Board Member and Volunteer Gifts

Personal values guide leader's life and work

Dorothy Mann, PhD, began her health career in Washington D.C. as a founding member of the federal anti-poverty agency's community health center program. "The mission statement was 'health is a right, not a privilege'. I believed that then and I believe it now."

Now years later, Dorothy is still inspired to improve the lives of people living in poverty through access to affordable health care.

Long before she lived in the Northwest, Dorothy crossed paths with Group Health as a federal project officer, granting money that allowed the Cooperative to care for people who could not afford to pay.

Dorothy later moved to Seattle to serve as regional health administrator for the U.S. Public Health Service. She wasn't sure what neighborhood to choose, but one decision was firm: "I would receive my care from Group Health, because providing good care for all members was a commitment of its consumer-led board, its medical staff and its management."

She knows these things all too well. Dorothy was a trustee of Group Health for nine years, starting in the 1980s. She became chair in 1990. The organization became more service-oriented, beginning with a plan to notify patients of lab results. "Being elected chair of the board by my peers was—and still is—one of the high marks of my civic engagement."

Today Dorothy chairs the Group Health Community Foundation's board and leads the way for philanthropy to play a greater role at Group Health. She believes philanthropy can integrate more fully with Group Health's business goals and its strategy to serve the broader community's needs.

Why did she decide to include the Foundation in her estate planning? "It was a no-brainer," she says. "I share the Foundation's philanthropic values to serve the needs of the broader community."