NEW ORLEANS – The Board of Directors of LSU Health New Orleans Foundation has named Denise Flock-Williams Interim President of LSU Health New Orleans Foundation. She has a 20-year history with the Foundation, most recently serving as Senior Director of Development for Corporate and Foundation Relations. Flock-Williams has raised millions of dollars to support the mission of LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans through annual giving, grant writing and endowments. She has administered special projects, including the LSU Biomedical Research Fund, helping to secure capital and operate the $5 million Pfizer-funded program.
The move is part of recent restructuring efforts to build upon a foundation of steady growth and better position the non-profit to take its success to the next level.
“The Board has every confidence that Denise Flock-Williams’ knowledge, tenure and extensive experience with our organization will ensure that our progress continues uninterrupted during this transition,” says James Leonard, MD, Chairman of the Board of LSU Health New Orleans Foundation. “We are moving forward from a strong position with our initiatives, staffing and financials.”
The Foundation was formed in 1988 and organized as a nonprofit, tax-exempt, public charity to support and promote the charitable, scientific and educational mission of the LSU Health Sciences Center. Incorporation was guided by the School of Medicine Alumni Association supporting the LSU Medical Center. In 1999, the LSU campus transitioned to become the LSU Health Sciences Center comprised of six schools: Medicine, Dentistry, Nursing, Allied Health Professions, Public Health and Graduate Studies. The Foundation also transitioned to become a support organization for the six schools and executed a uniform affiliation agreement with the LSU System in 1999 defining its role as a recognized LSU affiliated organization. Through its current and past leadership, the Foundation's assets have grown from $2 million in 1988 to over $100 million today.
“I am honored to lead the LSU Health Foundation during this exciting time as we continue to build on our successes,” says Flock-Williams. “I am grateful to our Board and our staff for all their efforts to support the LSU Health Sciences Center and its vital mission of education, patient care, research, and community service. We are poised to share LSU Health’s incredible successes with even more members of the community as we seek support for this critical work.”
LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans educates Louisiana’s health care professionals. The state’s most comprehensive health sciences university, LSU Health New Orleans includes a School of Medicine, the state’s only School of Dentistry, Louisiana’s only public School of Public Health, and Schools of Allied Health Professions, Nursing, and Graduate Studies. LSU Health New Orleans faculty takes care of patients in public and private hospitals and clinics throughout the region. In the vanguard of biosciences research in a number of areas in a worldwide arena, the LSU Health New Orleans research enterprise generates jobs and enormous economic impact. LSU Health New Orleans faculty have made lifesaving discoveries and continue to work to prevent, advance treatment, or cure disease.