Executive leadership
Marc Gorelick, MD
President, chief executive officer
Marc Gorelick, MD, was appointed chief executive officer of Children’s Minnesota in December 2017. He joined Children’s in March 2017 as president and chief operating officer. He is deeply committed to identifying sustainable ways Children’s can continue to deliver exceptional care in an evolving health care environment.
Dr. Gorelick previously served as Executive Vice President and COO of Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. A pediatric emergency medicine physician by training, his prior experience includes faculty positions at Medical College of Wisconsin and University of Pennsylvania, and clinical and leadership roles at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, AI DuPont Hospital for Children and Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin.
His education includes an A.B. degree in history from Princeton University, an M.D. degree from Duke University, and a Master of Science in Clinical Epidemiology from the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Gorelick trained in pediatrics at Children’s National Medical Center, and in pediatric emergency medicine at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
Dr. Gorelick’s interests include running, cycling and paddling, homebrewing, and playing the tuba.
Follow Marc on Twitter and LinkedIn | Read his articles in the Progressive Pediatrics blog
James Burroughs
Senior vice president, government and community relations, chief equity and inclusion officer
James Burroughs joined Children’s Minnesota as the first chief equity and inclusion officer in January 2019, and is now the senior vice president, government and community relations, chief equity and inclusion officer. He is responsible for advancing equity and inclusion across the organization as well as leading advocacy, government affairs and community relations.
Mr. Burroughs’ key focus areas include patient quality initiatives, employee recruitment and retention strategies, organizational culture and increasing financial investment with diverse businesses and initiatives that address the social determinants of health for patients and families. He also leads Children’s Minnesota’s efforts to foster community relations, and accelerate engagement in government affairs to advocate for policies that positively impact the health and well-being of children.
Mr. Burroughs has more than 25 years of experience in the areas of nonprofit management, equity, diversity, inclusion, as well as employment law. Prior to Children’s Minnesota, Mr. Burroughs served in the Office of Governor Mark Dayton, where he was the State of Minnesota’s first chief inclusion officer. Mr. Burroughs has a juris doctorate from Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C., and completed his bachelor of arts in political science at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia. He is the proud father of Teresa Ann Burroughs.
Follow James on Twitter and LinkedIn | Read his articles in the In the Burroughs blog
Laurin Cathey
Senior vice president, chief human resources officer
Laurin Cathey joined Children’s Minnesota in September 2019, and is responsible for all human resource functions including HR business partners and consultants, labor relations, organizational development and learning, talent acquisition, benefits and compensation and information systems.
Mr. Cathey brings more than 20 years of experience working in labor and employee relations with considerable experience in and a passion for diversity, inclusion and change management. Prior to joining Children’s Minnesota, Mr. Cathey worked at St. Paul Public Schools where he was the executive director of human resources and ING as HR director. Within those roles, he led diversity management operations, culture and employee engagement efforts, performance management and executive coaching.
Mr. Cathey holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University.
Mr. Cathey’s interests include cooking, playing golf and attending the arts or athletic events of one of his three children.
Emily Chapman, MD
Chief medical officer, senior vice president of medical affairs
Emily Chapman, MD, oversees quality and safety, education and research, and supports the Children’s Minnesota employed and independent clinicians of the professional staff.
She continues clinical practice as a pediatric hospitalist in the Children’s Hospital Medicine Program which she led for six years through its development and expansion. Additionally, Dr. Chapman is devoted to Medical Education having served as Associate Director of Medical Education at Children’s and Associate Program Director of the Pediatric Residency Program at the University of Minnesota where she holds an appointment as Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics. Dr. Chapman trained at Dartmouth Medical School and the University of Minnesota. After residency, she practiced general pediatrics as an owner and President of the Wayzata Children’s Clinic outside the Twin Cities.
Dr. Chapman speaks locally and regionally on topics including clinical care, cognitive error, leadership and program development.
Dave Lundal
Senior vice president, chief information officer
Dave Lundal joined Children’s Minnesota in March 2019 and is now senior vice president, chief information officer. He is responsible for the strategic direction and technical support of all information systems supporting the hospitals and clinics. He also provides leadership for the Health Information Management department, which maintains the confidentiality, quality and timeliness of medical records and health information.
