Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt appointed Krista Postai of Pittsburg; Martie Ross of Kansas City; and Don Sherman of Wichita. The fourth trustee, Beryl Lowery-Born of Topeka, was appointed by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas.
All four trustees were appointed to first three-year terms that start in June.
Two members of the Sunflower Foundation’s Community Advisory Committee also were re-appointed by Schmidt. Dr. Kent Bradley of Valley Center and Francie Currie of Neodesha will start their second three-year terms in June.
Postai is chief executive of the Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas, the only federally qualified health center serving Southeast Kansas, thestate’s poorest region. She worked previously as a vice president at Mt. Carmel Regional Medical Center in Pittsburg, where she was employed 23 years.
Postai graduated from the University of Kansas with a bachelor of science in journalism. She is a board member of the Kansas Health Information Network and is the immediate past president of the Kansas Association for the Medically Underserved.
Martie Ross works at Pershing Yoakley & Associates healthcare consultants advising doctors and hospitals nationwide on navigating healthcare regulations. She is an expert in new payment and delivery systems and public payer initiatives, and advises clients on health information technology, health reform, patient privacy and security, and rural health strategies. Previously Ross was partner at several Kansas-based law firms: Spencer Fane Britt & Browne; Lathrop & Gage; and Foulston Siefkin.
Ross graduated from KU of the University of Kansas with degrees in law, sociology and philosophy.
Don Sherman is vice president of community relations and strategic partnerships at Westar Energy, Kansas’ largest electric utility. Prior to joining Westar in 2007, Sherman was for two decades a successful entrepreneur, founding the first and only African-American-owned radio station group in Kansas, as well as building Wichita’s largest private security and investigation firm.
Sherman graduated from Baker University in Baldwin City with a degree in business administration. He has an associates degree in administration of justice from Butler Community College in El Dorado.
Beryl “Bebo” Lowery-Born retired from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas as the company’s chief financial officer in 2013. Previously, she was the company’s vice president of finance. Lowery-Born oversaw the Blue Cross operating division, which included actuarial research, accounting, underwriting and management engineering departments.
She graduated from Washburn University with a master’s in business administration and a bachelor’s in accounting. She also has a degree in biological science from Kansas State University.
Dr. Kent Bradley is a Valley Center physician in obstetrics and gynecology..
Francie Currie is an office manager for a family practice clinic in Neodesha.
The new trustees will replace Marty Beezley, Chris Ruder, Howard Shuler and Caroline Williams.
The Sunflower Foundation is governed by a nine-member board. Eight trustees are appointed through a process overseen by the Kansas Attorney General and the ninth member is appointed by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas. Trustees are limited to serving three, three-year terms. The nine-member Community Advisory Committee nominates candidates for the foundation’s board. The committee also advises the foundation.
The foundation was established in 2000. Its mission is improving the health of Kansans, which it supports through a program of grants, special initiatives and related activities. More information about the foundation’s programs and grants is available atSunflowerFoundation.org.
