Impact Stories

Big Believers in Virginia Mason

When Nic Gill, owner of Peak Commercial Partners, had his daughter in 2011, he dedicated himself to a new mission: Fostering a workplace that supports and creates space for women and underrepresented communities — in hopes of shaping a more inclusive work environment for the next generation.   

“At Peak, we want to make changes in our industry to offer more people opportunities,” says Nic, who founded the commercial real estate company. “I’ve admired Virginia Mason’s commitment to this, especially for the number of women they have in leadership positions, since I started working with them.”

Virginia Mason’s commitment to diversity and inclusion — through employment opportunities and their work to advance health equity — is one of the many reasons Peak Commercial Partners has supported Virginia Mason and Bailey-Boushay House (BBH) since 2013.

They first got involved with Virginia Mason through a real estate project on Bainbridge Island. The more Nic learned about the organization, the more he wanted to support. He was particularly inspired when he heard Virginia Mason Chairman and CEO Gary Kaplan, MD, speak about their proactive approach to healthcare — including how they focus on identifying each patients’ needs and tailoring care to them.

“Our businesses are very different but our ideals line up,” Nic says. “We see ourselves as consultants more than brokers, working as a team to help meet client’s specific needs.”

The company supports Transforming Healthcare initiatives at Virginia Mason — and when they learned about BBH, they started supporting them too.

“When you learn about Bailey-Boushay, it’s hard not to want to give 110% to support everything they do,” he says. “As peoples’ needs have changed over time, Bailey has changed to meet them. They’re always working to change and adapt to support as many people as they can.”

Nic also serves on Virginia Mason’s Commercial Partner Committee, which helps introduce business leaders to Virginia Mason’s work and philanthropic programs. He hopes his team’s support helps Virginia Mason continue to provide top-quality care and foster an inclusive environment.

“We’re big believers in Virginia Mason,” Nic says. “I’ve had the opportunity to work with many of their people and see their work first hand. They make a big impact — that’s why we support them.”