Laurene Burton, EvergreenHealth Executive Director, Governance & Community Affairs retires after 27 years

Laurene Burton has shared her plans to retire from her position as Executive Director, Governance & Community Affairs. After 27 years working on behalf of our patients and community, she looks forward to traveling, kayaking, spending more time with her family and reading a good book or two. For a while, she says she’ll enjoy “every day being Saturday.” Laurene’s last day with EvergreenHealth is July 5.

Since Laurene joined EvergreenHealth in 1992, she has been widely recognized for her commitment to building relationships in our community. Initially hired to write curriculum for Community Health Education, she quickly acquired additional skills and was selected to become Director of Community Health Education in 1998. In 2005, she joined our administrative team, where she developed an affinity for governance activities and enjoyed working closely with our Board of Commissioners, whose work she deeply admires. Laurene continued her practice of active community-building through oversight of EvergreenHealth’s art program, volunteer program, community service programs and levy-funded programs – and carried out our organization’s commitment to transparency in her role as EvergreenHealth's Public Disclosure Officer.

It was EvergreenHealth’s culture that first appealed to Laurene. “It’s what drew me and what kept me here,” she says. With our origins and history of sustaining strong community ties, Laurene could freely follow her own natural instincts: “When I saw areas where we needed to have a connection, I tried to make one; I looked for needs in the community that EvergreenHealth could fill and pursued partnerships. In my experience, good relationships are crucial to any achievement. I’ve had the privilege of working with so many wonderful people in my role here, and I value every single one of them.

Laurene’s proudest achievements, not surprisingly, involve partnerships and a sense of satisfaction in helping these relationships grow and thrive:

 Oversight of the volunteer program and gift shops – always recognizing and celebrating the value of volunteers to our organization.
 Her role as advisor and guide to our Board of Commissioners, including the onboarding and selection of new members.
 Development of the Youth Mental Health Task Force – realizing our vision of providing mental health resources and education for the entire community and support of STEM education.
 Introduction of a health education program for schools; support of our Community Advisors group; and championing of immunization clinics – all reflections of Laurene’s goal, shared with our organization, to be a good steward in the community. Laurene shared that she is honored to have been associated with EvergreenHealth for these many years, and proud of her role in helping fulfill our purpose of enriching the health and well-being of every life we touch.

We wish to thank Laurene for her connectedness, community spirit and kindness. We’ve been fortunate to work alongside her and we wish her the very best in this next chapter.

I have worked with Laurene over the years and find her one of the kindest persons I know.

Bob Yoder