Community Board

Nancy J. Auer, M.D., Chair
Nancy Auer, M.D., is an emergency medical physician who has served in many roles at Swedish. Dr. Auer has been at Swedish for more than 30 years, serving in various key positions, including chief medical officer, chief of staff, medical director of Emergency Services and vice president of medical affairs. Dr. Auer retired from active practice in 2010 and now serves as a consultant on medical staff and leadership issues.

Teresa Bigelow
Teresa Bigelow has served on the Swedish Board since May 2007. She worked as an attorney specializing in health-care law for 24 years. Bigelow co-founded Bennett, Bigelow & Leedom in 1983, and served as managing partner until 1995. She founded the Safe Crossings Foundation in 1989, and served as that organization's president of the board from 1989 to 2006.

Don Brennan
Don Brennan joined the Swedish Board in 2000. He has been president and chief executive officer of St. Louis-based Ascension Health, president and chief executive officer of Daughters of Charity National Health System, president and chief executive officer of Sisters of Providence Health System, and chief executive officer of Group Health Cooperative. Brennan currently serves on the Washington Health Care Forum. Until recently, he was on the board of trustees at the Washington Health Foundation, and from 1993 to 1995 he was a member of the Washington Health Services Commission.

John Connors
John Connors joined the Swedish Board in May, 2008. He is a partner at Ignition Partners, LLC. Prior to joining Ignition, he spent 16 years at Microsoft Corporation in several strategic roles. From January 2000 to April 2005 he was senior vice president of finance and administration and chief financial officer. In this role he was responsible for managing the global finance function as well as corporate services, procurement, real estate and the company's Global Operations & Technology group. Connors is a member of the board of directors of Nike, Splunk, Korrio, Tier3, Motif Investing FiREapps, Scout Analytics, and Datasphere Technologies. In addition, he serves on the board of the Washington Policy Center; the Bellevue, Washington, Football Boosters and the University of Washington Tyee Executive Committee. Connors received his bachelor's degree in accounting from the University of Montana. He also received the Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Montana.

Cheryl Gossman
Cheryl Gossman is chair of the Swedish Foundation Board of Governors. She has been on the Board since 2005. She serves on the Board Quality Committee, the Campaign Leadership Council and the Women and Children's Advisory Council. She has 15 years experience in physician practice management. Gossman has a master's degree in health-care management from George Washington University. She is also active in the Katy McKay Circle of Association for Catholic Childhood.

William W. Krippaehne Jr.
Bill Krippaehne has been on the Swedish Board since 2002. He is the former president and chief executive officer of Fisher Communications, Inc., in Seattle. Prior to that he had held other management positions at Fisher, was a stockholder partner and senior vice president at Cushman & Wakefield, and was vice president and general manager of The Gilley Company.

Chuck Lytle
Charles Lytle has been on the Swedish Board since 2007. He is past chairman of the Swedish Foundation Board of Governors, where he has been a member since 1990. He is also on the Swedish Medical Center Campaign Leadership Council. Chuck is president of Lytle Enterprises, LLC. His background is in senior housing. He established Lytle Enterprises and Leisure Care in 1976. He is chair of the Allocations Committee for the Swedish Board of Governors and the Human Resources and Compensation Committee, as well as chairman of the Cancer Advisory Council, and he sits on the board of the Marsha Rivkin Center for Ovarian Cancer Research. Chuck has served on the boards of senior housing organizations, community hospitals, health maintenance organizations, and Payless Drugs. He is also past president of the Washington State Special Olympics, past vice chairman of the Alexis de Tocqueville Society for United Way, and past vice president of PONCHO. Currently, Chuck serves as a director on the board of Performing Arts Center Eastside (PACE), which is the parent organization of Tateuchi Center, is a member of the Tateuchi Center Executive Committee, and is co-chair of the Tateuchi Center capital and endowment campaign.

Martin Siegel, M.D.
Martin Siegel, M.D., has been a member of the Swedish Board since 2000. He is an infectious-disease physician who has been on the Swedish staff since 1980. Dr. Siegel was medical director of epidemiology at Swedish from 1993-2005, and served as president of The Polyclinic from 2000-2004. He is a clinical professor of medicine at the University of Washington. Prior to joining Swedish, he was an investigator at the Fred Hutchinson Research Center. Prior to moving to Seattle, Siegel was a clinical research investigator at the Centers for Disease Control.

Janet True
Janet True has been a member of the Swedish Board since 2005. She is also a member of the Swedish Foundation Board of Governors. True's background includes working in the U.S. Senate, the U. S. House of Representatives, and the American Enterprise Institute. On a local level, she worked in the Washington State House of Representatives as well as various political campaigns across Washington state. She is currently chair of the Seattle Repertory Theatre Board and will become president of Patrons of Northwest Civic, Cultural and Charitable Organizations (PONCHO) during 2008. She is on the advisory board of Treehouse and the Pacific Northwest Ballet. True is a founding member of the Washington Policy Center, ChangePac, and Wild Entrust International of Botswana; she continues to hold trustee positions in those organizations. She is a former trustee of Woodland Park Zoo, The Bush School, and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, and has chaired the major fundraisers for the Moyer Foundation, Seniors Making Art and the 10-99 Foundation.