Michelle Foster Simi Valley Hospital has hired Councilmember Michelle Foster to serve as its new director of marketing and communication.

Her first day of work will be Jan. 12.

Foster is replacing Jeremy Brewer, who is moving into the position of director of volunteers at the hospital.

A 45-year-resident of Simi Valley, Foster has served on the City Council for five years. She holds a bachelor of arts in liberal studies from Cal State Northridge. Until earlier this year she was the owner of PrintMasters, a commercial printing company in Simi.

Mark Newmyer, senior vice president of strategic operations, said Foster approached the hospital about the job opening.

“Obviously we were very glad to learn of her interest early in the process,” Newmyer said. “Michelle has some really strong business acumen that we thought was a real positive for this role.”

Foster has a long relationship with the hospital. In addition to volunteering for many years, she’s served as a member of the governing board’s finance and strategic planning committees.

This year she’s co-chairing the hospital foundation’s annual women’s conference, Hats Off to Women.

Foster said she’s excited to tell the “new story” of the hospital, which has recently undergone major renovations to become a state-of-the-art facility.

“Simi Valley Hospital has been in the community a long time, but there are a lot of changes and a lot of new things happening over there,” she said. “There are some plans for the future that will continue to make this hospital the hospital of choice for Simi Valley residents and Moorpark residents.”

The hospital has been actively working to improve its reputation in the community, and CEO Darwin Remboldt said bringing Foster on board is just another part of that.

“We just think she is going to be really great at further (introducing) the new hospital (to the community), and I’m not just talking brick and mortar; I’m talking about the hospital’s new attitude,” Remboldt said.

The council member said she’s not worried about the conflict of interest that could be created if the hospital comes before the council in the future.

She said the laws are very clear and that if the hospital were to have an item on the agenda, she would recuse herself.

In fact, since the hospital was a longtime customer of PrintMasters, she’s done just that in the past.

“The reality is, my relationship with them on the council has not changed,” Foster said.