The Horizon Foundation has announced the appointment of two new members of its board of trustees: business and investment executive Christopher Fortune and Juliet Gilliam, head of entertainment and talent integration for Special Olympics International. The new trustees will serve four-year terms on the 18-member board of the Horizon Foundation, the largest independent health philanthropy in Maryland. The Foundation leads community change so everyone in Howard County, Maryland can live a longer, better life.
“We are honored to welcome our new trustees and excited for their fresh ideas and perspectives,” said Nikki Highsmith Vernick, president and CEO of the Horizon Foundation. “They each bring extensive experience in the finance and non-profit sectors and we are confident their presence will further the Foundation’s ability to improve public health for everyone in Howard County.”
The new trustees began their terms on January 1. More about them below:
Christopher Fortune
Vice President, Financial Analyst, T. Rowe Price
Mr. Fortune is a seasoned business executive with over 20 years of technical and financial experience at multi-million and billion dollar corporations. Currently, he serves as a vice president at T. Rowe Price where he focuses on investments within the financial sector for the company’s mutual funds. He has been quoted by several financial publications, including BusinessWeek and Smart Money Magazine, for his outlook on financial stocks. Mr. Fortune has held sales, software and other technical roles at the CIENA Corporation, wireless start-up AppReach, Inc., USinternetworking and ARINC, Inc. He holds a B.A. in Physics from Colby College, a B.E. in Electrical Engineering from Dartmouth College and an M.B.A. in Finance and Accounting from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Juliet Gilliam
Head of Entertainment and Talent Integration, Special Olympics International
An experienced business and communications professional in both the public and private sectors, Ms. Gilliam spearheads the Special Olympics Global Ambassador platform while also creating opportunities to integrate entertainment and talent engagement into the programming for Special Olympics International. Prior to this role, she founded SAGEPOINT COLLECTIVE, a consulting practice that developed integrated partnerships, talent engagement programming and multi-level philanthropic platforms. Ms. Gilliam has also held positions to foster engagement and partnerships for The Raben Group and the United Service Organization (USO), and worked on charitable giving efforts for ESPN, Inc. for over ten years. Her awards include the U.S. Secretary of Defense Silver Medal for Outstanding Public Service Award distributed by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and The Network Journal “25 Influential Black Women in Business” Award. She holds a B.A. in English Arts from Hampton University and an M.A. in Journalism/Public Relations from the University of Maryland, College Park.
Greg Olanrian finished his term as the Foundation’s board chair in December but will continue to serve as a trustee. For the next two years, Cathy Hamel, president of Gilchrist Hospice and executive vice president of continuing care for GBMC HealthCare, will serve as the Foundation’s board chair and Lisa Pearson, director of behavioral health at Chase Brexton, will serve as vice chair. Jeanne Kennedy and Robin Steele completed their terms with the board in December, having served since 2015 and 2013, respectively.
