TRENDSETTERS
CRITICAL IMPACT How Arizona business leaders are pushing through the pandemic to do the most good By ALISON BAILIN BATZ
As we surpass the one-year mark since the onset of COVID-19 in our community, we’ve asked leaders of nonprofit organizations and associations to reflect on the year that was and share their vision for the days ahead and beyond.
TAMARA
ALLAN
MICHELLE
DR. LORRIE STEVEN HENDERSON
SHEETS
CEO, Girl Scouts–Arizona Cactus-Pine Council:
President and CEO, Delta Dental of Arizona:
CEO, Arizona Association of REALTORS:
CEO, Jewish Family & Children’s Service:
“During our current health crisis, the world leaders who have been among the most decisive and effective in addressing the pandemic have been women. To continue to support the next generation of female leaders, much work was done over the past 12 months to provide experiences in STEM, entrepreneurship, and the critically important subject of civics in new ways. We remain deeply committed to building the transformational female leaders of today and the future, and showing girls the power they have to change the world.”
“Delta Dental was instrumental in ensuring access to federal funding for dentists as they navigated office closure mandates resulting from the pandemic. Through the success of Delta Dental’s advocacy, dentists were eligible for muchneeded federal relief funding through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Nationwide, Delta Dental’s COVID-19 relief efforts are expected to reach $1.1 billion, with $10 million in Arizona alone, including $500,00 to Arizona Federally Qualified Health Centers and over $2 million in PPE funding for innetwork dental practices.”
“Arizona REALTORS are proud to support the Arizona Housing Fund whose mission is dedicated to providing a sustainable funding source for nonprofit agencies that build and operate permanent supportive, lowincome and working poor housing units. This mission became critically important over the past year as the coronavirus pandemic caused many Arizonans to struggle to make ends meet.”
“From the onset of the pandemic, JFCS remained steadfast in our commitment to strengthening the community by providing integrated healthcare and social services to all ages, faiths, and backgrounds. The crisis challenged us to deliver services differently, and as a result, we are able to reach even more people. As a nonprofit, we were initially concerned that the growing uncertainty would affect people’s ability to give. That couldn’t have been further from the truth. The community not only showed up but stepped up — motivated, inspired, and compelled to help.”
President and CEO, Southwest Behavioral & Health Services:
WOODBURY
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AB | May - June 2021
ALLFORD
LIND
“Our mission of delivering compassionate care to enhance lives and improve communities was never as clear or necessary as when the pandemic hit. The vulnerable populations that we serve were particularly hard-hit, and we were seeing a tremendous increase in the numbers of individuals seeking assistance. We were able to assist more than 29,000 individuals in 2020.”