Allison Young named new CEO of the KGH Foundation
KELOWNA, BC, January 17, 2022 – After an extensive, nationwide search, the KGH Foundation has found its new CEO close to home. The Board of Directors is pleased to announce that Allison (Allie) Young has been named the KGH Foundation’s new Chief Executive Officer.
Young is well-known in the community for her previous role as the foundation’s Chief Development Officer for the past five years. She assumes the position from the outgoing incumbent, Doug Rankmore, who held the role for the last 10 years.
“Allie demonstrates the vision and qualities we feel are needed as the organization embarks on a new era of innovation and growth,” says Darrell Porubanec, KGH Foundation Board Chair. “Allie has cultivated strong relationships with the Board, our strategic partners in health care and the community, and foundation staff. Most importantly, she has developed deep and meaningful relationships with our donors. I know they celebrate this announcement as much as we do.”
Young joined the foundation in 2017 following successful development roles with Okanagan College and YMCA Okanagan. She served as a founding board member of AFP Okanagan and currently represents B.C. on the National Council for the Association of Health Care Philanthropy professionals. In addition to her professional work, Young recently completed an academic master’s program in Philanthropy & Not-for-profit Leadership at Carleton University.
“I am pleased to welcome Allie to her new role,” says Susan Brown, CEO of the Interior Health Authority. “The KGH Foundation is a key partner as we work together to provide quality health care in the Central Okanagan, and through initiatives such as JoeAnna’s House, for people from across the Interior region. Throughout the pandemic, I’ve valued the Foundation’s heartfelt commitment to supporting IH patients, volunteers, staff and physicians, and I look forward to working together with Allie and her team going forward.”
“Allie’s passion and enthusiasm for people, collaboration, and advancing health care in our community really sets her apart,” says Dr. Jeremy Harris, Chief of Staff at Kelowna General Hospital. “She is curious, driven, and not afraid to take on some of the most pressing challenges we are facing. I am looking forward to working with her.”
When asked how she is feeling about the new position, Young needs no time to consider her response. “Timing is everything. I’m ready,” she says. “I have an incredible team, and together with the support of our remarkably generous community, we are going to launch a new era in world-class health care in the southern interior.”
Since 1978, the KGH Foundation has worked with a generous community to raise funds to support world-class healthcare close to home for a rapidly expanding and diverse population in the interior of BC. Today, the KGH Foundation is the lead fundraising organization for Kelowna General Hospital and its associated facilities, JoeAnna’s House, and Central Okanagan Hospice House.
