A Warm Tribute to Linda Trowbridge
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It is with deep sadness that we share with you that Center for Elders’ Independence Chief Executive Officer, Linda Trowbridge, died on August 28, 2020. She was 64.
After a highly productive, 30-year career in healthcare, Linda became our leader after the previous CEO, Peter Szutu retired in 2013. Linda’s vision and tireless energy focused on improving the quality of our healthcare plan called Program of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) and making it available to more seniors. Under Linda’s leadership, we opened our flagship San Leandro Center in 2017, creating a playbook of successful design elements used to remodel the Administrative Headquarters and Downtown Oakland Center, plus our remaining sites in Berkeley, East Oakland, and the CEI-Guardian Adult Day Health Center in El Sobrante. Center for Elders’ Independence will open our newest PACE Center in Concord in late 2020. During this time, our program more than doubled from serving 430 to 940 elders served by a staff of over 325 employees.
Her Leadership and Beliefs
Linda believed the PACE healthcare plan to be the best possible model of care for older adults. She was President of the CalPACE association of non-profit PACE providers serving over 11,000 PACE participants in California. In that role, she championed PACE to national and State government officials, community leaders as well as healthcare and aging industry peers. Linda served on the Board of Hospice of the East Bay, and, co-hosted with the On Lok CEO, four regional Bay Area Senior Health Policy Forums funded by the SCAN Foundation and LeadingAge California with other healthcare and senior services organizations.
Linda was an astute and visionary leader leaving Center for Elders’ Independence a fiscally strong organization that delivers a high-quality program by a team of qualified and dedicated medical and administrative professionals. We have an engaged governing Board of Directors and Foundation Trustees who are just as committed to delivering on our promise to make lives better for seniors and their families in the East Bay as we have since 1992.
Our Board is beginning an executive search for a new CEO, someone who shares the same passion for serving our community as Linda did. While the search is underway, our Chief Medical Officer, James Mittelberger, MD, will be our Interim CEO and our Chief Financial Officer Bing Isenberg will oversee operations. Our Board Chair, Flo Raskin, is working closely with our Leadership Team to ensure we continue to move Linda’s vision forward.
We already miss her dearly!! For those of you who would like to remember Linda with a gift of support to Center for Elders’ Independence, please follow this link to make a gift online or email development@cei.elders.org for assistance. We will share with her family your generous support, and will forward your messages of encouragement during this extraordinary time.
We are hosting a memorial celebration for Linda on Friday, September 25th from 4PM to 5PM via Zoom. Please send an email to development@cei.elders.org for the link. You are welcome to join us.
With Deep Honor and Respect,
Dr. James Mittelberger, CMO and Interim CEO
Bing Isenberg, CFO
Flo Raskin, Center for Elders' Independence Board Chair