LeAnne Trachok
Vice President, Catholic Healthcare West Class of 1987
W
hile growing up, LeAnne Trachok always tried to do everything her older brother did. That became difficult when he went off to all-male Washington & Jefferson College. Fourteen years her elder, he would tease her that she could not follow him there. “I remember when he would bring his friends from school to our house,” says Trachok. “They always seemed so polite, intelligent, and fun, and that made me want to go there even more.” When the College became co-educational in 1970, Trachok got her wish and matriculated at W&J. After graduation, unsure of what she wanted to do, Trachok went to an employment agency. The agency director declared her unfit for any available jobs because she lacked the requisite experience or a professional degree. However, the agency director agreed to send her out for an accounting position at National Medical Enterprises, Inc. (NME). “You won’t get the job, of course, but the man who will interview you will let me know how well you present yourself. It will be good practice for you,” the agency director said. Much to everyone’s surprise, Trachok landed the position. “I had no real accounting background,” she says. “But I learned fast. And my W&J education was crucial—it had taught me how to learn.” Trachok was quickly promoted to managing the accounting department and then to the corporate offices and then to the West Coast where she became the youngest person in the corporate office to attain a “director” level position. She is now a vice president at Catholic Healthcare West, the eighth largest not-for-profit hospital system in the country, serving more than 4 million patients annually. “My job has evolved to mission work and helping the uninsured and underserved,” says Trachok. “It’s a good fit for me.” She credits her rapid promotions and early successes to her W&J education. One supervisor told her that he always wanted her with him when he was interviewing prospective clients because no matter where the conversation went, she knew about that subject—whether it was boxing or Bolivia. “That’s the result of a liberal arts education,” she says.
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