Santa Rosa hospital chief philanthropy officer wins North Bay Forty Under 40 award

“I’d like to figure out what my next ”Big Hairy Audacious Goal“ is, and who else is pumped about reaching it with me,” says Rebecca Kendall regarding a goal she hopes to reach before turning 40.

Although Kendall joined the company in January, she credits Chief Executive Chuck Kassis for being an amazing leader who deeply cares about recognizing his staff, nominating her for this honor.

“I lead the fundraising efforts at Providence Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, partnering closely with our foundation’s board of directors and staff, as well as the incredible caregivers at Memorial,” says Kendall. “Together we help grateful patients and community members express their gratitude through gifts to Memorial, ensuring that this ministry can continue to heal and serve all in need.”

Previously, Kendall worked as the leader of communications and development for the Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Santa Rosa for 15 years, where she led the growth of annual fundraising from $9M to $21M.

While she found social justice work to be her true calling, she finds a lot of happiness in music, theater and dance.

In her personal life, she’s married to a local school psychologist, and a proud mom to a young daughter and son. This ties into her greatest professional challenge, which she describes as “overcoming pervasive ‘mom guilt.’”

In a business sense, what is the greatest thing about being under 40; and then what is the worst?

Greatest: “I feel like I still have an abundance of time to pursue interesting ideas in the company of interesting people, and learn a ton along the way.

Worst: I still have a lot more mistakes to learn from in my future.”