Elizabeth Ripley, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Mat-Su Health Foundation in Alaska, will receive Grantmakers In Health’s 2025 Terrance Keenan Leadership Award. The award recognizes outstanding health grantmakers whose work is distinguished by leadership, innovation, and outstanding achievement. Ms. Ripley was nominated by her colleagues at the foundation, with support from Lisa Wade of the Chickaloon Village Traditional Council. The award will be presented to Ms. Ripley at the 2025 GIH Annual Conference on Health Philanthropy in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Ms. Ripley has been the leader of the Mat-Su Health Foundation since 2008, transforming the organization into a national model for innovative and impactful health philanthropy, aligning hospital governance with community health priorities to drive measurable, systemic improvements in Alaska’s Matanuska-Susitna Borough.
Major successes of Ms. Ripley’s leadership include helping to establish the joint venture that built and launched Mat-Su Regional Medical Center to meet the health care needs of Alaska’s fastest growing population and keep hospital revenue in the community; spearheading advances in local behavioral health, including the addition of the behavioral health wing at Mat-Su Regional Medical Center and support of initiatives like Mat-Su Crisis Now and the creation of the Crisis Intervention Team Coalition and its many positive impacts; advocating for local policies to support public health, including increased access to health care, especially behavioral health, and lowering costs through Medicaid expansion and key legislation; establishing the foundation as a critical source of data and reports for local providers and organizations, giving them the information they need to guide their work and gain funding; dramatically increasing the local health care workforce through the foundation’s academic and vocational scholarship programs; and founding Connect Mat-Su, which makes it easier for Mat-Su residents to access local services, and ROCK Mat-Su, a collaborative that promotes family resilience and reduces child maltreatment.
In addition to serving on the board of Grantmakers In Health, Ms. Ripley has also served on the board of The Foraker Group, Philanthropy Northwest, and more, contributing her expertise to elevate nonprofit leadership and community-driven solutions nationwide. Notable accolades include the Alaska Public Health Association’s Long-Term Service Award and the YWCA Women of Achievement Award. Prior to her role at the Mat-Su Health Foundation, Ms. Ripley held positions at Hospice of Mat-Su and Valley Hospital Association, including as founding administrator for the Valley Hospital Foundation. She also served as director of marketing and public relations at the Mat-Su Regional Medical Center. Ms. Ripley holds a bachelor’s degree in English and Communications from Western Maryland College, a Master of Arts and Religion degree from Yale University, and was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters by the University of Alaska Anchorage.
In selecting Ms. Ripley, this year’s committee members were particularly impressed with her courage to take risks, adapt to complex challenges, and champion bold initiatives, while also serving as a tremendous mentor to those through the field of philanthropy.