About The Barrett Foundation
Learn about our history, values, and commitment to supporting rising communities through education.
Our Foundation
The Opal and Clinton Barrett Foundation for Rising Communities was founded with the purpose in investing in communities across the country which could benefit from strategic investment and economic partnerships.
Our Story
Opal and Clinton Barrett cared deeply for the greater Michigan community and instilled values of community service, education, and civic engagement in their children and their lives. We hope to further their missions of supporting others through focused investments into programs which better the lives of others.
What Sets Us Apart
We do not intend to simply provide financial support to our partner organizations but provide mentorship and resources to out college students and training and patient advocacy for our healthcare facilities. We are ongoing and highly engaged with our missions and seek out creative and comprehensive solutions.
Our Core Values
Excellence
Integrity
Community
Our Team
Board of Directors
Mike Barrett
President and Founder
Mike created the O&C Foundation in honor of his parents, who gave clear direction and insight for community service. Prior to his retirement and creating the O&C Foundation, Mike co-founded the National Association of Accountable Care Organizations (NAACOS) and served as its Chairman from 2012 through 2015, remaining on the Policy Committee until 2022. He led the association's development and presented more than 25 times at the national conference on health care operations and finance.
In addition to his accountable care work, Mike served as the Senior Vice President of Operations and National Development for the ACO efforts at Collaborative Health Systems, a subsidiary of WellCare/Centene. Mike's ACOs were accountable for over 300,000 assigned Medicare beneficiaries and more than $3.1 billion in healthcare spending. ACOs required a change from the status quo to be successful; with limited resources, the projects had to have great leverage and impact.
Beyond these recent efforts, Mike brings 35 years of experience in both payor and provider operations from the managed care perspective. He has held executive positions at a large hospital system, served as Senior Vice President of a large PCP group serving 35,000 globally capitated Medicare Advantage patients, and held CFO/COO positions at HMOs.
Mike has held the positions of CEO, COO, and CFO of medium to large health care and managed care payor organizations. He has also completed large employer payor and vendor selection, claims, enrollment, and compliance audits, network development, strategic planning, and process re-engineering projects for his clients.
Gail Wilson
Board Member
Dr. B. Gail Wilson spent 35 years as a faculty member in the Department of Communications Media at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, where she taught courses in media writing, media production, public speaking, and career portfolio development for undergraduate students. Additionally, Dr. Wilson taught crisis communication, teaching communications media, and media ethics for IUP's PhD in Media and Communications Studies (MCOMM).
As an administrator, she was the coordinator of the MCOMM PhD program and served as chair of the Department of Communications Media for six years before she retired in 2021. Before starting her career in higher education, Dr. Wilson worked as a professional broadcaster.
She graduated from Morehead State University (KY) with a bachelor's degree in radio/television and a master's degree in communications and journalism. Her doctoral degree is from the University of Pittsburgh in Administrative and Policy Studies in Higher Education.
Doug Peddie
Board Member
John Principato
Board Member
Executive Director
Tessa Nielsen
Executive Director
As granddaughter of Opal and Clinton Barrett, Tessa grew up with a deep understanding of her grandparents' core belief: education opens doors. Though she only knew Opal personally, she inherited the family conviction that when young people have access to quality education, mentorship, and opportunity, they can go anywhere.
That belief has shaped Tessa's entire career. With a Master's in Social Work from Simmons University, she has worked with teenagers across multiple settings—in schools as a therapist, in clinical environments like mobile crisis units and psychiatric care, and in community-based programs serving homeless youth. These diverse experiences taught her something essential: young people develop and thrive in different ways depending on their circumstances, and their potential is often constrained not by lack of ability, but by lack of access to quality support and opportunity.
Tessa has seen firsthand how education—in its broadest sense—transforms lives. A teenager who gets connected with a mentor. A young person who finds the right school or program that matches their strengths. A student who has someone in their corner who believes in their future. These interventions matter because they create possibility.
As Executive Director, Tessa is building a foundation rooted in the belief that education, mentorship, and investment in young people's potential unlock futures. She's committed to working alongside nonprofits and supporting scholars who are ready to rise—not from crisis, but toward opportunity. The foundation's work honors both Opal's and Clinton's legacy by ensuring that talent, drive, and potential aren't limited by circumstance or access.