Cara Callanan, former vice president of finance and controller at Merrimack College, has been named chief financial officer at VITL, a nonprofit organization that supports the advancement of health care delivery and reform in Vermont. She will succeed Vice President of Finance and CFO Robert Turnau, who will retire after seven years with the organization.
Callanan brings more than 30 years' experience to her new role. She will lead VITL’s financial activity, including managing budgets, securing grant opportunities and driving financial planning. In addition to Merrimack, she has held senior management roles at Harvard University, Montserrat College of Art and Baseball America.
“As VITL heads into a new phase of innovation for our health care community in Vermont, we’re thrilled to have Cara join our team,” said VITL CEO Beth Anderson. “Cara’s thoughtful approach and deep expertise in finance are huge assets as the organization continues to work toward our mission to deliver health data to improve health outcomes for all Vermonters.”
Turnau joined VITL in 2016, directing all financial and human resources activities, including budgeting, grants and human resource management for 32 staff members. As a valued member of VITL’s leadership team, Turnau has played a key role in helping to deliver on its mission to securely aggregate, standardize, and share the data needed to improve the effectiveness of health care for Vermonters.
“Bob’s willingness to share his vast experience in nonprofit finance has enabled our team to develop and grow the expertise needed to continue meeting our commitment to supporting higher quality care and reduced costs — helping keep Vermont as one of the healthiest states in the country.”