The Moses Taylor Foundation, a private foundation with a mission to improve the health of people in Northeastern Pennsylvania, recently hosted its biennial meeting. Danielle Breslin, the foundation’s president and CEO, shared a strategic update on the foundation’s four focus areas: “health care access and quality, older adult health, school-based health and nonprofit effectiveness.
Kelly Ranieli, executive director of Volunteers in Medicine, received the Douglas G. Allen Leadership Award. The award, established in 2019, honors Doug Allen’s leadership as founding chair of the foundation’s board of directors. It is awarded every two years to a community leader who shares his commitment to improving the health of people in Northeastern Pennsylvania.
Ranieli has served as Volunteers in Medicine’s executive director since its inception in 2008. For 18 years, she has worked to generate funding, recruit volunteers and staff, implement programs, and expand access to high-quality, comprehensive health care for underserved populations.
She has positioned the nonprofit as a nationally certified patient-centered medical home. Ranieli continues to advance the organization’s mission of providing health, hope and healing to those who need it most.
At the event, Allen spoke of Ranieli’s dedication to others and pursuit of excellence in care, noting, “On behalf of the board and staff, I am delighted to recognize Kelly and her unwavering commitment to this community.”
The foundation also recognized nine regional nonprofits participating in its Mental Health Learning Community Cohort at the event. “The collaboration between the organizations and professionals invested in this work has been nothing short of inspiring,” said Lisa Savero, the foundation’s senior program officer. “We are grateful for each cohort member’s collaboration, openness and shared purpose, which make this learning community especially meaningful. We appreciate how you’ve helped bring our framework to life and advance community-based systems change.”
The Mental Health Learning Community Cohort includes participants from Catholic Social Services, Diocese of Scranton; Community Care Behavioral Health Organization; Geisinger Health Foundation; Greater Scranton YMCA; Healthy Family Partnerships/Wyoming County Commissioners; Keystone Human Services; The Wright Center for Community Health; United Neighborhood Centers of Northeastern Pennsylvania; and Wayne Memorial Community Health Centers.
Keynote speaker Alex Briscoe, principal of strategy and systems change at Public Works Alliance, delivered a message about valuing and integrating mental and behavioral health care, listening to the community served and understanding how systems-based frameworks affect regional communities. He also led a 90-minute workshop that explored what it will take to build a new model of care centered on community and lived expertise in Northeastern Pennsylvania.
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