Ascension Seton Foundation Board Welcomes New Members

The Ascension Seton Foundation is proud to announce the appointment of three new board members who will begin their service in July: Dru Armstrong, Kerry Rupp, and Russell Diez-Canseco.

The Ascension Seton Foundation Board is committed to raising awareness and philanthropic support for Ascension Seton’s central Austin hospitals, including Ascension Seton Medical Center Austin and Dell Seton Medical Center. These three new board members bring decades of leadership in key areas to help with the continued support and expansion of care throughout our community.

Please join us in welcoming Dru, Kerry, and Russell. We’re incredibly grateful for their service and we look forward to working with them in the year ahead.

Dru Armstrong – CEO, AffiniPay

Dru Armstrong is a customer-focused Chief Executive Officer with expert knowledge in running high-growth software organizations. She has extensive experience scaling technology companies with market-leading private equity firms throughout her career and brings more than 17 years of consumer and product technology development to her current role as CEO of AffiniPay. Dru’s prior experience includes leadership, operations, and consulting roles across the private equity field. She is a leader on topics including innovation, diversity and inclusion, and verticalized software.

Kerry Rupp – General Partner, True Wealth Ventures

Kerry Rupp is a General Partner at True Wealth Ventures, an early-stage venture capital fund investing in women-led businesses that improve human and/or environmental health. She is a board director for True Wealth Ventures’ portfolio companies Flourish, Partum Health, reHarvest Provisions, Rosy, and VidaFuel, and a board observer for BrainCheck and Atlantic Sea Farms.

Previously, Kerry was CEO at DreamIt, a Top Ten US startup accelerator and early- stage venture fund, where she was directly involved with the launch of more than 150 companies. During her 5-year tenure with DreamIt, she grew its programs to five cities, raised a $20M follow-on fund, and initiated the DreamIt Access (minority entrepreneur), DreamIt Athena (female entrepreneur), and DreamIt Health programs.

Kerry holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BA in Biology from Duke University. In addition to her startup ecosystem service, she is a past Board Chair for the Texas 4000 for Cancer, was a Member of the Austin Area Research Organization (AARO), and was on the Host Committee for the Austin Community Foundation’s Women’s Fund Keyholder event for the last several years.

Russell Diez-Canseco – President & CEO, Vital Farms

With over two decades of retail, food and packaged goods industry expertise, Russell Diez-Canseco believes it is possible to produce ethical food at scale. He currently serves as President and CEO of Vital Farms – a Certified B Corp whose purpose is to improve the lives of people, animals and the planet through food.

Russell believes his most significant contribution to Vital Farms is scaling a high-performing organization and world-class Board of Directors, while cultivating a strong, values-driven culture. Since he joined Vital Farms in 2014, the company has developed sustainable relationships with over 300 family farms, met or exceeded all of its ambitious growth targets and built an award-winning egg washing and packing plant, Egg Central Station, in Springfield, Missouri. Under Russell’s leadership as CEO, the company’s commitment to its stakeholder model led to a successful public offering in July 2020.

Prior to joining Vital Farms, Russell spent several years with McKinsey & Company, H-E-B Grocery and the Central Intelligence Agency. He holds an AB in economics from the University of California at Berkeley and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Published: July 5th, 2024