Elizabeth Howell - MHIF Board of Directors
Elizabeth Howell likes to make things work. In her five years on the
board of the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation, she has done just
that through several board-appointed positions.
As chair of the investment committee which oversees the Foundation's
endowments, she wrote the Foundation's first investment management
policy guidelines, and presided over the reorganization of the
endowment's management. While serving as chair of the chief executive
evaluation committee, she set up a new evaluative process that will be
used by the Foundation for years to come. While on the strategic
planning committee, Beth also took part in the task force that examined
ways through which the Foundation and Children's HeartLink can work more
closely on issues of heart health.
"Beth is always available as a board member, whether it is to pick up a
special assignment, attend a donor lunch, or provide feedback or counsel
on a pressing issue," explains Ford Bell, president of the Minneapolis
Heart Institute Foundation. "We're very lucky to have someone of Beth's
caliber and commitment on our board of directors."
"I got involved with the Foundation because it was well run and very
involved in the local community," explains Howell, a native Minnesotan.
"I also am excited about the research being done by the Foundation. More
than anything else, cardiovascular research - through continued
financial support - allows our doctors and researchers to do their work
and keep us all more heart healthy."
Howell, a senior portfolio manager at Delaware Management Company in
Minneapolis, knows that good heart health allows everyone to live an
active, happy lifestyle. She is an avid skier, tennis player and
mountain biker - and travels periodically to Idaho, Wyoming and Montana
for her much-loved fly-fishing. Beth also undertook major fundraising
for Ann Bancroft's All Women's Expedition Foundation.
As for her hard work on various board assignments, Howell says, "The
Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation can give everyone in our
community, and beyond, one of the most special gifts possible - the
chance for good heart health. If I can be a part of that gift, I feel
like my time there is well spent."
Sheldon Wert - MHIF Board of Directors
Sheldon Wert joined the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation board of
directors in 1996 - two years after the need for bypass surgery struck
him personally.
"Heart disease has run in my family for generations," explains Wert, "so
it wasn't a big surprise when I had to go in for bypass surgery. After
the surgery I made a promise to myself - on behalf of my family and my
community to be a part of an organization that fought to prevent heart
disease. Needless to say, I found that organization in MHIF."
Wert has been a member of the MHIF Building Evaluation Committee, as
well as co-chair of the Contributions and Funding Committee. His tremendous
generosity includes becoming a Founder in 1994 as well as making a
$50,000 challenge grant to the Gobel/Van Tassel and Nicoloff Endowments.
Through the forward-thinking management of president Ford Bell, Wert
believes that MHIF is in an excellent position to continue the work it
started nearly 17 years ago. In his mind, the well-run Foundation can
combat the ever-increasing challenges in the medical environment by
increasing individual donations, obtaining more grants, and continuing
to place importance on advances in cardiovascular research.
Wert knows a lot about forward-thinking management through his countless
successes in the banking and real estate development arenas throughout
the past 25 years. Among his successes, Wert counts the Shelard Park
development (now called the Interchange Tower), a management company
called Shelard Group Inc., the Shelard National Bank, and Century Bank.
"Shel Wert is an easy man to admire," explains Ford Bell, DVM, president
of the MHIF. "First, his knowledge of financial resources and real
estate is a huge help to the work of the Foundation - and his insight
and experience have helped us immeasurably for the past three years. But
even more than that, Shel is a forthright, caring person. He exhibits a
desire to get to know people - and a genuineness that makes others want
to get to know him."
The community spirit that brought him to MHIF has led him to the board
tables of several community organizations. Over the years, Wert has
served as chairman of the Advanced Gifts Division of the Minneapolis
Federation for Jewish Services, the board of trustees at Blake School,
and as a past board member of the Temple Israel synagogue. In his spare
time, Wert enjoys golfing, tennis and spending time at his cabin on Gull
Lake in northern Minnesota. He and his wife, Jean, have six children.
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