New Providence Child Center Foundation Executive Director Honored to Work on Behalf of Children

Feb. 14, 2008

PORTLAND, Ore. — Karen Santangelo, who in the past eight years helped raise more than $25 million for Central Catholic High School, is the new executive director of the Providence Child Center Foundation.

“We are so happy to have Karen join our development team,” said Carolyn Winter, chief development officer for Providence Health & Services in Oregon. “She comes with great experience in fundraising for young people over the last 11 years. Karen will work with a dynamic foundation board at the Providence Child Center to secure donations for support of medically fragile children and our other outreach programs for children and families.”

While at Central Catholic, Santangelo, an Oregon native, directed all development and admission functions. During her tenure, the school population continued to grow – bucking national trends for private high schools – and long-term and annual fundraising far exceeded the national average. She leveraged the support of hundreds of internal and external stakeholders to achieve the financial security that Central Catholic now enjoys.

“I am thrilled to join the Providence team,” said Santangelo, “with the added honor of representing the incredible work of the Providence Child Center. My dream has always been to act as a conduit between those who have the capacity to do great things and those who can most benefit. Providence Child Center holds a special place in the hearts of so many people. I look forward to many years of service on behalf of the kids and their families.”

As the only pediatric long-term care facility of its kind in the Northwest, the Providence Child Center provides services for children of all abilities to help them reach their fullest potential. It includes the Center for Medically Fragile Children, home to 58 of our community’s most profoundly disabled children, the Providence Neurodevelopmental Center for Children, the Jean Baton Swindells Resource Center for Children and Families, Providence Montessori School and Providence Wee Care.

Santangelo is a graduate of St. Mary’s Academy and Whitman College in Walla Walla, Wash., where she earned a bachelor’s in politics. She lives in Northeast Portland with her husband, Skip, and two young daughters, four-year-old Amelia and two-year-old Lilly.