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In her role as West Health’s president and chief executive, Shelley Lyford brings extensive experience in developing and executing new aging initiatives to advance West Health’s mission to enable seniors to successfully age, living life on their own terms with access to high-quality health and support services that preserve and protect their dignity, quality of life and independence.
In addition to leading operational efforts, Lyford works directly with the West Health Institute’s board of directors and advises management on implementing strategic initiatives, objectives and policies.
Lyford played a critical role in helping establish the Gary and Mary West Foundation in 2006. Serving as its president and CEO, she oversees outcome-oriented, results-driven philanthropy, with a focus on positively impacting the lives of disadvantaged seniors. This is accomplished through the Foundation’s support of organizations such as Serving Seniors and a flagship Gary and Mary West Senior Wellness Center, which is hailed as an international model for successful aging. Lyford also chairs the board of directors for the Gary and Mary West Senior Dental Center, a unique nonprofit addressing the way low-income seniors receive high-quality, affordable dental care.
Prior to her work with Gary and Mary West, Lyford was a director at the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and the Joan Kroc Institute at the University of San Diego. Lyford currently sits on the Executive Committee of Grantmakers in Aging, is a board member of Generations United and is on the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation’s Board of Directors. She graduated from the University of San Diego summa cum laude with a M.A. in international relations and political-economy.
