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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 
April 15, 2002

Contact:
Diana Ip i.e. communications, LLC
(415) 616-3930

Cecilia Laiché
TCWF
(818) 702-1900

THE CALIFORNIA WELLNESS FOUNDATION APPOINTS TWO VICE PRESIDENTS

Magdalena Beltrán-del Olmo and Margaret Minnich Assume New Positions

Los Angeles, CA – The California Wellness Foundation (TCWF) announced the promotion of two directors to the position of vice president, Magdalena Beltrán-del Olmo and Margaret (Peggy) Minnich. Beltrán-del Olmo previously served as director of communications, while Minnich served as controller/director of finance. 

“Both promotions are very well deserved,” said Gary L. Yates, TCWF president and CEO. “Since joining the Foundation in 1996, Magdalena has developed the communications department into one of the best in our field. Peggy, who joined TCWF in 1992, has developed the finance department into a finely honed machine. Both women have made outstanding contributions to the Foundation, and I look forward to working with them in their new roles as vice president.”

Beltrán-del Olmo, as vice president of communications, manages the six-person communications department, which produces the Foundation’s printed publications and electronic information and maintains a comprehensive archival library of grantee-produced materials. The Foundation was recently honored with a gold Wilmer Shields Rich Award, the highest communications honor given jointly by The Council on Foundations and The Communications Network. 

Before joining the Foundation, Beltrán-del Olmo was director of public affairs and communications for two Kaiser Permanente Medical Centers in the Los Angeles area. Prior to that, Beltrán-del Olmo served as vice president at Coronado Communications, as associate director at the California Chicano News Media Association, and as a newspaper reporter for the Orange County Register and Salinas Californian. She has received numerous awards and citations from the State of California, Los Angeles County and the City of Los Angeles for her communications and community advocacy work as well as the Public Relations Society of America’s PRISM award and the International Association of Business Communicators ACE award. Beltrán-del Olmo is a member of the Communications Network’s board of directors and the Council on Foundations’ communications committee, and is an advisor to the Cure Autism Now Foundation on communications. She graduated from California State University, Northridge (CSUN), in 1982.

“I am very proud of the Foundation’s commitment to using strategic communications to highlight the work of our grantees,” Beltrán-del Olmo said. “I’ve learned from my colleagues and the grantees, and I look forward to the new challenges and responsibilities ahead.” 

As vice president of finance, Minnich is responsible for the Foundation’s accounting and finance activities, including the development and implementation of policies and procedures to ensure comprehensive, accurate and timely reports and records as well as the preparation and review of financial statements. Minnich has been a certified public accountant since 1984. Before joining the Foundation, she worked for six years as a manager at Micom Communications Corporation. From 1984 to 1989, she was manager of manufacturing accounting at Micom. Later, as Micom’s manager of financial planning from 1989 to 1990, she was responsible for all financial reporting and budgeting functions for California and for consolidating corporate operations. She has also worked as a senior accountant with the Los Angeles public accounting firm, Ernst and Young. Minnich serves on the board of SuperTel Communications, a telecommunications company involved in the operation of PCS wireless services in Puerto Rico. Minnich has a master’s degree in business administration and a bachelor’s in philosophy from the University of Southern California.

“I feel very fortunate to be part of the evolution of the Foundation from shortly after its inception in 1992 to today,” Minnich said. “I’m honored to be appointed vice president of finance and look forward to the continued growth of TCWF.”

The California Wellness Foundation is an independent, private foundation created in 1992, with a mission to improve the health of the people of California by making grants for health promotion, wellness education and disease prevention. The Foundation provides funding in eight priority areas: Diversity in the Health Professions, Environmental Health, Healthy Aging, Mental Health, Teenage Pregnancy Prevention, Violence Prevention, Women’s Health, and Work and Health. It also provides health-related funding through its Special Projects Fund. The Foundation has awarded 2,665 grants totaling more than $360 million since 1992.

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Note to reporters & editors: “The” in The California Wellness Foundation name is part of the Foundation’s legal name. Please do not drop or put the “T” in lowercase.