Talent Citizen is pleased to announce that Joanna Ehlers will join Oregon Health & Science University Foundation as Assistant Vice President of Development, leading fundraising efforts for the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute, one of the nation’s top cancer centers and the only NCI-designated comprehensive cancer center between Seattle and Sacramento. Joanna will partner with Dr. Brian Druker and lead a team of dedicated professionals to propel the work of the Knight Cancer Institute at OHSU by raising significant levels of philanthropic support for cancer-related research, capital projects, and clinical care.
With more than 30 years of fundraising experience in both health care and higher education, Joanna is exceptionally well qualified for this leadership role. Joanna joins the OHSU Foundation from Fox Chase Cancer Center at Temple University, where she was Director of Development with responsibility for raising funds in support of research and clinical care for women’s cancer programs.
Prior to joining Fox Chase, Joanna led fundraising teams as Director of Development at Oregon State University College of Business and as Executive Director of Providence St. Vincent Medical Foundation in Portland and Executive Director of St. Anthony Hospital Foundation in Oklahoma City. Joanna’s extensive experience also includes development consulting with nonprofits in the Portland metro area. Earlier in her career, Joanna directed fundraising at the Oklahoma County chapter of the American Red Cross with oversight of $5 million in disaster relief funds in the immediate aftermath of the Oklahoma City bombing. She also previously worked in annual giving at the University of Oklahoma. Joanna earned a Bachelor of Arts in Education from the University of Dayton.
Joanna has traversed the world with her avid sailing family and held professional roles with the United States Department of State in Sri Lanka and Malta. Having raised her family in Portland, Joanna is excited to return home to the beautiful Pacific Northwest. Joanna has been an active volunteer leader in the Portland community, serving Destination Imagination and St. Andrew Nativity School, as well as being a member of the board of Mary’s Woods Retirement Community. A committed member of the professional community of fundraisers, Joanna is a member of National Association of Cancer Center Development Officers (NACCDO) and was a previous volunteer leader on the Philanthropy Awards Committee of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP).
Talent Citizen President Tracy Welsh led this search with Senior Associate Rachel K. Partin.