June 3, 2024 • 11 mins
CEOs You Should Know - Philadelphia: powered by Comcast Business
Alissa Memoli: President & Chief Development Officer of the Children’s Specialized Hospital FoundationAlissa Memoli is President and Chief Development Officer at Children’s Specialized Hospital Foundation (CSHF) where she leads a passionate team committed to making a positive impact on the lives of children and families in New Jersey and beyond. Her expertise in new business development, volunteer and board recruitment, and corporate and community leadership shape the policies and strategies she develops to significantly increase funds raised and generate greater public interest in the hospital.
As President and CDO at CSHF, Alissa oversees all operations and a comprehensive resource development program that includes individual and planned giving, corporate and foundation partnerships, and cause related marketing. She also plays a critical role in ensuring effective governance of the organization by collaborating with the Board of Trustees to establish and uphold CSHF’s mission, strategic goals, financial stewardship, and transparency.
Prior to becoming President and Chief Development Officer at CSHF, Alissa held several leadership positions at the American Heart Association including Regional Vice President New England, Vice President Corporate Relations, and Executive Director Northern New Jersey. She is highly regarded and recognized for results-driven leadership, development of high-performing teams, and a commitment to the highest ethical standards in philanthropy.
Alissa is also a member of CHIEF, a private networking organization specifically designed for highly-recognized women executives. It is Alissa’s mission to educate the public about the importance of sustaining accessible and consistent care for children living with complex medical conditions and special healthcare needs. She is passionate about the hospital’s vision of creating a world where all children can reach their full potential and drives this vision forward by using her expertise to inspire support from donors, partners and stakeholders.
Alissa Memoli: President & Chief Development Officer of the Children’s Specialized Hospital FoundationAlissa Memoli is President and Chief Development Officer at Children’s Specialized Hospital Foundation (CSHF) where she leads a passionate team committed to making a positive impact on the lives of children and families in New Jersey and beyond. Her expertise in new business development, volunteer and board recruitment, and corporate and community leadership shape the policies and strategies she develops to significantly increase funds raised and generate greater public interest in the hospital.
As President and CDO at CSHF, Alissa oversees all operations and a comprehensive resource development program that includes individual and planned giving, corporate and foundation partnerships, and cause related marketing. She also plays a critical role in ensuring effective governance of the organization by collaborating with the Board of Trustees to establish and uphold CSHF’s mission, strategic goals, financial stewardship, and transparency.
Prior to becoming President and Chief Development Officer at CSHF, Alissa held several leadership positions at the American Heart Association including Regional Vice President New England, Vice President Corporate Relations, and Executive Director Northern New Jersey. She is highly regarded and recognized for results-driven leadership, development of high-performing teams, and a commitment to the highest ethical standards in philanthropy.
Alissa is also a member of CHIEF, a private networking organization specifically designed for highly-recognized women executives. It is Alissa’s mission to educate the public about the importance of sustaining accessible and consistent care for children living with complex medical conditions and special healthcare needs. She is passionate about the hospital’s vision of creating a world where all children can reach their full potential and drives this vision forward by using her expertise to inspire support from donors, partners and stakeholders.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
I'm Lorraine Ballad Borrow with CEOs youshould know, brought to you by Comcast
Business. My name is Elissa Emily. I'm President and Chief Development Officer of
children Specialized Hospital Foundation. What isthe mission of Children's Specialized Hospital Foundation.
