston’s Woman of the Year Award (2016), as well as the Hermiston High School Bulldog Award (2019) and Honorary Chapter Degree (2016-17) from the local FFA organization. These awards are not freely given but required significant, long-term involvement and achievement.
Marvin succeeds Bob Green, who retired as executive director of the foundation in December after eight years at the helm.
“We have had two outstanding foundation directors,” Marvin said. “First, Kelly Sanders was able to guide a fledgling board to become a viable giving area of the hospital. Bob Green was able to build on that foundation creating a cohesive and collaborative board. Bob was able to help our board members find their purpose while serving on the board and as a result was able to grow the foundation exponentially. I’m excited to build upon their efforts and success.”
When not working, Marvin enjoys spending time in the mountains, around the lakes during the summer months and snowmobiling in the winter months with her husband, Zeno, and their two children, Saje (Jenna) and Thayer (Maddy). She likes to be productive even in her free time working on projects at her home and for the Two96Main shop she is part of in downtown Hermiston.
