It is my great honor as HealthyWomen CEO to work with many dedicated and smart people focused on improving access to the health information women need to take control of their health and that of their families.
That is especially true with our board of directors, who support HealthyWomen's mission through their advice, inspiration, and of course, financial support. This month, HealthyWomen welcomes Christine Verini as its incoming board chair while saluting the hard work of Tamar Thompson as its outgoing one.
Christine currently serves as chief operating officer of CancerCare, a 75-year-old nonprofit focused on providing free support to people facing the emotional, practical and financial challenges of cancer. Her dedication to serving patients was recently honored by PharmaVOICE magazine, which named her to its 100 Most Inspiring People list.
A pharmacist by training, Christine previously served as vice president of corporate communications and advocacy at Eisai, a pharmaceutical company, where she was instrumental in creating Magnolia Meals at Home, which provides meals at no cost to eligible patients and families living with breast and thyroid cancer.
She joined the HealthyWomen board in 2014 and since then has worked with me to help broaden our reach to educate as many women as possible. That work will now continue and grown in her new role as board chair, helping to ensure that our site offers what women and caregivers need to make the right health decisions for their families.
As Christine notes, "Everyone facing cancer has valuable choices and decisions to consider, and that's where the CancerCare and HealthyWomen perspectives align. For both organizations, it's all about helping people become more educated and more empowered to make the right decisions about their health."
I couldn't agree more.
Christine takes the baton from Tamar Thompson, whose tenure as HealthyWomen board chair has focused on identifying and helping to lift the heavy burden of health care that women must carry for themselves and their families every day.
From surprise medical bills to inadequate health care provider networks crafted by the insurers we rely on to pay for our care, Tamar has worked with HealthyWomen to call out the problems that hide in plain sight—and that impact women's health, both medical and financial.
As someone who has spent 25 years working in the health care sector, Tamar speaks from deep experience when she notes that "too often we lack the information necessary to make the right health care choices for ourselves and our families. In looking for quality and costs savings, many times we are faced with barriers to getting the information we need."
Currently head of Federal Executive Branch Strategy and State Government Affairs at Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Tamar has served on the HealthyWomen board for more than a decade, rising to board chair in 2017.
Tamar and Christine represent the latest in a long line of leaders who have given their time, skills and support to HealthyWomen's mission. Since our founding in 1988 as the National Women's Health Resource Center, the first organization to provide medically vetted health information to women nationwide, we have focused on answering women's health questions, big and small—from questions about breast implants to pelvic organ prolapse to postpartum anxiety and depression.
With such strong support from experts such as Tamar and Christine, as well as our full board of directors, HealthyWomen is able to grow and evolve its content, platforms and services.
At a time when women face an unparalleled threat to access to equal and affordable health care, such support has never been so important. That is why I am honored every day to have the opportunity to work with such amazing women.
Together, HealthyWomen will be stronger than ever.
