Five Questions for: Flavia Llizo
The Co-President and Chief Development Officer of Jackson Health Foundation is a Seasoned Fundraiser Who Has Raised More Than $190 million for Charities in Miami-Dade County.
Flavia Llizo is co-president and chief development officer at Jackson Health Foundation, which is the fundraising arm of Jackson Health System – one of the nation’s largest public health systems. In her role, Ms. Llizo oversees fundraising initiatives and determines strategy and the agenda, in addition to focusing on specific projects in need of support.
Shortly after joining the Foundation, Ms. Llizo and her team faced the daunting challenge of fundraising during a pandemic. COVID-19 strained public hospital systems throughout the United States. It became critical to raise funds for personal protective equipment for frontline workers at Jackson and more. To date, under Ms. Llizo’s leadership, the Foundation has raised more than $14.5 million in financial and in-kind support for COVID-19 relief at Jackson.
Ms. Llizo is a seasoned fundraiser with more than 20 years of experience in philanthropy, relationship management, and cause-related marketing. Her efforts have led to raising more than $190 million for charities in Miami-Dade County.
Tell us about your role at Jackson Health Foundation and your work in philanthropy as a development officer for non-profit organizations.
As co-president and chief development officer at Jackson Health Foundation, my role is to go out into the community and generate philanthropic support for Jackson Health System. That’s in addition to strategizing and managing the development side of the organization. I started working at Jackson three or four months before the COVID-19 pandemic, so I feel like I’ve been here a long time! It’s been a wonderful, yet challenging experience. Career-wise, I have been in the non-profit sector for 20 years. Before joining Jackson, I worked at Chapman Partnership, the private sector partner of the Miami-Dade County Homeless Trust. I’m passionate about this community. I’m a native of Miami. For me, there’s no better way to give back than to generate philanthropic support for deserving organizations that make a positive impact on our community – and that definitely includes Jackson Health System.
What role does Jackson Health System play in the community?
Jackson is a lifeline for the community. It serves as a safety net by providing world-class care to every Miami-Dade resident, regardless of their ability to pay. We are a healthcare landmark in this community: Ryder Trauma Center, Holtz Children’s Hospital, and the Miami Transplant Institute, which is the largest transplant center in the country, are essential community assets. We stand out from other publicly-funded hospitals, not just because of those landmark institutions, but also because we’re a teaching hospital partnered with the University of Miami.
What initiatives and programs are you working on at the moment?
We have so many! At the Foundation, we raise money to fill the gap left between tax dollars and generated revenue. As a publicly-funded health system with a mission to treat every Miami-Dade resident regardless of their ability to pay, Jackson does not have the profit margins of other hospitals. We rely on philanthropic dollars for capital improvements, equipment, and services to make sure Jackson remains a renowned world-class facility.
Why is it so important for our community to support Jackson right now?
During the COVID-19 vaccination process, Jackson has been nothing short of extraordinary. Over a five-month period, we vaccinated more than 172,000 adults, and we are now vaccinating children ages 12 to 15. The community should be proud to have a world-class healthcare facility in its backyard. It’s also worth mentioning that Jackson started in 1918 and opened its doors just months before the Spanish Flu pandemic 103 years ago. Even then, Jackson provided the best care possible, and it remains a critically important institution in this county and beyond.
You recently were appointed to the Board of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, tell us about that.
I was honored to accept the appointment as another way to contribute to my community. My goal is to help those starting in the field of development. The next generation of fundraisers should be ready for success. Finding people who are both passionate and skilled in fundraising is challenging. Most people’s hearts are in the right place, but they don’t know that it’s real work and a real job. There’s a lot involved in finding someone with the skill set for fundraising, and through my work with AFP, I hope to help those people just starting in this field to grow into seasoned professionals. It’s very gratifying work.
To donate to Jackson Health Foundation:
1) Go to www.jacksonhealthfoundation.org and click on DONATE.
2) Text the words “supportJHF” to 41444. You’ll be asked what you want to support and you’ll decide on the amount and whether it’s a one time donation or recurring.
3) Call the office 305-585-give.
And remember, no donation is too small and every dollar counts.
Allison Weiss Brady handles marketing for celebrities and non-profits. She is active in many organizations in South Florida, New York, and Pennsylvania including Big Brothers Big Sister, The Community Coalition, Voices Against Brain Cancer, Gene Spotlight, The Barton G. Kids Hear Now Foundation, and one of her family’s foundations Say Yes to Education, which recently partnered with Quincy Jones. Weiss Brady and her husband Chip Brady are members of Art Basel’s Junior Host Committee and Weiss Brady is a member of the Vizcaya Preservation Luncheon Founding Committee. She on the Board of Advisors at the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Social Policy and Practice and she’s the only female on the university’s Football Board. Weiss Brady was also the sole recipient of the University of Pennsylvania’s 2008 Young Alumni of the Year Award, and serves on the Overseers board for the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania.
