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Every Child Pediatrics’ mission comes to life every day within its clinic walls. But what’s happening behind the scenes that makes this mission possible?
The Every Child Pediatrics Board of Directors is a group of volunteer leaders who help guide the organization’s future. Kelly Joines, ECP Board President, offers a closer look at the role of the Board, the challenges facing pediatric healthcare today, and why these volunteer leaders are so essential to carrying the mission forward.
MEET KELLY
Kelly Joines has served on the Every Child Pediatrics Board of Directors for more than a decade, including nearly two years as Board President. She was introduced to the organization through ECP founder Dr. Larry Wolk, whom she’d worked for at a previous organization. But what began as a professional connection quickly became something much more personal. As Kelly learned about ECP’s commitment to ensuring every child has access to healthcare– regardless of their ability to pay– she knew she wanted to be part of it.
More than ten years later, she’s helped guide the Board through growth, change, and a constantly evolving healthcare landscape. This year, as her tenure as Board President comes to a close, she reflects on the one thing that has remained constant: the mission.
“It’s easy to love a mission,” says Kelly. “What separates our Board is they don’t just love the mission– they live the mission.”
INSIDE THE BOARDROOM
The Every Child Pediatrics Board of Directors serves as a strategic partner to the organization’s leadership team. Rather than managing the day-to-day operations of clinics, Board members focus on the organization’s future.
ECP’s executive leadership team, led by Dr. Laura Luzietti, develops the organizational priorities, such as patient care initiatives, operational improvements, fundraising goals, and more. The Board provides oversight and guidance as those priorities take shape.
Just as ECP clinics rely on a team of physicians, behavioral health specialists, dietitians, and care navigators, the Board of Directors also brings together people with different professional backgrounds who share a commitment to the mission. Today’s Board includes leaders from healthcare, banking, technology, law, finance, and other industries across Colorado. Many serve in executive leadership roles within their own organizations, while others are retired professionals. Serving on the Board is an unpaid, volunteer position. Members’ careers may differ, but they are united by a shared purpose.
The Board holds four quarterly meetings, along with an annual strategic meeting, but most of their work happens outside of the boardroom. ECP leadership has many subcommittees dedicated to areas such as finance, fundraising, development, and more. Every Board member is encouraged to sit on a subcommittee, where they collaborate with ECP staff throughout the year to review initiatives, offer expertise, and bring recommendations back to the Board.
Most Board members do not have a background in healthcare, nor are they expected to. The Board’s role is not to direct clinical decisions or manage on-site operations. But, it’s important for Board members to understand the unique challenges facing pediatric healthcare. Many healthcare policies and funding models are designed with adult populations in mind, creating obstacles for pediatric organizations. Board members learn about issues like Medicaid funding and the barriers many families face when seeking healthcare.
As Board President, Kelly has watched as members step outside their own areas of expertise to learn from one another and work toward a common goal. For her, it’s this curiosity and dedication that makes an effective Board member. As she puts it, “We serve every child, regardless of their ability to pay. Whatever it takes to get that done, we will figure it out.”
BEYOND THE BOARDROOM
Every Child Pediatrics depends on a community of donors, volunteers, advocates, and partners who believe that every child deserves access to affordable, high-quality care. Board members are the ambassadors of that mission.
For Kelly, expanding awareness is one of the Board’s most important responsibilities. Throughout her tenure on the Board, she has noticed that many people assume programs like Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act mean every child already has access to healthcare.
But this is simply not true. Thousands of children across Colorado remain uninsured or underinsured, and many families continue to experience financial, cultural, or language barriers that make it difficult to access insurance. Transportation, housing instability, and the complexity of navigating the healthcare system also make it difficult for families to get the care their children need.
Those challenges can be even greater for immigrant families, who may hesitate to seek care because of fear or confusion about available resources. Through her own work with immigrant communities, Kelly has seen how fear and uncertainty often prevent parents from seeking care, even when help is available. One of her personal goals is helping families understand that ECP is a safe place, that they will be welcomed, supported, and worked with to ensure their children receive care.
“It’s a really hard time to run a pediatrics clinic. It’s a really hard time to be an immigrant,” reflects Kelly. “It’s just a really hard time. And I am proud that the clinic keeps doing whatever it takes to bring kids in and keep them healthy and safe.”
The Board believes every conversation has the potential to introduce someone new to ECP. For some, that means making connections with corporate partners, finding donors, strengthening fundraising efforts. For others, it begins with a more personal connection. A Board member runs in our annual 5k fundraiser, and invites a friend to join. That friend is then inspired to volunteer at our next event. A volunteer becomes an advocate. They share what they’ve learned with their own friends, neighbors, colleagues. The colleague then meets a family in need, and tells them where they can find care.
That ripple effect is one of the Board’s greatest contributions. Over time, those individual connections become a network of support across the community.
That support is especially important when it comes to fundraising. While fundraising is not the main responsibility of the Board, it is an important way members help ensure ECP can continue providing care to children regardless of their family’s ability to pay.
In recent years, the addition of a Chief Development Officer, Reid DeSpiegelaere, has allowed Every Child Pediatrics to build a more intentional approach to fundraising while giving Board members opportunities to support those efforts in the field. This approach has led to the creation of opportunities like the Founder’s Circle, a group of donors committed to supporting the mission financially. The group brings together supporters who want to be part of something larger than an individual donation– a community invested in ensuring children have the resources they need.
According to Kelly, almost every Board member is part of the Founder’s Circle.
This crossover is a powerful example of how deeply Board members believe in the mission. They’re willing to personally invest in ECP’s future, as well as find like-minded individuals to do the same. Most Board members don’t join the Board with fundraising experience, but a willingness to learn and a desire to challenge themselves to contribute in new ways.
That’s what makes the Board such a vital part of Every Child Pediatrics. It’s a community of people who are willing to step outside their comfort zones, roll up their sleeves, and truly live the mission.
KEEPING THE PROMISE
Looking back on more than a decade of service, Kelly is proud of how the Board has grown alongside ECP. She’s proud of the relationship between the Board and ECP staff, and she takes inspiration from the tireless dedication of the physicians, specialists, and care teams who show up every day.
Time and time again, Kelly has watched ECP staff respond to legal and political uncertainty with creativity, resilience, and an unwavering focus on the children they serve. Rather than asking whether the organization can continue serving vulnerable communities, the focus has always been on how. It’s that perseverance, says Kelly, that keeps Board members coming back.
As healthcare continues to evolve, so too will ECP. New challenges will require new ideas, new partnerships, and new advocates willing to invest in healthier futures for Colorado’s children. The Board’s role is to help prepare the organization for that future while remaining grounded in the values that have defined it since its founding, ensuring Every Child Pediatrics remains strong enough to continue saying “yes” to the families who need it most.
