As a young child, Kathleen Gibson lived in Argentina for about four years.
Her father was a doctor in the army who moved their family internationally from crisis to crisis. Through those childhood years, she saw a world with a lot of need.
“You see a lot of resilience and a lot of strength and a lot of more difficult situations than we have,” Gibson says. “It gives you the courage and confidence to keep going. I would say that broadens the view and broadens the definition of what you think is difficult or not difficult. My father’s advice was ‘Travel is not just a part of your education; it is the biggest part.’”
Gibson went on as an adult to volunteer in Venezuela, Colombia and Mexico.
“We saw things you wouldn’t normally see,” Gibson says. “I saw a lot that somebody who lived in a difficult situation would see every day.”
While she can, she still travels the world with open eyes. This was the foundational training she needed for the volunteer resume she would build. Thirty years ago, Gibson joined the Junior League of Dallas along with her sister.
“It was my way to see into how Dallas works in a lot of the community building aspects,” Gibson says. “It’s how to do good research, what needs to be addressed … How to put the hours in the right places and what makes sense. How to help something that needs to start. It’s filling a gap that needs to be filled.”
In 1989, when she joined, she was also starting a family and had a newborn.
One of Gibson’s first tasks was at children’s hospitals and women’s shelters. One experience in particular, she went to a shelter to paint a wall and play with kids. She truly saw the need when she saw how many high chairs the shelter had.
“It forces you to think about priorities for what really matters to you and have a new appreciation for families,” Gibson says. “Who’s going to do it if you don’t? We have a healthy part in building what needs to be built for other families, not just your own.”
She has gone on to carry roles such as assistant provisional project chair, ball committee, public affairs committee and funding ad hoc committee member.
“People see what you do and it speaks much louder sometimes than you know and it’s much louder than the words that you use,” Gibson says. “Leaders are the ones who set by example.”
Outside of her volunteer work, she was the tenth CEO of Southwestern Medical Foundations. She was also the first female in that role in the company’s 80-year history. In October 2023, Gibson joined CH Investment Partners as senior managing director.
Last fall, the Junior League of Dallas chose her as its 2024 Sustainer of the Year.
The annual Sewell Salutes Award is given to those who go above and beyond and Gibson will be recognized at the Milestones Luncheon in April.
“Kathleen is not just a board member -— she is active, involved and engaged,” JLD Sustainer Connie O’Neill says. “I have served alongside her on several boards and seen firsthand where she brings creativity to solve issues, while also asking critical questions as a steward of the organization. She has all of the qualities befitting a recipient of this award and is beloved by so many in our community.”
