Heather: I am passionate about global health, increasing access to care and pediatric heart disease

Heather and her family

Our board of directors has an important role as advocates to help advance our mission – to train medical teams in underserved parts of the world to treat children with heart disease. Heather Hudnut Page has served on Children’s HeartLink’s board since 2016 and became chair in January 2019.

Tell us a little about your background, and why you became involved with Children’s HeartLink. 

I have a marketing, business and philanthropy background having worked for Medtronic for over 20 years and the past two years at Philips Healthcare. While at Medtronic, I spent four years working within the Medtronic Foundation and Medtronic Philanthropy during which I got the opportunity to spend time with Elizabeth Sweeney (former president of Children’s HeartLink) and learn more about the amazing impact this organization was having in the world. In the summer of 2016, Elizabeth reached out to me and asked if I would be interested in joining the board of directors. I was thrilled for the opportunity.

The board chair is both a challenging and impactful position on the board. What is it about this leadership position that appeals to you? What do you hope to accomplish as board chair of Children’s HeartLink?

I am passionate about global health, increasing access to care and pediatric heart disease. The vast majority of my time at Medtronic I was working in the structural heart disease and cardiac surgery businesses, where I became fascinated with the transformation we can make in treating more people with heart disease. I first learned about Children’s HeartLink 12 years ago from former board member Tom Armitage, also a colleague of mine at Medtronic. Tom introduced me to Elizabeth Sweeney and the love for Children’s HeartLink began. I am excited about the opportunity to spend more time with Jackie (Jackie Boucher, Children’s HeartLink’s president), the staff and the board as we work to achieve our ambitious strategic plan and through doing so, increase access to high-quality cardiac care for children in need around the world.

What makes Children’s HeartLink’s mission meaningful to you?

Children’s HeartLink’s mission is directly connected to why I joined the board in 2016 and am excited about the board leadership position. We have very ambitious goals in front of us and by achieving those goals we can meet the needs of thousands, and ultimately one million, children and their families.

What’s something people are surprised to learn about you?

I was raised in a nonprofit household. My dad was a Presbyterian minister who had a passion for social justice, and my mom led a local nonprofit focused on ensuring access to high-quality childcare for the underserved. We were taught at an early age to give back our time, talent and treasure to those in need.

What do you like to do in your spare time? 

I love to read, ride my road bike and travel with my family. In fact, we will be going to Vietnam as a family this summer and we hope to visit Children’s HeartLink’s partner hospitals in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi.

Tell us about your family.

I am married and have three fantastic children. My eldest is just finishing law school at Northwestern University and will be returning to the Twin Cities to work for Faegre Baker Daniels. My middle child works for Optum, the healthcare consulting arm of United Health Group. My youngest is a senior at Wayzata High School, on her way to Northwestern University next fall. My husband is a retired marketing executive and is now volunteering for a number of local nonprofit organizations. Both my husband and I have served on nonprofit boards and all three of our children are active volunteers in the community.

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