Well Being Trust recently announced expanded roles for Jennifer Graves, an experienced leader in grants management, and Laura Blanke, a leader with 15-plus years of experience in public health policy.
Jennifer has been named Director of Grants and Finance. In this role, she is responsible for overseeing the management of the organization’s grants portfolio and translating strategy to effective grants practice by building and maintaining the grantmaking infrastructure to support Well Being Trust’s investment strategy.
Jennifer also serves on the Well Being Trust Executive Team, helping lead in the design and implementation of strategic initiatives, partnerships and grants that advance the goals and strategies of Well Being Trust.
She has 18 years of experience in the grants management field, working at both grantmaking and grantee organizations including Kaiser Permanente’s National Program Offices, ClimateWorks Foundation’s Climate and Land Use Alliance, and Super Stars Literacy.
In all of these roles, in addition to handling end-to-end grants management processes, she managed a variety of projects aimed at building systems, evaluating and improving processes, and creating solutions to meet changing organizational needs.
Laura Blanke has been named Manager of Policy and Partnerships at Well Being Trust. In this role, Laura is responsible for managing the portfolio of partners engaged in key strategic efforts in support of Well Being Trust’s mission. Additionally, Laura contributes to the development strategy of Well Being Trust’s national leadership on mental health policy. Prior to joining the Well Being Trust team in 2020, Laura served as the Public Health Policy Lead in the Texas Department of State Health Service’s Center for Health Policy and Performance.
She has also worked in both the Medicaid policy and eligibility divisions within the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, and she spent many years advocating for programs and policies that promote children’s health through her work with the Texas Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Her background is in public health and with nearly 15 years of experience in health policy analysis, advocacy, and implementation, Laura is committed to seeking policy solutions to enhance lives, strengthen communities, and transform systems and social structures to better support health needs and improve outcomes.