The mission of Children's Specialized Hospital Foundationis to inspire philanthropic support to support Children's
(00:22):
Specialized Hospital, the pre eminent providerof specialized health care for children. I
don't think a lot of people understandwhat a specialized hospital is, so what
exactly is a specialized hospital. Specializedhospital is different than the acute hospital,
so most of us are familiar whenyou enter the door into a hospital for
surgery or unfortunate maybe the emergency roomfor an acute care setting. Children's Specialized
(00:47):
Hospital is a specialized rehabilitative hospital thatone would come to post acute care needing
rehabilitation care or for one of ourspecialty services. Range of services provided by
Children's Specialized Hospital. The key fiveareas of service that children Specialized Hospital focuses
(01:07):
on is autism, brain injury,chronic illness, cognitive and mobility. When
people donate to Children's Specialized Hospital,how much of the money actually goes to
the hospital. One hundred percent ofevery dollar donated to Children's Specialized Hospital Foundation
directly goes to support all the criticalprograms and the hospital's greatest need to take
(01:30):
care of our kids with complex medicalneeds. I know that there's so many
inspiring stories at Children's Specialized Hospital,and I wonder if you can share some
of those stories. There's so manystories of children that inspire us at Children's
Specialized Hospital. I think all ofus of staff included at the hospital and
the Foundation, find a nw miracleevery day when we walk in the building,
(01:52):
so it's hard sometimes to pinpoint justone particular child or story. I
am going to highlight too, thatwe have been closely working with over the
past year that really have resonated throughthe foundation and with the staff that we've
grown close to. One is ayoung gentleman sixteen years old. His name
is Isaac Lima. He was agymnast and during an accident, became paralyzed
(02:15):
from the neck down. When hewas brought in to children Specialized Hospital for
rehab, he was only drinking througha straw with very limited mobility. In
the course of that journey, wewatched him grow, We watched him have
his sixteenth birthday. We watched himtransfer to a wheelchair and start his rehabilitative
(02:36):
care. He was very open withus about the mental health struggles he had
around his accident, being a formergymnast and now his new home and place
of mobility is his wheelchair and nothis legs, and as a sixteen year
old, we could all imagine whatthat feels like. Over the course of
time, Isaac was our Children's MiracleNetwork child and represents for the state of
(03:00):
New Jersey, and we went onthat first journey with him. Fast forward,
I participated in the Children's Miracle Networkof Hospitals Children's Hospital Week, and
Isaac is now their national Champion,one of seven chosen across the country.
And to see him thrive and shineand smile the way he is a year
later motivates all of us to dowhat we do. It's that journey that
(03:24):
makes it very special and unique foreach child. The first thing that I
saw when I saw Isaac coming towardsme down the conference hall is I noticed
him raising his arms to give mea high five and his big smile,
And that is the most mobility Ihad seen in the past year in his
arms, so just seeing the progressionmentally physically, he said it was the
(03:46):
best week of his life. Hemet others that he felt he found his
home and that he wasn't alone,and it changed his life after that week.
So it's the entire journey that speaksto us. The next I'd like
to touch on is Gabby Brem.She's another star who suffered, for all
intentsive purposes, is what would beknown as a stroke while she was out
(04:09):
on the practice field as an athleteagain, went into an acute setting before
she was transferred to US, andat that point when she entered the door,
she just wanted to go home.She didn't want to be in hospitals
anymore, and she wanted her smileback. She had suffered some paralysis,
and weeks later, with a lotof hard work and dedication, she not
only walked out with her smile,but she walked out of the doors of
(04:30):
Children Specialized and is back participating inher sports. And this year she's representing
us locally as the Children's Miracle Networkchild again. So just two inspirations that
we get to follow their journeys,we get to be a part of their
life. Almost on a day today basis, as we have a full
schedule of activities for them out theyear that just inspire us. But I
(04:51):
think when you walk through the doorsof one of our sites, you will
always find a miracle to point to. You came from a successful career American
Heart Association. What are some ofthe factors that influenced you to come to
children's Specialized Hospital Foundation. That's agreat question. So I left the Heart
Association after twelve years. It wasa major decision for me, and so
(05:14):
I took some time and I thought, what does my next part of my
life look like? Where do Iwant to be? And I took six
months to do a really deliberate,deep dive and search on where I'd like
to land the next phase of mycareer. I happened to be introduced to
the former president of the Foundation bya board member, and he took me
on a tour and talked to meabout the hospital and they said, well,
(05:38):
I didn't know this existed. Nowin my mind, I was debating
was I going to stay in fundraisingand philanthropy because I had such a passion
for my work at the Heart Associationthat it had to match or exceed how
I felt at the Heart Association andthe minute I walked through the door and
saw the children, this was it. I didn't think I would love anything
more. No disrespect to my HeartAssociation in times, but I love what
(06:02):
this hospital does. I love beinginvolved in supporting these kids. The kids
that come to Children's Specialized Hospital aresome of the most marginalized children that we
serve. Under resourced. Sixty percentare on Medicaid. There are quite a
few that fall three hundred percent belowthe poverty line. When you know that
you can impact change into people's worldlike that and support these kids and the
(06:25):
amazing work that happens at the hospital, it's a home run. I will
have to say that the leadership andall the staff that work in the hospital
and the dedication and what you seethere is truly amazing and inspiring. They
treat these children like their own.We have some staff that have adopted former
children of patients of ours, soI think, just top to bottom,
(06:46):
it was just an amazing place.I feel grateful every day when I walk
in the building that I get tosupport an organization like Children's Specialized Hospital.
