- Suzanne Vernon pays tribute to Leigh Reynolds of Altimeter Consulting who broke ground in the evolution of the Bateman Horne Center from a small medical clinic to a nonprofit center of excellence with a national footprint.
F
or the past 5 years, I’ve had the good fortune and honor to work with and learn from an amazingly kind, beautiful, and intelligent human being, Leigh Reynolds. Her first day on the job, Leigh led us through a “color code” personality exercise to help us better understand how to work together effectively as a small nonprofit. I have resisted these types of personality assessments for my entire career. But Leigh knows people. She made the process painless and the outcome educational. Within an hour I learned more about my fellow staff members and myself than I had learned in the 4 years we had worked together! This would be the beginning of our friendship and working relationship.
Leigh does what very few professionals know how to do. As her tagline indicates, she has the “Vision to Soar at 30,000 Feet, Expertise to Land the Plane”. She applies this expertise to nonprofit organizations – helps them see their vision and puts the right people and resources in place to achieve their mission. Once these essential foundational pieces are in place, the organization has what it needs to succeed. I think of Leigh as a “take over and turn around” expert for the nonprofit world.
When I left the CFIDS Association to help Dr. Lucinda Bateman “startup” her new nonprofit, I knew we needed Leigh to get us on the road to building the Bateman Horne Center of Excellence. Within a month of joining BHC and working together with the Board and staff, Leigh organized a strategic retreat and a day later, we had our vision and mission statements nailed! Here they are:
“We envision a world where patients with ME/CFS and Fibromyalgia are readily diagnosed, effectively treated, and widely met with empathy and understanding.”
“Empowering Patients, Advancing Research, and Improving Clinical Care for all those impacted by ME/CFS and Fibromyalgia”
Thank you, Leigh. I wouldn’t be the person I am if I hadn’t worked with and learned from you. Here’s to the journey!
- The Bateman Horne Center has donated to the First Baptist Church North Kansas City Children’s Ministry and Martin City Melodrama & Vaudeville Co. “Top Bananas” Program in honor of Leigh’s invaluable contribution.
Lucinda Bateman, MD, is a renowned clinician, researcher, and educator. Her Johns Hopkins University Medical School training instilled an approach to care that she has employed throughout her career - the patient comes first and the unknown or unexplained does not equate to a lack of proper and compassionate care. Since starting her own practice in 2000, she has served on six boards or committees, been the principal investigator for 45 studies, authored/coauthored 40 journal articles, served as adjunct instructor and adjunct assistant professor in the University of Utah Departments of Preventative Medicine, Internal Medicine, and Anesthesiology, and lectured around the world.