It was a little more than five years ago that Baylor Scott And White Dallas Foundation Board Chair Norm Bagwell and his team undertook a search for the right person to serve as president of the Foundation. After a nationwide search that lasted over eight months, they found the right person in Texas native Ben Renberg, who had most recently served (since 2016) as senior associate VP of alumni affairs and development at Cornell University. Upon making the announcement in December 2020, Norm said, “Ben has an excellent reputation as a strategist and fundraiser. He is a proven leader with an impressive track record. We look forward to working with him to build on the legacy of excellence and success for which the Foundation is known.”
While North Texas’ healthcare community faced the siege of COVID-19 and the departure of Baylor CEO Jim Hinton in 2022, Ben proved indeed to be the right choice, as he was a calming but powerful force creating relationships within the community and creating new programs for the staff to nurture.
With all that in mind, it was much to the regret of his legion of fans that Ben today revealed that he was “stepping down as president of the Baylor Scott And White Dallas Foundation on Friday, June 13, to begin a new chapter closer to my family in Houston.”
In his letter to friends of the BSW Dallas Foundation, he didn’t share his accomplishments during his tenure. Rather, in typical Renberg fashion he shone sunshine on BSW Dallas Foundation VP of Development Christina Goodman, who will serve as interim president as a search gets underway for his replacement. Said Ben, “Christina has been an integral part of the Foundation for over 11 years. She is not only a respected partner within the Foundation but also has a strong presence in the Dallas community. Over the last decade, Christina was instrumental in leading our Give to Change effort, the annual Celebrating Women Luncheon, and in securing a transformational gift to help launch the Texas Cancer Interception Institute — helping raise more than $50 million to support these and other impactful initiatives across North Texas. I know the Foundation is in exceptionally capable hands.”
In closing, Ben said, “As I look ahead, I do so with deep gratitude — for your trust, your partnership and your unwavering belief in the power of philanthropy. Thank you for making this journey so meaningful for me and for the many lives your support has touched.”
Ben’s new role in Houston will be announced in the days ahead, but Dallas’ loss is Houston’s gain. Still, Ben left the Foundation in good and healthy hands.