Denise San Antonio Zeman '74
A lifelong resident of the Greater Cleveland area, Denise San Antonio Zeman has been President and CEO of the Saint Luke’s Foundation of Cleveland, Ohio since January, 2000.
Her professional career has spanned healthcare, human services and community relations. From 1992 through 2000, Ms. Zeman was a Vice President for the Meridia Health System (now Eastern Region of the Cleveland Clinic Health System.)
From 1995 through 2000, she was responsible for overseeing the successful turnaround of Euclid Hospital, where she served as Chief Operating Officer. Several months prior to her assignment to Euclid Hospital, over half of its admitting physicians had left due to their affiliation with a competing health system. Within three years, the hospital had gone from annual losses in excess of $1M to sustained profitability. In addition to the Cleveland Clinic Health System, Ms. Zeman has served in administrative positions with the MetroHealth System and the former Saint Alexis Medical Center.
Prior to entering the healthcare field, Ms. Zeman had held positions in public relations and admissions with two of Ohio’s institutions of higher education, Ursuline College and Bowling Green State University. Ms. Zeman holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Ursuline College; a Master of Arts Degree from John Carroll University; and has taken additional post graduate coursework at Kent State University. In addition, she holds a Professional Chef’s Certificate from the Loretta Paganini School of Cooking, and has a certificate in Regional Italian Cooking from the Simili Sisters Cooking School in Bologna, Italy.
Ms. Zeman’s community involvement includes board positions with Ursuline College, where she currently chairs the Investment Committee; the Collaborative for Organizing Mt. Pleasant; and BioEnterprise; as well as past board positions with the YWCA of Cleveland; Hospice of the Western Reserve; the Catholic Charities Services Corporation; the Catholic Hospice Network; and University Circle Inc. She has also volunteered with the Ursuline College Mentoring Network, the Mandel Center for Nonprofit Organizations’ Mentoring Program, the United Way Healthcare Cabinet, and the Rainforest Health Project in the Amazon Jungle of Peru.
In addition, she is currently a member of the United Way Community Vision Council on Health and Caring for All; the Executive Women’s Leadership Forum; the Advisory Committee of the Office of Urban Health at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine; the Health Leadership Council of the Cleveland Municipal School District; the Advisory Council of the College of Dental Medicine at Case Western Reserve University; the Advisory Board of The Foundation Center Cleveland; and the Loaned Staff of the Fund for Our Economic Future.
Ms. Zeman has been the recipient of numerous awards including the Ursuline College Amadeus Rappe Award, the Regina High School Alumnae Leadership Award, the YWCA Women of Professional Excellence Award, and the Outstanding Businessperson Award of the Euclid Chamber of Commerce. She was also one of Cleveland’s Most Interesting People in the January, 1999 Cleveland Magazine. Ms. Zeman lives in Cleveland Heights, Ohio with her husband, Douglas.
