Media contact:
Courtney McCall
Missouri Foundation for Health
(314) 345-5505
cmccall@mffh.org
St. Louis, MO (May 27, 2025) – Missouri Foundation for Health (MFH) is proud to commemorate 25 years of improving the health and well-being of Missourians. Foundation leadership, board members, and community partners are taking this opportunity to reflect on milestones and chart a course forward during a private commemoration event on their campus in June.
MFH is a health care conversion foundation established in 2000 after Blue Cross Blue Shield of MO changed its business model, moving from nonprofit to for-profit status. The history of the Foundation can be understood by examining the impact of each chief executive officer, and how the work happening during each’s tenure was built upon and continued, laying a foundation for where MFH is headed today – on a journey to achieve health equity.
Evolution of MFH
Dr. James Kimmey was the inaugural President and CEO, joining the organization in 2001. Kimmey was the founding dean of Saint Louis University’s School of Public Health and had a deep history of public health service, including a stint as Executive Director of the American Public Health Association. His combination of scholarship and practical leadership experience made him the right choice for the role.
Under Kimmey, the Foundation focused on improving access to health and social services for traditionally underserved Missourians. That meant getting grant dollars to community and government organizations, a traditional philanthropic strategy. The MoCAP program, created in 2010, initially focused on helping nonprofits and governmental organizations capture state funding. During his tenure, the Foundation also worked to establish itself as a nonpartisan source of trusted information on health policy topics.
In 2012, Kimmey was succeeded in the role by Dr. Robert Hughes. Hughes came to MFH with 30 years of experience in philanthropic leadership, public health, and health policy. From 1990 to 2010, he held positions at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), including Vice President and Chief Learning Officer.
Hughes worked with board members and his leadership team to conceptualize how to deepen the Foundation’s impact across Missouri. Ultimately, MFH pivoted to a strategic changemaker role in the public health ecosystem, shifting from a focus on “serving the underserved” to helping Missourians live their healthiest lives. During his tenure, MoCAP’s focus widened from helping applicants acquire state funding to capturing larger national and private funding dollars.
The Foundation elevated the roles of health policy, advocacy, and learning and research through programmatic work. The new direction incorporated strategic communications to enhance the Foundation’s brand and reputation, amplify the voices of grantees and partners through communications campaigns, and position staff as topic experts in the field. Focus areas under Hughes’ leadership included comprehensive contraception access, firearm injury and death prevention, and enhanced participation in the 2020 census. MFH also created The Net Benefit, the first Foundation-led communications campaign.
The Foundation’s current CEO, Dr. Dwayne Proctor, came to the organization in 2021 with over two decades of philanthropic experience. During his Fulbright Fellowship in Senegal, West Africa, his research team investigated how HIV prevention messages raised awareness of AIDS as a national health problem. Like his predecessor, Proctor held multiple roles at RWJF, including leading national strategies to reverse the rise in childhood obesity rates.
Proctor took the helm at a time when Missouri and the rest of the nation were dealing with the early stages of the pandemic. Despite the uniquely difficult environment, the work continued. Shortly after he joined the Foundation, Missourians voted to expand Medicaid, marking the culmination of over a decade’s work with a multitude of community partners.
Under his leadership, MFH has renewed its commitment to center community wisdom. That approach has led to new projects like Speak Up MO, MFH’s first public opinion poll and a nonpartisan effort to gauge what health issues matter most to Missourians.
Proctor and his leadership team are finding new ways to collaborate with organizations and community partners that are advancing health equity. One example is the Foundation’s support of St. Louis Community Credit Union’s (SLCCU) Community Impact Deposit program. Another is joining the James S. McDonnell Foundation and the Clever Little Girl Foundation to establish Upward Momentum, a philanthropic fund working to increase economic mobility in Missouri and the Midwest.
The commemoration ceremony, an invitation-only event, will be emceed by Vetta Sanders Thompson, former MFH board member and E. Desmond Lee Professor of Racial and Ethnic Diversity at WashU’s Brown School of Social Work. Dr. Alex Garza will speak on behalf of current board members, and the three Foundation presidents will deliver remarks about the evolution of MFH. Joel Ferber of Legal Services of Eastern Missouri, the Foundation’s first grantee, will also take part. In addition, the Foundation will recognize the first five recipients of a new award that fosters and amplifies exceptional leaders throughout the state.
“I am honored to build on the legacy of Drs. Kimmey and Hughes. Each of us had led the Foundation through different challenges, always committed to the health and well-being of Missourians,” said Proctor. “I truly believe if we work hand-in-hand with our community and funding partners toward a common north star, we can help Missourians live their healthiest lives, no matter where they live or their background.”
This anniversary occurs during a turbulent period for philanthropic institutions. Executive orders targeting diversity, equity, and inclusion, combined with the inability to access funding, have some nonprofits struggling to carry out their core missions. What remains steadfast is the Foundation’s dedication to the core values of equity, trust, humility, integrity and commitment.
MFH invites news organizations to reprint this article in its entirety, with attribution.
