Kaweah Delta Hospital Foundation Director named Woman of the Year

A Press release from the Kaweah Delta Hospital District

Assemblymember Devon Mathis (R-Visalia) has named Elizabeth Wynn, Director of the Kaweah Delta Hospital Foundation, as the 26th Assembly District’s 2021 Woman of the Year.

“Elizabeth Wynn’s commitment to bless her community through service is inspiring. She strengthens the valley as she works for everyone’s right to access to health care, food, shelter, and education,” Mathis said. “To say that Elizabeth, or Liz as I know her, is a helpful individual is a huge understatement.  I have seen her work for hours, days, and weeks on projects and events just to make sure they were perfect. It’s not always easy to recognize a single person as a community leader; however, it’s quite simple in Liz’s case.”

Wynn was recognized by Assemblyman Mathis and Gary Herbst, Kaweah Delta’s Chief Executive Officer at a March 19 ceremony at Kaweah Delta Medical Center.

“Liz is an amazing member of this community and I don’t know if everybody really has a full appreciation of the impact that she’s had on the community,” Herbst said. “She has been an amazing leader here at Kaweah Delta, an incredibly impactful leader. If you look back over this year, obviously this has been an unimaginable, difficult year for all of us, and Liz has played such a vital role in helping our community and helping our employees and our organization get through it.”

Wynn is from Visalia and received her education locally at the College of the Sequoias and her B.A. in Human Resources at Fresno Pacific University. She currently serves as Director of the Kaweah Delta Hospital Foundation whose mission it is to support the needs of the Kaweah Delta Hospital District. Investments from the community assist their efforts to equip their facility with the latest technology that allows patients to remain in the local area while receiving care. “Everyone deserves quality healthcare and my role at the Foundation is to work with community members, private foundations and government entities to find ways to fund the needs of the District in their mission to provide excellence in healthcare,” Wynn said.

She credits her first encounter with a culture of community service to her time at QK (Planning/Engineering/ Architectural Consultants) of Visalia in the early 90’s whose leadership encouraged staff to find their passion and serve on volunteer boards. During that time she was awarded Young Visalia of the Year for community service by the Visalia Jaycees and was a founding board member of Naz Sports, a large local youth sport organization.

In early 2000, Liz spent time in the Seattle, Washington area working with local community groups to launch two nonprofits serving youth and disadvantaged individuals. She returned home to Visalia, California to provide leadership and direction for the Visalia Emergency Aid Council. She led the organization through a major building campaign for a 6,000-square-foot pantry and new administrative offices that have been a critical resource in distributing food to a record number of families during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Her years of service and volunteer activities are numerous and include serving on the Visalia Education Foundation Board, Visalia Chamber of Commerce Christmas Tree Auction Chair, Visalia Church of the Nazarene Building Committee Treasurer, Kaweah Delta Community Advisory Committee, Rotary Club of Visalia Board of Directors and President, City of Visalia Planning Policy Task Force, City of Visalia Housing Element Task Force and Chair and Commissioner of the City of Visalia Planning Commission. Elizabeth is a College of Sequoias Hall of Fame Inductee.

She currently lives in Visalia with her husband, Ray. They have two adult daughters and are the proud grandparents to five grandchildren. Elizabeth spends her free time cooking, gardening, and golfing.