Board of Directors

Uli Chi, PhD, Chair

Uli Chi, PhD, has served as the chair of the Virginia Mason Franciscan Health Board of Directors since it was formed in January 2021. He was previously the board chair of CHI Franciscan and has served in healthcare governance leadership for over thirty years. During his business career, Uli was an award-winning technology entrepreneur who founded and led a software company that developed 3-D virtual reality software to simplify complex decision-making for consumers and businesses. He holds a doctorate in computer science from the University of Washington. Uli is currently a senior fellow at the De Pree Center for Leadership and regularly writes and teaches on the subject of wisdom and leadership.      
     

Chuck Arnold

Chuck Arnold joined the Virginia Mason Franciscan Health Board of Directors in September 2023. Named president of the Seattle Seahawks and First & Goal Inc. in 2018 after 25+ years with the organization, Chuck is responsible for all financial and business operations, sales and marketing, and administration for the Seahawks, and as president of First & Goal Inc. he directs the management of Lumen Field, Lumen Field Event Center, and WAMU Theater. A native of Tacoma, Chuck has deep community roots in the Puget Sound region and is currently a member of the Washington Chapter of the American Cancer Society's CEOs Against Cancer and serves on the BDA and Boeing Classic Advisory Board.
   

Bob Carlile

Bob Carlile joined the Virginia Mason Franciscan Health Board of Directors in January 2021. He was previously a member of the Board of Directors of Virginia Mason Health System and Virginia Mason Medical Center. During his 39-year career in public accounting, Bob was a partner at KPMG and Arthur Andersen, and served as the lead audit partner for a wide variety of public and private companies in many different industries. Bob is the chair of the Board of Directors of Expeditors International and MicroVision Inc. He is a past chair of the Northwest Chapter Board of the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) and previously served on the Advisory Board of the University of Washington’s Foster School of Business, the Seattle Public Library Foundation and the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce.
  

Jude Connelly, OSF

Sister Jude Connelly, OSF, currently serves as a Director on the Virginia Mason Franciscan Health Board. She previously served on the Board of CHI Franciscan. During her tenure she held several governance leadership roles including chair of the Governance Committee, board member of the Franciscan Foundation, member of St. Francis Hospital, and member of St. Joseph Medical Center. Sister Jude has a diploma of nursing from the St. Joseph School of Nursing, a bachelor of science degree in nursing from the University of Oregon, a master’s degree in health administration from Xavier University, and a certification in Clinical Pastoral Education.
   

Carolyn Corvi

Carolyn Corvi was a member of the Board of Directors of Virginia Mason Health System and Virginia Mason Medical Center prior to joining the Virginia Mason Franciscan Health Board of Directors. She is the former vice president and general manager of Airplane Programs for Boeing Commercial Airplane Group. She also serves on the corporate boards of United Airlines, Allegheny Technologies, Inc. and Hyster-Yale Materials Handling, Inc. Carolyn is a member of Women Corporate Directors, the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) and the Society of Manufacturing Engineers, and was recognized by the Northwest Chapter of the NACD as the public company director of the year in 2013. She earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Washington and master’s degree in management from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
  

Ruth (Betsy) Goodwin, OSF

Sister Betsy Goodwin, OSF, previously served on the Board of CHI Franciscan. She also served as a member of the Board of Stewardship Trustees for Catholic Health Initiatives and Catholic Healthcare Federation. Sister Betsy has served in several leadership roles throughout her tenure. She currently serves as director of sponsorship for Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia and has served as interim vice president of mission for St. Mary Hospital, part of the Bon Secours Health System; senior vice president mission and ministry, Franciscan Health System; vice president of mission for Covenant Health Systems; and numerous clinical nursing roles. Sister Betsy has a bachelor’s degree in English from Neumann College and a master’s degree in nursing from Pace University.
   

