March 2, 2007
Contact: Bev Pfeifer-Harms
Director of Communications
314.345.5500 office

Missouri Foundation for Health Adds Five Staff; Promotes One

St. Louis - - Missouri Foundation for Health (MFH) has recently hired five new employees and promoted one person.

Joining MFH are:
Charles Gasper, Director of Evaluation, works with outside evaluation contracts, designs and develops evaluation indicators and assesses the readiness of funding programs for evaluation. Gasper joins MFH from Sisters of Mercy Health System where he was senior analyst - quality management. He holds a master of science (research) in psychology from Saint Louis University.

Delesha George, Administrative Assistant, supports the MFH health policy team. Previously, she was a sales administrative assistant with Robert Half International in St. Louis. She is a graduate of Cardinal Ritter College Prep High.

Jessica Kersulov, Administrative Assistant, supports the MFH program team. She comes to MFH from Vatterott College where she served as executive administrative coordinator. She is currently working toward a bachelor's degree in criminal justice.

Michelle Miller, Health Policy Associate for Outreach, focuses on outreach and establishing relationships with the advocacy community and other key constituents. Miller most recently was a consultant for Healthy Youth Partnership in St. Louis and served as a Fellow in Public Affairs through the Coro Leadership Center. She has a bachelor of arts and fine arts from Washington University in St. Louis and is a graduate of the Women's Leadership Training Institute.

Jennifer Wood, Program Associate, provides research and background information reports related to funding requests. She previously was a research assistant and graduate intern for MOKANSave in St. Louis. She has a master's degree in social work from Washington University in St. Louis and a bachelor's degree from Taylor University in Upland, Indiana.

Promoted is:
Caroline Battles, Director of Public Policy, advises MFH on the state and national legislative landscape in order to help shape grantmaking activities. She has been with MFH since 2004 as the Community/Government Liaison.

Established in 2000 through the for-profit conversion of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Missouri, MFH is the largest non-governmental funder of community health activities in the state. MFH's current assets stand at $1.3 billion, making it the third largest health care foundation in the U.S. To date, MFH has issued almost $210 million in grants and awards.

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