Donna Craig
Interim Chief Executive Officer @ Desert Healthcare District &Foundation
For 22 years, Donna Craig has served the Desert Healthcare District & Foundation in integral roles that helped to advance its mission.
Soon after joining the staff as executive assistant to then-CEO Wayne Soucy in 2004, Craig was recognized for her grant-writing and other skills. In 2005, she was promoted to Chief Program Officer, the position she currently holds. She is also serving as interim Chief Executive Officer as the Board conducts a search for a permanent leader.
One of Craig’s primary responsibilities in the job is to manage the District’s grants program, which has awarded millions of dollars in grant awards to Coachella Valley nonprofit organizations.
Other highlights of Craig’s career with the District & Foundation include her contributions to the following:
- Ensuring thousands of valley residents were signed up for healthcare benefits as the Affordable Care Act was implemented.
- Fostering the launch of The Smile Factory to provide free dental services to valley children in need.
- Supporting the Desert Health Car, a service that provided transportation to and from medical appointments for valley residents.
- Establishing the Wellness Park at the northwest end of Ruth Hardy Park in Palm Springs as a free, public space to enjoy a desert garden and focus on health.
- Overseeing multiple grants awarded to grass-roots nonprofit organizations to implement a successful COVID-19 response in vulnerable communities.
- Contributing to the grants process to acquire two mobile medical clinics to deliver essential healthcare services and support to underserved residents.
- Leading the District and Foundation’s Request for Proposals to address both behavioral health for children and their families, and loneliness/social isolation — each exceeding $1 million.
For Craig, one of the most rewarding parts of her job is collaborating with valley partners to enhance programs and services that improve access to healthcare. She has described the local nonprofit community as “compassionate” and “committed to … making the Coachella Valley a healthy and livable place.”
She added, “They bring awareness of need to funders, individual donors, and public entities, and endeavor to implement change.”