DENVER HEALTH FOUNDATION

Denver

News: It has been three years since the Denver Health Foundation has been able to stage an in-person version of its signature fundraising gala, NightShine.

The black-tie event made a grand comeback on Aug. 27, when some 1,300 supporters dined, danced and enjoyed a show by Grammy-winning rapper Macklemore at the Hyatt Regency at the Denver Convention Center.

“To be back in a room with so many Denver Health supporters … it’s incredible,” said Robin Wittenstein, Denver Health’s chief executive officer. “COVID was – and is – tough on all of us, but tonight is a return to a little bit of normal.”

Wittenstein, who joined Denver Health in 2019, is retiring on Sept. 1, and during the cocktail hour that preceded dinner, she told Colorado Politics that being part of one last NightShine was “A great way to go out.” She will be succeeded by former Lt. Gov. Donna Lynne, who most recently was senior vice president and chief operating officer of the Columbia University Irving Medical Center.

Walter Isenberg, co-founder, president and CEO of Sage Hospitality Resources, and his wife, Christie, founder of Amp the Cause, chaired NightShine with Lee and Susan McIntire. Lee McIntire, former chairman/CEO of CH2M Hill, is CEO and president of McDermott, Inc. Engineers and Constructors; his wife serves on the board of Denver Museum of Nature & Science.

Josh Hanfling, chair of the Denver Health Foundation board, and Pia Dean, chair of the Denver Health and Hospital Authority board, joined mistress of ceremonies Karen Leigh, an anchor with CBS4, in presenting the Wellington E. Webb Award for Excellence in Healthcare Philanthropy to Brooke and Tom Gordon. In 2021 the Gordons’ $1 million gift helped open the Brooke Gordon Comprehensive Epilepsy Center at Denver Health, enabling Drs. Chad Bush, Fabio Grassia and Steven

Ojemann to acquire the tools they need to perform a full suite of advanced surgical options for the management of epilepsy.

While NightShine’s net proceeds are still being tallied, this much is for sure: It will be in the millions. That’s because a donor wishing to remain anonymous gave $5 million; Dr. Nancy Gary, a member of the Denver Health Foundation board, contributed $1 million; and the founders of the Roots & Wings Foundation, recipients of the inaugural Heart of Denver Health Award, pledged $1.7 million in addition to an earlier gift of $275,000.

And that’s not counting the near-$150,000 in live auction proceeds and a paddle-raise whose total is expected to exceed $100,000.

Community leaders present at NightShine included:

• Gov. Jared Polis
• Denver Mayor Michael Hancock
• Former Denver Mayor Wellington Webb and his wife, Wilma
• Denver City Councilman Chris Hinds
• Denver Police Chief Paul Pazen
• Denver mayoral candidate Kelly Brough
• State legislators Leslie Herod and Dominick Moreno
• Jim Chavez, executive director of the Latin American Educational Foundation

About the organization: The Denver Health Foundation is the fundraising and awareness-building arm of Denver Health, which for 160 years has “Taken on every challenge, delivering health, social and economic solutions every day for every person.” Denver Health is the city’s safety net hospital, an “anchor institution” operating within and far beyond hospital walls, going deep into every community to drive physical, social and economic wellbeing for all.

Website: denverhealthfoundation.org

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