Healthy Community Initiative

The Healthy Community Initiative (HCI) Board of Directors enthusiastically announces that Tom Steinmetz will serve as the organization’s new Executive Director. Steinmetz will start Monday, Jan. 13. 

Steinmetz comes to HCI with an extensive background in innovative, community-based partnerships that support child and adolescent well-being and racial equity in Minnesota. He spent more than 25 years at the Washburn Center for Children, a private nonprofit community health center, in roles including intern, therapist, program director, chief operating officer, and chief executive officer. 

As board president for the Minnesota Association of Community Mental Health Programs, Steinmetz helped form Convergence Integrated Care (CIC), a statewide integrated network of nonprofit community mental health centers based in St. Paul. He served as CIC’s Senior Operations Director from 2022 until accepting the role at HCI.

Steinmetz has a master’s degree in counseling and student personnel psychology from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, and a bachelor’s degree in psychology with honors from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He and his wife, Ann Carter, have three children and live in Minneapolis. 

“Tom brings impressive experience and strategic thinking; a warm and respectful approach to conversation that sparks sharing and collaboration; and best of all, a genuine enthusiasm for the work that inspires others’ enthusiasm too,” said Betsy Spethmann, an HCI board member who served on the executive director selection committee.

“When talking to Tom, it is immediately clear that he is a passionate and dedicated person who cares deeply about the well-being of the community.”

Brianna Velazquez Sanchez, the youth co-chair of the HCI Board, said: “When talking to Tom, it is immediately clear that he is a passionate and dedicated person who cares deeply about the well-being of the community. He brings an incredible amount of commitment to his work, supported by a strong and impressive background. His genuineness is evident when speaking with him, having a strong focus on hearing other voices and a strong focus on youth.”

The HCI executive director selection committee worked closely with kpCompanies, an executive recruitment firm based in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, to build a diverse pool of candidates with executive experience leading a backbone organization. The committee narrowed the field to finalists who were interviewed by board members in mid-December and who also met with staff.

Steinmetz said he is honored to join HCI as executive director and is excited to partner with people and organizations from across the community to advance its vital mission.

“From my first conversations with the staff and board at HCI, I have been deeply impressed with HCI’s culture and people. A strong commitment to community partnership, racial equity, and youth empowerment shines through in every conversation,” he said. 

“My whole career has been dedicated to supporting the health and well-being of children, youth and families through innovative community partnerships, so this position is a perfect fit for what I care about most.”

He succeeds Sandy Malecha, who will continue to serve HCI in the new role of People Experience Director. Malecha joined HCI in 2014 and served as a Senior Director before being named Interim Executive Director in 2022 and Executive Director in 2023. Under Malecha’s leadership, HCI’s Northfield Promise initiative attained Systems Transformation designation from the national StriveTogether organization – becoming only the fourth Cradle to Career Network in the country to earn this designation, and the first in Minnesota. In her new role of People Experience Director, Malecha will focus on recruiting, onboarding, coaching and retaining HCI’s nearly 40 employees. 

HCI is a dynamic nonprofit organization that strives to advance health and racial equity throughout Rice County by expanding educational and economic opportunity. It provides backbone support for more than 30 organizations that benefit youth and their families. It is also a member of the state’s Education Partnerships Coalition, which engages more than 120,000 youth and families across Minnesota.