David Bruns Named Vice President and Executive Director of The Foundation for Barnes-Jewish Hospital
Monday, March 31, 2025
Barnes-Jewish Hospital has named David Bruns the new Vice President and Executive Director of The Foundation for Barnes-Jewish Hospital, following a competitive national search. Bruns will assume leadership of the Foundation on May 5.
Bruns joins the Foundation from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, where he served as assistant vice chancellor for advancement. In this role, Bruns worked closely with the chancellor and other campus and community leaders to facilitate strategic relationships, elevate organizational visibility, and advance the With Illinois fundraising campaign, which raised $2.7 billion.
Bruns’ decades-long career in philanthropy includes several positions in the St. Louis region, including with WashU Medicine and Maryville University. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
“David is a seasoned philanthropic leader with significant experience leading high-performing teams and advancing major fundraising campaigns,” says Dr. John Lynch, president of Barnes-Jewish Hospital. “With his passion for health care and our home community, David will make a major impact on the health and well-being of the St. Louis region—and beyond.”
“I believe deeply in the transformative power of health care on the lives of individuals and communities, as well as the essential role that philanthropy plays in this work,” Bruns says. “From the beginning of my life, I’ve witnessed firsthand the remarkable impact Barnes-Jewish Hospital and the entire BJC ecosystem have on the people of our region—from caring for community members to advancing medical research and education. I will be proud to contribute to the growth of an institution that has played such a dynamic role in the health and vitality of our community for generations.”
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About The Foundation for Barnes-Jewish Hospital
The Foundation for Barnes-Jewish Hospital helps donors enrich lives, save lives, and transform health care through charitable gifts. Thanks to generous donors from around the country, the Foundation awards grants to help deliver extraordinary patient care, accelerate life-saving research, support caregiver education, and eliminate the root causes of health inequities in the community. In 2024, the Foundation awarded more than $53 million in grants.