Board member profile: Howard Klink

Howard Klink participated in the earliest discussions about creating a regional access-to-healthcare system. He has been a strong supporter of Project Access NOW since its inception. At that time, he held the position of Vice President for Community Impact at United Way of the Columbia-Willamette and his role on the Project Access NOW board was to provide an ongoing connection between the two strategic partners.

Howard has been involved in the public health policy arena for over 20 years, working primarily to improve health and human services and access to healthcare. His passion and experience have made a strong contribution to the board: “The mission and focus of PANOW have given me an opportunity to bring together my years of experience in the public health arena and make a stronger connection to the community.”

Elaborating on the transition, Howard said, “The early board was by necessity very operationally oriented and we were building an organization from the ground up. Now, due to PANOW’s successes, we are more able to focus on marketing, fundraising and policy to stabilize and strengthen the capacity of the organization. This successful transition has paved a clear path to long-term stability and further evolution.”

Like other board members, Howard enjoys his work on the board. “The Project Access NOW Board is truly a casebook study of a Board that has strategically evolved, understands what a Board must do to provide support and oversight for this type of organization and has recruited a passionate and talented group to get the work done.”