Childrens Minnesota kid experts, Dr. Angela Kade Goepferd (they/she), chief education officer and medical director of the Gender Health program, and Jamie Winter (she/her), RN, MBA, director of mental health services, have been recognized as 2022 Health Care Heroes by Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal. Dr. Goepferd and Jamie are among several health care professionals in the Twin Cities recognized for their outstanding work and commitment to the field.

Dr. Goepferd was honored in the Health Equity Champion category for advancing equitable health care for all children, particularly transgender and gender diverse youth. Dr. Goepferd is the founder and medical director of the Gender Health program, the largest exclusively pediatric program of its kind in the region offering comprehensive care for youth who identify as transgender and gender diverse. Dr. Goepferd uses their voice and expertise to advocate for the health and wellbeing of LGBTQ+ youth and families in the community, and regularly works to educate the public about kids and gender identity through media interviews, panels, speaking engagements, etc. They have built a reputation for being a leading voice and ally for LGBTQ+ equity at Childrens Minnesota and beyond.

Jamie was honoredin the Health Care Practitioner Nonphysician category for her leadership and strategic planning in advancing intensive mental health services at Childrens Minnesota to meet the community-wide pediatric metal health needs. Jamie was instrumental in opening the organizations first partial hospitalization program (PHP) in Lakeville in June 2021, and is also leading the opening of a 22-bed inpatient unit at the St. Paul campus in fall 2022. Expanding intensive mental health services comes at a critical time when the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the mental health crisis for kids and teens in our community, and Jamie is committed to building a mental health continuum of care so we can provide the right level of care to kids when and where they need it.

Dr. Goepferd and Jamie will be celebrated at a June 16 awards event at JW Marriott Minneapolis Mall of America and featured in a Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal Health Care Heroes special print edition on June 17.

At Childrens Minnesota, we get to see amazing every day. The fighting spirit of a 24-week-old preemie. The resilient five-year-old learning to walk again. And the sense of pure optimism we see in every child. We believe children are the most amazing people on Earth and that drives us to do everything we can to live up to the privilege of caring for them.

At Childrens Minnesota our mission is: We champion the health needs of children and families. We are committed to improving childrens health by providing the highest-quality, family-centered care, advanced through research and education.

Our vision is to be every familys essential partner in raising healthier children not only during illnesses or injuries, but throughout childhood. As the health care industry faces a time of unprecedented change, we will continue our dedication to delivering an experience unlike any other, making access to health care easier and working with the community in innovative ways.

At Childrens Minnesota, we practice a philosophy of care that respects the pivotal role of the family as the constant in a childs life. We know families are the experts about their children, the primary caregivers and the childs biggest source of support. As a result, we encourage families and patients to participate as active members of the health care team.

Marc Gorelick, MD, was appointed chief executive officer of Childrens Minnesota in December 2017. He joined Childrens in March 2017 as president and chief operating officer. He is deeply committed to identifying sustainable ways Childrens can continue to deliver exceptional care in an evolving health care environment.

Dr. Gorelick previously served as Executive Vice President and COO of Childrens Hospital of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. A pediatric emergency medicine physician by training, his prior experience includes faculty positions at Medical College of Wisconsin and University of Pennsylvania, and clinical and leadership roles at Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia, AI DuPont Hospital for Children and Childrens Hospital of Wisconsin.

His education includes an A.B. degree in history from Princeton University, an M.D. degree from Duke University, and a Master of Science in Clinical Epidemiology from the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Gorelick trained in pediatrics at Childrens National Medical Center, and in pediatric emergency medicine at Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia.

James Burroughs joined Childrens Minnesota as the first chief equity and inclusion officer in January 2019, and is now the senior vice president, government and community relations, chief equity and inclusion officer. He is responsible for advancing equity and inclusion across the organization as well as leading advocacy, government affairs and community relations.

Mr. Burroughs key focus areas include patient quality initiatives, employee recruitment and retention strategies, organizational culture and increasing financial investment with diverse businesses and initiatives that address the social determinants of health for patients and families. He also leads Childrens Minnesotas efforts to foster community relations, and accelerate engagement in government affairs to advocate for policies that positively impact the health and well-being of children.

Mr. Burroughs has more than 25 years of experience in the areas of nonprofit management, equity, diversity, inclusion, as well as employment law. Prior to Childrens Minnesota, Mr. Burroughs served in the Office of Governor Mark Dayton, where he was the State of Minnesotas first chief inclusion officer. Mr. Burroughs has a juris doctorate from Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C., and completed his bachelor of arts in political science at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia. He is the proud father of Teresa Ann Burroughs.

Laurin Cathey joined Childrens Minnesota in September 2019, and is responsible for all human resource functions including HR business partners and consultants, labor relations, organizational development and learning, talent acquisition, benefits and compensation and information systems.

Mr. Cathey brings more than 20 years of experience working in labor and employee relations with considerable experience in and a passion for diversity, inclusion and change management. Prior to joining Childrens Minnesota, Mr. Cathey worked at St. Paul Public Schools where he was the executive director of human resources and ING as HR director. Within those roles, he led diversity management operations, culture and employee engagement efforts, performance management and executive coaching.

