Cindy Noble has served as the executive director for the Longmont United Hospital Foundation for over seven years. After announcing she will retire this year, the board searched far and wide only to find the next director in their own backyard.
Josh Atherton will take the helm for the foundation beginning Oct. 16. Atherton served as the executive director for the St. Vrain Valley Schools Education Foundation for six years.
“It is bittersweet to leave that organization (the St. Vrain Valley Schools Education Foundation) but I’m excited to take on this new challenge and to see where I can help,” Atherton said.
“We are very excited to have Josh working to provide support for the outstanding healthcare providers at Longmont United Hospital. We are also looking forward to him leading efforts on healthcare projects in our community,” Meredith Nelson, LUH Foundation Board Chair said. “His history with and commitment to the community and his knowledge of the workings of a non-profit make him an excellent choice for our new Director.”
Over the six years at the education foundation, Atherton led a team that increased student scholarship dollars from $25,000 to $200,000. Additionally, his team was able to increase teacher grants and bring more awareness to teachers’ work in the classrooms.
“I thought long and hard about what my next career would be or my next career jump would be and these types of jobs don’t come up very often, especially in Longmont. I thought it was a great challenge for me and a new opportunity to move over to healthcare from education,” Atherton said.
Atherton is excited to explore the ways people can become partners in healthcare. He hopes to use his experience and the connections he made with the St. Vrain Valley School District to find ways of impacting childhood health, specifically childhood obesity, he said.
When Atherton steps into the position on Oct. 16, he plans to begin by listening and learning how to building partnerships with the community that will help promote health and wellness in Longmont. He hopes to build a plan that will increase awareness of health issues and spark converstations that encourage prioritizing health and wellness in ways that are fun and engaging, he said.
Noble said she is ready to begin her retirement. Her first order of business is to allow herself to sleep in until 7 a.m. and finally get through some personal email.
“I will miss the people and the creativity,” she said adding that she will always find a way to fill her time.
“Cindy led our efforts to support the hospital during some of the most difficult times in the history of the hospital and healthcare. She did it with creativity and grace and we are all grateful for her work,” Nelson said.
