Gayla Brockman

Gayla Brockman moved to Chicago in 2016 to become the third President and CEO of the Michael Reese Health Trust and hit the ground running. Within three years she turned a quiet, private foundation into a public, caring institution dedicated to put everyday health within everyone’s reach. Previously, Ms. Brockman served as the Executive Director of the Menorah Legacy Foundation, a health care funder and program incubator, in Kansas City, Missouri from 2003 to 2015. Gayla is a co-founder of the Kansas City Beans & Greens Program, now called Double Up Food Bucks Kansas City, which makes fresh, locally grown food accessible and affordable to low-income residents. Prior to her foundation work, Ms. Brockman lived in Boston and worked in employee health at Boston’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and at Tufts Health Plan. She has a BA degree from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, MI and a MS degree in Health Care Administration from Simmons College in Boston, MA. Ms. Brockman is married, has one daughter who is a sommelier working for Villa Maria Estate, the largest winery in New Zealand, and has a golden retriever named Cooper. Ms. Brockman practices yoga, runs and plays tennis.