Dave Lundal joined Childrens Minnesota in March 2019 and is now senior vice president, chief information officer. He is responsible for the strategic direction and technical support of all information systems supporting the hospitals and clinics. He also provides leadership for the Health Information Management department, which maintains the confidentiality, quality and timeliness of medical records and health information.

Mr. Lundal brings more than 25 years of experience in health care information technology and leadership in domains including ambulatory, hospital, home care and insurance. He recently held leadership positions at WellStar Health System, Presence Health and SSM Health.

Brenda McCormick joined Childrens Minnesota in August 2019, and is responsible for the leadership, direction and performance of all finance functions, including accounting and financial reporting, financial planning and analysis, health information management, investments, payer contracting and strategic pricing, revenue management and treasury.

Ms. McCormicks background includes strategic planning, controllership, mergers and acquisitions and business operations. Previously, she was the chief financial officer and senior vice president of finance at Smiths Medical and served as the vice president, corporate controller and principal accounting officer at Valspar. She has held financial management positions at Lawson Software, International Multifoods, The Pillsbury Company (Diageo) and Coca-Cola Enterprises. She received her bachelors degree from St. Olaf College and her MBA in finance from the University of Minnesota.

Ms. McCormick volunteers her time as the Childrens Minnesota representative on the Ridgeview Medical Center Board, as a member of the St. Olaf College Board of Regents, and as Chair of the St. Olaf Alumni Board.

Caroline (Ndungu) Njau joined Childrens Minnesota in March 2021 and is responsible for patient care operations, including nursing and patient and family services, as well as nursing strategy, education and professional development.

Ms. Njau previously served as the director of hospital and nursing operations at Park Nicollet Methodist Hospital where she also co-led the Health Equity Initiative for last several years. Caroline was broadly accountable for inpatient flow and efficiency initiatives, served as a consistent dyad partner to the chief medical officer in joint clinical improvement initiatives, and engaged significantly with union relationships. She began her nursing career in medical-telemetry units at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta.

Jennifer M. Olson, MBA, is a highly regarded, award-winning health care executive best known for her strategic and operational leadership in driving enterprise health care solutions. Ms. Olson is currently the senior vice president, chief operating officer at Childrens Minnesota. In this role, she oversees vital areas of health system operations, including inpatient, ambulatory, diagnostic services, pharmacy, partnerships, strategic planning and growth, value and clinical excellence, marketing/communications, and provider outreach. Ms. Olson also provides strategic and operational oversight of the Mother Baby Fetal, Cardiovascular and Neurosciences Institutes.

Prior to this role, Ms. Olson served as senior vice president of system operations and chief strategy officer for Childrens Minnesota. From 20102015, she was the vice president of operations for the Mother Baby clinical service line, a collaboration between Childrens Minnesota and Allina Health. Prior to her career at Childrens Minnesota, she held roles at Deloitte Consulting and the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics.

Andy Pugh was appointed senior vice president, chief legal officer of Childrens Minnesota in April 2022. Mr. Pugh oversees legal services, risk management, compliance, and information security and serves as Secretary to the Board of Directors. He joined Childrens as deputy general counsel in July 2011. In that role, he oversaw the legal department and served as primary legal support in key areas such as health care transactions and tax-exempt compliance. He also provided direct legal support to various departments and functions across the organization and its related entities. Mr. Pugh has a deep commitment to equity and inclusion and has served as a member of Childrens Health Equity Council.

Prior to joining Childrens Minnesota, Mr. Pugh served as deputy general counsel at Allina Health. He began his legal career at Honeywell Inc. and spent several years in private practice. He earned his juris doctorate from Mitchell Hamline School of Law and his bachelor of arts in political science from Arizona State University.

Jennifer (Jenny) Soderholm has over 29 years of health care fundraising and development experience. Before joining Childrens Minnesota, she served as executive vice president and chief development officer at Planned Parenthood North Central States, where she oversaw all aspects of fundraising strategy and operations for the five-state region. Ms. Soderholm has also held executive leadership positions in management, fundraising and development for health care and higher education institutions, including Childrens HeartLink, the University of Minnesota Medical School and M Health Fairview University of Minnesota Medical Center and Masonic Childrens Hospital.

Ms. Soderholm has a bachelor of arts degree in Speech-Communications from University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, and received the 2019 Association of Fundraising Professionals, Minnesota Chapter, Outstanding Professional Fundraiser Award.

Childrens Minnesota is a nonprofit health system, and one of the largest pediatric systems in the country, with two hospitals, nine primary care clinics, seven rehabilitation and nine specialty care sites. Your gift means that a child and their family will always receive an exceptional level of care, support and resources, all thanks to your generosity.

Our Foundation specifically raises funds to support our promise to every child: that they will have access to the best physicians, treatments and family support, regardless of their financial circumstances. Every year, thousands of community members donate to Childrens Minnesota and support excellent pediatric care in our region. Whether you are a patient family, business, or community member who cares about healthy kids, we invite you to join us!

The ongoing generosity of our donors and community is why Childrens Minnesota is such an important asset in our state and region. Our annual report showcases our accomplishments and impact from the past year, highlighting stories of care, innovation and community engagement. See what your gift makes possible.