Friday, July 13, 2018 - University Medical Center Governing Board Appoints 3 New Officers

NEW ORLEANS, LA – University Medical Center Management Corporation (UMCMC), the governing board of University Medical Center New Orleans, has appointed three new officers. Elaine D. Abell, an attorney in private practice, will serve as Chairwoman; Byron R. Harrell, Managing Partner at Philoptima Consulting, will serve as Vice Chair; and Kyle M. France, president of the Kehoe-France schools and camps, will serve as Secretary/Treasurer. UMCMC officers serve one-year terms.

Ms. Abell has extensive experience on business, civic, university and community organizations’ boards across the region. She currently serves as President of the Board of Directors for Fountain Memorial Funeral Home and Cemetery and on the Board of Directors for the Women's Foundation of Acadiana. She is chairman of the Lafayette Metropolitan Expressway Commission, and serves on the LSU Research and Technology Foundation, LSU Honors College Advisory Council, LSU Press and Southern Review Advisory Board and Board of Directors of Lafayette Central Park. She is a past member of the LSU Board of Supervisors, serving one year as chairman. She is a past chairman of the Citizens Advisory Committee of the Metropolitan Planning Organization, Louisiana State Mineral Board, Community Foundation of Acadiana, and Executive Committee of the Commission on Colleges (Southern Association of Colleges and Schools). She was a board member of the Council for a Better Louisiana and served on the Academy of the Sacred Heart Board of Trustees. Ms. Abell is a member of Leadership Louisiana and a founding Board Member of Women's and Children's Hospital of Acadiana. She has worked extensively with the Greater Lafayette Chamber of Commerce Board, where she served on the Executive Committee. She is a graduate of both Louisiana State University and the Louisiana State University Law Center.

Mr. Harrell, in his role at Philoptima Consulting, advises numerous private foundations on the design and implementation of strategic approaches to boost mission-related, grant-making impact. Dr. Harrell is the author of Supercharged Giving: The Professional’s Guide to Strategic Philanthropy and of “Size Matters” (published in Philanthropy). He is also former Chairman of the Board of Trustees (2010-2011) of the Southeastern Council of Foundations, a 350-member association of private, family, corporate, and independent foundations across eleven southern states. Mr. Harrell enjoyed a long career as a hospital CEO and as the President of a large private foundation. He holds a Doctor of Science from Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine and a Master of Science degree in Health Services Research from Trinity University; and a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Health Care Administration from West Texas A&M University.

Mr. France’s family has operated Kehoe-France Schools and Camps since 1949. He is involved in many community activities, including serving as chairman of the Louisiana Stadium and Exposition District (LSED). He is a member of the Board and Executive Committee, New Orleans Sugar Bowl and Community Advisory Board for The Advocate Newspaper; Treasurer of the Board of Trustees of Children's Hospital; and President of NIPSA, the National Independent Private Schools Association. Additionally, he serves on the Board of Trustees of the University of Holy Cross and is a past chairman and board member of the Greater New Orleans Expressway Commission, Causeway Bridge. He is also past President and former board member of the Magnolia School for Special Students. In his professional career, he also served as staff assistant to former United States Senator Russell B. Long and was Executive Assistant to former United States Senator John B. Breaux. A graduate of De La Salle High School, he received a Bachelor of Science from Louisiana State University and a Master of Education from the University of Holy Cross.

About University Medical Center New Orleans

Opened in August 2015, University Medical Center New Orleans is the academic medical center of LCMC Health, a Louisiana-based, not-for-profit health system. University Medical Center New Orleans serves as a key partner of LSU Health Science Center New Orleans, Tulane University School of Medicine, and other academic institutions. University Medical Center is home to the Rev. Avery C. Alexander Academic Research Hospital, named in honor of the respected Civil Rights and community leader who served in the Louisiana Legislature for more than 20 years.