Tod Hamachek

Tod Hamachek previously served as chair of the Virginia Mason Health System and Virginia Mason Medical Center boards prior to joining the Virginia Mason Franciscan Health Board of Directors. Tod was chair and chief executive officer of Penwest Pharmaceuticals Co. before retiring in 2005. He was chair of the Northwest Natural Gas Company Board of Directors, member of the board at The Seattle Times Co. and the Blethen Corporation, past chair of the Sun Valley Center for the Arts and past trustee of Williams College and Lewis & Clark College. Tod earned his bachelor’s degree from Williams College and a master’s degree in business administration from Harvard Business School.
  

Dennis (Denny) Hunthausen

Denny Hunthausen joined the Virginia Mason Franciscan Health Board of Directors in 2021. He served as agency director and vice president of Catholic Community Services of Western Washington for most of his career and has held numerous leadership roles in human services and affordable housing. He has spent decades as an advocate for health and housing for those who are most in need in our communities, and has a strong track record of partnership with state and local agencies, nonprofit organizations, and area corporations. Denny holds a bachelor’s degree from Seattle University and a master’s degree in social work from the University of Washington.
  

Karen Lee

Karen Lee is the chief executive officer of Plymouth Housing, the Pacific Northwest’s largest owner and operator of permanent supportive housing exclusively focused on serving the chronically homeless. Karen received a law degree from the University of Washington and she is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point. Previously, she was the CEO of Pioneer Human Services, and also served as a Washington State agency director and gubernatorial cabinet member. In addition, she has held leadership posts in several statewide boards and commissions. Currently she is a member of the Downtown Seattle Association, the University of Washington Foundation Board, the Washington Statewide Reentry Council, Lease Crutcher Lewis and Northwest Natural Holdings Company.
  

Robert (Bob) Lemon, Vice Chair

Bob Lemon has served as vice chair of the Virginia Mason Franciscan Health Board of Directors since its formation in 2021 and chairs the Quality, Safety and Patient Experience Committee. Prior to his appointment to the VMFH Board of Directors, Bob served several terms on the boards of Virginia Mason Health System, Virginia Mason Medical Center and the Benaroya Research Institute. Bob spent his entire business career with Accenture LLP, including 21 years in various managing partner roles. He specialized in information technology, process improvement and large scale project management, principally in the healthcare industry.
  

Gregg Meyer, MD, MSc

Gregg Meyer, MD, MSc, served as a director on the Virginia Mason Health System and Virginia Mason Medical Center boards prior to joining the Virginia Mason Franciscan Health Board of Directors. He is the president of the Community Division & executive vice president of Value Based Care at Mass General Brigham, an 82,000-employee organization founded by Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Meyer is also a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Meyer served as a member of President Clinton’s Healthcare Reform Task Force and chairs the Special Medical Advisory Group for the Department of Veterans Affairs.
  

John Oppenheimer

John Oppenheimer is chair of the Virginia Mason Franciscan Health Foundation in addition to serving on the VMFH Board of Directors. He is founder and chief executive officer of Columbia Hospitality, which operates 99 properties in 14 states, and founded five successful private hospitality-related businesses. He was a founding general partner of Seattle Hotel Group, the investment group that developed the Four Seasons Hotel and Residences in Seattle. John serves on the 5th Avenue Theatre board and co-chairs their Governance and Nomination committee. Past board service includes Woodland Park Zoo, YPO Gold, Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce, Washington Council on International Trade, among others. John also serves on the corporate boards of Anthony’s Restaurants and Northland Properties, and is a past member of the advisory board of Northern Trust.
  

Diann Puls

Diann Puls served as a member of the CHI Franciscan Board prior to joining the Virginia Mason Franciscan Health Board of Directors. Diann is the former director of pension and risk for the Weyerhaeuser Company where she held numerous leadership roles during her career including financial services, internal auditing, and the treasurer’s department. Diann currently sits on the Wellfound Behavioral Health Hospital Board and the Virginia Mason Institute Board. Diann has a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Central Washington University.