After leading Winter Park Health Foundation as President and CEO since its founding in 1994, Patricia Maddox has announced she will retire at the end of the year.
“On behalf of the current and past Winter Park Health Foundation Board of Trustees, we’d like to thank Patty for her visionary leadership and its immeasurable impact on the health and wellbeing of the communities of Eatonville, Maitland, and Winter Park,” Chair of the WPHF Board of Trustees Dr. Ann McGee said in a prepared statement.
Maddox came to Winter Park in 1993 as Executive Vice President of the Winter Park Memorial Hospital Foundation. Her experience included 15 years in philanthropic development roles for the Duke University School of Medicine and Duke University Medical Center. Among her local accomplishments, Maddox partnered with community stakeholders in the design and implementation of the area’s first Community Health Assessment in 2009. She was instrumental in the 2019 completion of the Center for Health & Wellbeing and participated in collaborative efforts with Heart of Florida United Way and Second Harvest Food Bank to provide pandemic-related assistance with food insecurity in 2020.
Here, Maddox looks back on a memorable milestone and looks ahead to future plans.
What is your most memorable experience while working at WPHF? We spent several years thinking about and planning the idea that became the Center for Health & Wellbeing. This was very much a heartstrings project for many of us. We knew we were creating something that didn’t exist anywhere else; a place where wholeness, fitness, and medicine were integrated. And we believed the design of the building was just as critical as the programs and services it hosts. Just after we opened, I would sit quietly in the commons of the building, taking it all in and listening to what people were saying about it. What I heard over and over was that the building made people feel good and relaxed and peaceful. I knew, then, that we had provided a wonderful, long-lasting gift to the community.
What will you miss most about being part of the organization? Definitely the people. I’ve been blessed to be surrounded by such a wonderful group of people, both in the Foundation and in the community. The good news is that while my employment ceases, the relationships will continue.
What are your plans for retirement? My plans are to continue doing the things I love and to take the time to figure out what new things I’d like to try. I have two horses, two rescue donkeys, and several dogs. I have ridden horses all my life and will continue to do so as long as I possibly can. I also look forward to traveling and brushing up on my French language skills. I look forward to discovering what’s in my next chapter.
Winter Park Health Foundation is currently working with Chicago-based executive advisory firm WittKieffer to begin the search for the its next leader.
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