Board of Directors, Advisory Board Members, and Founders

Board of Directors

Advisory Board

Byllye Avery Judy Bradford, PhD Gloria Feldt Teresa Heinz Cathy Inglese Paula Johnson, MD Timothy Johnson, MD  Florence Ladd, PhD Susan M. Love, MD Meizhu Lui Sally H. Lunt, EdD, JD Ngina Lythcott, PhD

Evelyn Murphy, PhD Cynthia Pearson Vivian Pinn, MD Mary Poor, DVM, SM  (bio) Ellen Poss, MD Joan Rachlin, JD Deborah Raptopoulos, MEd, MSW Gary A. Richwald, MD, MPH Moises Russo, MD, MBE Isaac Schiff, MD Gloria Steinem Frederica Williams

Founders

Bios

Catherine L. Annas, JD
Ms. Annas is the Director of the Eastern Massachusetts Healthcare Initiative (EMHI), a group of hospitals, health plans, provider groups and universities working together to create a high performance health care system in Eastern Massachusetts. She oversees projects related to patient safety, quality and cost in health care. Prior to joining EMHI, she served for five years as the Director of Patient Safety at the Department of Public Health and the Betsy Lehman Center for Patient Safety and Medical Error Reduction. Before that, she worked for five years on the House staff of the Massachusetts Legislature’s Joint Committee on Health Care. Ms. Annas received her J.D. from the Columbus School of Law at the Catholic University of America in 1995, and her Bachelor’s Degree in English from the Catholic University of America in 1992. [back to list of board members]

Joanne Barker, MS
Joanne L. Barker is a marketing and communications professional who specializes in developing print and multimedia communications tools to effectively promote products, services, and ideas. With more than 15 years of experience, Joanne brings extensive knowledge of health communications, health information technology, HIV/AIDS and domestic violence issues to the OBOS board. Ms. Barker holds an MS from Tufts University School of Medicine. [back to list of board members]

Bea Bezmalinovic, MBA, MPP – Co-Chair     
Ms. Bezmalinovic has over thirteen years of experience working as an international health and development consultant in more than 26 countries in Latin America, Asia, and Africa, including six years of overseas residence. She has been involved in three international entrepreneurial ventures in the start-up or early growth stages. Her recent positions have concentrated on business development, partner negotiations, and strategic communications (online communities/use of new media). She has also worked as a researcher and consultant on various non-profit initiatives, including a Harvard Business School faculty’s review of accountability of non-profit organizations and the Harvard School of Public Health's Global AIDS program. Ms. Bezmalinovic has consulted for Save the Children, Aid to Artisans, the US Agency for International Development, the Overseas Development Council, EngenderHealth, RTI, Family Health International, and the International Center for Research on Women. She has a Masters in Public Policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and an MBA from the Olin School of Management at Babson College. [back to list of board members]

Caroline Crosbie, MBA
Ms. Crosbie has 25 years of program and management experience in international reproductive health, with emphasis on design, negotiation and implementation of major programs, and fund raising in the public and private sectors. As Senior Vice President of Pathfinder International, she oversees all program planning and operations, both at headquarters and in the field. A Pathfinder staff member since 1981, Ms. Crosbie has held a variety of positions both in the field (total of twelve years in Brazil, Haiti, and Peru) and at headquarters covering programs in Asia/Near East, Latin America and Caribbean, and sub-Saharan Africa. She holds a BA from Mount Holyoke College and an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin. [back to list of board members]

Kristin Guest, MCA, MBA - Treasurer
Ms. Guest has over 12 years of experience as an accounting/finance professional.  Currently, Ms. Guest works for Corporate Finance Group, Inc. which offers accounting and consulting expertise to clients.  She has experience working with clients from several industries on a wide variety of assignments such as technical GAAP accounting projects (ie. revenue recognition, debt recognition, stock option expense), helping companies during integration, staff augmentation, and building long-term planning financial models.  Prior to working Corporate Finance Group, Inc., Ms. Guest was a Sr. Financial Analyst at DePuy Mitek, a Johnson & Johnson company.  She has an MBA from Boston University, BS in Accounting from Bentley University and is a Certified Management Accountant (CMA). [back to list of board members] 

Jessica Halverson, MBA
Ms. Halverson is a Development Programs Manager for Ceres, a national coalition of investors, public pension funds, foundations, labor unions, and environmental, religious and public interest groups, dedicated to advancing more sustainable business practices and corporate accountability. She manages individual giving and events, and designs the roll-out of special projects. Ms. Halverson has a background in nonprofit consulting and communications, and experience in women's health, sports, and arts organizations. She is also a former OBOS staff member, and has an MBA from Boston University and a BA in Sociology and Gender & Women's Studies from Grinnell College. [back to list of board members]

