Three new officers were recently appointed to the University Medical Center Management Corporation (UMCMC), the governing board for University Medical Center (UMC) New Orleans. Officers are appointed for a one-year term.
Alden J. McDonald, Jr., has been appointed chair for the governing board. McDonald is president and CEO of Liberty Bank and Trust Company, one of the top three African American-owned financial institutions in the United States. A graduate of the LSU School of Banking, and of Columbia University’s Commercial Banking Management Program, McDonald began his career as the first African American hired in the banking industry in Louisiana in 1966 at International City Bank in New Orleans. McDonald is a former chairman of the New Orleans Chamber of Commerce, a member of the New Orleans Business Council, and former chairman of the Lindy Boggs Medical Center. In 2013, he received the 100 Black Men, Inc.’s Trailblazer award. In 2001, he received the prestigious Loving Cup award from the Times Picayune. McDonald is a founding member and former chair of the New Orleans Neighborhood Development Foundation (NDF), and serves on the Entergy New Orleans, Inc. Advisory Board. Additionally, he has served on the corporate boards of Stewart Enterprises (STEI), and the BP America External Advisory Council.
Elaine D. Abell will serve as vice chair of UMCMC. Abell is an attorney and the president of the Board of Directors for Fountain Memorial Funeral Home and Cemetery. Abell is very engaged in the community, where she currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Women's Foundation of Acadiana (past chairman), Citizens Advisory Committee of the Metropolitan Planning Organization (past chairman), Lafayette Metropolitan Expressway Commission (chairman), University Medical Center Management Corporation, the LSU Research and Technology Foundation, LSU Honors College Advisory Council, the LSU Press and Southern Review Advisory Board, and the Board of Directors of the Lafayette Central Park. She is past chairman and former member of the Louisiana State University Board of Supervisors, the Louisiana State Mineral Board, and the Community Foundation of Acadiana. Abell served on the Executive Committee of the Commission on Colleges (Southern Association of Colleges and Schools). She also served on the Council for a Better Louisiana Board, and the Academy of the Sacred Heart Board of Trustees. Abell is a Leadership Louisiana Member, and a founding Board Member of Women's and Children's Hospital of Acadiana. She has worked extensively with the Greater Lafayette Chamber of Commerce Board, where she has served on the Executive Committee.
Byron R. Harrell will serve as secretary/treasurer of UMCMC. Harrell is currently Managing Partner at Philoptima Consulting, advising numerous private foundations on the design and implementation of strategic approaches to boost mission-related, grant-making impact. Dr. Harrell is the author of Supercharged Giving: The Professional’s Guide to Strategic Philanthropy, and of “Size Matters” (published in Philanthropy). He is the former chairman of the Board of Trustees (2010-2011) of the Southeastern Council of Foundations, a 350-member association of private, family, corporate, and independent foundations across 11 southern states. He enjoyed a long career as a hospital CEO and as the president of a large private foundation. He holds a Doctor of Science from Tulane University School of Medicine, a Master’s of Science in Health Services Research from Trinity University, and a BBA, Health Care Administration from West Texas A&M University.