Healthcare as an Engine for Social Transformation | #skollwf

Speakers

  • Gary Cohen
    President, Health Care Without Harm
    Gary Cohen has been a pioneer in the environmental health movement for more than 35 years. He has helped build coalitions and networks globally to address health impacts related to climate change and toxic chemical exposure. Cohen is co-founder and president of Health Care Without Harm, created in 1996 to help transform the health care sector to be environmentally sustainable and support the health and climate resilience of the communities they serve. Since its inception, the nonprofit has grown to lead and partner in groundbreaking initiatives in more than 72 countries. Cohen was awarded the Champion of Change Award for Climate Change and Public Health by the White House in 2013. In 2015, Cohen received a MacArthur Fellowship and a “Genius Grant” from the MacArthur Foundation. For more about Cohen and his work, view the MacArthur Award video.
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  • Rebecca Onie
    Co-Founder & CEO Emerita, Health Leads
    As co-founder of Health Leads, Onie is a nationally recognized leader in the intersection of social determinants, population health, and health care delivery. A MacArthur “Genius” awardee, Onie is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and an Aspen Institute Health Innovators Fellow. She has received the APHA Avedis Donabedian Quality Award; Network for Excellence in Health Innovation “Innovator in Health” Award; Robert Wood Johnson Young Leader Award; and Forbes’ Impact 30 Award for leading social entrepreneurs. She received her J.D. from Harvard Law School, where she was an editor of the Harvard Law Review.
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  • Richard Besser
    President and CEO, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
    Since April 2017, Richard Besser, MD, has been president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. He is the former acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and ABC News’ former chief health and medical editor. At RWJF, Besser leads the largest private foundation devoted solely to improving health in the US. They focus on building a comprehensive Culture of Health that provides everyone in America with a fair and just for health and well-being. Access to healthy food, clean air and water, safe housing, secure employment at a living wage, transportation, education, and the elimination of barriers from discrimination are all-important contributors to health and well-being. The author or co-author of hundreds of presentations, abstracts, chapters, editorials and publications, Besser has earned many awards for his work in public health and for his volunteer service. He is a member of the National Academy of Medicine. He received the Surgeon General's Medallion for his leadership during the H1N1 response and the Dean's Medal from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. In 2012, he received an Overseas Press Club award for coverage of global maternal health issues, and two Peabody Awards for coverage of Hurricane Sandy and Robin Roberts’ health journey. In 2017 and 2018, he received an Emmy award for “Outstanding Morning Program” as part of the Good Morning America team. His book, “Tell Me the Truth, Doctor: Easy-to-Understand Answers to Your Most Confusing and Critical Health Questions,” was published in 2013. Besser received his Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from Williams College and medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania. He completed a residency and chief residency in pediatrics at Johns Hopkins University Hospital in Baltimore. He practices as a volunteer pediatrician at the Henry J. Austin Health Center in Trenton, N.J. He and his wife Jeanne, a food writer, have two sons, Alex and Jack.
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  • Tyler Norris
    Vice President, Total Health, Kaiser Permanente
    Tyler Norris, MDiv, is an entrepreneur and founder of over a dozen businesses and social ventures. His three decades of service in the public, private and non-profit sectors have focused on population health, community vitality, and equitable prosperity. Currently, he serves as Vice President, Total Health Partnerships at Kaiser Permanente, where he helps lead the implementation of “anchor institution” strategies, applying all KP assets to measurably improve population health and community well-being. Tyler is a trustee of Naropa University, and serves on advisory bodies for the Convergence Partnership, Transportation for America, Active Living by Design, and Samueli Institute -- and is active with Social Venture Network, BALLE and SOCAP. As an early leader in the healthy/sustainable communities movement, Tyler has worked in over 400 communities and with scores of organizations in the United States and globally. Previously he served as founding chair of IP3, a technology venture that powers CommunityCommons.org and GIS data mapping platforms for health philanthropies and governmental agencies. He was founding CEO of Community Initiatives Inc.; convener of Advancing the Movement; founding co-chair of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation's National Leadership Alliance; and head coach of the YMCA's Pioneering Healthier Communities initiative. He is an avid mountain biker, backcountry skier and pilot, and now resides in Oakland, CA.
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