The Foundation Board Welcomes Ryan Todd
Friday, August 05, 2022
Ryan Todd, senior vice president of mobility solutions for Enterprise Holdings Inc., joined The Foundation for Barnes-Jewish Hospital as a board member at the beginning of 2022 and became an Illumination Gala Ambassador. However, Ryan’s desire to get involved and give back to his community began long before.
In 1992, he launched his career with Enterprise Rent-A-Car in Los Angeles as a Management Trainee. Over the course of 30 years, he rose through the company ranks, relocated seven times and called many places home: St. Louis, Missouri; Houston, Texas; Eastern Ontario, Canada; and parts of Kentucky, Southern Indiana and Arizona before returning to St. Louis in 2018.
As a worldwide company, Enterprise encourages staff to find ways to plug into the communities where they live and work.
“Giving back to the community is an integral part of Enterprise’s philosophy and culture,” Ryan said.
While in Arizona, Ryan and his family discovered a personal passion for supporting local hospitals, specifically children’s hospitals.
“Over time it morphed into different opportunities to help people with cancer in various capacities,” Ryan said. “We’re all inevitably touched by cancer, whether it be personally or in-directly through family and friends. I feel like it’s unfortunately something we all experience at some point.”
When the Todd family returned to St. Louis in 2018, they wanted to continue their philanthropic endeavors but didn’t know where to turn. A colleague and former Foundation board member suggested to Ryan that it may be a good place for him to start.
It didn’t take long for Ryan to become active as a board member and show a desire to do more. After hearing about the Foundation’s annual Illumination Gala, which raises funds for leading-edge research in cancer care and treatments at Siteman Cancer Center, Ryan knew he’d found his fit.
Ryan’s goal is to engage as many new faces as possible and he’s done exactly that. Within a few short months, he leveraged his contacts through Enterprise to engage more than 40 individuals with the Foundation, specifically with the Illumination Gala.
“For me personally, being involved with the Foundation and knowing the people we’ve been fortunate enough to support is really awe inspiring and something I think has made me a better person.”