“8 Questions” is a Gold Foundation series that spotlights members of the Gold community — doctors, nurses, healthcare professionals of all kinds, students, corporate and hospital leaders, patients, family members, Trustees, staff members, and supporters.
Board Chair Trista Walker
The Gold Foundation is delighted to introduce Trista Walker, MPS, CCXP, who became the Chair of the Board of Trustees on July 1, 2025. She is just the fourth Chair in the Gold Foundation’s history, following in the footsteps of Dr. Arnold P. Gold, Dr. Jordan J. Cohen, and Richard Sheerr.
Ms. Walker is President and CEO of Baldwin & Obenauf, Inc. (BNO), a full-service creative agency. She has more than 20 years of experience in customer experience, design thinking, digital innovation, and omnichannel marketing strategy, spanning life sciences, healthcare, financial services, consumer, government, and media. She has served as a Board member on Jefferson Health since 2017 and a Trustee of the Gold Foundation since 2024.
The Gold Foundation defines humanism in healthcare as clinically excellent care that is kind, safe, and trustworthy. Why does humanism in healthcare matter to you?
I lost my mom 18 years ago. She was 59. She lived with a chronic condition (type 2 diabetes) for about 25 years, manageable and treatable but it would require lifestyle changes and therapeutic vigilance. Keeping that up for a lifetime was hard and it needed a real team effort. She never had a healthcare team that she trusted — ever. She talked openly of her distrust of her healthcare team and the hospitals she frequented near the end of her life. She was treated by many talented, highly skilled clinicians. Unfortunately, none of them were able to meaningfully connect with her nor earn her trust. It’s hard to know for sure whether she would have had a different outcome had she made a real connection with her healthcare team, but I believe it would have made a difference.
What drew you to the Gold Foundation?
I met a wonderful person, Richard Sheerr, a Jefferson Board colleague via Jefferson’s acquisition of Einstein Health. One afternoon we were walking side by side through the Pennsylvania Convention Center when Richard struck up a conversation about the Gold Foundation. One thing that drew me in was the mission; another was Richard’s deep passion for the Gold Foundation, which was obvious even from that outwardly casual conversation. It was a mix of fierce advocate, protective father, and true believer — in the best sense of all of those phrases. I had to learn more!
What is one lesson you learned from a patient or a clinician?
I’ve had the great fortune of moderating quite a lot of market research for clients involving both patients and clinicians, so it’s hard to pick just one. But I’ll just say this: what drives behavior is not factual, it’s emotional. That applies to clinicians, patients, administrators, faculty, students, you name it. That’s why a clinician-patient relationship that is rooted in trust and compassion is (in my humble opinion) critically linked to health outcomes.
What is one book you’d recommend healthcare professionals read?
Can I give two? Two of the best I’ve read in recent years are How Covid Crashed the System: A Guide to Fixing American Health Care (Dr. David B. Nash and Charles Wohlforth) and Compassionomics: The Revolutionary Scientific Evidence That Caring Makes a Difference (Drs. Stephen Trzeciak and Anthony Mazzarelli). I’m sure that second book is well known to Gold supporters!
Dr. Sandra Gold, middle, who founded the nonprofit with Dr. Arnold P. Gold, her late husband, stands with new Board Chair Trista Walker, left, and President and CEO Dr. Kathleen Reeves.
Who is your favorite historical figure in healthcare?
Is modern history allowed? If so, it’s Dr. Arnold Gold, of course!
Do you play any sports or have a favorite team?
Growing up I was a competitive artistic roller skater. That was my main sport throughout my youth — I spent a lot of nights and weekends at the rink and most holiday weekends at a skating meet. These days my main sport is golf, because it’s a sport where you’re always trying to outdo your own personal best. I really like that, frustrating as that may be some days! I am a fan of all of the Philadelphia sports teams — Eagles, Flyers, Sixers, Phillies. I will apologize to my New York Gold Foundation colleagues!
If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?
Bora Bora is on my bucket list. I long to spend a week in one of those overwater bungalows! Give me peace and tranquility overload!
What is your happy place?
With my family, practically anywhere.
Read the announcement: The Arnold P. Gold Foundation elects Trista Walker as Board Chair.
Read more interviews in the 8 Questions series.
