The Arnold P. Gold Foundation Elects Trista Walker as Board Chair

Jefferson Health Board member and BNO leader brings decades of strategic experience to historic chair role

FORT LEE, NJ, UNITED STATES, July 1, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The Arnold P. Gold Foundation, the leading nonprofit dedicated to humanism in healthcare — defined as clinically excellent care that is kind, safe and trustworthy — has elected Trista Walker, MPS, CCXP, to the position of Board Chair. She succeeds Richard C. Sheerr, who served as Chair of the Board of Trustees for the past nine years.

Ms. Walker has served as a Trustee of the Gold Foundation since 2024 and as a board member of Jefferson Health since 2017, where she chaired the Clinical Quality Committee for seven years and served on the Executive, Human Capital, Compensation, and Innovation committees during her tenure. Ms. Walker is also President and CEO of Baldwin & Obenauf, Inc. (BNO), a full-service creative agency. She has more than 20 years of experience in customer experience, design thinking, digital innovation, and omnichannel marketing strategy, spanning life sciences, healthcare, financial services, consumer, government, and media, including a prior stint serving as Senior Vice President of Client Services at Compass Healthcare Marketers. Ms. Walker brings significant experience in healthcare marketing and board leadership to her new role as Chair of the Gold Foundation.

Ms. Walker is only the fourth Chair in the Foundation’s history. She is preceded in the role by Richard C. Sheerr, Dr. Jordan J. Cohen, and Dr. Arnold P. Gold. Mr. Sheerr and Dr. Cohen continue to serve on the Foundation’s Board of Trustees, where Mr. Sheerr will continue to chair the Investment Committee and serve on the Executive Committee.

Mr. Sheerr received the National Humanism in Medicine Medal in June in recognition of his contributions to the Gold Foundation’s mission. During his tenure as Chair, he recruited a new CEO, meaningfully impacted development, and added and restructured board committees, diversifying and strengthening the board composition by adding new areas of expertise and backgrounds.

“Richard has been an incredible leader for the past nine years, and we are extremely grateful for his service,” said Dr. Kathleen Reeves, President and CEO of the Gold Foundation. “We are thrilled to welcome Trista to the Chair position and look forward to her guidance and leadership as we work together to advance kind, safe, trustworthy care.”

As a Board member, Ms. Walker has already provided strategic support during Dr. Reeves’ onboarding as the Gold Foundation’s new President and CEO and has been instrumental to the ongoing evolution of its strategic plan.

“I continue to be amazed by the far-reaching impact of the Gold Foundation,” said Ms. Walker. “It is both an honor and a privilege to work alongside this organization that is leading the way in keeping kindness and compassion at the center of every patient encounter, which of course builds trust between healthcare professionals and their patients — but, more importantly, improves health outcomes.”

About The Arnold P. Gold Foundation
The Arnold P. Gold Foundation was founded in 1988 by Drs. Arnold and Sandra Gold to support the human connection in healthcare. The nonprofit’s many programs include the White Coat Ceremony, an iconic ritual that emphasizes humanism from the start of healthcare training, and the Gold Humanism Honor Society, which has approximately 50,000 medical student and physician members who are leaders in humanistic care. Learn more at www.gold-foundation.org.

Brianne Alcala
The Arnold P. Gold Foundation
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