Palm Health Foundation Appoints New Community Investment Committee Members

October 7, 2024

Palm Beach County leaders will guide foundation’s grantmaking initiatives to help residents thrive and reach their full health potential.

Palm Health Foundation announced today the appointments of three Palm Beach County leaders to its Community Investment Committee. The new committee members will guide the foundation’s grantmaking initiatives to inspire and fund solutions for better health in Palm Beach County through community collaboration across three strategic priority areas: building a culture of health through community-led solutions; advancing brain health; and strengthening the healthcare workforce. The foundation’s Community Investment Committee’s investments have averaged $2.4 million a year and totaled over $93 million since 2001.


The new Palm Health Foundation Community Investment Committee members are:


  • Elisa Cramer, Director of the Palm Beach County Youth Services Department and West Palm Beach resident
  • Jyothi Gunta MD, MPH, Director of the Florida Department of Health-Palm Beach County, Palm Health Foundation trustee, and Village of Wellington resident
  • Lisa Kirk Wiese, Ph.D., associate professor at Florida Atlantic University’s Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing, Palm Health Foundation trustee, and Boca Raton resident

All three bring diverse experiences to the foundation and its strategic priorities. 


Elisa Cramer is a local leader in addressing the mental health, enrichment and safety needs of youth.  In her current role, she oversees a wide range of services, including residential, school-based, and community behavioral healthcare, summer programs, youth violence prevention programs, education and employment opportunities, and coordination with community providers. She co-chairs the Birth to 22: United for Brighter Futures Alliance and the “Creating a Trauma Sensitive Community” and “Safety and Justice” Action Teams. In her prior role, Cramer served as the Acting Regional Managing Director and Circuit Community Development Administrator for the Florida Department of Children and Families.


Dr. Gunta’s professional interests and expertise, including obesity medicine, occupational medicine, health and wellness, education, and policy, align with Palm Health Foundation’s mission to inspire and fund solutions for better health in Palm Beach County. She has several years of experience as a medical director in family practice, preventive health services, obesity medicine, urgent care and occupational and environmental health. She has demonstrated leadership within multiple healthcare systems and outpatient practices including the Veterans Health Administration, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.


Dr. Wiese is a trailblazer in resident-led health solutions. She includes community in every stage of her work, from training residents to collect health data, to profiling their contributions in her scholarly presentations and publications. Dr. Wiese’s research and scholarly work is focused on increasing understanding, early detection, and prevention of Alzheimer's disease in rural populations. She has partnered with Palm Health Foundation and its Healthier Glades initiative to study and implement solutions to overcome rural health disparities.


“Palm Health Foundation is fortunate to have these three accomplished and community-focused health leaders join our committee,” said Patrick McNamara, president and CEO. “They understand how to humanize health and will make thoughtful decisions on where we invest our funding to impact the behavioral, social, and environmental conditions at the root of health inequity. I know they will make our donors proud.”  


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About Palm Health Foundation 
Palm Health Foundation is Palm Beach County’s community foundation for health. With the support of donors and a focus on results, the foundation builds strong community partnerships, respects diverse opinions, advocates for its most vulnerable neighbors, and inspires innovative solutions to lead change for better health now and for generations to come. The foundation supports health equity for Palm Beach County residents of all backgrounds, heritage, education, incomes, and states of well-being. Palm Health Foundation has invested more than $93 million in Palm Beach County health since 2001. For more information about Palm Health Foundation, visit palmhealthfoundation.org or call (561) 833-6333.

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This fall, Healthier Glades , a Palm Health Foundation Healthier Together initiative , hosted a celebration event with community and partners to honor the resident-led work accomplished over the years of the initiative’s existence. In addition to food and fellowship, attendees shared aspirations for the initiative’s future and reflected on highlights, such as: The impact of Healthier Glades’ mini grants offerings Reduction of youth violence through collaborations with the “Dads on Duty” initiative The air quality initiative spearheaded in partnership with PHF Trustee Dr. Lisa Wiese The Safety Walk – an effort to identify unsafe areas on children’s walk-to-school routes, leading to the establishment of flashing lights in critical areas Resident connection to Mental Health First Aid training , strengthening the recognition that mental health is health Palm Health Foundation is honored to be part of the work that continues to advance health in the Glades communities.

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Palm Health Foundation ’s Scholarship Reception on October 28, 2025, brought together nursing and behavioral health scholars with their donors for an inspiring evening at The Center for Philanthropy in West Palm Beach, FL. Over 90 guests gathered in the center’s tropical courtyard to celebrate 62 scholarship recipients, with musical entertainment provided by orchestra students from Grace Notes Music Foundation . Together with donors, Palm Health Foundation has awarded more than $4.6 million in health professions scholarships since 2001.  Gratitude flowed throughout the evening as scholars met their scholarship donors—many for the first time—and two former recipients shared their personal stories of overcoming barriers to continue their education and become health professions leaders thanks to The Debra Coffman Howe Nursing Scholarship Fund at Palm Health Foundation. Dr. Alice Brumley spoke about how her scholarship supported her through the challenges of nursing during the pandemic. “More than financial support, it was knowing that someone believed in me, and my community was supporting me,” she said. Today, Dr. Brumley serves as Interim Director of the Louis and Anne Green Memory and Wellness Center at FAU, leading compassionate, community-centered care for individuals and families affected by memory disorders.

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