Arkansas Children’s President and CEO Honored with Executive Endowed Chair

(LITTLE ROCK, Ark.) Nov. 07, 2024 – The inaugural recipient and steward of the Sasha and Terry Freeman Endowed Chair in Healthcare Administration and Executive Leadership will be Arkansas Children’s president and chief executive officer, Marcy Doderer, FACHE. An investiture in her honor will be held at Central Arkansas Library System’s Ron Robertson Theatre on Nov. 8.

Terry and Sasha Freeman of Russellville donated $1 million to establish the endowed chair, and it has been matched by a $1 million grant from the Arkansas Children’s legacy match campaign. This gift’s impact will live in perpetuity, advancing the strategic mission of the state’s only pediatric health system.

Terry Freeman began his career at Bibler Bros. Lumber in 1978 and worked his way up to owner and president. He has served on boards of several forestry associations, including the Arkansas Forestry Association, Southern Timber Purchasers Committee, National Forest Products Association and Southern Forest Products Association. He currently serves on the board of directors for First State Bank. Sasha Freeman is an active volunteer in the community and can regularly be found at Manna House, a ministry in Russellville that provides food and hygiene items to the needy. She was a kindergarten teacher for more than a decade, helping build the future of her community and beyond. Sasha and Terry Freeman enjoy traveling and spending time with their three daughters and four grandchildren. They’re driven by compassion to champion children.

“We are incredibly grateful to establish this endowed chair and honor Marcy Doderer, whose leadership has transformed Arkansas Children’s,” said Sasha Freeman. “Her talent, vision and commitment drives the entire team of health care professionals and support staff to be the best for children and their families.”

Becoming an endowed chairholder is a prestigious honor dating back to the 1500s. The honoree receives a special medallion and a chair signifying the Freemans’ and Arkansas Children’s lasting partnership.

Doderer has led Arkansas Children’s for more than a decade, fostering a culture of safety and inclusivity while spearheading expansion throughout the state. Her connection to Arkansas Children’s runs deep. When she was a third grader, her family moved to Little Rock when her father, Dr. J.B. Norton, became the first fellowship-trained pediatric cardiologist at Arkansas Children’s Hospital (ACH). Doderer began volunteering at ACH, later securing her first paid job in high school, followed by a summer internship.

Dr. Norton will offer a father’s tribute honoring Doderer during Friday night’s investiture ceremony.

Giving collegial remarks during the ceremony will be Doderer’s sister, Kimberly Dadisman, Ph.D, associate director of policy in the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the president and CEO of Children’s Hospital Colorado, Jena Hausmann, M.H.A.

Marcy Doderer is focused on improving child health by advancing patient care, building community and championing excellence through digital transformation, engaged and efficient partnerships and bold child advocacy.

In her decade leading Arkansas Children’s, Doderer has significantly extended the health system’s reach through an expanded physical footprint to better serve the children and families of Arkansas. Her efforts to cultivate networks and build partnerships locally, regionally and nationally have resulted in reaching more children where they live, learn and play. She does this all while leading the Arkansas Children’s team with an unwavering focus on the core values of safety, teamwork, compassion and excellence.

Doderer has always had a passion for healthcare administration and is a Fellow in the American College of Health Care Executives. Prior to Arkansas Children's, Doderer served as a member of senior leadership for CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Health System in various capacities since 2002. She became CHRISTUS Santa Rosa Children’s Hospital administrator in 2008 and led the effort to transform the facility into the free-standing Children’s Hospital of San Antonio. Her previous leadership experience includes positions at CHRISTUS St. Joseph’s Health System and McCuistion Regional Medical Center, both in Paris, Texas, and Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas in Dallas, Texas.

Doderer is active in many professional organizations and currently serves on the Children’s Hospitals’ Solutions for Patient Safety Board of Directors and a delegate to the American Hospital Association’s Regional Policy Board 7. Within Arkansas, Doderer is a member of Fifty for the Future and the Little Rock Regional Chamber Board of Directors. She is also a board member of Encore Bank and is the current president of the International Women’s Forum – Arkansas Chapter.

Recognized for her leadership both at the local and national level, Doderer has been named one of Modern Healthcare’s “Top 25 Women Leaders” in 2021 and Becker’s Healthcare “26 Women CEOs of Hospitals and Health Systems to Know” in 2022. In Arkansas, she was named “Woman of the Year” in 2020 by Women & Children First, “Woman of the Year in Business” in 2018 by the Women’s Foundation of Arkansas and continues to be listed in the “Arkansas Business Top 250.”

She obtained her BS in Finance from Trinity University, San Antonio, Texas, and MA in Hospital and Health Administration from The University of Iowa.

“I am incredibly fortunate to have had incredible opportunities to lead pediatric and maternal healthcare for almost 30 years. No opportunity has been more fulfilling or impactful than serving as CEO of Arkansas Children’s,” Doderer said. “I am so proud of the sophisticated system of care we have built, and the amazing team that is designing care delivery, creating new cures and performing remarkable work in the name of child health.”

ABOUT ARKANSAS CHILDREN’S

Arkansas Children's is the only health care system in the state solely dedicated to caring for Arkansas' 850,000 children. The private, non-profit organization includes two pediatric hospitals, a pediatric research institute and USDA nutrition center, a philanthropic foundation, a nursery alliance, statewide clinics, and many education and outreach programs — all focused on fulfilling a promise to define and deliver unprecedented child health. Arkansas Children’s Hospital (ACH) is a 336-bed, Magnet-recognized facility in Little Rock operating the state’s only Level I pediatric trauma center; the state's only burn center; the state's only Level IV neonatal intensive care unit; the state's only pediatric intensive care unit; the state’s only pediatric surgery program with Level 1 verification from the American College of Surgeons (ACS); and the state's only nationally recognized pediatric transport program. Arkansas Children’s is nationally ranked by U.S. News & World Report in seven pediatric subspecialties (2024-2025): Cancer, Cardiology & Heart Surgery, Neonatal Care, Nephrology, Neurology & Neurosurgery, Orthopedics and Pulmonology & Lung Surgery. Arkansas Children’s Northwest (ACNW), the first and only pediatric hospital in the northwest Arkansas region, is a level IV pediatric trauma center. ACNW operates a 24-bed inpatient unit; a surgical unit with five operating rooms; outpatient clinics offering over 20 subspecialties; diagnostic services; imaging capabilities; occupational therapy services; and northwest Arkansas' only pediatric emergency department, equipped with 30 exam rooms. Generous philanthropic and volunteer engagement has sustained Arkansas Children's since it began as an orphanage in 1912, and today ensures the system can deliver on its promise of unprecedented child health. To learn more, visit archildrens.org.