The Board of Trustees of the Community Health Endowment (CHE) announces, with regret, the upcoming retirement of Lori (Vrtiska) Seibel, President & CEO, effective December 31, 2024. Seibel has served as CHE’s leader for 26 years and has been the first and only President & CEO. Prior to serving CHE, Seibel was the City/County Epidemiologist and served as an assistant to two Lincoln Mayors.
Seibel’s affiliation with CHE began when Lincoln General Hospital was sold by the City of Lincoln to Bryan Memorial Hospital in 1997. Along with a group of community leaders, she developed a strategy for the use of the proceeds of the sale ($37 million), ultimately leading to the creation of CHE, a municipal endowment of the City of Lincoln, in 1998. Seibel was hired as the first President & CEO shortly thereafter.
Since its creation, CHE has grown its assets at the rate of inflation, from $37 million to more than $70 million, and has re-invested an additional $42 million to the Lincoln community with a vision to make Lincoln, Nebraska, the healthiest community in the nation. Under Seibel’s leadership, CHE has convened the community around important health issues, including health equity, access to and integration of mental health and medical services, adverse childhood experiences, improving youth fitness, access to healthy food, and more. She has been instrumental in the development of one of Lincoln’s most defining planning documents, “Place Matters,” a compilation of local maps that illustrates Lincoln’s strengths and challenges, guides local decision-making, and influences the distribution of local, state, and national funds.
According to Seibel, “I have been honored beyond measure to build and lead this organization. It is truly a model of what can happen when a community works together for the common good, invests wisely, and leads with boldness. Lincoln should be immensely proud to be the home of the Community Health Endowment, and I am very grateful to the many, many people who have made it into what it is today and for generations to come.”
CHE is governed by a 15-member Board of Trustees, currently chaired by Marilyn Moore EdD, retired educator. Regarding Seibel’s retirement, Dr. Moore said, “The Lincoln community has been well-served for more than 25 years by Ms. Seibel's skilled and mission-driven leadership of the Community Health Endowment. Her data-driven approach, her deep knowledge of the community, and her ability to bring disparate groups around the table to address systemic health issues have resulted in a healthier community today, progressing toward the goal of making Lincoln the healthiest community in the nation. We are beyond grateful for her leadership, and we know the results of her work will be evident for years to come. We celebrate her legacy career."
A formal search is underway for Seibel’s replacement by the CHE Board of Trustees. Interested individuals should contact Megan Lewis, Kittleman & Associates, at mlewis@kittlemansearch.com.
