Kansas Health Institute | Information For Policy Makers. Health for Kansans.

WICHITA — The Kansas Health Foundation has hired Jeffrey G. Willett as its vice president for programs, foundation officials announced today.

Willett, who will oversee the foundation's grant making department, previously served as the director of the New York State Tobacco Control Program.

While in New York, he led the state's tobacco prevention efforts and also was involved in establishing the New York Center for Public Health and Tobacco Policy.

A Nebraska native, Willett has three degrees from the University of Nebraska, including a bachelor's degree in journalism and master's and doctorate degrees in sociology.

"His broad range of experience in the areas of prevention, public health and health policy will be a great asset to our organization and the state of Kansas," Steve Coen, chief executive of the foundation, said in a prepared statement.

“This is a tremendous opportunity to join a philanthropy dedicated to improving health on a statewide basis,” Willett said. “I’m excited to return to the Midwest and begin working on the Foundation’s many health and prevention efforts.”

The Kansas Health Foundation, headquartered in Wichita, is a major funder of the Kansas Health Institute. The foundation is a private philanthropy dedicated to improving the health of all Kansans. Its funding comes from an endowment created by the 1985 sale of Wesley Medical Center, then a non-profit hospital affiliated with the United Methodist church, to the Hospital Corporation of America.

The foundation annually awards more than $20 million in grants.