Therese “Tessa” Rolufs Trelz has been elected as chair of the Mercy Health Foundation board of directors, which she joined in 2007. She has also become a member of the Mercy Health East Communities Board of Directors.
As a member of Armstrong Teasdale’s Corporate Services Group, Trelz represents clients ranging from international publicly-held corporations to local privately owned midsize corporations. Her work involves complex business transactions and includes such issues as strategic partnerships, mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance and shareholder and board of directors’ matters.
Founder of the firm’s Professional Advancement of Women Program, Trelz received the 2010 University of Missouri-St. Louis Women Trailblazer Award. She chairs the Women’s Initiative Leadership Council at UM-St. Louis and was recognized as a 2009 Business Practitioner Honoree by the St. Louis Daily Record Women’s Justice Award.
She received her J.D., cum laude and Order of the Woolsack, from Saint Louis University School of Law in 1987 and B.A., with distinction, from the University of Virginia in 1987.
“Tessa is a true asset and always ensures the Foundation’s philanthropic programs and services benefit patient care and the community. We are excited to have her serve as board chair - her enthusiasm and commitment to Mercy and the health of our community are unyielding,” said Patricia Arnold, Mercy’s vice president of philanthropy.
Mercy Health Foundation, a non-profit organization, raises philanthropic funds to help Mercy Hospital meet the community’s health care needs. Its 21-member board provides support and guidance to the Foundation’s many philanthropic programs and services, which support charity care, patient education, advanced medical technologies, new construction and renovations.
Mercy is the eighth largest Catholic health care system in the United States and serves over three million people annually. Mercy includes 31 hospitals, more than 200 outpatient facilities, 38,000 co-workers and 1,600 integrated physicians in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma. Mercy also has outreach ministries in Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. For more about Mercy, visit www.mercy.net.