I could talk about it all daylong. I just think it's amazing.
Yeah, that's beautiful. Fun question. What was the very first job you
had it's not on your resume,and what did you learn from that experience?
The very first job I had that'snot on my resume actually brings my
(07:11):
journey full circle. I worked asa direct care counselor for an organization called
Spectrum for a Living, and itwas residential rehabilitative environment for adults with complex
medical needs and disabilities. And itwas probably the hardest job I ever had.
For six dollars an hour, caringfor adults with disabilities. I would
(07:31):
come in at seven in the morning, get them up ready for whatever off
site transfer they had for the day, a work study, rehab care,
and then I would return with themat three o'clock and get them cleaned up,
ready for dinner. And it wasfull service care. It kind of
shaped who I am and what I'vedone in my career. And I will
(07:54):
say I stayed in touch with someof those patients that I took care of,
and when I bought my first housein my thirties, I read those
patients were the first to come tomy house and have dinner. And I
had stayed in touch with them sinceI was eighteen years old, and I
won't tell you how long that's been, but it was definitely one of the
most impactful experiences of my life.And those that I took care there will
(08:15):
always be near and dear in myheart. And here I am at Children
Specialized and now I get to takecare and support the mission of the organization
for kiddos with complex medical needs thatreplicate what I took care of when I
was eighteen years old. Anything elseyou'd like to add, Children Specialized Hospital
for me is a place of miracles. I find it one of the most
(08:37):
amazing places to sit in every day. I feel privileged and grateful for the
opportunity to lead the foundation side ofthe house and to give back to the
hospital in some small way. Ithink if you walk through the doors of
Children Specialized Hospital, there's no waythat you ever walk out feeling the same.
(08:58):
And there has yet to be aperson that does not walk out the
door and say, how can Ihelp. From the leadership in the hospital,
to the staff that treat the children, to everybody that makes all those
sites beautiful, run special for thekids, from top to bottom, there
is just so much care and loveand amazing people that work in the building,
(09:20):
and they treat these children like theirown And I think in a world
where we could all use a littlebit more kindness and empathy. And you
think of hustle and bustle and hospitalsin the acute setting, which God love
right, they save our lives.It's a very busy place. You will
come in and see a pause anda very unique caregiving experience to these kids
(09:41):
that just makes you think you're inthe best place in the world. I
often get asked by people, itmust be hard to go to work every
day and see what you see,And I truly have not felt that way
in the two years that I've workedhere. I think when I walk in
every day, I smile and Ifeel grateful that anytime I pass a child
that's in one of our institutions,that I know they're getting the very best
(10:03):
care and that their outcomes are goingto far exceed anything had they not landed
at Children's Specialized. So again,I just feel honored, grateful, and
it's a privilege to really sit hereand do my small part to support Children's
Specialized Hospital. What could we doto support Children's Specialized Hospital Number one,
(10:24):
get the word out there. There'sover two one hundred and fifty thousand kids
with unmet needs in the state ofNew Jersey, so currently we serve thirty
five thousand children, so that accessto care, that expansion is really critical.
The filmthropic support that we offer tothe hospital allows for them to expand
those programs and grow. Donating,volunteering, participating in our events, leadership
(10:50):
opportunities through our events and boards.They're always to get involved. There's no
small or too big. We canaccommodate all those needs. We have a
web site. Please visit us atgive to CSH dot org and it's give
to the number two csh dot org. If you want to learn more from
(11:11):
make a donation, or get intouch with us, we're happy to talk
to you. CEOs you should know. Brought to you by Comcast Business,
offering the complete connectivity solution, cybersecurity, Internet and mobile, all from one
provider, Comcast Business, empowering possibilities
I'm Lorraine Ballad Borrow with CEOs youshould know, brought to you by Comcast
Business. My name is Elissa Emily. I'm President and Chief Development Officer of
children Specialized Hospital Foundation. What isthe mission of Children's Specialized Hospital Foundation.
