The Harvest Foundation Board of Directors announced Friday that Kathryn (Kate) E. Keller of Cincinnati, Ohio has been named to serve as the foundation’s new president. Keller will lead the foundation in its mission to enhance the health, education, and community vitality of Martinsville-Henry County.
“Following an exhaustive nationwide search for the foundation’s new leadership, we are thrilled to welcome Kate Keller to The Harvest Foundation and to Martinsville-Henry County,” said David Stone, chairman of The Harvest Foundation Board of Directors. “Kate demonstrated a deep appreciation for our community and a commitment to growing the next chapter of grantmaking at the foundation. She has an extensive background in strategy development and execution, in addition to managing a large grants portfolio. We couldn’t be more excited for Kate to join the Harvest family.”
Keller is scheduled to begin her position at Harvest on July 15.
Coming to The Harvest Foundation after 20 years of employment at Interact for Health, a private, health-focused foundation in Cincinnati, Keller brings a varied skill set to her new position. Her previous roles included vice president of strategy and policy, vice president of policy and external relations, senior program officer, and program officer.
Keller worked to execute Interact for Health’s strategic plan, its grantmaking and communications strategy, in addition to coordinating its policy and information teams. She implemented several initiatives totaling more than $22 million that increased school-based health care services throughout Greater Cincinnati, including opening 24 SBHC’s (school-based health centers) and launched a comprehensive public education campaign informing the community about the Affordable Care Act. Keller led the charge for Interact for Health in supporting the expansion of Medicaid which led to 800,000 Ohioans enrolling in coverage.
“I am passionate about enhancing a community’s vitality and health,” said Keller, president of The Harvest Foundation. “I am deeply honored to join such a committed organization and look forward to using my experience to work with the dedicated staff, board, and partners to advance the goals of our region.”
Keller most recently established Keller Consulting, a service providing healthcare and consulting services such as strategy assessment and development, strategic planning, and funding strategies research.
Keller received a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Cincinnati and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Eastern Michigan University. Interact for Health named the Keller Fellowship in her honor in 2018, and she received the Outstanding Achievement Award from the National Assembly on School-Based Healthcare in 2012. Keller was also named to the Forty Under Forty list by the Cincinnati Business Courier and she was a member of the 39th class of Leadership Cincinnati.
She will be relocating with her husband Craig and their son Charlie, along with their French Bulldog, Boomer. Their daughter, Allie, attends Ohio State University.
The Harvest Foundation is a nonprofit organization established in 2002 by the sale of Memorial Hospital. The foundation seeks to invest in community initiatives that support economic development within Martinsville-Henry County. To improve the community’s health, educational opportunity, and quality of life, Harvest will work to support organizations and projects that build and maintain economic prosperity. To date, the foundation has put more than $134 million in grant dollars back into the community and has an annual grants budget of roughly $10-12 million. To find out more about Harvest, visit www.theharvestfoundation.org.
