April 16, 2007
Contact: Bev Pfeifer-Harms
Director of Communications
314.345.5500 office

MFH's Leslie Reed Selected As 2008 Fulbright Fellow

Health Policy Vice President to Research Foundation Policy Roles

St. Louis - - Leslie Reed, vice president for health policy at the Missouri Foundation for Health (MFH) in St. Louis, has received a 2008 Fulbright Award to study the relationship between foundations and governments in the European Union (EU) countries. She will spend six months at the European Foundation Centre and the Network of European Foundations in Brussels, Belgium.

Reed is only one of three United States citizens to receive a Fulbright fellowship in 2007-08 for projects in the EU. While in Belgium, her research will focus on the emerging policy roles of foundations in the European Union and compare and contrast those roles with the way U.S. foundations interact with government on public policy issues.

"The Foundation is very pleased that one of our leadership team has been selected in the highly competitive Fulbright process and will have this opportunity to enhance her knowledge and skills," said James R. Kimmey, MD, president and chief executive officer at MFH. "We recognize that Fulbright awards are usually won by academics, and are not aware of any other foundation staff that has succeeded in competing for this type of support."

Reed joined MFH in 2002 as a senior program officer, and was named its first vice president for health policy in 2004. Her leadership has enabled MFH to develop an extensive health policy program, which is the largest such effort in Missouri, and one of the most comprehensive policy and advocacy programs among U.S. foundations.

P rior to joining MFH, she held a variety of positions in health philanthropy in California and Hawaii. She holds degrees from Colgate University and Middlebury University.

Her selection came through a competitive process conducted by the Commission of Educational Exchange in the EU, in consultation with the services of the European Commission. A similar number of EU residents have been selected to undertake projects in the U.S.

The Fulbright Program is the U.S. Government's international exchange program. It was established in 1946 under legislation introduced by former Senator J. William Fulbright. The program is designed "to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and people of other countries". Under the Fulbright program, grants are awarded to American and foreign nationals to study, teach, lecture and conduct research abroad. The Fulbright Program has been called the U.S.'s single most productive contribution to positive international relations.

Established in 2000, MFH is the largest non-governmental funder of community health activities in Missouri. The Foundation is in its sixth year of grantmaking, having issued more than $215 million in grants and awards to date. It is dedicated to serving the uninsured, underinsured and underserved in 84 Missouri counties and the City of St. Louis.

# # #

View other releases.