The mission of Children's Specialized Hospital Foundationis to inspire philanthropic support to support Children's
(00:22):
Specialized Hospital, the pre eminent providerof specialized health care for children. I
don't think a lot of people understandwhat a specialized hospital is, so what
exactly is a specialized hospital. Specializedhospital is different than the acute hospital,
so most of us are familiar whenyou enter the door into a hospital for
surgery or unfortunate maybe the emergency roomfor an acute care setting. Children's Specialized
(00:47):
Hospital is a specialized rehabilitative hospital thatone would come to post acute care needing
rehabilitation care or for one of ourspecialty services. Range of services provided by
Children's Specialized Hospital. The key fiveareas of service that children Specialized Hospital focuses
(01:07):
on is autism, brain injury,chronic illness, cognitive and mobility. When
people donate to Children's Specialized Hospital,how much of the money actually goes to
the hospital. One hundred percent ofevery dollar donated to Children's Specialized Hospital Foundation
directly goes to support all the criticalprograms and the hospital's greatest need to take
(01:30):
care of our kids with complex medicalneeds. I know that there's so many
inspiring stories at Children's Specialized Hospital,and I wonder if you can share some
of those stories. There's so manystories of children that inspire us at Children's
Specialized Hospital. I think all ofus of staff included at the hospital and
the Foundation, find a nw miracleevery day when we walk in the building,
(01:52):
so it's hard sometimes to pinpoint justone particular child or story. I
am going to highlight too, thatwe have been closely working with over the
past year that really have resonated throughthe foundation and with the staff that we've
grown close to. One is ayoung gentleman sixteen years old. His name
is Isaac Lima. He was agymnast and during an accident, became paralyzed
(02:15):
from the neck down. When hewas brought in to children Specialized Hospital for
rehab, he was only drinking througha straw with very limited mobility. In
the course of that journey, wewatched him grow, We watched him have
his sixteenth birthday. We watched himtransfer to a wheelchair and start his rehabilitative
(02:36):
care. He was very open withus about the mental health struggles he had
around his accident, being a formergymnast and now his new home and place
of mobility is his wheelchair and nothis legs, and as a sixteen year
old, we could all imagine whatthat feels like. Over the course of
time, Isaac was our Children's MiracleNetwork child and represents for the state of
(03:00):
New Jersey, and we went onthat first journey with him. Fast forward,
I participated in the Children's Miracle Networkof Hospitals Children's Hospital Week, and
Isaac is now their national Champion,one of seven chosen across the country.
And to see him thrive and shineand smile the way he is a year
later motivates all of us to dowhat we do. It's that journey that
(03:24):
makes it very special and unique foreach child. The first thing that I
saw when I saw Isaac coming towardsme down the conference hall is I noticed
him raising his arms to give mea high five and his big smile,
And that is the most mobility Ihad seen in the past year in his
arms, so just seeing the progressionmentally physically, he said it was the
(03:46):
best week of his life. Hemet others that he felt he found his
home and that he wasn't alone,and it changed his life after that week.
So it's the entire journey that speaksto us. The next I'd like
to touch on is Gabby Brem.She's another star who suffered, for all
intentsive purposes, is what would beknown as a stroke while she was out
(04:09):
on the practice field as an athleteagain, went into an acute setting before
she was transferred to US, andat that point when she entered the door,
she just wanted to go home.She didn't want to be in hospitals
anymore, and she wanted her smileback. She had suffered some paralysis,
and weeks later, with a lotof hard work and dedication, she not
only walked out with her smile,but she walked out of the doors of
(04:30):
Children Specialized and is back participating inher sports. And this year she's representing
us locally as the Children's Miracle Networkchild again. So just two inspirations that
we get to follow their journeys,we get to be a part of their
life. Almost on a day today basis, as we have a full
schedule of activities for them out theyear that just inspire us. But I
(04:51):
think when you walk through the doorsof one of our sites, you will
always find a miracle to point to. You came from a successful career American
Heart Association. What are some ofthe factors that influenced you to come to
children's Specialized Hospital Foundation. That's agreat question. So I left the Heart
Association after twelve years. It wasa major decision for me, and so
(05:14):
I took some time and I thought, what does my next part of my
life look like? Where do Iwant to be? And I took six
months to do a really deliberate,deep dive and search on where I'd like
to land the next phase of mycareer. I happened to be introduced to
the former president of the Foundation bya board member, and he took me
on a tour and talked to meabout the hospital and they said, well,
(05:38):
I didn't know this existed. Nowin my mind, I was debating
was I going to stay in fundraisingand philanthropy because I had such a passion
for my work at the Heart Associationthat it had to match or exceed how
I felt at the Heart Association andthe minute I walked through the door and
saw the children, this was it. I didn't think I would love anything
more. No disrespect to my HeartAssociation in times, but I love what
(06:02):
this hospital does. I love beinginvolved in supporting these kids. The kids
that come to Children's Specialized Hospital aresome of the most marginalized children that we
serve. Under resourced. Sixty percentare on Medicaid. There are quite a
few that fall three hundred percent belowthe poverty line. When you know that
you can impact change into people's worldlike that and support these kids and the
(06:25):
amazing work that happens at the hospital, it's a home run. I will
have to say that the leadership andall the staff that work in the hospital
and the dedication and what you seethere is truly amazing and inspiring. They
treat these children like their own.We have some staff that have adopted former
children of patients of ours, soI think, just top to bottom,
(06:46):
it was just an amazing place.I feel grateful every day when I walk
in the building that I get tosupport an organization like Children's Specialized Hospital.