Mr. Lundal brings more than 25 years of experience in health care information technology and leadership in domains including ambulatory, hospital, home care and insurance. He recently held leadership positions at WellStar Health System, Presence Health and SSM Health.
His education includes Bachelor of Arts degree from Indiana University Bloomington and an MBA from Bethel College in Mishawaka, Ind.
In his spare time, Mr. Lundal enjoys reading, hiking, coaching youth sports, and spending time with his wife and their three children.
Brenda McCormick
Chief financial officer and senior vice president
Brenda McCormick joined Children’s Minnesota in August 2019, and is responsible for the leadership, direction and performance of all finance functions, including accounting and financial reporting, financial planning and analysis, health information management, investments, payer contracting and strategic pricing, revenue management and treasury.
Ms. McCormick’s background includes strategic planning, controllership, mergers and acquisitions and business operations. Previously, she was the chief financial officer and senior vice president of finance at Smiths Medical and served as the vice president, corporate controller and principal accounting officer at Valspar. She has held financial management positions at Lawson Software, International Multifoods, The Pillsbury Company (Diageo) and Coca-Cola Enterprises. She received her bachelor’s degree from St. Olaf College and her MBA in finance from the University of Minnesota.
Ms. McCormick volunteers her time as the Children’s Minnesota representative on the Ridgeview Medical Center Board, as a member of the St. Olaf College Board of Regents, and as Chair of the St. Olaf Alumni Board.
In 2020, Ms. McCormick was recognized as a CFO of the Year Honoree by Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal, and in 2020 and 2015 as a Top Women in Finance Honoree by Finance & Commerce.
Ms. McCormick and her husband have two teenage children. Her interests include spending time at their family cabin, hiking and photography.
Caroline Njau, MBA, BSN, RN, NEA-BC
Senior vice president of patient care services and chief nursing officer
Caroline (Ndungu) Njau joined Children’s Minnesota in March 2021 and is responsible for patient care operations, including nursing and patient and family services, as well as nursing strategy, education and professional development.
Ms. Njau previously served as the director of hospital and nursing operations at Park Nicollet Methodist Hospital where she also co-led the Health Equity Initiative for last several years. Caroline was broadly accountable for inpatient flow and efficiency initiatives, served as a consistent dyad partner to the chief medical officer in joint clinical improvement initiatives, and engaged significantly with union relationships. She began her nursing career in medical-telemetry units at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta.
Ms. Njau earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Kennesaw State University in Georgia and a Master of Business Administration from the University of St. Thomas.
Ms. Njau’s interests include spending time with her husband and two children, mentoring teenagers in her faith community and cooking.
Andy Pugh
Senior vice president, chief legal officer
Andy Pugh was appointed senior vice president, chief legal officer of Children’s Minnesota in April 2022. Mr. Pugh oversees legal services, risk management, compliance, and information security and serves as Secretary to the Board of Directors. He joined Children’s as deputy general counsel in July 2011. In that role, he oversaw the legal department and served as primary legal support in key areas such as health care transactions and tax-exempt compliance. He also provided direct legal support to various departments and functions across the organization and its related entities. Mr. Pugh has a deep commitment to equity and inclusion and has served as a member of Children’s Health Equity Council.
Prior to joining Children’s Minnesota, Mr. Pugh served as deputy general counsel at Allina Health. He began his legal career at Honeywell Inc. and spent several years in private practice. He earned his juris doctorate from Mitchell Hamline School of Law and his bachelor of arts in political science from Arizona State University.
Jennifer Soderholm
Senior vice president and chief development officer, Children’s Minnesota
President, Children’s Minnesota Foundation
Jennifer (Jenny) Soderholm has over 29 years of health care fundraising and development experience. Before joining Children’s Minnesota, she served as executive vice president and chief development officer at Planned Parenthood North Central States, where she oversaw all aspects of fundraising strategy and operations for the five-state region. Ms. Soderholm has also held executive leadership positions in management, fundraising and development for health care and higher education institutions, including Children’s HeartLink, the University of Minnesota Medical School and M Health Fairview University of Minnesota Medical Center and Masonic Children’s Hospital.
Ms. Soderholm has a bachelor of arts degree in Speech-Communications from University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, and received the 2019 Association of Fundraising Professionals, Minnesota Chapter, Outstanding Professional Fundraiser Award.