As a system board member and board chair for Providence Health & Services, I witnessed Jan Jones' artful work in building stronger relationships between the system board and the community ministry boards over a relatively short period of time. Jan skillfully created opportunities for open dialogue among the community chairs, including regular updates from around the system and acknowledged the many contributions of the boards to Providence's strategic plan. She set up the infrastructure for continued sharing and interaction between all levels of governance which continues to grow to this day.
Personally, I know Jan to be a person of integrity who saw her own role with Providence as a calling, not a job. I have no doubt of her ability to help executives understand one of their most critical roles is to create relationships at all levels of an organization, from the mail room to the board room. She knows that top executives must be comfortable with ambiguity and understand the importance of being authentic through the inevitable highs and lows of change.