I could talk about it all daylong. I just think it's amazing.
Yeah, that's beautiful. Fun question. What was the very first job you
had it's not on your resume,and what did you learn from that experience?
The very first job I had that'snot on my resume actually brings my
(07:11):
journey full circle. I worked asa direct care counselor for an organization called
Spectrum for a Living, and itwas residential rehabilitative environment for adults with complex
medical needs and disabilities. And itwas probably the hardest job I ever had.
For six dollars an hour, caringfor adults with disabilities. I would
(07:31):
come in at seven in the morning, get them up ready for whatever off
site transfer they had for the day, a work study, rehab care,
and then I would return with themat three o'clock and get them cleaned up,
ready for dinner. And it wasfull service care. It kind of
shaped who I am and what I'vedone in my career. And I will
(07:54):
say I stayed in touch with someof those patients that I took care of,
and when I bought my first housein my thirties, I read those
patients were the first to come tomy house and have dinner. And I
had stayed in touch with them sinceI was eighteen years old, and I
won't tell you how long that's been, but it was definitely one of the
most impactful experiences of my life.And those that I took care there will
(08:15):
always be near and dear in myheart. And here I am at Children
Specialized and now I get to takecare and support the mission of the organization
for kiddos with complex medical needs thatreplicate what I took care of when I
was eighteen years old. Anything elseyou'd like to add, Children Specialized Hospital
for me is a place of miracles. I find it one of the most
(08:37):
amazing places to sit in every day. I feel privileged and grateful for the
opportunity to lead the foundation side ofthe house and to give back to the
hospital in some small way. Ithink if you walk through the doors of
Children Specialized Hospital, there's no waythat you ever walk out feeling the same.
(08:58):
And there has yet to be aperson that does not walk out the
door and say, how can Ihelp. From the leadership in the hospital,
to the staff that treat the children, to everybody that makes all those
sites beautiful, run special for thekids, from top to bottom, there
is just so much care and loveand amazing people that work in the building,
(09:20):
and they treat these children like theirown And I think in a world
where we could all use a littlebit more kindness and empathy. And you
think of hustle and bustle and hospitalsin the acute setting, which God love
right, they save our lives.It's a very busy place. You will
come in and see a pause anda very unique caregiving experience to these kids
(09:41):
that just makes you think you're inthe best place in the world. I
often get asked by people, itmust be hard to go to work every
day and see what you see,And I truly have not felt that way
in the two years that I've workedhere. I think when I walk in
every day, I smile and Ifeel grateful that anytime I pass a child
that's in one of our institutions,that I know they're getting the very best
(10:03):
care and that their outcomes are goingto far exceed anything had they not landed
at Children's Specialized. So again,I just feel honored, grateful, and
it's a privilege to really sit hereand do my small part to support Children's
Specialized Hospital. What could we doto support Children's Specialized Hospital Number one,
(10:24):
get the word out there. There'sover two one hundred and fifty thousand kids
with unmet needs in the state ofNew Jersey, so currently we serve thirty
five thousand children, so that accessto care, that expansion is really critical.
The filmthropic support that we offer tothe hospital allows for them to expand
those programs and grow. Donating,volunteering, participating in our events, leadership
(10:50):
opportunities through our events and boards.They're always to get involved. There's no
small or too big. We canaccommodate all those needs. We have a
web site. Please visit us atgive to CSH dot org and it's give
to the number two csh dot org. If you want to learn more from
(11:11):
make a donation, or get intouch with us, we're happy to talk
to you. CEOs you should know. Brought to you by Comcast Business,
offering the complete connectivity solution, cybersecurity, Internet and mobile, all from one
provider, Comcast Business, empowering possibilities
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