The new leader of a foundation formed from the sale of Summa Health is the current director of government affairs and health policy for the hospital system.
Tracy Carter was selected as the first president and CEO of the Trailhead Community Health Foundation of Greater Akron, the group said Thursday. Marty Hauser, Trailhead’s board chair, said in an email that Carter was selected following a “broad, robust national search.”
There were several outstanding candidates, Hauser wrote, but Carter’s service and commitment to Akron and the broader community “reflect the very essence of Trailhead’s mission.”
The foundation will serve Summit, Medina, Portage, Stark and Wayne counties and will focus on community health. Its budget is not yet known but will come from proceeds following the $515 million sale of Summa to General Catalyst’s Health Assurance Transformation Co., a venture capital-backed company known as HATCo. Trailhead will be seeded with at least $15 million.
As the inaugural president and CEO, Carter will build the infrastructure, partnerships and strategies that Trailhead uses to advance health and wellness across its footprint.
That includes the operations, grantmaking, fundraising, donor relations and community engagement for the foundation, as well as creating Trailhead’s strategic direction.
“Throughout her career Tracy has become well known and trusted as someone who is committed to advancing community health across the five counties Trailhead serves,” Hauser wrote. “In addition, because of the relationships she has built during her career, she is well positioned to foster collaboration with other funders as well as the not-for-profit community.”
In a statement, Carter, an Akron native and East High School graduate, said she was grateful for the selection and committed to bringing additional investment to nonprofits focused on helping people live healthier lives. She was not available for further comment about her plans for the position.
The demand for Trailhead’s services is high. In a public hearing this summer, dozens of representatives from nonprofit organizations lined up to ask members of Trailhead’s working group to keep their organizations in mind when grantmaking begins — a process that could still be a year away. About 100 people attended the public hearing.
Elaine Russell, the president and CEO of CommQuest Services in Canton, said this summer that she hoped the board would choose to give to the “most impactful services.”
“Our communities really need you,” she said. “A tough business is getting tougher.”
Others asked that the foundation consider funding gardens, programs to help manage the aftermath of sexual violence or housing, which is often considered a social determinant of health.
“We heard repeating narratives,” Julia Rea Bianchi, a board member and member of the working group, said previously. “The social determinants of health will be addressed.”
Hauser said the board was eager to start working with Carter and expected to share more as the foundation builds momentum. He said that because the foundation used a national search firm to recruit candidates, he could not share the number of applicants but said there were local, regional, statewide and national applicants in the pool.
Carter has more than 36 years of experience in health care administration, public health planning and external affairs, according to a press release announcing her appointment. In her government affairs and health policy role at Summa, she leads strategy on public policy and funding issues affecting healthcare access and services.
Carter has also served as president of two affiliate fund advisory boards at the Akron Community Foundation, including one she co-founded in 2023.
Her background, the press release said, includes work fostering collaboration, leading complex organizations and advancing community-focused initiatives.