Baich to Conclude Tenure as
Vesper Society President

San Francisco, Jan. 26, 2012—Vesper Society President and CEO Mary Olson Baich announced today that she will conclude her service with Vesper this year, her 10th with the organization. She expects to leave within a few months, though her departure date has not yet been set. The Vesper Society board of directors will announce her successor by spring 2012.

“I’m thrilled with the experiences I’ve had with Vesper, and I am proud of the success of the organization over my 10 years as president,” Baich said. “I feel that I accomplished the things I set out to accomplish, particularly with regard to healthcare disparities and access to care for the uninsured. I have been passionate about these issues all my life, and I will continue to work on them after I leave.”

A native of North Dakota, Baich has led the Vesper Society since June 2002. She came to the organization with a background as a healthcare executive and a passion for the intersection of health and social justice. “I spent many years leading and growing faith-based, community partnerships, and that experience was a tremendous help to me in my work with Vesper,” Baich said.

From Vesper’s San Francisco offices, Baich led efforts in the organization’s three project areas — economic justice, health care access, and youth empowerment. The faith-based Society strives to meet the social, health, educational, and spiritual needs of individuals and communities in the United States and abroad.

“Working with native populations in South Africa on issues around HIV/AIDS was the thrill of a lifetime for me,” Baich said, referring to the Masangane AIDS Programme Vesper Society supports in the rural Eastern Cape of South Africa. “Watching how the people there cared for one another, how they collaborated to keep each other well and help the families affected [by HIV] — it was simply amazing.”

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