Lisa Haglund is the first woman to hold the position of president and CEO of Heritage Ministries.

The Rev. Wally Fleming joined the Heritage Ministries’ board of directors in 1992.

At that time, the organization operated a sole retirement facility in Gerry and its governing body was made up of all men.

“Here’s an organization that is heavily geared toward male leadership even though the majority of our residents are female,” Fleming, the board’s chair, remembered.

Twenty eight years later, the organization has grown both physically and spiritually, beyond both the walls of its original campus and its social makeup — marked especially by the appointment of Lisa Haglund as its president and chief executive officer. Haglund is the first woman in its 134 year history to hold the position and was appointed in April.

“That’s a huge milestone and speaks well to the future health of the organization,” Fleming said, noting that five of the board’s 11 members are also women. “It really is a significant milestone. Here’s an organization that has existed since 1886 and was very male dominated for more than its first 100 years — and now we’re here.”

Almost seven months since her initial appointment — at the infancy of the COVID-19 pandemic — Haglund admitted that she hasn’t even taken time to relish in the accomplishment.

“It’s just been so exhilarating, stressful and tiring all at the same time,” laughed Haglund, who previously served as the organization’s marketing and development director. “My biggest takeaway is that I realized I haven’t really slowed down to just enjoy the fact that I am a female CEO living my dream — it’s been right into work mode.”

And work, she has, board member Susan Wilston noted.

“She was placed in a very significant role in a trying time in the industry,” Wilston said. “She got hit hard with all the crises at once and she has been nonstop. Her competence and her energy really do set her apart. She has really proven her exceptionalism to be able not only to tackle this very challenging role but seems to have endless energy.”

“She has unbounded optimism which you need in this field,” Fleming added, commending her for tackling intense guidelines for nursing facilities imposed by New York state officials.

“All of those things, she has handled and does so with an optimism that goes through this time and not just survive but also flourish,” he said. “She’s not reactive, but proactive. You could get buried in times like this just trying to put out fires. She is strategically thinking about what we’ll do after the pandemic.”

Haglund said that, for her, it starts with a passion about people.

“I’m passionate about those who work in health care across all forums every day and do the unthinkable for the people we should be honoring and loving,” she said. “The hardest thing for me is that I can’t fix everything I want to fix in the first six months. It takes time, but I really want my teams to know how much I tangibly appreciate everything that they do.”

Moving forward, Haglund is hoping to continue the organization’s growth and inspire other leaders through professional mentorship.

“I really hope that when we look back in five years we see a totally different organization,” she said. “When I say that I want it to be one that honors the past and the things that we’ve done so well but when we look back we’re amazed. We know that we have made a significant difference in the life of our residents and we want to create leaders. When we create a leader, it affects employees, residents, and other people around them.”

“It takes really significant depth of competency and a great deal of skill to have this current job,” Wilston said. “She seems to be cut out for it and it’s because she is definitely a people person. We are in the people business and we really are pleased to see that level of compassion and care.”

She also encouraged other women to recognize their strengths in leadership.

“When you look historically at any community that has undergone a major transformation, it has been because a group of women have said that the status quo is not longer possible,” she said. “It all starts right here. We need to put aside any of our preconceived notions into whether or not we can have value. Every woman is a leader. We need to ignite a movement to pull together and create the change we want to see.”