Gonzalez to retire June 2023, formal search process launches January 2023 for successor
The Knapp Community Care Foundation (KCCF) Board of Directors announced today that Yvonne “Bonnie” Gonzalez will retire from her position on June 30, 2023, after almost ten years as the founding Chief Executive Officer to pursue her passions in public service and family.
In her message to the Board of Directors, Gonzalez shared,
“My time with the Knapp Community Care Foundation has been a life changing and humbling experience. Our Board and staff, in partnership with local nonprofits, and many community stakeholders have made a difference in our community by improving the health and wellness of Mid-Valley families. I am proud of the values and the philosophy we hold dear in seeing our community as a true partner. Together, we have brought an intentional focus to the Mid-Valley’s unique healthcare needs. While we have identified gaps and leveraged resources, we have also celebrated our partners who are bringing innovative solutions and embracing collaborative partnerships in their work. I believe in the core of my soul that we are doing God’s work. My role at the Foundation has been a culmination of my experiences in healthcare, workforce, community development, and education. Thank you to our Board of Directors for the opportunity to serve.”
In its first ten years, under her leadership, KCCF has provided more than $47 million in grant funding to 41 organizations that improve the health of Mid-Valley families. In the most recent grants cycle for 2022, the Foundation distributed $4.4 million in funding to Mid-Valley organizations.
Gonzalez worked closely with the Board and senior leadership to develop and implement a strategic plan aimed at strengthening not just individual nonprofit organizations, but the entire Mid-Valley nonprofit sector through purpose-driven Board leadership, impact investing, and intentional capacity building initiatives.
Before Gonzalez became CEO of the Knapp Community Care Foundation, she led Workforce Solutions, Lower Rio as Chief Executive Officer for 10 years. In that role, Gonzalez created strategic partnerships with the private and public sector that put people to work. Under her direction, Workforce Solutions was named the “Top Performing Workforce Board in the State of Texas” and received state and national recognition in the field. Before her time at Workforce Solutions, she was the founding CEO for the Rio Grande Valley Empowerment Zone Corporation. During her eight-year tenure, she led an initiative that leveraged $414M in state, federal, and private investment to the original $40M federal investment.
That investment resulted in infrastructure, housing, business, and economic development programs in the four-county area of the Rio Grande Valley. Gonzalez has been involved in public and higher education, community economic development, health care, and nonprofit work throughout her career.
She is currently serving as a Board member for Philanthropy Southwest, is an advisory board member for Western Governors University–Texas, and serves on the Advance Together Steering Committee for Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. She has recently been named as a Director for the South Texas College Foundation. Gonzalez received a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from University of Texas at Austin and a Master’s in Public Administration from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.
The board has engaged with long-time capacity building partner and consulting group, Burnam | Gray, to lead KCCF in a comprehensive search for its next Chief Executive Officer. The search will launch in early January 2023. Individuals interested in learning more about the position as potential applicants should email Carrie Gray, Principal, and Co-Founder at carrie@burnamgray.com.
ABOUT THE KNAPP COMMUNITY CARE FOUNDATION Established in 2013 as a result of the acquisition of Knapp Medical Center by Prime Healthcare Services Foundation, the Knapp Community Care Foundation (KCCF) is a private healthcare conversion foundation based in Weslaco, Texas, whose mission is to improve the health of Mid-Valley families. KCCF has provided more than $47 million in grant funding to 41 organizations that improve the health of Mid-Valley families. In 2022, the Foundation distributed $4.4 million in funding. For more information visit www.communitycare.today.