Vivalon (formerly known as Whistlestop), a San Rafael-based nonprofit that advances independence, health and quality of life for older adults and people with disabilities, has announced the appointment of Joe O’Hehir as Vivalon’s interim CEO, effective April 1. As interim CEO, O’Hehir will be responsible for the strategic oversight and overall management of Vivalon and will report to Vivalon’s board of directors. O’Hehir previously served as Vivalon’s CEO from 2008 to 2021.
Anne Grey, who was appointed Vivalon’s CEO in January 2021, announced her resignation in March. Under Grey’s leadership, Vivalon expanded its transportation division and Healthy Aging Programs, and completed its new state-of-the-art Healthy Aging Campus, which opened on Jan. 2.
Vivalon’s board of directors has begun a comprehensive search to select a new CEO.
“We are thankful to Joe for stepping in as interim CEO for Vivalon, while we conduct our search for the next CEO,” said Douglas Reilly, Vivalon board president. “Joe comes with a wealth of knowledge and experience of supporting the elderly and disabled in the community, and his familiarity with Vivalon will help us continue to build on the recent successes.”
“I’m honored and excited to return and help Vivalon through this leadership transition period,” said Joe O’Hehir, Vivalon interim CEO. “The organization is poised for growth and expansion thanks to the efforts of the talented executive team currently in place. It’s exciting to see the vision of a new model of community-based integrated care for the elderly become a reality with the opening of the Healthy Aging Campus. The future is bright for Vivalon and the thousands of older adults and people with disabilities in the communities we serve.”
About Joe O’Hehir
Joe O’Hehir retired in March 2021 after serving as the CEO of Vivalon (formerly known as Whistlestop), a position he held for 13 years. O’Hehir’s vision for an innovative model of community care for the elderly was realized with the opening of Vivalon’s new Healthy Aging Campus in January 2024.
For the past 42 years, O’Hehir has been providing executive leadership to healthcare and community-based nonprofit organizations throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and the country. His work history includes being part of the founding senior management team for seven start-up organizations. O’Hehir was identified as one of the leading health care entrepreneurs by California Medicine Magazine in its 1998 “Who’s Who” list. In 2006, he received the Center for Nonprofit Leadership’s prestigious “Heart of Marin” award for excellence in board leadership.
O’Hehir served on the Steering Committee for Marin County’s Aging Action Initiative (AAI) strategic collaboration, an organization he helped to start in 2013. He also served as an appointed Governing Board member for the Public Authority of Marin’s In-home Supportive Services agency for 16 years. O’Hehir currently serves as a board member for the San Rafael Public Library Foundation, Eden Housing, First Tee North Coast, and was appointed and served on the 2022-23 Marin County Civil Grand Jury.
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