Nancy J. Lyons, MPH
Ms. Lyons has over 10 years of experience in the non-profit and state government sectors in the fields of communication, public health, and event management. She has developed social marketing campaigns and health promotion materials on a number of public health topics including tobacco, substance abuse, injury and violence prevention, obesity prevention, teen health, and sexual health. Her experience includes strategic communication planning, qualitative research, creative direction, copywriting, video scriptwriting, graphic design, and training and facilitation. She has presented at several national conferences including the 2010 Integrated Medical, Public Health, Preparedness and Response Training Summit, American Public Health Association (APHA), CDC's Health Communication, Marketing and Media Conference, and Sex::Tech 2008. Ms. Lyons received her undergraduate degree in Organizational Communication from Ithaca College and her Masters in Public Health from Tufts University. [back to list of board members]

Myriam Hernandez Jennings, M.A.
Ms. Hernandez Jennings is Project Director for a New England training center funded by the Office of Family Planning, Office of Populations Affairs, and also a New England training center funded by the Center for Disease Control. As director of these centers, she plans and manages the development of course content and identifies trainers, conducts and analyzes needs assessments, and conducts course evaluations. A native of Chile, she holds a B.A. in Communications and Marketing from Westminster College in Salt Lake City, Utah, and a Master of Arts (Theology) from Andover Newton Theological School of Newton, Massachusetts. She has significant experience in curricula development, facilitation of trainings, and development/implementation of large conferences, and participated in the editing of Nuestros Cuerpos, Nuestras Vidas (the Spanish language adaptation of Our Bodies, Ourselves) and Managing Contraception, both of which educate women of reproductive age and beyond about reproductive health choices. [back to list of board members]

Julie Mottl-Santiago, CNM, MPH
Julie Mottl-Santiago is Director of Midwifery Services at Boston Medical Center. She has been a practicing midwife at BMC for the past ten years, where she trains midwives, residents and medical students.  She has also directed BMC’s Birth Sister Program, a multicultural doula program serving the diverse communities of Boston. She currently sits on the Massachusetts Department of Public Health’s Perinatal Advisory Committee and the American College of Nurse Midwives Massachusetts State Affiliate. Prior to becoming a midwife, she provided reproductive health education and outreach to underserved communities, and has worked in international health programming in Mexico. Julie received her BA from Tufts University, BSN from Simmons College and MPH and Midwifery Certificate from Boston University. [back to list of board members]  

Heather Nelson PhD, MPH - Clerk
As the Director of Community Services for the Women’s Health Network at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Heather manages public and community education and communications for the state’s Breast and Cervical Early Detection and WISEWOMAN programs.  In this role she has created, implemented, and evaluated train the trainer curricula that has been used to educate thousands of people in English, Spanish, Portuguese, and Khmer across the Commonwealth.  She also serves as the State Women’s Health Coordinator for Massachusetts for the Office on Women’s Health at the Department of Health and Human Services.  Over the past decade, Heather has been conducting research on emergency contraception and teaching public health courses including:  AIDS and STDS: A Global Perspective, Women’s Health, and Planning and Evaluation.  Ms. Nelson holds a PhD in Health Behavior and Social and Policy Issues in Women’s Health from Oregon State University, an MPH from Boston University in Social and Behavioral Health and a BA from the University of Denver in Biology and French.  [back to list of board members]

Miriam Zoll, BA
Miriam Zoll is an award-winning writer, researcher, teacher and public speaker with more than 20 years experience in the public policy and international development arena. She has worked with such global institutions as the United Nations, the Earth Institute at Columbia University, the Coalition on Children Affected by AIDS, Planned Parenthood, Gay Men’s Health Crisis, Harvard University and the International Women’s Health Coalition. A certified yoga instructor, Miriam is the founding co-producer of the Ms. Foundation for Women’s annual Take Our Daughters to Work Day. The author of dozens of articles and publications, her work has been published by The Royal Tropical Institute, Columbia University, the United Nations, the Christian Science Monitor and the Boston Globe, among other venues. In 2005 she was awarded a Research Fellowship at the Center for International Studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Focusing on HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa, her research addressed how government and donor compensation to unpaid health care sector workers––either through salaries or direct cash transfers––can reduce poverty and HIV infection while improving standards of care and support to millions of children and people living with HIV/AIDS. [back to list of board members]