Nichole June Maher joined Group Health Foundation as president and CEO in October of 2018 after spending six years as the CEO of Northwest Health Foundation (NWHF). Under her guidance, NWHF became a national forerunner in equity and a champion of supporting communities to improve their own health. Previously, Nichole served for 11 years as executive director of Native American Youth and Family Center, an organization widely recognized as having one of the most effective and innovative wrap-around family service models for Native Americans in the United States. One of Nichole’s most satisfying and impactful accomplishments has been co-founding the Coalition of Communities of Color, a powerful advocacy group in Oregon and regionally. Nichole has served on a number of governing boards, including Grantmakers in Health, Philanthropy Northwest, National Urban Indian Family Coalition, and Northwest Indian College Foundation. She holds an MPH from the Mark O. Hatfield School of Government at Portland State University. She also completed a fellowship at Harvard Medical School and the Robert Wood Johnson Minority Medical Education program at Yale Medical School. Nichole is proud of her Alaskan heritage and her connection to rural communities across Washington and Oregon. She is the mother of three young children.